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AMA Chevy Trucks 1 25cc U. S. Motocross Championship Series Round 1 2: Steel City Raceway that he has ridden since he was a young boy. "Mike came down to Florida these last two weeks, and we trained our butts off," Carmichael explajned. "I knew that we wanted to come out of here with a title and/or a record, but by God, we did both. I've got to thank Chevy Trucks and the guys at Kawasaki for letting me do this. Also, Mitch Payton for building me an awesome 125. Brock Sellards told me that I should have stuffed him harder at Washougal a few years ago, and then I wouldn't have had to race this race." The Honda-mounted Jesseman was credited with third overall with a 7 -2 score that was reminiscent of his ride here one year earlier. The native Pennsylvanian had a rough year throughout the supercross and motocross circuits, plagued by many different crashes and injuries, but he seemed to put it all behind him at his home track. Jesseman will go into 2002 with a new team and bike, as he will be riding for Team Suzuki and Roger DeCoster. For Jesseman, it was a good way to close the book on a tough year. "I'm glad to get up here at my home track, and I'm happy for Brownie too," Jesseman said. "I was real loose in the second moto and rode good, and Mike let me by for second. I was actually sick all week, too. I've been injured all year, and I can't wait to start off next season healthy." Yamaha of Troy's Ernesto Fonseca was fourth overall with a 4-4 score. The Costa Rican gated well in both motos and was a front-runner all day. The strong ride also boosted him from fifth to a solid third in the final points standings, as he passed an absent Travis Pastrana and took advantage of Moto XXX-backed Larry Ward's rough 10-40 outing. Fonseca, too, will be changing teams next year, as he heads to the factory Honda squad, but he gave his current employer one more good effort for all of its hard work. Having secured the 125cc Western Regional Supercross Championship and finished third in the outdoor Nationals, Fonseca was enthused. "It was a good year for me - I can't complain," Fonseca said, smiling. "I had a few huge mechanical DNFs, and I was bummed when that was happening, but I rode and worked hard, and it paid off. Erik [Kehoe, team manager] and Phil [Alderton, team owner] and my mechanic Kenny Germain all worked hard and gave me 100 percent. I am glad to be a part of this team for the last few years. " Fonsesca's teammate Nathan Ramsey has a similar story. Ramsey, who will join Fonseca on Team 18 SEPTEMBER 12.2001 • cue Honda, rode to a 5-5 score for fifth overall at the final round, and he finished the series in seventh. KTM Red Bull's Brock Sellards went 8-6 for sixth overall, and Yamaha of Troy's Nick Wey went 11-7 for seventh. Team Suzuki's Rodrig Thain (who went 11-7), Langston (2-32) and MotoworldRacing.com's Damon Huffman (9-12) rounded out the top 10 overall. MOTO 1 Langston was nine points ahead of Brown when the day began, so Brown needed not only the moto wins, but for Carmichael to finish ahead of Langston. Fonseca grabbed the holes hot aboard his four-stroke ahead of Langston, Ramsey and Brown. A pileup occurred just behind them, involving Plano Honda's Scott Sheak, Wey, Shogun's Josh Demuth, Motoworld's Greg Schnell and Suzuki's Akira Narita. Carmichael gated poorly and then went down in the whoops several turns later as Australian Michael Byrne crashed and collected the Floridian with him. ..Byrne crashed right in front of me in the whoops, and there was nowhere to go and I ran right into him," Carmichael said. "Then some four-stroke guy clobbered me when I was down." Once Carmichael got up and going, he was nearly in last position and had a lot of work to do if he wanted any chance of winning the overall. When lap one ended, he was in the 27th position. Langston got around Ramsey early and was leading as they headed up the large uphill. Brown quickly moved into second behind Langston, and the massive crowd anticipated a great race that would prove who the true champion would be. The two battled furiously for the first several laps, as each rider would· utilize his strong points to go faster in certain sections. Brown closed in on Langston in the rhythm section at the top of the hill each lap, but the South African would gain distance in the fast GP-like sections of the track. The two set a blistering pace, and they were some eight seconds ahead of the Fonseca -Ramsey battle on the fifth lap. Carmichael was on a tear, and he was up to 11 th on the sixth lap. One could have thrown a blanket over Fonseca and Ramsey, who raced together for nearly the entire moto. Thain was slowly creeping up behind them, though, and was watching their every move. As Carmichael kept plugging his way forward, Brown kept the pressure on Langston, trying to force him into Grant Langston receives condolences after a destroyed rear wheel robbed him of a seemingly sure 125cc National title. a mistake. Eventually, Langston made that error. It was only a small bobble, but it was enough for Brown to make his pass as the two raced in the infield section of the track. Things started to get interesting, as Carmichael was then up to sixth, with only several laps remaining. With Brown leading up front, Carmichael needed to catch Langston for s'econd to help Brown gain a few more valuable points. Indeed, Carmichael - amazingly then caught up to and passed the close-riding trio of Fonseca, Ramsey and Thain. First he moved by Thain for fifth; next was Fonseca, whom he passed just before the whoop section, and then he railed past Ramsey through a downhill corner, out-driving the four-stroke rider up the following hill for third. As the two-lap board came out, however, it became obvious that Carmichael did not have enough time to catch up to Langston for second. Brown now had a small cushion on the content Langston in second, and Carmichael was giving it his all, but it would not be enough. Brown crossed for his eighth moto win of the year, and Langston crossed in a close second. The two exchanged words after they had crossed the finish line, and then Brown hurried back to his pits. "I got a little tight and a little pumped up and didn't have the smoothest of lines out there," Langston commented after the moto. "I'd like to end the day with a moto win, and that's what I'm going to try and do." "I made up a lot of time on those guys somehow," Carmichael said. "I can't believe that I'm going that much faster than them. "II come out swinging in the next one." MOT02 Six points separated Brown from Langston going into the second moto, so Brown needed not only to win again, but to have Langston finish fourth or worse. Just as he predicted, Carmichael was leading as the riders rounded the third turn. Boniface, Pingree, Weyand Brown were up front as well. Langston was about ninth on the start. Weyand Brown then collided as they headed up the big uphill on the opening lap, with Brown going down and seemingly losing any hope of taking the title. He remounted in about 20th and ended the first lap in 15th. "I figured that after I crashed, it was over," Brown said of the incident. "I just got up and gave it everything I had." With Carmichael pulling away up front, Langston was now in third after having passed Ramsey and his teammate Pingree on the second lap. Brown was back on a charge. however, and the crowd cheered for him enthusiastically as he worked up through the pack. Amsoil/Dr. Martens/Journeys/ Competition Accessories rider Steve Boniface was running second behind Carmichael in the opening laps, and his teammate Jesseman - who had started eighth - slowly moved forward, advancing to fifth on the fourth lap.