Top Dogs Look Familiar in Supercross Series

For a short time, it appeared that the supercross season might display some new and different talent at the top.

Jeremy McGrath retired, rookie Chad Reed and veteran Mike LaRocco won the first two 250cc championship events and Travis Preston opened the 125cc season with a win at Anaheim.

Then reality set in.

Ricky Carmichael, winner of 11 of 16 races last year and undefeated in the outdoor motocross season on a Honda, regained his No. 1 position by winning consecutive 250cc races in Anaheim and last week in San Francisco.

James “Bubba� Stewart, Kawasaki’s 17-year-old rider who has been breaking all of Carmichael’s records in the 125cc class, asserted his authority in the West regional support series with three victories in a row, as expected.

Carmichael and Stewart will try to extend their leads Saturday night when Round 5 of the THQ supercross series returns to Edison Field for the third and final time this season. Another capacity crowd of more than 45,000 is expected.

The two Florida riders, Carmichael from Havana and Stewart from Haines City, blamed poor starts for their poor starts.

“I got a bad start [in the first race at Anaheim] and fell down twice and went off the track,� Carmichael said. “And in Phoenix, I wasn’t much better after I slipped in a turn. Unless you have a lot more raw speed than everyone else, it is very difficult to win unless you have a good start. You get a bad start and it just creates more turmoil.

“I want to do well in these last two races in Southern California and then head East, where I can be at home all week and lead a more normal life.�

The West Coast swing concludes Feb. 8 at San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium.

Stewart agreed that starts are critical.

“I got a horrible start [in the first race] and got caught up in a first corner pileup,� he said. In the next three races, Stewart got off the line the way he wanted and cruised to easy victories. Saturday night, before 40,033 in Pac Bell Park, he finished with a 23.6-second margin over teammate Matt Walker.

Stewart has won five of his last six supercross races, going back to last year.

“I’m having fun and that’s the key to my racing,� he said. “At the start of last season, I kind of let the pressure build up and get to me and it cost me the supercross championship.�

Stewart finished second to Preston in the West 125cc series last year, but in the East-West Shootout in Las Vegas at the end of the year, he defeated Preston and Reed, the East champion.

Two other motorcycle events will be held at Edison Field this weekend.

The Suzuki Crossover Challenge will be run today at 3:30 p.m. with eight teams of three riders competing in a variety of events on Suzuki 125s. Spectators can also watch supercross practice.

Amateur riders can compete on the supercross course Sunday in a series of races starting at 10:30 a.m. Entries will be limited to 40 riders in each race. Details: (817) 332-4822.

Open Wheel Racing

Fans of Indy Racing League drivers can get a sneak preview of what to expect this year when the newly named IndyCar Series holds its “Test in the West� on Monday and Tuesday at California Speedway. The Tuesday practice session, starting at 9 a.m., will be free to the public with viewing from the track’s terrace suite rooftop overlooking pit lane. An autograph session will follow.

It will serve as a get-acquainted session for drivers new to the IRL -- Michael Andretti, Tony Kanaan, Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon and rookie A.J. Foyt IV. All but Foyt made the switch this year from CART to the IRL. Foyt, the legendary A.J.’s grandson, comes as the Infiniti Pro Series champion. Former Indianapolis 500 winner Kenny Brack also switched from CART to the IRL, but in his case it was a return. Brack, then driving for Foyt, won the IRL title in 1998.

The IRL season will open March 2 in Homestead, Fla.

Remember these names: Patrick Lemarie, Joel Camathias, Rodolfo Lavin, Mario Haberfeld, Darren Manning, Sebastien Bourdeau and Andre Lotterer.

They are the heart of CART. Along with veterans Paul Tracy, Jimmy Vasser, Adrian Fernandez and Bruno Junqueira, they are probable starters for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, CART’s premier American race, on April 13.

The CART season will open Feb. 23 in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Winston West

Winston West will get the jump on other NASCAR series when it opens the 2003 season Sunday at Phoenix International Speedway with the Bosch Spark Plug 150. The 13-event schedule will be the 50th for the West’s oldest stock car racing circuit. Series champion Eric Norris is not planning to defend his title. Series runner-up Austin Cameron is back and is the defending race winner.

Rule changes have made Winston West cars smaller, closer to Busch cars than Winston Cup, and they will be part of a new series, NASCAR Grand National Division, along with the Busch North series. The same rules will be used in both series.

Winston Cup veteran Ken Schrader, who won the race in 2001, is entered, along with regulars Johnny Borneman of Ramona, Jeff Davis of Anaheim, Steve Portenga of Sparks, Nev., and Kevin Richards of Spokane, Wash.

Daytona 24 Hours

Seven former overall winners of the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Raceway, headed by five-time champion Hurley Haywood, are entered in the 41st edition of the twice-around-the-clock race. Max Papis and Didier Theys, co-winners last year, are also back. The race will start at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Also returning is Toyota, back for the first time since 1993 when PJ Jones took the checkered flag in Dan Gurney’s Eagle. Out of sports car racing for 10 years, Toyota will return with the Cegwa Sport team in the new Daytona Prototype class. Darius Grala, the 2002 Ferrari Challenge winner, is the team owner and lead driver.

Jim Michaelian, Long Beach Grand Prix president, will be one of the drivers in last year’s winning Porsche GT car. Jeff Kline and Don Bell, who won the GTP Light class in 1987, are back in a Mosler, looking for a victory in the GTS class.

Double Shootout

There will be Budweiser Shootouts on two sides of the country Feb. 8.

Because of unfavorable weather conditions at last November’s Auto Club NHRA Finals at Pomona, the 18th annual NHRA Budweiser Shootout was postponed to the K&M; Filters Winternationals, which start Thursday at Pomona Raceway. The Shootout, featuring the top eight qualifiers from 2002, will run Saturday in conjunction with final qualifying.

The NASCAR Budweiser Shootout, also featuring pole winners from last year, will be held at night at Daytona International Speedway for the first time.

Previously, it had been held Sunday, the day after pole qualifying for the Daytona 500. The events have been switched this year, with qualifying on Sunday, Feb. 9.

Last Laps

Racing enthusiast Pat Owens is holding a reunion of L.A. Trade Tech graduates and friends Saturday at 2 p.m. at 1823 Foothill Blvd., La Canada Flintridge.

Speakers include Frank Honsowetz, manager of Ed Pink Racing Engines, and Dave Arnold, motocross manager for Honda for 15 years. Both are Trade Tech graduates.

Passings

Eddie Leavitt, a member of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and winner of the Knoxville Nationals in 1975 and 1976, died Sunday of lung cancer at his home in Kearney, Mo. He was 60.

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Supercross Facts

What: Round 7 of THQ World Supercross Championship and Round 5 of AMA National Supercross Championship for 250cc motorcycles. Also, Round 5 of AMA western 125cc series.

Where: Edison Field, Anaheim.

When: 7 p.m., Saturday.

Last year’s winner: Ricky Carmichael, Honda.

Series leaders: Chad Reed, Yamaha, THQ world; Carmichael, Honda, AMA national; James “Bubba� Stewart, Kawasaki, 125.