2013 AMA Supercross Atlanta Race Report

James Stewart captured his first AMA Supercross win in nearly a year, leading every lap in front of 68,987 fans at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta in his most consistent main event showing so far this season.

The Yoshimura Suzuki racer was dominant in Atlanta, posting the fastest qualifying times and taking the holeshot to lead his eight-lap heat race before doing it again in the 20-lap main event. Stewart’s previous win was March 10, 2012, at Daytona International Speedway.

Monster Energy Kawasaki‘s Ryan Villopoto presented the only real challenge for Stewart but trailed the entire race, finishing 1.468 seconds behind. Series leader Davi Millsaps of Rockstar Energy Suzuki finished third and maintains a 22-point lead over Villopoto in the championship standings.

With his win, Stewart becomes the fifth different racer to win a race in eight rounds this season. The win also gave Stewart main event victories in nine AMA Supercross seasons, matching an achievement reached by Jeremy McGrath and Chad Reed (who could set a new mark of 10 seasons with a win in the remaining half of this season).

“I mean, what can I say, we won tonight,” said Stewart. “It [means] a lot; this whole season has been going crazy and to get a victory and to get a start, it was almost a perfect day. I was fastest in practice, fastest in the Heat Race, I got the holeshot in the Main Event and led every lap. I’m not going to lie, I was a little nervous because I haven’t been out there in a while.”

The 2013 AMA Supercross season reaches its halfway point next week, March 2, at Edwards Jones Dome in St. Louis, Mo.

[Source: AMA Supercross]

By Dennis Chung