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OFFICIAL RESULTS
AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES:  ROUND 15 OF 15
SAM BOYD STADIUM, LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MAY 17, 1997
20-LAP 250cc MAIN EVENT
POS.   NO.  RIDER NAME      HOMETOWN          MACH PTS. SPONSORS
1      20   Doug Henry      Oxford, CT        YAM  25   Yamaha Motor Corp., USA
2      9    Ryan Hughes     Temecula, CA      KAW  22   Kawasaki Motors Corp., USA         
3      10   Damon Bradshaw  Boise, ID         HON  20   Manchester Honda Racing/AXO/Shoei/Scott
4      11   Ezra Lusk       Bainbridge, GA    YAM  18   Yamaha Motor Corp., USA                
5      3    Jeff Emig       Riverside, CA     KAW  16   Kawasaki Motors Corp., USA     
6      17   Damon Huffman   Acton, CA         KAW  15   Kawasaki Motors Corp., USA
7      1    Jeremy McGrath  Menifee, CA       SUZ  14   Am. Suzuki/Fox/Suzuki of Troy/1-800 COLLECT
8      6    Larry Ward      Florence, SC      HON  13   Honda of Troy/American Honda/Sinisalo
9      5    Mike LaRocco    South Bend, IN    SUZ  12   American Suzuki Motor Corp.
10     18   Jimmy Button    Phoenix, AZ       YAM  11   Team Chaparrel Yamaha/AXO/FMF/Acerbis
11     15   Michael Craig   Lakeside, CA      HON  10   Honda of Troy/American Honda/Sinisalo/Oakley
12     19   Buddy Antunez   Moreno Valley, CA HON  9    Thor/Honda/Primal Impulse/Tuf Racing
13     74   Jeff Hedden     Valley Center, KS SUZ  8    F&S; Suzuki/Pro Circuit/JT/Factory Connection
14     58   Michael Jones   Export, PA        KAW  7    Team Green/Answer/FMF/Arai/Smith/BT Racing
15     52   Jason McCormick Vancouver, WA     YAM  6    Brothers Honda-Yamaha/UFO/Dunlop/Bell
16     47   Ryan Huffman    Roseburg, OR      KAW  5    Washougal MX/Scott/AXO/Bills Pipes/Dunlop
17     13   Brian Swink     Linden, MI        KAW  4    Moto-XXX/HSKS of Ocala/Gaerne/SMP/Bell
18     900  James Eickel    Grove City, OH    KAW  3    Pro Circuit/Answer/Scott/Bell/Motul/Hammerhead
19     410  Travis Hodges   Albuquerque, NM   KAW  2    Ancae Heating/Scott Kawasaki/Pro Circuit/One Ind.
20     12   Phil Lawrence   Menifee, CA       YAM  1    Team Chaparral/Yamaha/AXO/FMF/Oakley
Time: Attendance: 34,025 
1-900-PRO-RACE Hole Shot Award: Doug Henry
 
