Story of Photos by Jeff Kardas

Menacing weather and a rider-designed track weren’t the only things that made Houston an awesome event for the 49,000-plus fans who braved the weather. As usual for this Monster Energy Supercross season, great racing rounded out the night’s attraction, and both classes had plenty of that to offer as well as a bit of drama to keep Supercross fans on the edge of their fold-up seats for the entire evening. Outside, thunderstorms ripped through the area with winds upwards of 80mph, demolishing the big team awnings of Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki, MDK/KTM and the WWR/MDK team. As winds whipped through the area, the rain came down in sheets, blowing electrical transformers apart and putting a portion of the city into darkness—all of this just as the main events were beginning to line up.

Torco Racing Fuels/Honda’s Kevin Windham didn’t care, because despite being under-the-weather, he was on a mission to win, and he did just that on the track that he actually designed himself, taking his first win since January 2005. The Lites class racing proved to be equally unpredictable, when Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s rookie phenom Austin Stroupe put the screws to series points leader Jason Lawrence and his Boost Mobile/Yamaha of Troy YZ250F, beating him straight-up in the main while fan favorite Rockstar/Makita/Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey once again struggled through mistakes to end the night in fourth.

SUPERCROSS LITES CLASS QUALIFYING

Torco Racing Fuels/Honda’s Jake Weimer beat Rockstar/Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey and Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Austin Stroupe to the line for the holeshot in heat one. Behind them Torco Honda’s Dan Reardon and Star Racing’s rookie Wil Hahn followed closely, while Fun Center Suzuki’s Canadian import Brady Sheren got a great start and was able to hold on to a direct transfer spot, making it to the line in 7^th, just ahead of Hahn’s teammate Matt Lemoine. While further back in the pack things were kept interesting as Italian rider Davide Degli Esposti took his MD Racing/Toshiba-backed Suzuki across the line for the final transfer spot in ninth. When the checkered flag flew, Dungey cruised to the win serving notice that he just might be back on top form for the main event later in the evening.

Yamaha of Troy’s Jason Lawrence stamped his authority on the start of heat two, but last weekend’s third place finisher—Team Solitaire’s Bobby Kiniry—made a surprising pass on the points leader to briefly take over the lead. Lawrence retaliated with a clean pass before the end of lap one and went on to win uncontested. Behind the top two, YOT’s Zach Osborne and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Brett Metcalfe battled for fourth before Metcalfe block passed Osborne and then Kiniry to take over second. The Aussie stayed put in second spot while Lawrence cruised away for the win. In the closing stages of the race, Osborne was also able to get by Kiniry, pushing the Honda rider back to fourth.

In the LCQ, Suzuki-mounted Michael Blose took the holeshot with Bradley Graham’s All American KTM second. Only a few laps into the racing, though, things got interesting as Ryan Grantom moved his Hooters/Tamer/MotoXXX Honda to second after a bobble by Graham dropped him all the way back to fifth. Meanwhile, MDK/KTM’s Billy Laninovich moved up from a bad start to third, followed closely by Jeff Northrop on the SVM/MDK CRF250. With only a few laps remaining, Laninovich then moved into second in the whoops, and began to quickly close the gap on leader Blose, finally passing him on the end of lap three to take his KTM across the line for the win. Ryan Grantom held on to third with Northrop coming home in fourth for the final qualifying spot.

Results:

Lites Heat One:

1. Ryan Dungey (Suz)
2. Austin Stroupe (Kaw)
3. Dan Reardon (Hon)
4. Wil Hahn (Yam)
5. Jake Weimer (Hon)
6. Tommy Hahn (Kaw)
7. Brady Sheren (Suz)
8. Matt Lemoine (Yam)
9. Davide Degli Esposti (Suz)

Lites Heat Two:

1. Jason Lawrence (Yam)
2. Brett Metcalfe (Kaw)
3. Zach Osborne  (Yam)
4. Bobby Kiniry (Hon)
5. Kyle Cunningham (Hon)
6. Michael Lapaglia (Suz)
7. Chris Blose (Suz)
8. Adam Chatfield (Suz)
9. Michael Willard (Hon)

Lites LCQ:

1. Billy Laninovich (KTM)
2. Michael Blose (Suz)
3. Jeff Northrop (Hon)
4. Bradley Graham (KTM)

SUPERCROSS CLASS QUALIFYING

Red Bull Honda’s Davi Millsaps continued to impress with his starts, nailing the heat one holeshot ahead of San Manual Band of Mission Indians/Yamaha’s Chad Reed, Honda teammate Andrew Short, and Reed’s teammate Nathan Ramsey. The top two set a blistering pace out front, with Reed clearly working hard to hang with Millsaps, even tripling through a difficult rhythm section after the first turn several times (Only a few riders were able to do this section all night). Reed made his move at the end of lap five, blitzing the second set of whoops past Millsaps to lead the start of lap six and from there take the checkered flag. Millsaps held on for a solid and remarkable runner-up finish, with teammate Short completing the top three. Reed’s teammate Ramsey stuck with fourth for the duration, just ahead of another YZ450F, this time being ridden by Joe Gibbs Racing/Toyota/Yamaha’s Josh Hansen.

