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AMA EA Sports 1 25cc Supercross Series Dave Coombs Sr. EastlWest Shootout: Sam Boyd Stadium indicates he may have already moved past his days of questionable decision-making and silly crashes. Stewart rode in the moment, and although he was definitely still aggressive (as indicated by an unnecessarily antagonistic first-lap heat-race pass on Travis Elliott), he clearly has learned from his mistakes. And his incredible speed notwithstanding (we're talking about a velocity that not only earned Stewart a fast lap just six-hundredths of a second slower than that of 250cc winner Ricky Carmichael, but also saw him pass and leave East Region champ Chad Reed), this ability to learn proves that Stewart is a champion without a championship - for now. "I came into this race hoping to win it," Stewart said. "There wasn't any added pressure on me - it was just like another race .. .I've just got to look forward to the outdoor series, and I think I can win that if I stay upright. " Though he couldn't match the pace of Stewart, Reed also performed well, riding better on his Boost Mobile/Yamaha/Troy Racing YZ250F than everyone else. The Australian admittedly had less to prove in Vegas, and he didn't appear inspired until the latter stages of the race, when he advanced to the runner-up position. "With my four-stroke, I've been struggling a little bit at the test track," Reed said. "It seems to break traction a little easier than I found when I was testing the 125...Sure, I wanted to win, but you can't win them all, and James rode good." Finishing third and also turning in an impressive ride was Chris Gosselaar, who snared the holeshot and led until succumbing to the faster Stewart and Reed. The Amsoil/Dr. Martens/ Journeys/Competition Accessories rider was justifiably happy with his night. "James was riding awesome tonight, and I couldn't keep up with his pace," Gosselaar said. "Chad was riding great, but I'm happy finishing on the podium tonight. I think next year is going to be a whole different year for me, and I hope to come out on top." The top five were completed by Boost Mobile/Yamaha{Troy Racing's Ivan Tedesco and Blimpie Suzuki's Danny Smith, who was followed by West Region champ Travis Preston. The beneficiary of some good luck earlier this season when Stewart imploded, Preston was stricken by misfortune in Vegas, where he got caught up in a first-turn pile-up in his heat race, was forced to qualify through the last-chance qualifier, and suffered a poor start (partly caused by a bad gate pick) in the main. 12 MAY 15, 2002' c u e I • MAIN When the pack hit the first turn, all eyes were searching for Stewart, Reed and Preston, none of whom were in possession of the PowerAde holeshot. The rider with that honor was Gosselaar, who was followed by Shark/Plano Honda rider Travis Elliott. Reed and Stewart were both outside the top five, while Preston's poor gate pick had him buried near the back of the pack. With Preston having little to no chance of catching the leaders, attention turned to Reed and Stewart: Who would be better able to charge toward the front? Stewart, who has had more practice this year, shouldered the task more eagerly, moving by Reed in the first lap and !Above) Stewart came from behind to beat the "best of the best.ft (Left) Branden Jesseman (28), Andrew Short (69), Reed (1 El, Stewart (2591 and Buddy Antunez (1001 launch out of the starting gate. completing that circuit in fourth, behind Gosselaar, Smith and Elliott. One lap later, Elliott had crashed off the track with KTM Red Bull's Steve Boniface, and Stewart was a close second to the leading Gosselaar. On the next go-around, Stewart used an "I wasn't jumping that section all night," Gosselaar said. "I wasn't ready for that; I didn't even know he was that close. He tripled right over me, and I saw the line and started tripling after that." With Elliott and Boniface still speed when he started tripling a section. He passed Tedesco on lap three incredible triple move in a rhythm section to take over the lead. down by this point, the riders were singling through the big triple, but and then got by Smith for third two laps later. That left only Gosselaar (Left) Chris Gosselaar nailed the PowerAde Holeshot In the 125cc main and finished out the race In third. (Right) Reed and Stewart lined up next to each other for the start of the 125cc feature. neVIl's Stewart still managed to immediately open a gap on second. Reed, meanwhile, finally seemed to perk up and mount his own charge. Fifth on lap two, he picked up