Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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Round 9: Daytona International Speedway TOYOTA TRUCKSITHOR/PARTS UNLIMITED AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES By Henny Ray Abrams Photos by Kinney Jones DAYrONA BEACH, FL, MAR. 6 he Daytona Supercross by Honda wasn't so much a race as it was an exhibition. Jeremy McGrath, riding the Mazda/ Chaparral Yamaha, owned the brutal track and less-trying field, winning the sport's most prestigious race for a third time to put his career total at 55. From the drop of the starting gate, he was gone, riding an immaculate race a t a pace the others couldn't match and stretching his lead at better than a second per lap. After he took his customary spot atop the victory stand with his most dominating victory of the season, McGrath admitted that even he wa amazed. "I never dreamed I would be up here three times," McGrath said. "When I was a kid, this is what I dreamed IF about." For the rest of the 30-rider field, it was more of a nightmare. McGrath was at his best on a track many riders felt was the rna t demanding Daytona yet, and certainly the most torturous Supercross layout of the year. After speeding to the fastest hea t win, he chose the starting spot just to the left of the start-line hut. McGrath and his mechanic, Randy Lawrence, had made (Above) Jeremy McGrath (1) grabs the holeshot at the start of the Daytona Supercross by Honda. The Mazda/Chaparral Yamaha rider Is being chased by Kevin Windham (14), Mike laRocco (3), Jet! Emig (11) and the rest of the 3O-rider pack. (Left) McGrath's win was his third at Daytona and the.55th of his career. an adjustment to the Yamaha YZ250 after the heat to make the bike more controllable at the start. It worked. He jetted off and away and quickly pulled a gap over the second-place rider, American Honda's Kevin Windham, from flag to flag. At one point the lead was nearly 22 seconds before he slowed at the finish to win by a very comfortable 10. , "We packed the dirt at the starting gate down since I spun it a little bit in my heat race," McGrath said. "We changed the setup just a little bit, since the track was so rough. I kept telling myself that I'm strong, and we all know it's a mental game out there. That was a pretty perfect race, especially considering how nasty the track was." The win added to McGrath's already burgeoning points lead. With seven of 16 races to go, McGrath has a 32-point lead, 191 to 159 over Factory Connection/Jack in the Box/Honda's Mike LaRocco, third today almost the en tire time, though a mid race spill made him work for the spot. LaRocco finished about fj ve seconds behind Windham, third in points at 144, with more than another 14 on Kawasaki's Ricky Carmichael. "The first part of the race, Jeremy was right on the race pace," LaRocco said. "I was just trying to settle in and get into a groove, arid he got away. It's a tough track to make up time. I had· a crash about halfway through, so I'm fortunate to finish where I did." Carmichael got off to a rough start before quickly making his way through the field. He made it up to fifth on 'the sixth lap and then stalled, unable to make a.ny headway until the 17th lap, when he passed Suzuki's Greg Albertyn . over the tri-oval triple jumps - the same place he had passed Honda's Sebastien Tortelli to take over fifth. Once in fourth, he was able to leave Albertyn, but he' never became a threat to LaRocco.