h, Vegas. A shimmering desert oasis, home of neon lights, 24-7 gambling, flashy showgirls, Elvis impersonators and Wayne Newton. What more could you want? How about the world’s richest Supercross race? On October 8-10, the 2004 Maxxis U.S Open once again returned to the Grand Garden Arena at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
     The U.S. Open is always one of the racing highlights of the year, but this year, everyone seemed to be looking forward to it a little more than usual. After a season of, let’s face it, fairly predictable outdoor nationals, race fans seemed to be excited about the prospect of seeing some actual racing. Also creating an industry buzz was the fact that the U.S. Open would be 2004 Outdoor National Champ Ricky Carmichael’s first race with his new ride, Suzuki, and the first time since 2003 that Ricky and 2003 Maxxis U.S. Open and 2004 THQ AMA 250 Supercross Champ Chad Reed would be banging bars in a Supercross.
     Night one of race action didn’t disappoint. When the gate dropped on the 250 main event, the boys went to battle, with Ricky leading the first four laps before Chad caught up with him. Chad made the pass on Ricky and held on for the win, with Ricky in second and Honda’s Mike LaRocco in third.
     Night two, the action got even better. At the start of the 250 main, Reed was running second behind Carmichael when he crashed in the short outdoor area of the track. He lost considerable ground, but, in true Reedy style, he got right back on the gas and began hunting Ricky down. Picking off riders one by one, Chad fought his way back to second place…just in time to pass Ricky when he washed out on lap 17. Reed took over the lead, and although Ricky was back up and racing quickly, the chase didn’t last long. On the second to last lap, Ricky dropped out of the race with mechanical problems. Reed went on to claim his second consecutive U.S. Open victory, followed by Honda’s Nick Wey in second and Suzuki’s Sebastian Tortelli in third. Overall, Wey and LaRocco finished second and third, respectively.
     In the 125 Class, it was Honda’s Greg Schnell winning both night’s races and the championship. The 85cc Class was dominated by Suzuki’s Dominic Izzi, who made a clean sweep of all four motos over the two nights of racing. Finally, in the KTM Junior Supercross Challenge, Tanner Wineland took home the win both nights as well. His prize, in addition to this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity…he got to keep his KTM race bike!
The weekend showed us some great racing, and the showdown between Chad and Ricky certainly gave us a taste of exciting things to come in 2005. Here are some of the highlights from the action at the U.S. Open.

Yamaha’s Chad Reed earned his second consecutive U.S. Open victory by topping the podium both nights.	Chad and Ricky share a post-race moment.
Yes Chad, you are Number 1. Congratulations from all of us here at Parts Unlimited.	Chad celebrates with the second and third place overall finishers, Nick Wey (left) and Mike LaRocco.
Thor-sponsored Sebastian Tortelli took home the third place prize on Saturday night.	Nice shootin’ Chad!
250 Supercross Class of 2009…Dominic Izzi positively dominated the 85cc Class.	During the Parts Unlimited Dealer Showcase at the MGM, AGV’s Marcel Fortney was on hand to answer questions for the dealers.
Friday night, Chad shared the podium with Ricky Carmichael (left) and Mike LaRocco.	Team Yamaha celebrates the win.
Race sponsor Maxxis was out in full force.	How’s that for great signage?