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/128335
AMA Chevrolet 1 Scc Cha mpionsh ip Motocro ss S eries 2 e n the final curtain closed on the 125cc class at Don Kenworthy's track, three rac e rs stood out: James Stewart, Matt Walker and Josh Grant. Thei r names are now etched into the history books as the last 12Scc podium on record for the Troy, Oh io, track . "I really liked racing here, loved the fans and know that I'll miss this place," Stewart said. "I know a lot of peop le didn't like this track for whatever reasons , but the two times I've raced here were excellent. It's too bad it's got to go." As he has been all season , Stewart was again absolutely dominant. Pulling sixth gear on his KX125 in what is the longest start on the outdoor Natio nal circuit this yea,. Stewart yanked impressive sixthand fourth-place starts against the mighty four-strokes. "Iwas tapped out in sixth gear, sittingso far back I thought I was going to break the back fender om" Stewart said of his starts . For only the first lap of both motos , Stewart trailed his competition. Then, once he got around, he put more than three seconds per lap on his next-fastest competitor. The win was Stewart's seco nd in as many tries at Kenworthy 's (his first was in 2002), and the 23rd of his MX career wh ich puts him third on the all-time list and he's only three wins away from tying Ricky Carmichael on the all-time 12Scc W 34 AUGUST 4,2004 • win list - a record he could conceivably bre ak this summer. More importantly for Team Chevy Trucks/Kawasaki's Stewart, his win - combined with Yamaha of Troy's Mike Brow n's fifth-place-overall finish widened the gap between first and second place in the I25cc-c1ass overall points standings, by 73 points. Suzuki's Broc Hepler, who crashed in the first moto at Troy but fought back from last to 14th, still remains in third place overall - 40 points behind Brown . Hep ler finished seventh at Troy, going 14-5. The start of the first moto saw Grant wring out his CRF2S0R for the holeshot, followed closely by Mills. Hondas dominated the long start on the day, as Nathan Ramsey managed to pull the second-moto holeshot, over Grant. "I was really comfortable on my starts. I've been training with [Mike] laRocco and [jeff] Stanton , which has helped me out a lot," Grant said. "The track was good, but I think I can still work on my cond itioning. By the end of both motos, I felt a litt le tired. The rhythm section was my strong point." Stewart towed a group of Hondas including Amso illChaparral/Factory Connection/Honda rider Chris Gosselaar - midway through the second lap of the fi rst moto and never looked back. Some good battles transpired between Mills, Grant , Gosselaar and Hepler. However, CYCLE N EWS Hepler eventually lost touch with the front of the pack when he misjudged the face of a short doub le and augured into the gumlike Troy soil right before the "Dirty Dozen" rhythm section. Hepler had just put a great pass on Gosselaar to take over fourth place before he went down. Charging to the front from a seventh- 40th Anniversary place start was Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider Matt Walker. With his second podium in as many weeks, Walker has been on fire as of late - something the management at Kawasaki and Pro Circuit have expected from him. "Mitch [Payton] had a couple discussions with him in the last month, telling