For Metcalfe, it was his first race with the team, and he came in as one of the favorites. After being near the top in times during qualifying, he went out and won his heat race, setting him up
for a good gate pick in the main event. In the main, he got a decent start and worked his way through the pack, eventually finishing very close to the race winner in second place.“It was exciting for me,” Metcalfe said. “I was a little bit nervous at first in the practices, but I was really happy with how the two practices went, and times were pretty decent. I was happy with my start in the heat and I came out with a win, and that was really cool. I kind of had the feeling that I could ride well tonight, and if everything goes well, we could be on the box. We pulled that off with a win in the heat and second in the main.”
His rookie teammate had to run in the unseeded practices during the day, but then came out in the races ready to do battle. In his heat, he finished a strong fourth ,and then in the main, he started at the tail end of the top five, and after some jostling of positions, he finished fifth.“It was new and I didn’t really know what to expect, but overall, it went well,” Wharton said. “I stayed off the ground, and I felt like I rode a good race. Now I have three weeks to work on some stuff and get ready for Atlanta. But I’m happy how it ended up.”
Lites Race
In the 450cc class, Kevin Windham had a tough day. After finishing third in his heat, he went into the main event optimistic, but the start was key, and he didn’t get it. He started outside of the top 15 and had to work his way through the field on the tight, one-lined circuit. He finished ninth.
“It was nice to be back home, and I was home this week and around my friends and family here at the race,” Windham said. “I felt like I had some good sections in practice, and I’m never really a strong rider in practice. But once the night program and the main came, I never gave myself a chance with the poor start. People last week said the track was one-lined, but I think this one kind of took the cake, so it was tough to make passes, and to be honest, it was the hardest I ever rode for ninth place. It was pretty disappointing to come across ninth.”
In the 450cc class, Kevin Windham had a tough day. After finishing third in his heat, he went into the main event optimistic, but the start was key, and he didn’t get it. He started outside of the top 15 and had to work his way through the field on the tight, one-lined circuit. He finished ninth.
“It was nice to be back home, and I was home this week and around my friends and family here at the race,” Windham said. “I felt like I had some good sections in practice, and I’m never really a strong rider in practice. But once the night program and the main came, I never gave myself a chance with the poor start. People last week said the track was one-lined, but I think this one kind of took the cake, so it was tough to make passes, and to be honest, it was the hardest I ever rode for ninth place. It was pretty disappointing to come across ninth.”
From here, the GEICO Powersports/AMSOIL team heads to San Francisco for round five of the AMA Supercross Series, and round four of the Lites Western Regional Supercross Championship, on January 31 inside AT&T Park.
Until then, we'll see you at the races.
