Favorites Not Coming Through in Clutch

Things happen quickly in supercross. Only two weeks ago, according to preseason hype, the THQ AMA series race was going to come down to defending champion Chad Reed, three-time champion Ricky Carmichael and rising star James “Bubba” Stewart Jr.

Below them would be the also-rans.

But with two of 16 races having been run -- the third is tonight at Angel Stadium, with the main event beginning at 7 -- Reed is in ninth place and needs to rally, then get help from others if he’s going to climb back into contention.

Stewart, a rookie in the elite 250cc class, reportedly will be sidelined for at least six weeks because of a broken left arm suffered in practice last week in Phoenix.

Only Carmichael, who took last season off to recover from a knee injury, has things going his way. Now riding for Suzuki, he finished third in the rain-shortened opener, also at Angel Stadium, and won at Phoenix.

And he’s still only second in the standings, two points behind Kevin Windham, who rides a Honda four-stroke and probably deserved to be hyped as much as anyone.

“I do well in the shadows,” Windham said this week from his home in Centreville, Miss.

Windham, 26, who finished second at Phoenix, wavered over whether to remain in the shadows permanently after severely breaking his leg during a crash in February 2002.

“I’ve had many injuries during my career, but that was by far the most excruciating,” he said, adding that he’d pondered retirement.

But having raced since he was 3, he was “sucked back in” and seemed as good as new in 2003, winning five races and finishing as series runner-up to Yamaha’s Reed. He then finished third in the national motocross series.

Windham credits Honda for his recent success, but says his other team -- wife Dottie and young daughters Madelyn, 2, and newborn Annabelle -- is what keeps him focused.

“By the time [the children are] up in age and able to look back on my career ... I want to show them that Daddy gave 100%, and that they’ll need to be the same way with whatever they do,” he said.

Windham, who finished ninth in the season opener last year, says it’s a refreshing change of pace to have the series lead so early but added that it would be difficult to hold onto.

“I see a long season with a lot of battles,” he said.

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Autographed jerseys of top riders in the 125cc and 250cc divisions have been put up for bid on EBay by Clear Channel Entertainment’s motorsports division. Proceeds of the online auction, which runs through Jan. 30, will be donated to relief efforts underway in tsunami-ravaged southeast Asia.