PRELIMINARY EVENTS
Heat 1 Heat 2 Semi 1 Semi 2 Pos. Name Pos. Name Pos. Name Pos. Name 1 Ryan Hughes 1 Doug Henry 1 Damon Huffman 1 Damon Bradshaw 2 Jeremy McGrath 2 Jeff Emig 2 Michael Craig 2 Buddy Antunez 3 Ezra Lusk 3 Larry Ward 3 Brian Swink 3 Ryan Huffman 4 Jimmy Button 4 Phil Lawrence 4 Mike LaRocco 4 Jason McCormick Time: 8:03.290 Time: 7:57.990 5 Jeff Hedden 5 Michael Jones Time: 6:02.850 Time: 6:09.310 Last Chance Qualifier Pos. Name 1 James Eickel 2 Travis Hodges Time: 6:38.750 FINAL 1997 AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES POINT STANDINGS Pos. Name, hometown Pts. Wins Pos. Name, hometown Pts. Wins 1 Jeff Emig, Riverside, CA 293 5 11 Michael Craig, Lakeside, CA 122 2 Jeremy McGrath, Menifee, CA 278 2 12 Mike Kiedrowski, Acton, CA 106 3 Ezra Lusk, Bainbridge, GA 251 2 13 Phil Lawrence, Menifee, CA 102 4 Larry Ward, Florence, SC 230 14 Damon Huffman, Acton, CA 94 1 5 Greg Albertyn, South Africa 206 1 15 Steve Lamson, Riverside, CA 81 6 Mike LaRocco, South Bend, IN 203 16 Ryan Huffman, Roseburg, OR 75 7 Doug Henry, Oxford, CT 175 3 17 Brian Swink, Linden, MI 67 8 Damon Bradshaw, Boise, ID 166 18 Kevin Windham, Baton Rouge, LA 64 1 9 Jimmy Button, Phoenix, AZ 163 19 Buddy Antunez, Moreno Valley, CA 50 10 Ryan Hughes, Temecula, CA 145 20 John Dowd, Chicopee, MA 49   1997 MANUFACTURER POINT STANDINGS 1. Kawasaki, 608; 2. Suzuki, 546; 3. Yamaha, 535; 4. Honda, 483; 5. KTM, 15.  
OFFICIAL RESULTS
AMA 125cc SUPERCROSS SHOOTOUT
SAM BOYD STADIUM, LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MAY 17, 1997
15-LAP 125cc MAIN EVENT
POS. NO. RIDER NAME       HOMETOWN           MACH REGION SPONSORS
1    1W  Kevin Windham    Baton Rouge, LA    YAM  West   Yamaha Motor Corp., USA
2    14  John Dowd        Chicopee, MA       YAM  East   Yamaha Motor Corp., USA
3    57  David Pingree    Menifee, CA        KAW  East   Pro Circuit/SplitFire/Kawasaki/AXO/Bridgestone
4    141 Craig Decker     Palm Desert, CA    KAW  West   Pro Circuit/SplitFire/Kawasaki/Bridgestone/AXO
5    29  Scott Sheak      Germantown, NY     HON  East   American Honda Motor Co., Inc./Fox
6    1E  Tim Ferry        Largo, FL          SUZ  East   American Suzuki Motor Corp.
7    32  Casey Johnson    Murrieta, CA       KAW  West   SplitFire/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki
8    50  Jeff Dement      Spring, TX         KAW  East   Kawasaki/Team Green/Kawasaki of Carrollton
9    66  Robbie Skaggs    Macon, GA          HON  East   Manchester Honda/AXO/GT/Factory Connection
10   90  Jeromy Buehl     London, OH         YAM  East   Yamaha/SCR/Pro Circuit/Xtreme/Smith
11   75  Heath Voss       Prior Lake, MN     HON  East   Great Lakes Airlines/TMR/Tom Morgan/RedLine 
12   277 Erick Vallejo    Corona, CA         KAW  West   Kawasaki Mexico/Tecate/AXO/Bridgestone
13   140 Ryan Clark       Albuquerque, NM    SUZ  East   R&S; Racing/American Suzuki/Oakley/AXO
14   53  Cory Keeney      Oakdale, MN        YAM  West   Xtreme/FMF/Sunstar/Pirelli/EBC/Smith/Motul
15   71  Casey Lytle      Santa Clarita, CA  HON  West   Honda of Troy/American Honda/Sinisalo/Oakley
16   586 Chris Wheeler    El Cajon, CA       SUZ  West   Pit Pro/Suzuki/FMF/Answer/Factory Effex
17   173 Jefferey Pestana Salinas, CA        KAW  West   Clawson Motorsports/Pro Circuit/Enzo/JT/Shoei
18   70  Ricky Carmichael Havana, FL         KAW  East   SplitFire/Kawasaki/Pro Circuit
19   45  Jeffrey Willoh   Glendale, CA       YAM  West   Noleen Racing USA/ProFlex/K2/Dirt Squirt
20   112 Stephane Roncada Corona, CA         HON  East   Honda of Troy/American Honda/Sinisalo/Oakley
21   24  Robbie Reynard   Norman, OK         HON  West   Primal Impulse/Fox/Scott/Bell/C.Ti./All Sport
22   51  Tom Clowers Jr.  Santee, CA         YAM  West   SMP/House of Motorcycles/Papa Joe's Pizza
 
