Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

try to finish both motos, do the best I can, and just try to do one and work from there. I just didn't really feel like being on the bike the last two weeks, to tell you the truth. It's been a pretty tough time for me." Danny Smith won the first professional race of his career on Sunday with a 1-5 ride at Southwick aboard his Billy Felts-tuned RM 125, earning his team its first 125cc National win since Travis Pastrana at this very same race last summer. And it would not be over-the-top in saying that Smith had a little help. While God probably doesn't worry himself too much with the results of motocross races, it seemed like divine intervention when the two series points leaders - Boost Mobile/ Yamaha of Troy's Chad Reed and Kawasaki/Chevy Trucks' James Stewart - dropped out of first moto in the late stages. Stewart was leading Smith when his bike seized; Reed was chasing him when his shoulder popped out of socket. And if that wasn't enough to make a believer out of the Southwick fans, Smith's Blimpie/Suzuki teammate Branden Jesseman, runner-up to him in the first moto, tipped over in the first turn of the second moto to begin a chain of crashes that would eventually knock him out of the race alI-together. Then, after a crash in the second moto dropped Smith back to seventh and put Team Honda's Ernesto Fonseca in position to win the overall, privateer challenger Kelly Smith, who was battling with Reed and Fonseca for the runner-up spot in the second moto, crashed his 3-D Yamaha and could not get it restarted, giving Smith another vital position. And did we mention that defending series champion Mike Brown tweaked his knee and couldn't ride, or that Red Bull KTM's Grant Langston didn't even show because of a knee injury of his own? Make no mistake, Smith earned his victory and the distinction of being the first rider ever from the state of Idaho to win a major motocross race. His first-moto effort saw him parlay a good start - second behind the KX125 of Stewart - into a moto win after Stewart's bike let go. "One of my motor mounts broke when I was sitting on the starting gate," said Stewart after the race. "It was just a freak aCCident, I guess. As I went on, halfway through the race the other one broke, and then the bike just shook until it popped. It was running fine and I didn't think anything of it until it stopped. It was a real bummer." Going back to the third-round High Point National 14 days ago, it was the second moto in a row that Stewart's bike had not made it to the finish line. But rather than stomp off in anger or sulk in disappointment, the 16-yearold stood by the side of the track and waved Smith on, knowing that a moto win on this day would mean a lot more to Smith than it would to himself. "I'm really glad Danny Smith won," said Stewart, who, in his first visit to the ancient Southwick track, was the fastest man in both motos. "I feel really sorry for him and his family, so if it wasn't going to be me, I'm glad it was him." "James Stewart earned my respect today," Smith said. "He came over before the race and said how sorry he was about my brother, and then when his bike broke, there he was on the my Own Race: 125cc ®® Greg Schnen ®~ Justin Buckelew ®@ David Pingree ®~ Kelly Smith Schnell returned to the YZ250F four-stroke Yamaha at Southwick, riding it to 16-8 mota finishes for 11th overall. "I got two good starts, including the holeshot in the second mota," Schnell said. "I was fourth the fJ.1'st time, but since this was my first ride on the four-stroke, I stalled it the first lap and went back to dead last. The second mota, I felt better on the bike, but I just got arm pump. You know, the track is great, but it was beat. And it doesn't matter how much you prepare yourself for this race, it seems like it's never enough." Buckelew has been struggling of late, but showed some progress at Southwick, going 1014 for 12th overall. "I got off to a bad start in the first moto and just slowly worked my way up to 10th, which I was pretty happy with. It was my best finish of the series, so I'm pretty happy. The track was really rough, so we're making some progress." The former KTM rider made his Plano Honda debut at Southwick but could only muster an 18-21 for 24th overall. "I had mediocre starts both motos," Pingree said. "My times weren't bad in the first moto. I was only about a second off Danny Smith's pace for the first 20 minutes, and then I just wore out. Same story in the second moto, only it happened a little sooner. I knew coming here I would be tired, but I knew it would be a good place to get back in shape. I just joined Plano Honda, so I'm giving myself until Red Bud to start getting good results." The Yamaha rider didn't have much luck at Southwick, but Kelly Smith did have his good moments in the Southwick sand. "In the first mota I got hit and spun around after the second turn and ended up going backwards down that little hill in the back: he said. "Then I fell again, so I had to fight all the way up to 19th. I got a good start in the second moto, moved up past Schnell for second behind Stewart, and then battled with Reed for a while. He got by me but I stuck with him and was thinking about passing him back because he was starting to fade a little bit, but then Emesto came up undemeath me and hit me and knocked me over, and my chain guide filled up with sand. My wheel was locked solid and I couldn't get it going until my mechanic came and helped me. I rode so hard, was staying right up there in the top three the whole time. I really needed those points, but once again I had bad luck. It's really getting me down." side of the track waving me on! It was really cool." Once the race started, Stewart was out front and in control until the breakdown. After that, it was Smith's moto to lose. "I told myself I was going to give it everything I had and either win or crash trying," said Smith after the moto. "Chad was right there, but when he dropped out, all I did was keep looking forward towards that checkered flag." Behind Smith came his teammate Jesseman, who started seventh but fought his way into second. "I've just been practicing a lot in the sand and really working hard, so I'm glad that I am finally riding to my potential," said Jesseman. "I was riding well and catching Reed, but when I started pacing myself in the middle of the moto, I actually started tightening up and lost touch with Danny." Preston was third, while Pro-Circuit Kawasaki/Chevy Trucks rider Matt Walker held off a ferocious attack from Team Honda's Ernesto Fonseca to score the fourth-place points. A heroic effort by the Australian Reed was overshadowed by Smith's tear-jerking victory. Right on Smith's rear fender, Reed landed hard off a Southwick jump and somehow popped his left shoulder out of socket four 'Iaps from the checkered flag in the first moto. "What hurts the most is that I didn't even crash!" Reed said. "It was hurting like hell. The shoulder had been weak since I hurt it early in the supercross season, but it had never popped out like that." Unable to move his arm, Reed rode right off the track and fell over. At that moment, it appeared that Reed was done for the day, and maybe even the championship. But, Emesto Fonseca grabs a handful of throtUe In the Southwick sand en route to a second-place finish. cue I e n e _ S • JUNE 19, 2002 25

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