2009 Monster Energy Supercross: Salt Lake City

Photo Galleries!
Click the following link for a 37-photo gallery of Supercross race action from Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, UT. .	You can also click the following link for a 35-photo gallery from Saturday's pre-race action in the pits, as well as timed qualifying.
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There were guaranteed fireworks in Salt Lake City as the Monster Energy Supercross series returned to Rice-Eccles Stadium on the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City. There was the business of crowning a new Lites West champion, and of course, the continuation of the battle between Chad Reed (Rockstar Makita Suzuki)and James Stewart (San Manuel / Yamaha / JSE) for Supercross supremacy.

In the Supercross class, when the gate dropped some smart riding in the first turn by Reed had him in the lead by the second corner. Stewart was also in the mix, and had moved up to second by the end of the first lap. While the lap charts alone show Reed out front for the first 12 laps, there was more back-and-forth action than that. And some of it clean, while other parts were more aggressive than we’ve seen.

The most controversial move of the night was when the lead duo came up on Stewart’s San Manuel / Yamaha / JSE teammate, Kyle Chisholm. Kyle let James by easily, but got back to racing speed as soon as James went by. Unfortunately, he and Chad Reed tangled in the next turn, with Chisholm going down. Depending on who you ask, it was either a blatant takeout move, or accidental (and incidental) contact. It was apparent which way the AMA felt about it, because Chisholm was black-flagged shortly thereafter…something we haven’t seen since Eric Sorby got the same treatment at Unadilla in 2004 or so. It will be interesting to see what kind of views Speed TV has of the incident, and we ‘re sure Tivo rewind and slow-mo buttons will be working overtime following the race.

Oh yes. James did eventually take over the lead for good, scoring his 11th win of the season, and he stretched his points lead to six as well. Now we’ll have to find out the fate of Kyle Chisholm, and see how all the action goes down in the final race of the season next weekend in Las Vegas.

Ryan Dungey, with his new number one plate.

Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey came into Salt Lake City with a nine-point lead, but a bunch of hungry competitors looking to close the gap…or end the season on a high note.

When the gate dropped for the Lites class main, several riders looked like they had a shot at the win. Troy Lee Designs / Seaspan / PPG / Honda’s Jake Moss led just under half of the main event, but a crash dropped him to seventh at the end. That left Dungey in the lead, but with a very determined Trey Canard (Geico Powersports Honda) charging toward the front. Trey took over the lead with four laps remaining, and scored his first win of the ’09 season. Both Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki teammates, Jake Weimer, and Ryan Morais, had also gotten by Dungey in the laps leading up to the checkers, but Dungey rode smart, avoided trouble, and ended up with a five-point margin over Weimer in the final standings. Morais ended up third on the season.

Next for the Lites class will the Dave Coombs Sr. East/West Shootout in Las Vegas, which should be quite interesting. Will Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki sweep the top spots? Will there be a surprise winner? Next week will tell the tale.

For much more from the race in Salt Lake City, be sure to check out the photo galleries from the event (see the links above), for more from the pits and practice, and the racing itself.

Results

2009 Monster Energy Supercross

Salt Lake City, UT

Supercross Lites Heat 1
1. Jake Weimer

2. Jake Moss

3. Chris Blose

4. Ryan Morais

5. Michael Hall

6. Michael Sleeter

7. Jeff Alessi

8. Ryan Clark

9. Ben Lamay

Supercross Lites Heat 2
1. Trey Canard

2. Ryan Dungey

3. Justin Brayton

4. P. J. Larsen

5. Cole Seely

6. Sean Borkenhagen

7. Kyle Cunningham

8. Adam Chatfield

9. Gray Davenport

Supercross Heat 1
1. Chad Reed

2. Davi Millsaps

3. Andrew Short

4. Ryan Villopoto

5. Tommy Hahn

6. Heath Voss

7. Kyle Partridge

8. Nick Wey

9. Paul Carpenter

Supercross Heat 2
1. James Stewart

2. Ivan Tedesco

3. Tyler Bowers

4. Matt Boni

5. Kyle Chisholm

6. Broc Hepler

7. Troy Adams

8. Kevin Windham

9. Jake Marsack

Supercross Lites LCQ
1. Brady Sheren

2. Ben Evans

Supercross LCQ
1. Billy Laninovich

2. Josh Grant

Supercross Lites Main Event
1. Trey Canard (Honda)

2. Jake Weimer (Kawasaki)

3. Ryan Morais (Kawasaki)

4. Ryan Dungey (Suzuki)

5. Justin Brayton (KTM)

6. Chris Blose (Honda)

7. Jake Moss (Honda)

8. Kyle Cunningham (Kawasaki)

9. Michael Hall (Yamaha)

10. Ben Evans (Honda)

11. Sean Borkenhagen (Honda)

12. Michael Sleeter (KTM)

13. Jeff Alessi (Honda)

14. Adam Chatfield (Honda)

15. Ryan Clark (Honda)

16. Cole Seely (Suzuki)

17. Ben Lamay (Honda)

18. Gray Davenport (Kawasaki)

19. Brady Sheren (Suzuki)

20. P. J. Larsen (Kawasaki)

Supercross Main Event
1. James Stewart (Yamaha)

2. Chad Reed (Suzuki)

3. Davi Millsaps (Honda)

4. Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki)

5. Andrew Short (Honda)

6. Josh Grant (Yamaha)

7. Kevin Windham (Honda)

8. Matt Boni (Honda)

9. Tommy Hahn (Kawasaki)

10. Ivan Tedesco (Honda)

11. Paul Carpenter (Kawasaki)

12. Nick Wey (Yamaha)

13. Billy Laninovich (Kawasaki)

14. Heath Voss (Honda)

15. Broc Hepler (Yamaha)

16. Jake Marsack (Honda)

17. Troy Adams (Honda)

18. Tyler Bowers (Honda)

19. Kyle Partridge (Honda)

20. Kyle Chisholm (Yamaha)

Supercross Lites West Final Point Standings
1. Ryan Dungey 178

2. Jake Weimer 173

3. Ryan Morais 166

4. Justin Brayton 119

5. Chris Blose 110

6. Trey Canard 99

7. Ryan Sipes 89

8. Jeff Alessi 70

9. Dan Reardon 67

10. P. J. Larsen 62

Supercross Point Standings
1. James Stewart 357

2. Chad Reed 351

3. Andrew Short 257

4. Josh Grant 223

5. Kevin Windham 218

6. Ivan Tedesco 210

7. Ryan Villopoto 208

8. Davi Millsaps 208

9. Mike Alessi 203

10. Josh Hill 146