Windham and Ramsey on Podium in St. Louis

AMA Supercross Series 250cc/125cc East
Round: 11: St. Louis, MO
March 13, 2004

Windham and Ramsey on Podium in St. Louis

The THQ/AMA Supercross Series Championship kicked off round 11 at the
Edward James Dome in St. Louis, Missouri. Just as Lewis and Clark rallied
here for the start of their trek west, the fans of Supercross rallied
together to honor Amsoil/Chaparral Honda's Mike LaRocco on his 201st career
main event. During opening ceremonies, LaRocco was honored with a standing
ovation by 49,025 fans for his dedication and hard work that brought him to
this career milestone. "I've been in this sport my whole life," said
LaRocco, "I just want to be able to give something back to the sport that
has meant so much to me. Thank you."

LaRocco celebrated in typical fashion, with a come-from-behind ride that
carried him to fourth in the 250 main behind fellow Honda rider Nate Ramsey
and runner-up Kevin Windham.

In the first 250 heat, Amsoil/Chaparral Honda's Kevin Windham road
flawlessly to win and post a best lap time of 49.525, beating out Travis
Pastrana by just under a second. In the third heat, Team Honda's Nathan
Ramsey took the third transfer spot aboard his CRF450R. LaRocco finished
the third heat in fifth, missing the transfer, but made the main by virtue
of a second in Semi #2. In the LCQ, Moto XXX Honda's Damon Huffman-the
current point leader in the World Supercross title chase-took the holeshot
but ended up finishing third in his heat.

The start of the 250 main was spectacular, with Ramsey taking his first 250
holeshot of the season. "Every week I've been saying I was going to get the
start, and it worked out tonight," said Ramsey. Pastrana, who rode well in
his heat, was second on the opening lap but crashed hard on a triple and
was run over by Grant Langston. Pastrana, who suffered a leg injury, was
unable to restart the race. Meanwhile, Ramsey continued to set the pace up
front, but was passed on lap four by Chad Reed. Windham wasn't far behind
the lead pair, but could see the writing on the wall. "I got out pretty
good," said Windham, "and then I saw him [Reed] breakaway and I thought to
myself, 'I gotta go, I gotta go.'"

Turning laps that were 4/10ths of a second faster than Reed, Windham closed
up right up behind the series leader. At the mid-point, Windham was still
dogging Reed but not close enough to make a move. Three laps later, Windham
had dropped two seconds back and appeared to be struggling. "My focus was
fading," said Windham after finishing the race in second, "and I really
tightened up out there. I know I'm better then what I did tonight."

With Windham out of reach in second, Ramsey rode to a lonely third place
ahead of LaRocco. The Rock had a get-off in practice and injured his ribs,
but nevertheless charged from a mediocre start to move into fourth past
CRF450R-mounted Huffman on lap ten. LaRocco held off a late race challenge
by David Vuillemin to finish fourth and earn enough points to move into
third in the championship.

In 125 action, Tiger Lacey took third in his heat race followed by
Amsoil/Chaparral Honda's Ryan Mills in seventh. In the LCQ, CRF250R-mounted
Steve Lamson took the win, securing a spot in the 125 main. Mills fared
best in the main with a fifth, followed by Lamson in tenth and Tiger Lacey
in eleventh. James Stewart won the race and clinched the 125 East
Supercross title.

Round 12 in Indianapolis will see Windham fighting to close the 32 point
gap between himself and point leader Reed, while LaRocco will seek to
solidify his third place position in the title chase, and Huffman will
attempt to stretch his significant THQ World Supercross GP series lead.

250 Main Event Results

1. Chad Reed-Yamaha
2. Kevin Windham-Honda
3. Nathan Ramsey-Honda
4. Mike LaRocco-Honda
5. David Vuillemin-Yamaha
12. Damon Huffman-Honda
13. Jason Thomas-Honda
15. Ted Campbell-Honda
16. James Povolny-Honda

250 AMA Supercross Point Standings

1. Chad Reed-Yamaha-266
2. Kevin Windham-Honda-234
3. Mike LaRocco-Honda-205
4. David Vuillemin-Yamaha-204
8. Damon Huffman-Honda-120
12. Nathan Ramsey-Honda-64
20. Joe Oehlhof-Honda-37
21. Travis Preston-Honda-34
24. Ernesto Fonseca-Honda-28
25. James Povolny-Honda-22


125 East Main Event Results
1. James Stewart-Kawasaki
2. Josh Hansen-Yamaha
3. Paul Carpenter-Kawasaki
5. Ryan Mills-Honda
10. Steve Lamson-Honda
11. Tiger Lacey-Honda
16. Justin Brayton-Honda

125 East AMA Supercross Point Standing
1. James Stewart-Kawasaki-125
2. Broc Hepler-Suzuki-70
3. Kelly Smith-Yamaha-61
6. Ryan Mills-Honda-59
7. Steve Lamson-Honda-57
11. Tiger Lacey-Honda-38
15. Turbo Reif-Honda-10
17. Billy Laninovich-Honda-10