The fastest show in the stadium.

Who: Ryan Villopoto, James Stewart, and Chad Reed.
Where: QWEST Field, Seattle.
What: Round 15 of AMA Supercross.
When: April 18, 2009.
Quote: “I could have pushed it to go for Ryan, but I knew the track was brutal.”

Saturday April 18, was a day to remember for Supercross fans as over 50 thousand people filled Qwest Field in Seattle for round 15 of the AMA Supercross Series to see what has been one of the closest points battles the sport has ever seen.

One of the biggest surprises of the night came from Ryan Villopoto, 20, Poulsbo, Wash., riding for Monster Energy Kawasaki won the event in front of his home state with all his family in attendance. Villopoto said "It was good night I couldn't ask for anything more in front of the hometown." This win marked Villopotos first win in the premier 450 class. However a bit of luck was thrown Villopoto’s way as race leader Mike Alessi went down early, and points leaders Chad Reed and James Stewart Jr., were plagued with bad starts and a first corner crash which guaranteed an interesting race.

Most attending the event expected a closer battle between James Stewart Jr., and Chad Reed who are battling for the championship which has only two rounds left. Stewart who has 332 points this far, now is beating Reed who has 329. “I could have pushed it to go for Ryan (Villopoto), but I knew the track was brutal,” said Stewart after it was over.

Reed who came to Seattle with a five point lead needed to have Stewart not finish more than two spots ahead of him to keep his points lead. However a first corner mishap made it hard to pass the pack and reel Stewart in who was sitting in second. Reed worked his way up from twentieth to finish seventh at the races end. His worst result this year for Reed who has finished on the podium every race.

Stewart, who started the race with difficulties, stalled his bike and could not catch Villopoto who had settled in a comfortable lead. Stewart managed to end the night in second place. Stewart entered the race three points down now and now leads by five.

“It’s definitely awesome,” said Villopoto after coming away with the win in Seattle. Villopoto had missed the previous three rounds due to illness and is out of contention for the championship, but showed that may be a contender for the title next season.

The dirt brought into Qwest Field for the event was mostly sand which allowed for deep ruts and rapid changing track conditions that forced riders to be extra cautious. The track was made and prepped by Dirt Wurx who designs and builds all the tracks nationwide for the supercross series.

Supercross started coming to Seattle in 1978 but took a five year break from the city in 2000. Previous two years Seattle round winners are Kevin Windham and James Stewart Jr., who won the race in treacherous conditions due to rain.