Carmichael, Stewart in Class by Themselves

The Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross series makes its third and final season stop at Angel Stadium tonight with another showdown expected between points leaders Ricky Carmichael and James “Bubba” Stewart.

Both have scored two victories apiece in the series’ first four races, which included two earlier stops in Anaheim in front of sell-out crowds of 45,050.

Stewart, 20, won the first Angel Stadium race Jan. 7 aboard his Kawasaki, and Carmichael, 26, claimed the second Jan. 21 for Team Makita Suzuki Racing.

There’s a growing question whether the rest of the field can challenge the pair’s supremacy before the season ends May 6 in Las Vegas.

Even Carmichael took notice, telling reporters this week, “We need better racing. We can’t have us lapping [the field] up to fourth place. We need 10 or 12 guys on the lead lap.”

Yamaha rider Chad Reed, 23, is among the strongest contenders to topple the pair. He opened the season with three consecutive second-place finishes but fell to fifth last week in San Francisco after taking a spill in a rain-soaked race.

Carmichael leads the standings with 92 points, followed by Stewart with 90 and Reed with 82.