Supercross in Seattle

One Race - Two Winners

April's Supercross nationals at Qwest Field in Seattle presented spectators with not one, but two first place champions.

While it's true that Kevin Windham took the first place flag during the final heat of the night in the 450 class, the real winner was Ryan Dungey who captured enough points in that race to come out as the number one points leader for the season. Even with a few races to go, no rider can capture Dungey's point lead this year.

Ryan Dungey takes his turn at the podium in Seattle, even though he finished 4th here.

Ryan Dungey's victory in St. Louis gave him a 77 point lead over the next closest racer Villopoto. Villopoto was Dungey's number one competition throughout the season. Unfortunately, Villopoto misjudged a triple jump and had a brutal crash in St. Louis. As a result he broke his leg and that left him out of the championship for rest of the season. With only 75 points available, Dungey secured his lead. With 10 podium finishes and 5 wins during the season, Dungey surprised everyone and took the championship before the last three rounds of the season to be raced.

Dungey looked very strong during the practice and qualifying heats in Seattle. He had a decent start in the race, but he was behind the leader, veteran Kevin Windham. Then Dungey crashed in the middle of the race, yet managed to pick up the bike and finish in 4th position.

When he finished his race in Seattle, he joined Jeremy McGrath as one of only two riders in the history of supercross to capture the 450 class championship as a rookie.

Kevin Windham takes a flying leap over the finish line at Qwest Field

Congratulations to Rookie of the year Rockstar/Makita Suzuki rider Ryon Dungey on becoming the 2010 AMA Supercross Series Champion.

Kevin Windham grabs the hole shot at the front of the race.

Dungey's smooth recovery from the final heat's crash garnered him enough points to win the entire season.

Photos and story by Orhun Uygur/Turkphotos.com