Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

THO AMA 12Scc Eastern Region Supercross Series My 40 OWN RACE: Greg Schnell 125cc 10th Motosport OutletlWhite BrotherslMSR/Honda's Greg Schnell started the night with a second-place finish in his heat race. Schnell moved up into contention after a mediocre start and was able to capitalize when Davi Millsaps, josh Hansen and josh Grant went down. In the main, Schnell suffered a terrible start and settled into a conservative pace that would carry him to 10th. "I just kind of followed everyone else, and I didn't make a whole lot of aggressive passes - that's what I need to work on," he said. "I thought the track was really good. It was really technical and the whoops were really hard, especially in the main, and a lot of people had a problem with that. But I'm from California, and I like the hard dirt." 89 Kevin Johnson 13th Team Faith/Fly Racing's Kevin Johnson is still making the transition from the recent Arenacross season but had his best night of the year in Supercross, claiming a respectable 13th in the main. johnson was actually running inside the top 10, but a fall dropped him to nearly last before the Yamaha pilot worked his way back to 13th. "I liked the track, and if you made it through the whoops decent, that was your lap. Everything else wasn't that hard," johnson said. "Supercross was a little tough for me at first, actually. I am getting used to it. You get to ride a little more in Arenacross, and it is a little more hectic, but this has longer races, so you get a little more worn out. It's been fun, and I'm not sure what will happen next year. We'll probably do Arenacross one more time." 3S Josh Grant DNF Amsoil/Faetory/Factory Connection Honda's josh Grant came into the season with high hopes and was picked to be a contender in 2005. In Dallas, however, Grant was riding well but failed to make the main. After crashing out in the heat, Grant worked his way into the lead in the LCQ but clipped a Tuff-Block, pushing his - transponder into his ignition and causing him to ONF. "I am looking forward to (Left to right) Millsaps, Langston and Malt Walker celebrate on the Dallas podium. out. He came in there doing what he wanted to do." A few laps later, however, Hansen would get a taste of his own medicine when Josh Grant ran down the KTM pilot from his third-place start and came up with a block pass of his own. And just like at Daytona, both riders ended up on the ground; Hansen recovered to finish sixth, while Grant was sent to the LCQ. "He did the same stuff at Daytona, so it is mutual," said an obviously irritated Grant. "It's too bad the fans couldn't see what happened after the event in the tunnel." The two riders had an altercation in the tunnel that led them back to the pits, which drew a reprimand from AMA pro racing manager Steve Whitelock. "My feelings at Daytona," Grant said, "where I went up to him and gave him a hug, were totally opposite of what he did to me in the tunnel, and now I know how he acts - he threw blows, I didn't. It was a 20 cheap shot." Hansen was unavailable for comment. Langston, meanwhile, could only shake his head as he watched from the heat-two starting gate, while his main rivals hung their championship hopes on a relatively meaningless heat race. Samsung Wireless/Sprint/Honda's Troy Adams managed to avoid the carnage to take the win in heat one, while MotoworidRacing/Honda's Greg Schnell finished second and Millsaps third. Adams' take on the race was shared by many. "It was crazy out there," he said. "There were riders. going after each other, one after another, and you had to watch your back the whole time. It was kind of hard to race like that, but if they want to do it, that's fine. I came out on top, and hopefully I can carry that on to the main event." Heat number two went to a runaway Matt Walker on his Team Monster/Pro Circuit Kawasaki, while teammate APRIL 13,2005 • CYCLE NEWS next week, because I've got a lot of confidence, and I am really pissed off, so it should be good," Grant said. Langston worked his way up to second from a mediocre start. Even Langston had to deal with a couple of stuff attempts on his way to the runner-up position, but he fared much better than his championsh ip-co ntend ing counterparts. "Normally when you pass a guy and he realizes you are faster than him, he will kind of settle, but tonight it was like everybody had to give their two cents worth and try to stuff you in the next turn," Langston said. With all of the top riders into the main event, with the exception of Grant, who suffered mechanical problems in the LCQ, everyone took their places to see who would outride whom in what would surely be a barnburner of a final. However, the outcome was somewhat predetermined when both Millsaps and Hansen suffered poor starts. Within a lap, Langston was by early

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