Torco Racing Fuels/Honda’s Kevin Windham snagged the holeshot on the track he designed and quickly put his stamp of authority on the field. With Windham up front setting a blistering pace, Joe Gibbs Racing/Toyota/Yamaha-mounted Charles Summey snuck into second and quickly gapped the rest of the field. While Team Yamaha’s Josh Hill made the move on Team Solitaire’s Ryan Clark to move into third. Meanwhile, Monster Energy Kawasaki teammates Tim Ferry and Travis Preston tried to make up for bad starts as they worked their way toward the front. Hill finally made his way around Summey on lap six, while Preston also moved by for fourth with Ferry in seventh—the two sandwiching Cernic’s Kawasaki’s Jeff Gibson. When the checked flag flew, though, K-dub laid claim to the uncontested win with Hill a distant second and Summey leading Preston in for third.

Cernic’s Kawasaki’s Dusty Klatt was not to be kept from his goal of making his first-ever Supercross class main event, snagging the holeshot in the LCQ. The lead was short-lived, however, when Rockstar/Makita/Suzuki’s David Vuillemin made quick work of the Canadian by stuffing his way past before the end of the first lap. Behind the leaders was a solid battle between Hart & Huntington’s Troy Adams, WWR/MDK’s Ryan Abrigo, and Heath Voss. Unfortunately, Adams lost his front-end in a 90-degree corner, which caused a pileup of himself, Abrigo and Voss, ending their hopes of making the night’s main event. Vuilleming went on to take the win, followed by Klatt.

Results:

Supercross Heat One:

1. Chad Reed (Yam)
2. Davi Millsaps (Hon)
3. Andrew Short (Hon)
4. Nathan Ramsey (Yam)
5. Josh Hansen (Yam)
6. Bryan Johnson (Hon)
7. Jason Thomas (Hon)
8. Jacob Marsack (Hon)
9. Antonio Balbi (Hon)

Supercross Heat Two:

1. Kevin Windham (Hon)
2. Josh Hill (Yam)
3. Charles Summey (Yam)
4. Travis Preston (Kaw)
5. Timmy Ferry (Kaw)
6. Ryan Clark (Hon)
7. Jeff Gibson (Kaw)
8. Nick Wey (KTM)
9. Paul Carpenter (Hon)

Supercross LCQ:

1. David Vuillemin (Suz)
2. Dusty Klatt (Kaw)

SUPERCROSS LITES MAIN EVENT

The Houston Lites Main Event produced the fourth different winner thus far in the West series, as Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Austin Stroupe made his first-ever appearance on the top step of a main event podium in a most impressive manner.

After Rockstar/Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey nabbed the Progressive holeshot, it took him only a lap to fall off the side of his RM-Z250 and forfeit the lead to Boost Mobile/Yamaha of Troy’s Jason Lawrence, Stroupe, Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Brett Metcalfe, and Torco Racing Fuels/Honda’s Jake Weimer. Dungey was able to get moving again quickly, but made another mistake on lap four, crashing in the whoops and finally getting back up in around 13^th position.

Meanwhile, It didn’t take long for Stroupe to reel-in Lawrence and make the pass into the lead by the halfway mark. After the pass, Stroupe immediately put a few bike lengths on Lawrence, but Jason kept the rookie honest by matching his pace lap after lap. Behind the two leaders, Metcalfe held a solid third just ahead of a hard-charging Weimer, with a huge gap back to Suzuki-mounted Michael Lepaglia in fifth. Even further back, though, Dungey was mounting an impressive charge and was clearly on the leader’s pace, moving up to seventh by lap eight.

Ultimately, Lapaglia’s hold on fifth came to a quick end as a freight train of riders led by Zach Osborne, plus Wil Hahn and Dan Reardon, dispatched of Lapaglia and stayed in tight formation as they tried to close on the leaders. Dungey, however, blew by them all, finding himself in fifth with six laps remaining. Then just behind Dungey, Osborne made a bobble and went down, allowing Reardon—who was right behind Osborne—to lead a pack that now also included Bobby Kiniry. Ahead of them, though, fourth-placed Weimer continued to gain on Metcalfe in third, and when Brett fell just before the second whoop section, Weimer was happy to inherit the podium spot while Metcalfe fell to fifth when Dungey also got by.

Up front, Stroupe and Lawrence set a pace that went unmatched all the way to the checkers, with Stroupe sneaking in his first win just a couple of seconds ahead of Lawrence, who now has a stranglehold on the points chase thanks in no small part to Dungey’s atrocious night. Weimer held on for a solid third and his second podium of the season.

