Carmichael Wins Fifth
In A Row At New Orleans
Pastrana Bounces Back To Win His Second Race The Year
NEW ORLEANS, LA - Ricky
Carmichael (Havana, Fla.) piloted his 250cc Chevy Trucks
Kawasaki to his fifth consecutive win in the 2001 season
of EA SPORTS Supercross Presented by Speed Stick in
front of 36,565 fans in the Superdome. Team Mazda
Yamaha's Jeremy McGrath (Encinitas, Calif.) suffered a
mid-race crash that plummeted him into fourth place.
Last weekend's first-turn pile-up only added fuel to
Team Suzuki's Travis Pastrana (Annapolis, Mary.) this
weekend in the Superdome as the 17-year old won Round 3
of the 125cc Eastern Regional Supercross Series.
The start to the 250cc
Main Event was fast and furious as McGrath, who trailed
series points leader Carmichael by nine points coming
into this race, grabbed the $1,000 SFX.com Holeshot
Award, in front of Carmichael and Stephane Roncada (Menifee,
Calif.). Within two laps, Carmichael made his way past
McGrath over the 'triple jump.' Team Suzuki's Kevin
Windham (Centerville, Miss.) shot past Roncada in the
whoop section to advance into second place. McGrath went
down around the halfway point which allowed Windham to
move into second place as McGrath would fall back to
finish in fourth place. In dominant fashion, Carmichael
lapped every rider up to eighth place as he collected
his sixth win on the season. Windham finished second and
Mike LaRocco finished third.
"I started out
behind Jeremy (McGrath) and lately he has been behind me
at the start," said Carmichael. "I finally got
around him and rode smooth. I felt so good out there
tonight."
Getting out of the gate
in second place, Pastrana, who entered this event in
fifth place, passed series points leader Nathan Ramsey,
who rides for Yamaha of Troy/Fox, on lap 2 in the 125cc
Main Event. Ramsey (Corona, Calif.) collected the $500
SFX.com Holeshot Award. With 10 laps remaining, Pastrana
continued to extend his lead and held on for his second
victory of the year. Tonight's win moved Pastrana into
third place in the series standings. Mike Brown (Piney
Flats, Tenn.) finished second and Ramsey finished third.
Tonight's event was
part of the $100,000 mid-season points fund that will be
awarded to the top 20 finishers in the 250cc class'
season points standings. An additional $225,000 will be
awarded at the final round in Las Vegas for a combined
$325,000 in purse money.
The current 125cc Eastern Regional Supercross season
points standings:
1) Nathan Ramsey
Corona, Calif. Yamaha of Troy/Fox 67 pts
2) Mike Brown Piney Flats, Tenn. Pro Circuit/SplitFire/Kawasaki
60 pts
3) Travis Pastrana Annapolis, Mary. Team Suzuki 57 pts
The current 250cc Supercross season points standings:
1) Ricky Carmichael
Havana, Fla. Team Chevy Trucks Kawasaki 192 pts
2) Jeremy McGrath Encinitas, Calif. Team Mazda Yamaha
176 pts
3) Mike LaRocco South Bend, Ind. Team Amsoil/Dr.
Martens/Honda 149 pts
Round 9 of supercross
takes place next weekend Saturday, March 10th at the
Daytona Motor Speedway, Daytona Beach, Fla., and Round
10 of EA SPORTS Supercross Presented by Speed Stick will
take place Saturday March 17, at the Metrodome in
Minneapolis, Minn. Tickets are available at www.sfx.com,
www.ticketmaster.com,
or at the stadium box office.
EA SPORTS Supercross
will culminate in Las Vegas on May 5th, with round 16,
which will be featured live on Pay-Per-View. For more
information, contact your local cable provider.
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