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Finishing second overall was Motoworld Racing.com's David Vuillemin, with 7-2 moto scores, while SoBe/Samsung/Mobile/Honda's Kevin Windham finished third overall with 9-3 moto finishes. If Carmichael wanted redemption for his disappointing loss to James Stewart at Washougal two weeks before, he got it in Millville. "I had some motivation for the race, but it's not like I wanted to go out there and [lap the field]," Carmichael said. "I just wanted to get the holeshot - because I knew that would be key - and I just wanted to redeem myself for the last race." As usual, only Stewart seemed to be in the same league as Carmichael when the weekend started out, the two rid- ers having swapped fastest times in practice over the two days. Carmichael topped the time sheets during Saturday 's practice sessions, while Stewart returned the favor during Sunday morning's practice. And when the actual racing got under way, Stewart looked as though he might run away with it all, having grabbed the holeshot in the opening moto to lead Team Solitaire's Justin Buckelew, Honda-mounted Davi Millsaps, and Yamaha's Chad Reed through the first lap. However, on the third lap, Stewart went down on the face of a big uphill, losing several posi- tions. Reed took the point, with Carmichael challenging. "I was running pretty strong at the start, and I thought I had a pretty good chance for the win," Stewart said. "But then my front end just washed out and I couldn't start it for a while." Stewart got going again in sixth posi- tion, while Reed held the lead until the sixth lap, when Carmichael went by him in the whoops section. The Yamaha rider might have been able to stay out front longer, but his header pipe came loose, costing him some power and making a heck of a racket as the open exhaust echoed off the Spring Creek facility 's many uphills and downhills. Within two laps, Stewart had moved into second, passing Team Honda's Travis Preston, a fast-starting Robbie Reynard, and Millsaps. However, the young Floridian wasn't able to make a dent in Carmichael's lead and settled for the runner-up spot, nearly 40 sec- onds behind the Suzuki rider at the fin- ish. Reed nursed his mount home for third, while Millsaps and Preston round- ed out the top five. "James was riding good in practice, and everyone said my day was up, but I felt good and just tried to keep my composure," Carmichael said. "I got a little gift when he fell down, and I just tried to work and get by Reedy, and the rest is history." AMA Team USA presented by Loretta Lynn's is now official: Ricky Carmichael, James Stewart and Ryan Villopoto will represent their country at the FIM Motocross des Nations in September. The team was announced during a special ceremony at Loretta Lynn's last Wednesday, and the selec- tion seemed to please almost everyone - but not current AMA Lites points leader Mike Alessi. "I want to congratulate Ricky, Bubba and Ryan on making the team," said Alessi. "I hope they go over there and win. I think Ryan might need to do a little brush-up on his mud skills. Like Ricky said, it might rain there, so I think he might need a little brush-up. I really wanted to be on the MXdN team this year. But it's out of my hands. It's really up to the AMA and the top guys here. I just don't understand - man, I feel like I'm going to cry here - I just don't understand why I didn't get picked. All around, I'm pretty good at almost every track and every condition - sand, hard-packed and mud - and I'm the points leader. I don't know, it's up to those guys, but it's already too late." The $500 Racer X holeshot awards were col- lected by Team Solitaire/Bikesellerz.com's Justin Buckelew and Makita Suzuki's Ricky Carmichael in the AMA Motocross Class, and SoBe/Samsung Mobile's Josh Grant in the AMA Motocross Lites class. Grant's teammate Joaquim Rodrigues is proba- bly out for the rest of the season, as his nagging leg injury has been slow to heal. "He was basically riding with it broken," said J-Rod's mechanic Chad Sanner. "I'll see him riding, and he's keeping his feet off the peg because his leg hurts so bad." But as one rider goes out, another comes in, as Tommy Hahn returned to the team after an arm injury suffered right before the High Point Nation- al in May. Hahn put together a strong ride for sev- enth in the first moto. "I got back on the bike around July Fourth," Hahn said before the Washougal National. "I broke the ball off my elbow at High Point and had to have a screw put in to tie up my bicep tendon. I had to do some therapy to get my range of motion back, and since then, I have been putting in a lot of time on the bike, and we will see how it goes." Boost Mobile/Yamaha of Troy's Andrew McFar- lane twisted his knee before the Washougal round of the series two weeks ago. He rode a few times leading up to Millville, but he chose to stay home one more weekend. "He rode three times this week, but he's not quite ready yet," said YoT team manager Dave Osterman. Also, Branden Jesseman won't be cleared to ride until the Friday before the Steel City National, which doesn't really give him much time to be ready, meaning Jesseman may not get in any races this season. The week before the Millville round, it was con- firmed that former AMA 125 National Champion Michael Brown will ride the MX1 class in the 2007 World Championships for CAS Honda. Brown, who is currently contesting the U.S. National Series in the Motocross class for the Rockstar Suzuki team, recently went to Belgium to ride the CAS Honda and to set up the deal. "The whole deal is not done yet, but I went over there and tried the bike and made sure that was what I wanted to do, and everything should work out okay," Brown said. "In the MX1 class, you don't have to worry about the bikes being fast, so I am excited about it. I will go over in February or March and start getting ready for the season. The team has a motorhome that I will use, and I will live in England with some friends, but the team is based in Belgium, so I will go back and forth between the two places." After finishing out his amateur career in grand fashion at Loretta Lynn's, 2006 AMA Horizon Briefly... Continued on page 23 C Y C L E N E W S • AUGUST 23, 2006 21 RICKY CARMICHAEL LAPS THE FIELD AT MUDDY MILLVILLE EVENT. The first moto was held in nice conditions - the second moto wasn't so nice.