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/128342
AMA Chevrolet 250cc Motocross Championship Series HISTORY he 12t h and final round of the 2004 AHA Chevro let National Motocross series was a special one for Team Honda 's Ricky Carmichael fo r a few reason s. By w inning both motos in convincing fashion, Carmichael completed another record-break ing perfect seaso n. But , perhaps more importantly, he finished up an era of racing with team Honda that won' t soon be forgotte n. In just three years, Carmichael gave Honda five cham pionshi ps, and to top it all off, two of those ch amp ion sh ips were perfect se asons , w he n he wo n every rnoto of the 2002 and, now, t he 2004 AMA 2S0cc outdoor National MX Series. As you prob ably know by now Carmichael will T be moving to Team Suzuki next year, and by doing so, will be leaving behind a team that he has so much history with - in a re latively short pe riod of time. So you might say that it's an end of one era but the start of a new one. Obviously, it will be a new chapter in the history of mo tocross tha t everyone will be reading with gre at ant icipation. Car m ich a e l was ecstatic after comp leting his H -mo to sweep. Just min- utes after wrapping up his remarkable second perfect season , Carmichael stood on top of the podium with a huge smile on his face. "It's nice to do what I did this year when you have a guy that is his [Chad Reed's] caliber," Carmichael said. "I'm so happy, I know I don't show it, but it was a tough last cou ple of laps. I definitely had a lump in my throa t. I definitely have to thank Honda , the guys at the shop, and the peo ple who wo rk w ith us every weekend. I've got great re lationships with them and I'm going to miss those guys," He will no doubt be missed by all of the mechanics on the team , as well. He has delivered many great wins for them , many of which were run away wins, much like that seen Sunday by thousands at Glen Helen Raceway. As has been the case for most of the year, Team Y amaha's Chad Reed finished second to Carmichael. Even though Reed , the 2004 Supercross Champion, might not be to tally satisfied with the runner-up trop hy, he still proved that his outdoor skills have improved significantly over last year and that second in the series isn't anything to snivel at. In the fi rst moto he had a short-lived batt le with Carmichael early on that had many in attendance hanging over the fence , cheering the Aussie on. The second rnoto , though, did not go quite as well, as Carmichael quickly opened up a gap that Reed was never able to close. "Today was pre tty good for me," Reed said. "I kind of had some problems - small problems - in both mot os and just had to overcome them, but I don't think they would have changed the outcome at all," As far as how he fee ls about Carmichael, Reed didn't get too discouraged. But, as with any great champion, you could see it in his face that he didn't want to be second. "Ricky had an awesome season," Reed said, "and I'd like to congratulate him o n that . Y know every weeken d we went ou home and tried to work harder and we tried everything. We got close a couple of times but never close enough. It's great to have a com pet itor like him around to keep you going every we ek and keep you motivated. I enjoy the challenge [but] it sucks to loose . I'll just have to keep trying