Deytona Beech. FL . Meu"'ch ., ., , :2ClCX)
AMAlEA Spores Supercross Series
Round S: Daytona International Speedway
By HENNY RAY ABRAMS
PHOTOS BY KINNEY JONES
hat Ricky Carmichael
did at Daytona won't
soon be forgotten: The
Team Chevy Trucks/
Kawasaki rider not only beat Mazda
Chaparral Yamaha's Jeremy McGrath
- the defending champion and series
leader - he soundly thrashed him, en
route to his first-ever 250cc Supercross victory. And Carmichael did it
with over 22 seconds to spare, on a
hot and humid day at the Daytona
track, which McGrath has virtually
owned in recent yea rs.
"During the day, people were coming up to me, saying I was riding
good in practice," said Carmichael,
20. "'Can you win? Can you win?' I
was saying, 'Yeah.' Sometimes when
people say 'yeah' they don't really
think they can in the back of their
minds. Today, however, I had a feeling that I could do really well."
In spite of the fact that there were
30 riders - instead of the usual 20 - in
the 20-lap main, it was clear early on
that only three riders had a shot at
winning; then it was two; then - not
long after the halfway point - just
one.
Carmichael made his presence
known right away after winning the
first (of three) eight-lap heat race. His
winning time ended up being nearly
30 seconds faster than the winning
time that McGrath posted in heatrace three. In between, Yamaha's·
David Vuillemin took a heat-race win
with a time 23 seconds slower than
Carmichael's. It was then known that
Carmichael was going to be the rider
to beat.
In the main event, Carmichael got
the holeshot and took off, but
McGrath and Vuillemin tucked in
behind him. It was apparent right
then and there that no one else in the
field had a chance.
For a while it seemed as though
McGrath was content to lurk, waiting
for a mistake or an opening, or for
Carmichael to wear himself out. (The
temperature was in the high 70s, the
humidity was 100%, and the Gary
Bailey-designed track was rough
Ricky Carmichael ended Kawasaki's
winless drought with a big win at the
Daytona Supercross. The win was also
Carmichael's first in the 250cc class.
12
MARCH 22, 2000'
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