Atlanta: Powersports Honda pre-event notes

Supercross superstar Windham reminded of his Southern roots as tour hits Atlanta

ATLANTA (Feb. 24) -- Atlanta might be a long drive from GEICO Powersports Honda rider Kevin Windham's home base of Centerville, Mississippi, but in a lot of ways Georgia always has been a home away from home for the veteran Supercross rider, especially in the early days of his career.

"I was born in Baton Rouge (La.) and part of growing up and racing as a kid in the South was going to places like Texas, Florida, and Georgia," said Windham, who led 11 laps of last weekend's main event in Indianapolis before finishing third for the second week in a row. "Atlanta is only about 10 hours from home and I've raced all over this area. It feels as much like home as any place on tour. I always feel the most comfortable when I'm in the South.

"The fans at the Georgia Dome are just incredible. It's one of our biggest crowds of the season. You can feel the energy of the dome on the track. Believe it or not, we can hear a lot over our bikes and when the crowd gets excited, it pumps us up."

Racing out of the GEICO Powersports stable alongside Windham this weekend in Atlanta is Supercross Lites West title contender Trey Canard, who made his Supercross debut last week in Indianapolis filling in for the injured Andrew Short of Team Honda. Canard had just about everything go wrong in Indy with three accidents happening in front of him during a heat race, which ultimately led to bigger troubles in the main event, a race he failed to finish. None of Canard's mishaps were his fault.

Supercross Lites East riders Justin Barcia and Brett Metcalfe, third and fifth a week ago, will represent the group in the 250cc category.

"Things are going good; we're really getting some steam built up behind us," Windham said. "The GEICO Powersports team is having success in both classes. Trey won two of the last three races out West so he's riding really well. Personally, I feel pretty good about my riding right now and I'm looking forward to moving on to Atlanta and trying to find that podium again."

Windham says when things are going well on a team, it's hard not to get swept up in the momentum.

"Everything in racing is contagious and something to build upon," Windham said. "It all started with a great off-season for us with our testing and preparation. It's showing now with the results of the riders, but it takes the efforts of a lot more people than just the rider."

-source: Powersports Honda