Supercross Series at San Diego : Johnson Beats Roommate for Fourth Consecutive Win

Another near miss for Jeff Stanton. And another night in the doghouse.

As expected, El Cajon’s Rick Johnson won the 250cc main event of the Coors Super Challenge Saturday night at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. It was Johnson’s fourth motocross victory in a row this season and put him in a tie with Bob Hannah for all-time supercross wins with 27.

Stanton, who hails from Sherwood, Mich., is not only Johnson’s Honda teammate, he is Johnson’s roommate. They have a bet in which the loser of each race has to spend a night in their doghouse. That makes four tough nights for Stanton, who finished second Saturday.

Johnson started in fourth place and took third when Mike Fisher of Santee fell on the seventh lap. He passed Damon Bradshaw two laps later and moved past Stanton on the 12th lap. After that, he never trailed. Bradshaw, on a Yamaha, finished third.

“It motivated when I saw Damon and Jeff up in the front,” Johnson said.

The record probably means more to the fans than it does to Johnson, who said before the race he wasn’t really thinking about it.

“I just want to win,” Johnson said. “I don’t really care about records.”

The 125cc main event was won by Jeff Matiasevich of La Habra Heights, his fourth victory in a row this season.

Only one rider was injured. Todd Mitchell of Spring Valley sustained a broken leg when he bumped another rider and fell during the 125cc “last chance” race.

But the rest of the evening went smoothly, particularly for Johnson. He got a bit of competition in the early going of his qualifying heat from Mike Fisher, who led for several laps before Johnson surged ahead. Johnson rode a business-like race until the final few laps, when he waved to fans while flying over the jumps.

In the previous race, Stanton put the El Cajon household on the board with an easy victory over Ronnie Tichenor.

Bradshaw, 16, from Charlotte, N.C., the baby of the motocross circuit, won the first 250cc qualifying heat with a six-second victory over Ron Lechien of El Cajon.