Carmichael wins Daytona Supercross, laps Stewart

It’s becoming a Daytona Supercross tradition. The whoops make all the difference.

But while last year Yamaha’s Chad Reed leveraged his quicker speeds through the whoops to a win over Makita Suzuki’s Ricky Carmichael, this year it was Carmichael who beat Reed at the Daytona Supercross by Honda, round 10 of the 2006 AMA Supercross season.

Kawasaki’s James Stewart took the early lead, with Reed and Carmichael close behind. Reed, riding hurt from a Thursday practice crash, held second until the third lap when Carmichael passed him in the whoop section.

Then, half a lap later, Carmichael rode into the lead when Stewart crashed, pitching himself over a tuff block in the process and getting up three-quarters a lap down on the next-to-last-place rider.

“I feel bad that James crashed. It was going to be a good battle,” said Carmichael, who is the only rider to win the Daytona Supercross on three bike brands. “I felt I had a little more in the main event. I didn’t want that to happen, but I’ll take it anyway I can.”

Out front, Carmichael relaxed and gapped Reed. By lap 15, the Suzuki rider caught Stewart, who by then had passed his way to 12th. Three laps later, Carmichael pulled alongside his young rival and put him a lap down.

Reed held onto second, and he admitted that required his full effort.

“I dislocated my shoulder in practice yesterday, and I can’t begin to describe the pain I’m in,” said Reed. “I’m disappointed that I never got a shot at the win, but I also happy I was able to ride safe out there and mitigate the damage.”
 
The results shake up the standings for the series championship, moving Carmichael into first place with 215 points and dropping Reed to second with 213. Stewart remains in third, 24 points behind Reed.

In Supercross Lites action, it was all Davi Millsaps, who passed into the lead on the first lap and led all the way to the flag, ultimately winning by a dominating 14.989 seconds. His secret? Getting the all-important whoops figured out early.

“My buddies bet me 10 bucks I couldn’t go through there all through practice with no problem, and I went out and did it, so I was ready,” Millsaps said.

© 2006, American Motorcyclist Association