An angry James Stewart storms off the track after being taken out by Chad Reed during a what appeared to be a failed pass attempt on the sixth lap of the Main Event.Supercross fans in an almost full Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California were excited to welcome back one of their favorite personalities, Factory Yamaha’s James Stewart, who has the amazing ability to make the crowd get up out of their seats and cheer.
The evening’s carnage began in the first heat of the Lites race which saw 5 riders go down. Out in front Jake Weimer #19 and Ryan Morais #116, both on Kawasakis, battled back and forth for first and Justin Brayton #114 on a KTM came in third.
Click here to see Bikeland's exclusive photos of the 2009 Anaheim 1 Supercross
Heat two of the lites was a lot cleaner with only a couple of yellow flags. Sipes #31 KTM did not start. Jason Lawrence #1 Yamaha won this round after pushing past Dan Reardon #122 Honda in lap 5. Trey Canard #39 Honda took third.
Ryan Villopoto #2 Kawasaki took a huge lead on the rest of the pack in the first heat of Supercross, 5.3 seconds in front of Timmy Ferry #15 Kawasaki. Andrew Short #29 Honda crossed the finish in third.
Supercross Heat two had James Stewart out in front with a 2.9 second lead in the first lap on his #7 Yamaha. Joshua Grant #33 Yamaha came in third in front of #18 David Milsaps.
Riders Ryan Dungey #10 Suzuki and #31 Ryan Sipes KTM advanced from the lites last chance as only the top two racers advance on to race in the lites main event. It was a messy race with 5 riders colliding on the first corner.
Matt Boni #54 Honda and Paul Carpenter #35 Kawasaki both advanced to the final round of Supercross after being the first two riders to cross the finish line in the Supercross Last Chance.
The Lites Main Event of 15 laps and 22 Riders began with a yellow flag on the first lap. Dan Reardon #122 Honda took the lead followed closely by #19 Jake Weimer until Weimer passed Reardon in lap 3. Third place Justin Brayton #114 KTM contacted #122 Dan Reardon in lap 6 changing the order of the top finishers for the race. After this crash # 116 Ryan Morais was now in second place. The seventh lap was the end of the race for #36 Cunningham Kawasaki. In the ninth lap #10 Ryan Dungey passed # 63 Chris Blose to take third. By lap number twelve the top three racers #19 Jake Weimer #116 Ryan Morais and #10 Ryan Dungey were ahead of the rest of the pack.
In the Supercross Main Event, a tight squeeze at the first corner gave James Stewart #7 Yamaha the lead over Chad Reed #1 Suzuki. Reed passed Stewart to take the number one spot on the scoreboard for lap two. #33 Joshua Grant Yamaha followed in third. On lap six Reed collided with James Stewart while attempting to pass the #7 bike, knocking both riders to the ground. Reed recovered while Stewart, visibly shaken rolled his bike partially onto the track and directly into the path of #14 Kevin Windham. The second impact sent both riders down and ultimately ended the race for Stewart who stormed off the track angrily throwing his helmet to the ground.
#33 Joshua Grant took first in front of #29 Andrew Short Honda. Short passed Chad Reed in the seventh lap. On the sixteenth lap #33 Joshua Grant Yamaha had a 15.45 second lead over second place #29 Andrew Short. By the seventeenth lap Grant had picked up a cover from a tough block – caught up in his rear wheel with smoke pouring off his bike as he lead the pack around the track. Grant crossed the finish 7.58 seconds ahead of Short. 10.43 seconds later Chad Reed #1 crossed to take third.
It may have been the James Stewart fans that stayed until the end of the race to boo Chad as he was interviewed about his third place finish, but this early in the 2009 season there’s going to be more excitement to come.
Click here to see Bikeland's exclusive photos of the 2009 Anaheim 1 Supercross
Source: Bikeland.org