Huge Victory for Reed in Dallas Supercross

Factory Yamaha Team rider Chad Reed scored a brilliant win at the Dallas round of the 2006 AMA Supercross Series on Saturday night, April 22. His victory over James Stewart and Nick Wey puts him within striking range of points leader Ricky Carmichael with two races to go. Carmichael crashed but recovered to finish sixth.

The night at Texas Stadium started with Reed taking second and teammate Heath Voss taking a strong third in their heat races. When the gate dropped for the main event, Carmichael grabbed the holeshot and by the end of the first lap the order was Carmichael, Stewart and Reed. The three rode in close formation for the first five laps until Stewart passed Carmichael in the whoops section. But while attempting to pass Stewart back on the next lap, Carmichael lost control in and careened off the track. By the time he got restarted he was a half-minute behind the leaders. Then amazingly, with a slender lead in hand Stewart also crashed and had difficulty restarting. Swift and consistent, Reed inherited the lead and powered to his second Supercross win of the year. Heath Voss finished 12th.

With two races remaining, Carmichael has 296 points to Reed’s 294 points and Stewart’s 286 points. The season finale in Las Vegas is on May 6, with a live broadcast scheduled for 10 PM EST on Speed. Perhaps Yamaha Team Manager Jim Perry best summed up the anticipation. “These next two weeks are going to be exciting!” he said.

DiSalvo Claims First Formula Xtreme Win

Aboard his Yamaha YZF-R6, Jason DiSalvo captured the pole, led the most laps and won the second round of the 2006 AMA Formula Xtreme Series at Alabama’s Barber Motorsports Park on Saturday, April 22. Josh Hayes took command at the start and, after swapping the lead with DiSalvo early, led nearly half the race before DiSalvo made a beautifully calculated pass. Jason then turned in some quick laps to secure a 6.7-second margin of victory. The win is DiSalvo’s first in Formula Xtreme, and he now holds a narrow lead over Hayes in the standings. “I’m real excited to get a perfect score in the second race of the year,” he said.

Yamaha Road Race Team Manager Tom Halverson added, “I’m proud of the entire team for building a competitive machine and pulling out a win in only our second race in this competitive class.”

On Sunday, teammate Jamie Hacking scored a pair of close second-place finishes in both the Superstock and Supersport events. Aboard his Graves Motorsports YZF-R1, in Superstock Hacking commanded most of the race until Aaron Yates nabbed the lead on the last lap. Hacking finished just a tenth of a second back with DiSalvo in third. Then in Supersport, YZF-R6 mounted Hacking took the lead from pole-sitter Roger Lee Hayden early in the race and held it nearly to the end, ultimately finishing just 0.38 seconds behind Hayden. Hacking now leads the Superstock points and lies second in Supersport.

Cecco, Ballance & Ellis Score ATV Wins

The April 22-23 racing weekend was fantastic for the Yamaha YFZ450, with three wins for prominent racers in Tennessee and California. Talented female racer Traci Cecco started it off with a convincing win in the GNCC morning race at the famed Loretta Lynn’s Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn. She took the lead immediately and commanded the entire three laps to take her fourth win of the season, and now enjoys a six-point series lead over fellow YFZ450 rider Angel Atwell, who finished third.

In the Saturday afternoon Pro race, defending GNCC champion Bill Ballance scored his second win of the season aboard his own YFZ450. While Traci enjoyed a two-minute lead at the checkered flag, Ballance had to battle much harder with championship rival Chris Borich, and completed the three laps with a winning margin of just four seconds. Ballance’s victory brings him to within five points of Borich as the long 16-race series continues.

In California, on Sunday Kory Ellis captured the 19th annual Four Stroke Nationals at Glen Helen Raceway Park in San Bernadino, Calif. On a tough motocross track, Ellis used his YFZ450’s power and handling to score perfect 1-1 moto wins – and secure back-to-back victories in the prestigious annual event. Dustin Nelson earned 3-3 moto finishes to put his own YFZ450 on the podium in third. Well done all! Pearson Wins Lucerne Hare & Hound Aboard his fast Yamaha YZ450F, Russell Pearson scored his second win of the 2006 AMA National Hare & Hound Series in Lucerne, Calif. on Sunday, April 23. He had to work especially hard for it by racing through rocks, boulders, sand washes, cliffs, mountains and nearly every other desert hazard imaginable to win over Destry Abbott. A meticulous planner, Pearson got his YZ450F started first and led the field of 200-plus riders on the three-mile “bomb run” to the banner – with the throttle pinned open the entire way. Though he continued riding hard and fast, at every checkpoint he noticed Abbott close behind him. In fact, the pair was never more than seconds apart through most of the two 40-mile racing loops, occasionally swapping the lead and constantly hunting for the best lines and a way to overtake their competitor. Pearson persevered by keeping his Yamaha upright and on the gas, while Abbott eventually suffered a couple of crashes that cost precious time. At the finish it was all Russell Pearson. Afterwards he credited his big aluminum-frame YZ for holding together under the incredibly tough conditions. “I was hairballing it with stuff you really shouldn’t do, but I wanted to win,” he said. “My Yamaha ran good – it got me the holeshot and stayed on two wheels all day long.”

Wisconsin's Own Chad Johnson Wins AMA Arenacross Championship

Chad Johnson has clinched the 2006 AMA National Arenacross Series aboard his Yamaha YZ250 at Denver, Colo. It is the first professional title and a great achievement for the 23-year-old Junior Jackson Yamaha rider. The championship margin was the closest imaginable – he won it over Brock Sellards by just one point – 417 to 416 for Sellards. To make things even better, Kevin Johnson (no relation) of Faith Racing took third in the prestigious indoor series.

The championship came down to the very last moto on Saturday night, Feb. 11. Chad Johnson only needed a third-place finish to clinch the title, but when the gate dropped even that looked questionable as he and Sellards made contact that dropped Johnson back to ninth. But he focused on racing smart and quickly began picking off other riders and moving up. At the flag he was third – exactly where he needed to be. “It was nerve wracking,” Johnson admitted afterwards. “It went down to the last moto, but I knew I just needed to race the track and quit worrying about it.”