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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THQ World Supercross GP SeriesiAMA Supercross Series I Round 11/9: RCA Dome Ricky Cannlchael Is closing In on two more milelltones • becoming the thlnl rider ever to three-peat In supercross, and winning the most AMA National events in history. He led every lap of the Indy Supercross main. just like asking Jeremy to go in to the 250 Outdoor Nationals and not lose a moto, win 27 125 Nationals, however many 250 Nationals. I think it should be based on all-around, not just based on one thing. He has 89, and I By STEVE Cox PHOTOS BY STEVE BRUHN INDIANAPOUS, IN, MAR. 1 ~ icky Carmichael isn't from Indi~ ana. If his crowd response was any indication before the main event, he's not even particularly popular in Indiana (no thanks to a bit of contact at the race last year with the likeable and popular Travis Pastrana). But right now, Carmichael is setting fire to the once-close AMA Supercross Series, and he is now the only rider other than Jeremy McGrath to win more than once in the RCA Dome. (McGrath won six times in the inflated stadium.) To add to his long list of accomplishments, his win in Indianapolis was his sixth of the season and 86th AMA National win of his career, just three shy of the record set by Jeremy McGrath at 89 (McGrath was 29 when he got his 89th and last victory Carmichael is currently just 23), and it was also his 32nd 250cc supercross win. He sits second in that category, to McGrath of course, although he has quite a way before he can equal McGrath's 72 indoors. "Seventy-two is going to be tough," Carmichael admitted. "It's so far away; I don't even think about that. The only goal I have right now is to win races, obviously defend my title, and to win 90 races. Jeremy has 89 and I have 86. It [72J is tough. It's 8 MARCH 12. 2003' "" Y "" I e n e _ s have 86, and that's what it should be judged on. I think he'll be the greatest supercross rider, and nobody will ever replace him." But McGrath got to 72 one race at a time, and the Honda rider is follow- ing that example. Carmichael got out to a fast start, although not the holeshot, and made quick work of newfound holeshot artist Travis Preston on his new CRF450R at the start of the main to take the lead spot. "I've gotten good starts, and I've gotten bad starts," Carmichael said. "I haven't gotten the holeshot - it'd be nice to get the holeshot award. The starts have been really long, and the 450s definitely have an advantage. I've felt like I have enough speed that if I get a mediocre start I can come up through the pack and challenge for the win. The only thing that is bad about getting a bad start is, you have to deal with the chaos." Most of the racing action in Indianapolis,. however, was supplied by David VuilIemin. He started the race sixth but quickly moved past his Yamaha teammate Chad Reed, MotoworidRacing.com Suzuki's Andrew Short, Preston, and then Honda's Ernesto Fonseca to steal second before the end of the third lap, but by then the damage was done. Carmichael had a couple of seconds' worth of padding, and Vuillemin couldn't make it up Carmichael didn't get away, but the talented Frenchman couldn't catch him either. It almost seemed that, if the roles were reversed in the early laps and Vuillemin had the lead, Carmichael may have been just as powerless to stop Vuillemin. "It was a good race," Vuillemin said. "It was one of the first races of the year that I rode pretty good, you know? I wasn't that fast in the heat race ... I was like four, five seconds behind Ricky, and it stayed like that a long time, and I was trying and trying ... " Carmichael knew someone was keeping him honest, but he didn't know who at first. "I actually didn't know who it was," said the Floridian. "I didn't know if it was Chad [Reed] or David, then I kind of got a glimpse of him going through the whoops one time, and I saw that it was him, and it was good. I like to see David out there. We have a lot of history from racing last year, and the same if Jeremy was out there, I'd like to see him up there. I have a lot of respect for these guys. David struggled in the beginning, and a lot of people forgot about him, but he's still up there." Reed started slowly in fifth then fell back to sixth when Vuillemin went by him, but he picked it up and started picking off riders by the third lap. He had had a rough night (see How They