Sold Out Sam Boyd Stadium Ready to Host Monster Energy Supercross Finale from Las Vegas

2012-04-30 15:25
Following a season of high drama, heartbreaking injuries, and a historic run to the championship, the 2012 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, season is set to come to an exciting conclusion on Saturday night as a capacity crowd inside Las Vegas’ Sam Boyd Stadium will welcome the world’s best riders into action for one final time.



Media day is Friday, May 4 from 10:00 a.m. – Noon in the Club Level area, with a special press conference featuring this season’s brightest stars.



Last weekend, Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey returned to the top step of the podium inside Salt Lake City’s Rice-Eccles Stadium, capturing his third victory of the year just two weeks after returning to competition from a broken collar bone. The 2010 Monster Energy Supercross Champion had to dig deep for the win, overcoming an early fall in an incident with Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer to fight his way back from a multiple-second deficit and climb from third to first over the final five laps of the main event.



Dungey’s triumph came at the expense of Toyota/Yamaha/JGRMX’s Davi Millsaps, who took control of the Supercross Class nearly the entire evening. Following an impressive heat race win, Millsaps took the holeshot in the main event and pulled away from the field. It looked as though the Yamaha rider, who has moved from 11th to second in the championship over the second half of the season, was in line for his first victory since 2010, but a couple bobbles allowed Dungey to close the gap and make the winning pass on Lap 18. While the runner-up finish was a hard finish to swallow for Millsaps, he enters Las Vegas as the hottest rider in Monster Energy Supercross.



While the championship has already been decided in the Supercross Class, Millsaps and Dungey are giving the fans something to be excited about. The Salt Lake City race was one of the best of the season and bodes well for the thousands who will be in attendance on Saturday night. Moreover, both Weimer and Team Honda Muscle Milk’s Justin Brayton are in search of their inaugural victories in the class and after amassing the best championship performances of their respective careers, each rider has just one more opportunity to cap off their campaigns with a win.



In the Supercross Class standings, only 12 points separate Millsaps in second to Dungey in fourth, with Brayton serving as the middle man. Bragging rights are on the line heading into Vegas and all three of these riders have their own reasons to take the final checkered flag of the season.



With GEICO Honda rider Eli Tomac’s fourth win of the Western Regional Supercross Lites Class season in Salt Lake City, the second-year rider also secured his first career title as a pro. As a result, both the Eastern and Western Regional Supercross Lites Championships have been decided heading into the final race from Sam Boyd Stadium.



Despite that, the coveted Supercross Lites East/West Shootout is sure to bring some of the biggest fireworks of the evening. By virtue of Tomac’s title-winning performance, GEICO Honda has the rare distinction of sweeping both Supercross Lites Regional Championships for the first time in team history. Tomac, along with teammate and Eastern Regional Champion Justin Barcia, will lead the best riders from each region into action on Saturday night for the one and only showdown between the fastest Supercross Lites competitors on the planet.



Four months and 16 weeks of grueling competition have come down to this. Not a single seat inside Sam Boyd Stadium will be empty on Saturday night as the world’s most elite riders bring the 2012 Monster Energy Supercross season to a close.



All the action from Las Vegas can be seen LIVE on SPEED, with coverage set to begin at 10:30 p.m. EST.



Supercross Class Results: Salt Lake City

Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM
Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha
Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki
Justin Brayton, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Honda
Mike Alessi, Hilliard, Fla., Suzuki
Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Kawasaki
Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda
Joshua Grant, Corona, Calif., Kawasaki
Robert Kiniry, Holland Patent, N.Y., Yamaha
Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ken., Kawasaki



Supercross Class Season Standings

Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki, 323
Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha, 244
Justin Brayton, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Honda, 237
Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM, 232
Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki, 211
Mike Alessi, Hilliard, Fla., Suzuki, 192
James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Yamaha, 178
Brett Metcalfe, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Suzuki, 174
Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda, 166
Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Kawasaki, 161



Western Regional Supercross Lites Class Results: Salt Lake City

Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda
Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Suzuki
Martin Davalos, Cairo, Ga, Suzuki
Wil Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda
Marvin Musquin, Murrieta, Calif., KTM
Matt Moss, Murrieta, Calif., KTM
Billy Laninovich, Riverside, Calif., Honda
Topher Ingalls, San Luis Obispo, Calif., Honda
Vince Friese, Cape Girardeau, M.O., Honda
Scott Champion, Sun City, Calif., Honda



Western Regional Supercross Lites Class Season Standings

Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda, 159
Dean Wilson, Menifee, Calif., Kawasaki, 132
Marvin Musquin, Murrieta, Calif., KTM, 127
Cole Seely, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 119
Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Suzuki, 95
Matt Moss, Murrieta, Calif., KTM, 92
Billy Laninovich, Riverside, Calif., Honda, 84
Ryan Sipes, Ekron, Kent., Yamaha, 83
Nico Izzi, Menifee, Calif., Yamaha, 78
Travis Baker, Temecula, Calif., Honda, 75



Eastern Regional Supercross Lites Class Season Standings

Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda – 185
Darryn Durham, Butler, Pa., Kawasaki – 143
Ken Roczen, Murrieta, Calif., KTM – 143
Blake Wharton, Pilot Point, Texas, Suzuki – 142
Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Kawasaki – 128
Jake Canada, Sun City, Calif., Honda – 118
Justin Bogle, Cushing, Okla., Honda – 107
Kyle Cunningham, Aledo, Texas, Yamaha – 70
Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Honda – 67
Matthew Lemoine, Collinsville, Texas, Kawasaki – 66

Source: Feld Motor Sports

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