Supercross race report, round 14

IRVING, Texas (April 21) - Round 14 EA SPORTS Supercross Presented by Speed Stick took Texas Stadium by storm with Team Chevy Trucks Kawasaki's Ricky Carmichael, Havana, Fla., winning his first-ever 250cc EA SPORTS Supercross Championship. Team Red Bull/KTM's Grant Langston, who is from South Africa, completed a dream in the 125cc Western Regional Supercross Series as he captured KTM's first-ever EA SPORTS Supercross victory. Tonight's race will air on ABC Sunday, April 22nd at 5:00 p.m. ET/ 4:00 p.m. PT.

The 250cc Main Event would witness Team Honda's Ezra Lusk win the $1,000 SFX.com Holeshot Award, with the 2000 U.S. Open Champion Carmichael, 21, ready to start a battle for the championship. Within one lap, Carmichael moved passed Lusk but missed a shift before the 'triple' jump and handed the lead back to Lusk. However, Carmichael would make one final move on Lusk and ride on to win his first-ever 250cc EA SPORTS Supercross championship. Lusk finished second and Jeremy McGrath third.

The win for Carmichael, his 11th in a row - 12th on the season, places him on schedule to tie McGrath's season win record of 14 and wins in a row record of 13. Carmichael will chase down the records at Salt Lake City and Las Vegas in the next two weeks.

"I got an excellent start, but Lusk kept on me for most of the race," said Carmichael. "I finally made a pass on him and pulled away. The wins are great, but this number-one plate is awesome - I am so pumped."

"I have been here for 10 years and the only place I have to go is down," said McGrath. "Carmichael had a great season."

Team MotoWorld of El Cajon's Greg Schnell, who won here last year, worked his way through the front of the pack as the gate dropped in the 125cc Main Event and won the $500 SFX.com Holeshot Award. The lead would be short lived for Schnell as Langston moved in front of the pack. Team Suzuki's Rodrig Thain put the chase on Langston, stalking him briefly. Series points leader Ernesto Fonseca, who rides for Team Yamaha of Troy/Fox, suffered from a mid-pack start and would go down in the 'whoop' section on lap two. Langston, who is riding in his first full season of EA SPORTS Supercross, went on to win his not only his first 125cc Main Event, but KTM's first supercross win as well. Thain finished second and Schnell third.

"The team has worked so hard for this, and we've put so much into it," said Langston. "To finally win - it was fantastic."

The win for Carmichael takes away McGrath's chances to win the $500,000 jackpot as part of Vans Triple Crown of Supercross, the Ford Ranger Pro, brought to you by Mountain Dew and Vans. The final round will take place in Las Vegas, Nev., May 5th at Sam Boyd Stadium. The rider with the most points in all three Vans Triple Crown of Supercross events will win $25,000.

Round 15 of EA SPORTS Supercross Presented by Speed Stick will head to Salt Lake City, Utah for the first-time ever next weekend Saturday, April 28th at Rice-Eccles Stadium and Towers. Tickets are available at www.sfx.com <http://www.sfx.com>, www.ticketmaster.com <http://www.ticketmaster.com>, or at the stadium box office.

The final Round of EA SPORTS Supercross will take place in Las Vegas, Nev., at Sam Boyd Stadium with the event being aired live on Pay-Per-View.

<pre> 125cc Western Regional Supercross Series Standings

1) Ernesto Fonseca              Costa Rica              Yamaha          143 pts
2) Rodrig Thain                 France                  Suzuki          123 pts
3) Justin Buckelew              Albuquerque, N.M.       Yamaha          117 pts

250cc EA SPORTS Supercross Series Standings

1) Ricky Carmichael             Havana, Fla.            Kawasaki        292 pts
2) Jeremy McGrath               Encinitas, Calif.       Yamaha          253 pts
3) Mike LaRocco                 South Bend, Ind.        Honda           213 pts

-SFX