James Stewart taking his seventh win in a row!

Inside the warm confines of the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, in front of a near capacity crowd, and live on Speed TV, the eighth round of the series wrapped up with San Manuel Band of Mission Indians/Yamaha’s James Stewart taking his seventh win of the season and seventh win in a row. For Stewart, the win solidified his place at the top of the points standings and served noticed to his competition that he indeed is the rider to beat in this year’s Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series. But for the defending champion, and Stewart’s main rival, Rockstar/Makita/Suzuki’s Chad Reed, Stewart’s seventh win has left him even more determined than ever to get to the top step on the podium. Reed’s runner-up finish in Atlanta, however, is once again due largely to a mediocre start, which held him back from the beginning, forcing him to climb back up to second after rounding the first turn in seventh.

James Stewart, 6 in a row...

SAN DIEGO (February 14, 2009) – Before the 2009 Monster Energy® AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, moves east, the world’s best riders brought the action to a close in the state of California as San Manuel Yamaha’s James Stewart, of Haines City, Fla., extended his winning streak to six races at Qualcomm Stadium. In the Western Regional AMA Supercross Lites class, Rockstar/Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey, of Belle Plaine, Minn., reclaimed the Western Regional championship points lead with his third win of the season.

Over the past six races, Stewart completely erased the 23-point deficit he faced after the season-opening race in Anaheim, Calif., and now sits in a tie with rival and reigning champion Chad Reed, of Tampa, Fla. The Rockstar/Makita Suzuki rider has been the picture of consistency this season, finishing on the podium in every race, capped off by a runner-up finish tonight to give him six straight second-place efforts behind Stewart.

Rockstar/Makita Suzuki’s Mike Alessi, of Victorville, Calif., grabbed the holeshot in the 20-lap main event with Stewart and Reed in tow. The class’ top two riders quickly made their move around Alessi and gapped the field. Reed kept pace with Stewart for a couple laps, but the Yamaha rider slowly pulled away, leading flag-to-flag.

“The track was definitely tough,” explained Stewart. “I just had some good luck. The track was slick, but, man, this San Manuel Yamaha was awesome. To come back where we were at, 23-points back, it’s just amazing. (San Diego) is special to me - it gave me my first victory in 2002 so I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for the city.”

Reed held of the late charges of both Honda Red Bull Racing’s Andrew Short, of Smithville, Texas, and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto, of Poulsbo, Wash., to capture second while Short edged Villopoto at the line for third.

“I got great starts and I was there,” stated Reed. “I just wasn’t fast enough. James rode awesome and I want to thank the team for being patient with me all day. I’m happy to be second and once again San Diego was good to me. I want to thank my team and all my sponsors. We’re just keeping it consistent.”

Tragic News Regarding Jeremy Lusk

It is with the greatest sadness that we report...our beloved Jeremy Lusk passed away at approximately 11:03 PM PST this evening due to complications from the crash sustained Saturday evening in Costa Rica. He died of head injuries after a horrible crash while attempting to land a back flip during the X-Knight Freestyle show in Costa Rica. He was doing a move known as the Seatgrab Indian Backflip when he lost control of his bike.

Still in the Calderon Hospital Intensive Care Unit, he was surrounded by his loving Mother and Father, Chuck and Gina Lusk, his wonderful wife Lauren, his Mother and Father-in-Law Lynne and Larry and many of his closest Mulisha family members including Brian Deegan, Ryan Hagy, Cameron Steele and Erik Apple.

“He was in a medicine-induced coma as a protective measure, and the medicine was being reduced to see how his organism responded,” he said. “That didn’t mean he was going to wake up. He was in shock and that got worse last night, until he stopped responding and entered into cardiac and respiratory failure.”

Please keep Jeremy and his family in your thoughts and prayers. All the warm thoughts, comments and support are comforting in these times.



Here's the video of Jeremy's crash: