"I could hear the crowd all night and that made it special," said Windham, an obvious fan favorite. "It definitely pushes you when everyone is cheering and you look up and see the 'Windham' signs. I wish I could have gotten them the win."
After qualifying first in the second heat, Windham had the Hoosier State faithful at full throat from the first lap of the main event when he set up early leader Davi Millsaps and made a slick pass to assume the lead. A back-and-forth battle with Millsaps consumed the next few circuits until Windham managed to pull away and enjoy some free time out front.
But point leader Ryan Villopoto, who barely qualified for the main in the Last Chance Qualifier after wrecking in his original heat, methodically tracked down Windham. After poking his nose out in front a few times, Villopoto finally made the pass in lap eleven. Not long after, Ryan Dungey also managed to get past Windham and the three settled into their positions and finished the race without any other changes.
No. 2 qualifier Barcia rocketed from the gate in the Lites race, taking the $1,000 Spike Holeshot Award for leading the way to the first turn. He then settled into second place behind reigning
champion Christophe Pourcel until the third lap when he had a slip. "Just a rookie mistake," he said. Fortunately, his bike didn't stall and he was able to get back in line in fourth place.Barcia held that spot for the next 11 laps until finally passing Ryan Sipes in the second-to-last turn to steal away a third-place finish, with the razor-close action sending the fans into a frenzy.
"It all set up just right in front of me and I got a lucky line," Barcia said of the finish. "I'm glad I was able to stay with those guys all night so I could be in position to do that. I could see them all race and I could hear the crowd whenever I got close."
(Racer X Five Minutes with Justin Barcia).
Team member Brett Metcalfe had mixed results in Indy. Metcalfe ran well throughout the day in his Lites East debut and finished fifth overall in the main event. But a strange landing in qualifying aggravated a pre-existing ankle injury that hampered him a bit in the race itself. (Racer X on Metcalfe's Indy Race).
The GEICO Powersports/AMSOIL/Honda team has now placed a rider on the podium at six of seven Monster Energy Series events this year.
Up next on the schedule is Atlanta, Ga.
Until then, we'll see you at the races.
