Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128023
Jeremy McGrath (i) has won every 250cc main event In the six-year history of the Minneapolis ...tn>do.... round. Ricky Ca....ichael (V) has yet to win his ftrat SX on the big bikes. ROUND3 GUALCDMM STADIUM SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA Beginning with Mike Bell's win October 25, 1980, San Diego's Jack Murphy Stadium - now known affectionately as Qualcomm Stadium - has been one of the major ballyards of the AMA Supercross Series. A massive edifice with upwards of 80,000 seats, it is home to the Padres baseball and Chargers football teams. San Diego is a favorite with many riders due to its close proximity to their homes, and one rider who has held sway in the border town is Jeremy McGrath. Beginning with his first victory at the facility in 1993, McGrath went on to win the event for the next three years. And although he was defeated by Honda's Ezra Lusk after a thrilling come-from-behind charge last January, McGrath, the defending series champion, will go into Qualcomm in 2000 as the odds-on favorite to win. Tickets: 619/220-8497 RDUND4 BANK ONE BALLPARK PHOENIX, ARIZONA After running before massive crowds in both 1997 and 1998 at Sun Devil Stadium (a 73,273-seat venue), PACE Motor Sports decided to move the Phoenix Supercross across town to the glistening new Bank One Ballpark for 1999. It proved to be an excellent decision. A 48,500-seat stadium bristling with color and state-of-the-art creature comforts, Bank One hosted a sold-out crowd on January 23, 1999, all of whom watched Jeremy McGrath win his first supercross race of the season. In fact, it was from that very point forward that McGrath caught fire and marched on to win his sixth Supercross Championship. Tickets: 602/452-6000 ROUNDS HOUSTON ASTRODDMEHOUSTON, TEXAS With the exception of the Daytona Supercross - held in the infield, tri-oval section of the world famous Daytona International Speedway - the Houston Astrodome Supercross is the oldest, longest-running race on the schedule. And while the old gridiron is getting a little long in the tooth, it has hosted some of the best races in AMA stadium motocross history. Houston is one of the original "old-school" events which used to hold back-to-back races on consecu· tive nights. Two riders have won both rounds of the doubleheader, and both pulled off the feat in two consecutive years: Bob Hannah got four Houston wins over the 1978 and '79 seasons, and Mark Barnett did likewise in 1981 and '82. Can you imagine back-to-back races in this day and age? Tickets: 713/629-3700 ROUNDS RCADOMEINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA Located smack in the middle of Race City USA, the Indy Supercross, held within the sweeping 60,273-seat RCA Dome, has become a major stop-off for the world's best supercrossers. A favorite of Jeremy McGrath - MC has won five races in seven years at the facility - the venue last year saw the planet's most famous motocross racer lose to Team Honda's Ezra Lusk after hitting the dirt in a first-turn crash. Nonetheless, expect McGrath and Lusk. no stranger to the victory podium, to go at it tooth and nail for Japanese motor company pride on February 12. Tickets: 317/239-5151 ROUNDS 7 AND 12 ROUNDS SILVERDOME PONTIAC, MICHIGAN GEORGIA DOME - Even when things weren't going all that great for supercross - back in the late 1980s and early 1990s when attendance was down and corporate support non-existent - the supercrosscrazed fans of the Great Lakes State were always there cramming the suburban Detroit ballyard. A staple of the barnstorming supercross series, the Silverdome has hosted the series since its premier race on March 27, 1976 (won by Marty Smith). Another one of the throwback, doubleheader venues Pontiac hosted back-to-back races all the way through 1994 - Pontiac will once again stage two events, albeit on two different Saturday nights six weeks apart. With 80,368 seats, fans should procure their tickets early as the Silverbowl will certainly fill up quickly. Tickets: 248/645-6666 n cue I e ATLANTA, GEORGIA Although the Atlanta Supercross was initially made famous by the storied Fulton County Stadium - the 1990 version of the race, won by Jeff Ward, is considered by most moto historians to be the greatest supercross race ever run - the 71 ,228-seat Georgia Dome now proudly carries the torch for the popular race. Won by everybody's All-American, Jeremy McGrath, for the past two years, the round can expect a strong challenge from hometown boy made good Ezra Lusk on February 26. Lusk hopes to do his part for the southern way of life that evening by repeating the success of fellow southerner Damon Bradshaw, who won the race from 1991 through 1993. Tickets: 404/249-6400 e _ S • JANUARY 12, 2000 1