PRELIMINARY EVENTS
Heat 1                  Heat 2                        
Pos. Name               Pos. Name 
1   Tim Ferry           1    Kevin Windham
2   Stephane Roncada    2    Jeffrey Willoh
3   Ricky Carmichael    3    Craig Decker
4   Scott Sheak         4    Casey Lytle
5   John Dowd           5    Robbie Reynard
6   David Pingree       6    Christopher Wheeler
7   Heath Voss          7    Cory Keeney
8   Jeff Dement         8    Erick Vallejo
9   Robbie Skaggs       9    Jefferey Pestana
10  Brock Sellards      10   Travis Hodges
11  Jeromy Buehl        11   Tom Clowers Jr.
12  Barry Carsten       12   Casey Johnson
13  Ryan Clark          13   Robert Taft
14  David Kratz         14   Ryan Terlecki
15  Ryan Duff           15   James Chamberlain
16  Greg Schnell        16   Shaun Perolio
17  Paul Currie         17   Travis Preston
                        18   Brian Deegan
 
1997 AMA INDUSTRY BONUS AWARD SPONSORS
American Suzuki Motor Corp., Arai Helmets, Arnette, AXO (Mechanix Wear), AXO
(Renthal), Bell Helmets, Boyesen Engineering, Bridgestone Tire Corp., Dunlop
Tire Corp., EBC Brakes, FMF Racing, Fox Racing, Kawasaki Motors Corp., USA,
KAYO Corp. (EK Chain), Matrix Sports Group (Bieffe Helmets), Oakley, Pirelli
Motorcycle Tires, Scott USA, Shoei Safety Helmet, Slamin Motorsports, Smith
Sport Optics, Thor, Twin Air, UFO/Factory Concepts, Wiseco Piston Inc., Yamaha
Motor Corp., USA.
 
 

Emig New Champion of AMA Supercross

WESTERVILLE, Ohio -- Saturday night in Las Vegas Jeff Emig broke through and 
finally won the title he dearly wanted for years. Emig, 26, rode his Kawasaki to 
a conservative fifth-place finish at the AMA Supercross Series finale which ensured
him enough points to win the 1997 championship. It was the first Supercross title 
for the rider from Riverside, Calif., and marked the end of the record-breaking 
four-year AMA Supercross domination by the indomitable Jeremy McGrath.
 
Emig's 1997 Supercross campaign was marked by a series-best five victories and a 
string of top finishes. After a shaky start in the two season kick off races in 
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Emig came on strong to win three of the next five 
races and took over the lead in the series after round seven with a victory at Daytona
International Speedway. Emig led the standings the rest of the year.
 
The title was a culmination of years of hard work in the Supercross series for Emig.
He began racing Supercross in 1989. He recorded his first Supercross finish, tenth in
AMA 125cc Western Region event, at Anaheim Stadium on January 28, 1989. He competed 
in his very first Supercross main event in 1990 when he finished 20th at the Pontiac
(Mich.), Silverdome on April 21. Emig won his very first AMA Supercross race on June 10,
1995 at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas.
 
The Emig saga was just one chapter in one of the most remarkable Supercross seasons 
in the history of the series. The '97 campaign began with the shocking news of McGrath's
defection from Honda to Suzuki just days before the season opener in Los Angeles.
 
Former world motocross champion Greg Albertyn stole McGrath's thunder early on by giving Suzuki 
its first Supercross national victory in six years. From that point on the series 
became one of the most competitive ever, with a total of seven riders taking victories,
the most since 1985 when a record eight riders stood atop the podium. 
 
The season will also be remembered for the sudden rise of four-stroke bikes. Lance 
Smail put a KTM four-stroke in the field at the Daytona (Fla.) Supercross much to the
crowd's delight. It is thought to be the first time a four-stroke qualified for a 
Supercross main event. The season ended with an important  milestone; the first 
Supercross win for a four-stroke motorcycle. Doug Henry rode a Yamaha prototype to 
victory in the series finale, a possible precursor of the shape that Supercross and 
motocross racing will take in years to come.
 
Emig won his title before the greatest crowd ever to watch AMA Supercross. A record 
total of 691,676 fans came through the gates during the 15-race 1997 series. Millions 
more watched on the weekly shows broadcasts on ESPN2. These are lofty times for the 
23-year-old series.
 
This year's AMA Supercross title marks the third AMA national championship for Emig. 
He won the AMA 125cc National Motocross Championship in 1991 and is the defending 
AMA 250cc National Motocross Champion.
 
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