Stewart won Atlanta by nailing a rhythm section that Carmichael didn’t want to do–just enough to stay ahead of him and out of reach. Stewart waved across the finish line with RC in sight, but that’s all. RC even had a spot he thought he was gaining on Stewart, but he didn’t mind sharing the tip on the podium.
Reed was giving Stewart all he had in the main and just tipped over right after a tight berm. That meant he had to battle back past Windham and Tedesco in some pretty cool racing, but it was to get back to third and on the podium–out of reach of RC and Stewart.
     Ivan Tedesco had his best finish yet, just one short of a podium and he conceded Reed had a bit more speed, but still he had plenty of fight in him and he’s ready to put the hand injury behind him and finish where he should.
     People asked a lot for predictions in Lites, and I always answer that’s too hard to call for a first round. Pick your top five in Lites, and at least two will have a bad night and have something go wrong, and two you never expected will make the podium!
     In Lites, Makita Suzuki’s promising rookie Ryan Dungey took over a hotly contested battle for the lead in the main and just checked out. Behind him, there was plenty of bar banging and destruction. Right behind him, challenging him for the lead, was Ben Townley, whose bike broke. It was a motor problem Mitch Payton declined to identify but said it was their fault.
     Mike Alessi got the holeshot but dropped a few spots in the beginning when it seemed everyone wanted the lead at once. Then he fell and took a while to get going. Sipes was flying, especially considering he’s back early after a big injury.
     At least for some, the surprise of the night was BooKoo Arenacross champion Darcy Lange, on a Pro Circuit bike, winning a heat race and taking second in the main, very strong. Also on the podium and ready to return again he says, was Matt Goerke.


Q: Chad how did your main event go?
A: “My main event started awesome. I had the holeshot and felt like I was ready to go. I made a little mistake and James got by. I was just going to just get in behind him and try and go with him. At that point it seemed like I was and just made a mistake. There was nothing to it. I just came in to a turn and went to pivot, grabbed a handful, and my wheel climbed out of a rut and drug me right into the ground. I was then like 5th or 6th. I was just going to try and get back up on the podium. I knew Ricky and James were gone. Those guys were going fast. Kevin was riding well, and Ivan, it wasn’t easy.”

Q: Wasn’t that section going across the start a good place to practice block passing?
A: Coming on to the start straight was. James put an aggressive pass on me. I was going to retaliate, but I thought it was silly to do it before the finish line because if I went in there, it would just jack the both of us up and we wouldn’t be able to double out. I just elected to just sit in behind him and see what he has, to see what his lines were and try and go with him. It was looking good for a little bit.”

Q: What was the deal with that trick rhythm section Stewart was doing in the main?
A: “I looked at it in the track walk, and it was pretty gnarly. That just shows you James skill right there. He just comes out in the main event and just busts it out. I didn’t even know he was doing it until after the race.”


Q: Ivan, how did your main event go?
A: “My main event was good. I was lined up all the way inside. I thought that would be a good place to start. I didn’t get the best jump but I made some stuff happen in the first corner and came out like 4th or 5th. It was a good night for me. I was running third most of the race and Reed and I battled a little bit. He was just going a little bit faster than me, but I am happy with everything. I am finally up there battling and up front–not at the back of the pack.”

Q: How far are you from 100%?
A: “I am pretty close. My hand is fine. It is not holding me back anymore. It is just a matter of getting confidence back and getting back to normal. I have been doing everything I can since I started training again. It just hasn’t been coming around until lately. I have been trying to have more fun with everything lately and that has been helping me out.”

Q: You and Chad had a pretty good battle. Didn’t you take him up high or even elbow him a little bit that one time?
A: “He made an aggressive pass on me two corners before that, and I set him up on that straightaway in the finish line corner and made a block pass on him. Nothing dirty, just trying to give him the same thing he gave me.”

Q: Did you yell “chump” at him?
A: (laughs) “It was good. He gave me a thumbs-up after the race. Everything is cool. I think he learned his lesson on the chump deal last year.”

Q: How was it racing with Reed?
A: “It started to get worse as the passes went on, but he checked out on me a little bit. So I wasn’t able to make another pass on him, or try to. I think I need to work on my mid race. For some reason, I lose focus or when I am by myself I kind of fall off the pace a little bit. I have been working on that a little bit. It’s not physical. If I am by myself and not in a battle, I have some work to do.”

Q: After all that’s happened since Toronto, do you feel you are really back now?
A: “Last week it helped out a little bit. Definitely tonight was a lot better. I just feel so much better after having a good race. I was so frustrated with everything in the beginning of the year. It’s no fun when you are back in the back of the pack and struggling. Every athlete goes through that at some point in their career and I was going through it.”


     Short version: The AMA did send a press release as anticipated last week, re-instating the points for Nick Wey and Josh Hill. Jason Thomas didn’t get any relief because his fuel discrepancy turned out to be a simple case of fuel in the can didn’t meet the specs because of specific gravity.
     Steve Whitelock held a meeting with media in the AMA semi late Saturday to explain the decision for Wey and Hill in more detail. To make a very long story short, the penalties for high oxygen percent were reversed, because it was discovered that the discrepancy was not oxygen, it was the component in the fuel that carries the oxygen. Labs were not agreeing on results, and investigation led to the discovery that the real problem was a fuel component that wasn’t on a list of legal oxygenates, and that stuff was in just about everyone’s fuel!
     So the AMA has a rulebook that calls out a fuel spec. The fuel just about everyone has been racing does not meet that spec. So they gave everyone until April 15th to find a replacement. It’s a strange ending no one expected. At least this time, the AMA did the right thing and backed out the right way. It was handled as you could expect in an “after further review” situation.
     It’s all over and ended pretty well, but it’s puzzling why the AMA puts itself through these things by issuing penalties without a technical review when things like this come up.