Reed wins and takes lead
Chad Reed has retaken the lead in the AMA SX series with a win at Daytona.
Australia’s World/AMA Supercross Champion Chad Reed has regained control of the 2009 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship after taking victory at the dramatic tenth round of the series at Daytona International Speedway tonight.
Reed, who went into the event tied on points with James Stewart miraculously managed to avoid going down in the first turn pileup caused by his nemesis, which claimed much of the field.
Despite being shuffled back to tenth in the melee, Reed recovered well and worked his way up to fifth by Lap 6. The reigning champion then set his sights on the leaders and by Lap 11 had passed team mate Mike Alessi to take second place.
The Rockstar/Makita/Suzuki rider then began to chip away at the mammoth lead held by Jason Lawrence, and by Lap 14 had closed the gap to nine seconds. Reed posted the fastest lap of the night on Lap 15 and stormed past Lawrence to take control of the race with only three laps remaining in the 20 lap ‘Main Event’.
Not content with simply winning the race, Reed pushed hard for the remaining laps and crossed the chequered flag six seconds ahead of second placed rider Lawrence and an incredible 38 seconds ahead of championship rival Stewart.
Elated with his third-career Daytona Supercross win Reed said he felt as though he had exorcised the ghosts from the 2008 event where he had enjoyed the lead until the final lap when his bike suffered a mechanical failure.
“I had the win taken away from me last year so it feels especially good to win here tonight,” Reed said.
“The start tonight was insane, I was almost at the bottom of that pileup when Stewart went down, and I felt lucky to make it through turn one clean. It was a tough track to pass on so I had to be patient and pick my moments carefully.”
“With seven rounds to go I really feel like we have got the momentum going again and both the team and I are ready to fight hard,” Reed acknowledged
Reed now sits 11 points clear of Stewart as the series prepares to head to New Orleans Louisiana Superdome for the eleventh round of the series next weekend.
AMA Supercross Results, Daytona
1. Chad Reed, Suzuki
2. Jason Lawrence, Yamaha
3. Davi Millsaps, Suzuki
4. Mike Alessi, Suzuki
5. Kevin Windham, Honda
6. Ryan Villopoto, Kawasaki
7. James Stewart, Yamaha
8. Andrew Short, Honda
9. Ryan Sipes, KTM
10. Tommy Hahn, Kawasaki
AMA Supercross Season Standings (After 10 of 17 rounds)
1. Chad Reed, Tampa, Fla., Suzuki, 224
2. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Yamaha, 213
3. Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda, 163
4. Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki, 153
5. Ivan Tedesco, Tallahasse, Fla., Honda, 140
6.Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha, 138
7. Davi Millsaps, Tallahassee, Fla., Honda, 136
8. Mike Alessi, Apple Valley, Calif., Suzuki, 131
9. Kevin Windham, Centerville, Miss., Honda, 128
10. Tim Ferry, Largo, Fla., Kawasaki, 100
