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Written by:
Denny Hartwig
06/30/2008 - 02:32 PM
Aurora, IL
Chad Reed won the 2004 U.S. Open ยป More Photos
The rivalry between Ricky Carmichael and Chad Reed had been well established before the 2004 U.S. Open. Carmichael won the overall championship in 2003 with Reed finishing second. That year, Reed recorded six consecutive wins over Carmichael in the last leg of the season making the championship bittersweet for Carmichael.
Carmichael missed the 2004 supercross season entirely due to a knee injury. It’s safe to say that he would enter the indoor race a little rusty even though he returned to the AMA Motocross Championship and won every moto of the season.
The stage was set to see a recovered Carmichael and defending U.S. Open Champion Reed go at it again.
One more sub-plot: Carmichael just switched to from Team Honda to Team Suzuki and the U.S. Open would be his debut race. Remember what happened in 2001 when he showed up at the U.S. Open on a different brand?
“I had not raced supercross in a while and felt I needed to race,”
It was time for Reed and Carmichael to once again ignite their rivalry inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena and the fans didn’t want to miss it. Ticket sales were at an all-time high and at the end of the weekend, the race was the highest attended U.S. Open.
On the opening night Carmichael, a two-time U.S. Open champion from Havana, Fla., led the first four laps of the main event, before Reed caught and passed him. The race unfolded the same way that the second half of the 2003 season did as Carmichael followed Reed. Honda’s Mike LaRocco, who has a U.S. Open title under his belt, worked his way into third place late in the race. Reed held on for the win and Carmichael finished second.
“Chad rode well tonight, but I am not going to give up,” said Carmichael after the race. “I wish I could have given him more at the end, but I will be back tomorrow night. I will get better and show up ready.”
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