Unbound Energy’s Chad Reed Podiums In Detroit Despite Shoulder Injury

March 27, 2006, 2:28pm

And Unbound/Wey wows ‘em in his hometown, again topping several
factory-backed racers – including rival Michael Byrne – for fifth
place overall

CARLSBAD, Calif., (March 26, 2006) – Chad Reed (Yamaha) proved he’s got the heart of a champion this past Saturday in Detroit,
engaging in a heated battle for second place with rival Ricky
Carmichael despite a reported 3rd degree shoulder separation the
would have put many riders on the sidelines.

“I’m not going to give up,” said Reed. “It takes me a few laps
to get going, but I’ve decided I’m going for it. No excuses. I
chose to to this and I’m happy to be on the podium (3rd) again.”

It didn’t help any that Reed sketched in the first heat race and was
forced to bang on his shoulder for another six laps in winning the
first semi race. In the main even Reed and Carmichael engaged in one of the better battles for 2nd and 3rd of the year, with numerous lead changes and aggressive passes occurring before Carmichael edged Reed in the end.

Perhaps the biggest round of applause on the event came when Nick Wey entered the stadium during opening ceremonies – running a giant afro wig and Detroit Pistons’ Ben Wallace jersey. The applause was short-lived, though, as Wey would go down in his heat race and miss out on his semi qualifier by one spot (6th).

Relegated to the LCQ, Wey made up for his earlier lapses and got the crowd back into it, winning the final race before the main over his
buddy Jason Thomas. In the main Wey brought the crowd back to its
feet, pulling the $1,500 Progressive Direction holeshot and staying
on it until the end. Along the way Wey topped two factory backed
racers – including Kawasaki’s Michael Byrne, who Wey’s engaged
in a heated battle with for fifth place overall in the AMA Supercross
class standings.

“We were running pretty hard for sure, felt like he (Byrne) took me
out on the start straight,” said Wey of the last lap accident that
involved he and Byrne.

Over at Unbound/Moto XXX it was again Tim “Red Dog” Ferry carrying the torch in the Supercross class. Ferry got to the main by virtue of a 4th place finish in his semi, the pulled another top ten finish (9th) to preserve his top ten overall standings on the season. In the AMA Lites class, Unbound-backed Josh Summey of the Moto XXX team was 8th – his second-best finish of the season. And good news for the Unbound/Moto XXX team was that Kyle Lewis is back from an injury and raced, though he didn’t make the main.

The Unbound-backed racers return to action this weekend when Round 13 of the 2006 Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series heads south to Houston’s Reliant Stadium (April 1st – no kidding!). Action gets underway at 7:30 p.m.