By: Eric Johnson - Paul Carpenter is an unsung, underrated motocross racer. While James Stewart, Chad Reed and Ricky Carmichael score all the headlines and attention in the supercross print and electronic media and deservedly so riders like Carpenter, riders who consistently place in the top 10 on more production-based machinery, can go virtually unnoticed. Pull a top 10 in NASCAR, MotoGP or even Formula 1 and it can be cause for rejoice for a smaller team or lesser known rider or driver. Throughout the course of the 2007 AMA Amp'd Mobile Supercross Series, Paul Carpenter, in his first season in the 450F-based Supercross classification, has consistently been in the top 10. And as of this writing, the 25 year-old Cernic's Kawasaki rider sits 11th in points and is closing in fast on the top 10. Now in Orlando, Florida for Saturday evening's race in the Citrus Bowl college football stadium, we went looking for Carpenter to try and give some credit where credit is truly due.

Paul, what are you up to today?
I just landed in Orlando. I flew in from Texas, where I tried to train this week. The problem was that there was a lot of rain. They got over four inches of rain where I was staying near Houston. While I was there, I was able to ride about one hour of supercross.

Are you happy to be in Orlando for the supercross?
You know, I've never been here. This is my first supercross season on the 450 ever and I've never been here until now. They say the track has some sand in it and I've been riding in sand, so maybe that'll play into my favor.

Last Friday night in Daytona you missed the first main event of the 2007 AMA Amp'd Mobile Supercross Series. What happened?
I guess it all started with my heat race. I got a late jump off the start and was right behind Ricky Carmichael going into the first turn. RC tried to cut to the inside and his front end washed out. I ran into him and was dead last. I rode as hard as I could to try and get into a qualifying position, but kept making stupid mistakes. Also, the track was tight and tough to pass on. To make a long story short, I didn't end up in a qualifying spot. Then, in the Last Chance Qualifier, I don't know what I was doing. I got a dead last start, but then worked my way up to second place. I was going for the lead on the last lap and pulled what I consider the biggest retard move I have done in years. I went down in the whoops and that was it. I don't know what else to say.

You've been racing professionally for roughly eight years now, but really started to shine in the 2006 AMA West Region Supercross Series. Would you consider 06 to be the breakthrough year for you?
Last year was good, for sure. I finished eighth in the West Region and had some good runs. I had some ups-and-downs, but it was a good season. Then, I finished 11th in the Outdoor Nationals and felt pretty consistent all summer long. But by the end of the Nationals, it was already in my mind that I wanted to move up to the big bikes in 2007. I had been on 250Fs for three years and I knew it was time to make the change.

A number of people may not be aware of the fact that you were the 2002 and 2003 Western 4-Stroke National Champion. And while the series isn't super well know, you and the series itself were ahead of your time as far as 4-strokes are concerned.
For sure. I always felt that I was a better 450 rider and needed to be back on the big bikes. So, basically, during the off-season, any 250F deal that came my way, I did not take seriously. I mean I don't want to say I looked down my nose at the offers, I just knew I needed to be on a 450 in 2007. However, the 450 offers were slow in coming. So it just so happened that about one hour, literally one hour, before I was going to sign a deal to ride for a 250F team, Billy Whitley called me. I didnít really know Billy well, just from Arenacross and stuff, but he told me about a 450 team Cernic's was putting together for 2007. Even though it was supercross-only deal, I said to Billy, Where do I sign? 20 minutes later, Billy had a letter intent sent over to me and I signed the contract the next morning. Billy and I worked really well together right from the start. He sent me a new KX450F to ride get my feet wet while I was back in New York, and by November 1, I was in California testing.