Reed ties record by winning supercross race in Anaheim
Chad Reed tied a supercross record and held his lead in the series title chase Saturday night by winning the Monster Energy AMA Supercross race at Angel Stadium.
Three of the series’ first five races each season are in Anaheim, and Reed swept all three -- tying a mark first set a year ago by reigning series champion James Stewart.
“After last weekend I set some goals for myself, and winning this third Anaheim was one of them,” Reed said. “I ran a smart race, made a few mistakes, but got the job done.”
Reed, an Australian who now lives in Tampa, Fla., also has won four of the first five races this season for his Yamaha team.
The only race he didn’t win, in Phoenix, was won by Stewart. But Stewart -- who dominated the 2007 season with 13 victories -- then re-injured his left knee. The Kawasaki rider is out for the season after having surgery on the knee last week.
Stewart does hope to return for the start of the motocross season May 25 in Devore. Supercross is the stadium version of motocross off-road motorcycle racing.
Reed, 25, beat Honda’s Davi Millsaps by 4.6 seconds Saturday night in the 20-lap main event in front more than 35,000. Tim Ferry was third on a Kawasaki and Kevin Windham fourth on another Honda.
The spectators included NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Juan Pablo Montoya, who stayed an extra day on the West Coast after finishing a two-day Cup test at California Speedway in Fontana.
Reed rode his No. 22 Yamaha to the lead on the opening lap with Windham on his tail. But Windham faded after a few laps and then neither Millsaps nor Ferry could challenge Reed.
Reed now leads the series standings with 122 points. He won the championship once before, in 2004, when five-time title winner Ricky Carmichael was injured.
In the series’ second-tier class, Supercross Lites, Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey -- who won the first two Anaheim races this season -- failed in his bid for a three-peat.
Dungey finished 11th after crashing twice in the 15-lap main event. Yamaha rider Jason Lawrence of Carlsbad won for the second consecutive week.
--
Get our high school sports newsletter
Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
