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AMA,/EA Sports Supercross Series Round 13: Texas Stadium Pingree moved into second on the final lap, as he made an outstanding pass on third-place finisher Christopher Gosselaar with the white flag waving. Pingree needed one of two things to happen: he either needed to pass race leader Schnell for the extra three points, or he needed Bentley to lose two positions. Neither happened, and although he crossed in second place way ahead of Bentley, he did not prematurely celebrate. Bentley would cross a few moments later and all the riders and mechanics gathered behind the finish to cak:ulate the points. After several mimrtes of contemplating, the AJIIIA had tallied their results, when it was announced that Bentley had, in Fact, taken the championship by a mere two points. "This was my best season ever and it was also my worst," Pingree said from the podium. "It was pretty much a nightmare in the first turn. Every weekend. For some reason or another, something happens there. I pretty much started from the back agajn." "The track was technical: Pingree went on to say. "It suited my style, and I just put my' head down and went for it. They were telling me who to pass, and it [his pitboard] said to get Gosselaar, so I went for it. Unfortunately for me, Bentley did his share of passing, too." Pingree, who ended the outdoor season with a bang last year, is not going to mope around despite losing the championship by two points. He is looking forward to Las Vegas and also for the Nationals to start. "' have nothing to lose at Vegas," Pingree said. "Our bikes are working great, and I remember the routine that I was going through at the end of the Nationals. I'll put it together, soon." Third in the final was Amsoil/Competition Accessories/Jack in the Box/Factory Connection's Christo- Winning the final was Motoworld of EI Cajon/Thor/Renthal's Greg Schnell. The Yamaha-mounted pilot was involved in the first-turn scuffle only a little, as he was pushed over the berm. Schnell immediately rode back on to the track on his Dave Schnell-tuned YZ125 and was up to fifth at the end of the first lap. By lap three, he was up to third and on lap eight he moved into second. On lap nine, Schnell took over the lead al'ld, from there, pulled away from the pack and never relinquished the lead. With the win, Schnell became the only rider to win two 125cc main events in a season as a privateer. "All three of us were going for the championship, and I got pretty lucky to not be involved in the crash," Schnell said with a smile. "It was chaos and 1got pushed over the berm but got back in the race real quick." The privateer from Rancho Cucamonga, California, believed in superstition and went back to the same routine that he had used the week before his first and huge win in San Diego back in January. "I did everything the same,' Schnell said. "' died my hair red again, I practiced at the same tracks on the same days and did all the same things. I guess it worked." What were Schnell's thoughts on the season? "I won two main events as a privateer this year, I'm happy. My goal at the beginning of the season was top three, so I did it." A disappointing but hard-fought second place went to Bill's Pipes/ Axo/Motorious.com/Suzuki-mounted David Pingree. Pingree was also involved in the first turn crash, but the rider who hails from Menifee, California, never said die after finishing the first lap in ninth. Pingree charged for the next 14 laps and several times looked as if he was going to take the championship, as Bentley was way behind in the pack. 16 APRIL 19, 2000' cue I e n e _ s _ .......... lAIIawllleft to rflIIdt ......- ..... - ~ racing after his stellar privateer finish of third in 1999, led the first eight laps of the final before fading back to fifth. Johnson was bummed with his ride and is looking to redeem himself outdoors. "It was a flawless eight laps," Johnson said. "I just need to work on the last seven. This year was fun of crashes and bad luck, but I'm really looking forward to the outdoors.· Sixth went to Yamaha of Troy/ Fox-backed Justin Buckelew. In his first full season of professional racing. the 18-year-old showed that when he finds his stride, he too will be a major player in the sport of Supercross. "I learned a lot this year, and I think that -the outdoors will treat me well this summer," Buckelew said. "I definitely have mote experience outdoors although I've never raced a Pro nationaL" As mentioned earlier, Bentley fin- ouDIde ea- -' bl I I . 8plttftre1Pro CIrcuIt.b.. I rs . . . iIIenIIeI' for the championship. In fact IiftIr Schnell took the checIlenci ftav, runner-up PI....... _ dl. unsu.. If he had beaten Bentley In points or .-t. .I~S _ ...... pIIice tInIsh -lIOOcI-.gIt the cllaniplallllhip _ MIll points. (far rIlrMI e.ugIIt up In the ....... ., ............. -~ C u!klnAlot bachd CIIrIe QD II ,"P _ hp .111 _ _ to tIIInI on the nIgIIt. CRIlIhtI ....... :IiItd of • ~""""''''SchneII rode. nu.I• • - . I I I ... tile ovw.- .... tIIInI 1n ...... point standInp. pher Gosselaar. The Honda-mounted rider, who ironically matched his best ever finish of third two weeks earlier at Minnesota, showed once again that when he is healthy, he is a force to be reckoned with. Gosselaar started in fifth but was up to second on the third lap. Schnell passed Gosselaar several laps later but "Lil Goose" latched on to and hung with Schnell for quite a .while. Plngree would be the only other rider to pass Gosselaar and he did that in the final few feet of the race. Gosselaar's late season charge saw him finish the season ninth in the points. "I got an okay start, but I just needed to go faster," Gosselaar said. "Pingree got by me right before the finish and I was bummed about that. These last two races feel good though and I'll take that into next year. ('m happy and healthy, the bikes are good and things are good right now." FMF/Thor/Honda's Danny Smith followed Gosselaar in fourth, with Planet Honda/Answer/Dr. Marten's Isaiah Johnson in fifth. Johnson, who has had a rough year of Supercross ished a distant seventh with Plano Honda/MSR's Jiri Dostal following in eighth. Dostal had a quiet year, but his consistent results netted him a solid fourth overall in points. Ninth at Dallas was KTM's Rodrig Thain. The rider from France made some noise throughout the 2000 series and will most likely be back in 2001. KTM is also hoping that he can do the same outdoors as he did inside the stadiums ..Thain finished the series in a respectable fifth. Rounding out the top 10 was FMF/Thor/Honda's Casey Lytle. The odds-on favorite to win the title early in the season, Lytle knows that it wasn't meant to be in Y2K. Lytle won the first heat race of the night with ease, but was one of the many riders to crash in the first tum. A bent radiator kept the Castaic, California, native from charging through the pack, but Lytle wants nothing more than to win the East-West 125<:c shootout in Las Vegas in a few weeks. "The first turn was ridiculous." Lytle said. "The guy to my left just