INTERVIEW
P52
DISCOUNT TIRES/TWOTWO MOTORSPORTS' CHAD REED
Chad Reed
says he's still a
contender.
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY
SHAN MOORE
T
he Phoenix Supercross
might have been a disappointment for Chad Reed,
unable to recover from a poor
start in the main event and ninth
place finish, he certainly got off
to a great start at Anaheim I after putting his Discount Tires/
TwoTwo Motorsports-backed Kawasaki onto the podium.
The off-season was another
transition period for the two-time
Supercross Champion, switching
from Honda machinery to Kawasaki. He and Honda parted ways
after the 2013 season and was
left to choose any motorcycle of
his liking. He rode them all and
chose Kawasaki, which was sort
of surprising when you consider
his last stint on green in 2010,
well, let's just say didn't go well.
But, this year, so far it has.
"At this point I think we're good,
we're ready to go racing," the
racer/team owner said after the
Phoenix Supercross qualifying.
"Obviously we had a podium at the
first race [A1], which kind of justifies that. It was a good off-season
for us; we made good, fast decisions, and I think we fast-tracked
everything as much as possible.
And after that, I think it's about
showing up at the races and being as fast as you can be. I think
starts are going to be really, really
important. There are a lot of really talented kids out there, so you
have to try to get a start and just
use your race craft against them."
THE REED WAY
Race/team owner Chad Reed talks
about latest road he took to get
back on the podium
The off-season certainly wasn't
the easiest for Reed, with his
team switching brands just a few
months ago. But in the end he
somehow came into the series
opener in better shape than most.
"We fast-tracked it the best
we could," Reed says. "We had
Mitch Payton [Pro Circuit] helping us a lot, plus we moved into
the old L&M race shop, which,
previous to that, was the Jeff
