The 2010 Steel City National is now in the books and those in attendance were treated to some of the best races we have witnessed all season long. Nearly every moto had a fight for the lead that went all the way to the checkered flag. While Ryan Dungey may have already wrapped up the 450 National title, a surprise winner ended the Suzuki riders string, and had the crowd in a frenzy. The 250 Class saw a continued battle for the championship that will bring the final decision down to the last moto at Pala Raceway next weekend. Read on to find out what went down in Pennsylvania in the 450, 250, and WMX classes.
450 Class
Moto 1
Andrew Short continued showing his quick reflexes as he took yet another holeshot followed very closely by Brett Metcalfe, Justin Brayton, and Kevin Windham. Although Short looked strong, Metcalfe was apparently stronger, as he reeled in the factory Honda rider to take over first place in the opening laps. But Windham was a man on the move and got around Brayton and then Short only a lap later with his sights set on Metcalfe.
*Note: Ryan Dungey had an issue with his front brake after colliding with another rider on the first lap and was forced to pull out of the first moto.
It seemed as though Metcalfe was gone but Windham was able make up some serious ground on his former Geico Powersports/Honda teammate. After a short skirmish, the number 14 machine was suddenly the one opening a gap on second. But it was surprisingly short lived as Metcalfe picked up his pace and K-Dub began to fade. Showing resilience, Metcalfe re-passed Windham in the closing laps. But the story was not over. Windham rediscovered some hidden speed, retook the lead, and would hold onto it by a narrow margin at the finish.
Moto 2
He may not have even finished a lap in the first moto, but Ryan Dungey was determined to have much different results the second time around. After nearly grabbing the holeshot, barely getting edged out by Andrew Short, Dungey made quick work of the Honda rider, and took over the lead. But his lead was also short lived when first moto winner, Kevin Windham, made the pass on Dungey before the first lap had finished. From there, the number 14 and number five machines broke away from the pack, challenging each other in one of the day’s many good battles.
Only a few laps into the race, Dungey stepped up his game, passing Windham and never looking back for the remainder of the race. Further back, Brett Metcalfe found himself much farther down the list than in the first moto and was forced to deal with the like of riders such as Mike Alessi, Kyle Chisolm, and eventually Andrew Short. The Australian was able to fight his way all the way into third place while Justin Brayton had one of his best rides of the season, riding in fourth place from start to finish. At the checkers, Dungey took the moto win, but it was the familiar number 14 of Kevin Windham who took a much-celebrated overall win with his 1-2 moto scores. The win marks his first outdoor overall victory since 2007.
Results
1) Kevin Windham 1-2
2) Brett Metcalfe 2-3
3) Justin Brayton 5-4
4) Andrew Short 4-5
5) Mike Alessi 7-7
6) Ryan Dungey 40-1
7) Nick Paluzzi 10-8
8 ) Kyle Chisolm 14-6
9) Bobby Kiniry 9-11
10) Ben Townley 3-37
TAGS: brett metcalfe, Christophe Pourcel, dean wilson, Geico Powersports, Honda, kevin windham, nationals, outdoors, pennsylvania, racing, red bull, ryan dungey, steel city, trey canard, Tyla Rattray