Supercross Lites Main Event Results:

1. Austin Stroupe (Kaw)
2. Jason Lawrence (Yam)
3. Jake Weimer (Hon)
4. Ryan Dungey (Suz)
5. Brett Metcalfe (Kaw)
6. Dan Reardon (Hon)
7. Bobby Kiniry (Hon)
8. Wil Hahn (Yam)
9. Michael Lapaglia (Suz)
10. Matt Lemoine (Yam)
11. Kyle Cunningham (Hon)
12. Thomas Hahn (Kaw)
13. Billy Laninovich (KTM)
14. Michael Blose (Suz)
15. Chris Blose (Suz)
16. Jeff Northrop (Hon)
17. Adam Chatfield (Suz)
18. Bradley Graham (KTM)
19. Brady Sheren (Suz)
20. Michael Willard (Hon)
21. Zach Osborne (Yam)
22. Davide Esposti (Suz)

Supercross Lites Western Region Points (Round 7 or 8):

1. Jason Lawrence (135/3 wins)
2. Ryan Dungey (129/2 wins)
3. Austin Stroupe (113/1 win)
4. Brett Metcalfe (112)
5. Tommy Hahn (101)
6. Dan Reardon (95)
7. Justin Brayton (85)
8. Bobby Kiniry (71)
9. Wil Hahn (69)
10. Billy Laninovich (62)

SUPERCROSS MAIN EVENT

Red Bull Honda’s Davi Millsaps once again flew to the front of the pack and nabbed the Progressive Direct Holeshot award, just ahead of Torco Racing Fuels/Honda’s Kevin Windham. Behind the two red riders, Yamaha’s Josh Hill, Red Bull Honda’s Andrew Short, Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Tim Ferry, and San Manuel Band of Mission Indians/Yamaha’s Nathan Ramsey followed close behind. Even further back in the pack, Ramsey’s San Manual teammate Chad Reed was working his way up to the top five after a mid-pack start.

It didn’t take Reed long to catch up, though, and by the end of lap two he managed to pass both Ferry and Ramsey in the same corner, then triple through a rhythm section, and immediately put a gap on them while putting himself into fourth. Out front, Millsaps was leading Windham by a couple of seconds before going down. The bobble by Millsaps allowed Windham to slide through into the lead and gave him a clear track for several laps to set the fastest times of the race and really open it up while Reed was battling for second with Hill. Reed finally made his way past the Yamaha rookie with a block pass just before the finish line to begin lap nine. After that pass, the race was on to catch Windham.

Up front Windham rode a flawless race, as he put in near-perfect laps on the track he designed, keeping a solid two straightaway lead over points leader Reed. Further back, behind Hill in third, Tim Ferry was making his way up to the podium in his usual consistent yet fast manner, dispatching both Short and Hill to take the bottom step in another solid ride. Windham was able to get a bit more breathing room when Reed made a small bobble around lap 17, but ultimately, the gap was three seconds at the finish, and Kevin Windham leaped over his dream finish line jump with both fists in the air, and much to the delight of the Houston crowd. Reed crossed the line in second with Ferry third. Hill stuck it out for an impressive fourth, with Andrew Short and Nate Ramsey coming in just ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing/Toyota/Yamaha’s Charles Summey, who finished a surprising and solid seventh position. Millsaps eventually got across the line in eighth after a tough battle back through the pack following his crash while leading. Nick Wey landed his MDK/KTM within the top 10, coming across in ninth with Vuillemin hot on his heels to round out the top 10.

Results:

1. Kevin Windham (Hon)
2. Chad Reed (Yam)
3. Timmy Ferry (Kaw)
4. Josh Hill (Yam)
5. Andrew Short (Hon)
6. Nathan Ramsey (Yam)
7. Charles Summey (Yam)
8. Davi Millsaps (Hon)
9. Nick Wey (KTM)
10. David Vuillemin (Suz)
11. Paul Carpenter (Hon)
12. Ryan Clark (Hon)
13. Jeff Gibson (Kaw)
14. Jacob Marsack (Hon)
15. Jason Thomas (Hon)
16. Dusty Klatt (Kaw)
17. Bryan Johnson (Hon)
18. Antonio Balbi (Hon)
19. Josh Hansen (Yam)
20. Travis Preston (Kaw)

Supercross Class Points Standings (After 7 of 17 rounds)

1. Chad Reed (169/5 wins)
2. Kevin Windham (137/1 win)
3. Timmy Ferry (119)
4. Andrew Short (101)
5. Davi Millsaps (98)
6. Nathan Ramsey (85)
7. Josh Hill (82)
8. Nick Wey (77)
9. Mike Alessi (69)
10. David Vuillemin (60)