Super-X Games: Carmichael Wins His Own Race - Pitched as the man who talked the X Games organizers into including the sport of supercross into the already motorcycle-crazed Summer X Games, Ricky Carmichael did himself proud on Saturday evening by winning the inaugural Summer X Games 13 Moto X race. Held in the Home Depot Center before a sell-out crowd of well over 40,000 Southern California motocross fans, Carmichael was simply untouchable in the unique, never-before-seen, six-man, 12-lap, main event format. Certainly a “Made for TV” affair, the X Games organizers, holding true to their ethos and beliefs of making action sports “TV friendly”, the X Games brain trust schemed up a race format that required exactly 60 minutes of live TV time. Inviting 16 riders and implementing an innovative three race qualifying procedure, the Moto X event kicked-off with four, four-man heats in which only the winner would advance to the main event. Kevin Windham won the first six-lap heat race, although he had to fight off a rapidly closing Grant Langston to do so. In heat number two, Michael Byrne won although Travis Pastrana, who only rode a few times leading into Summer X and made a few mistakes in during heat, certainly made him work for it. Chad Reed handily won heat number three, while Carmichael won the last heat over David Vuillemin by over five seconds. Next up for the riders who did not win the first four heat races were two six-man heat races. Once again, it was only the winner who would transfer to the main, and Grant Langston and David Vuillemin were those two riders. Thus when it came time for the 12-lap final, it was Carmichael, Reed, Byrne, Windham, Langston and Vuillemin behind the six-gate starting line. When the gate did drop, Carmichael grabbed the holeshot, with Yamaha riders Chad Reed and Grant Langston and Honda pilot Kevin Windham immediately behind his #4 Suzuki. The foursome would rapidly clear out on the ultra-hardpack, dusty circuit, Carmichael visibly a bit faster than his adversaries. By lap six, the halfway mark of the race, Carmichael enjoyed 2.03-second lead over Reed. But then Reed made a minor bobble and Langston was through and into second. Carmichael would continue to extend his lead over Langston, while Reed, with les than two laps to go, ran into trouble, allowing Kevin Windham to pass him and nick the Bronze Medal. At the finish, Carmichael flashed across the finish line with a 3.62 second lead over Langston, who had another two seconds on Windham. Reed was fourth, Byrne fifth, and David Vuillemin was sixth.