Duhamel crowned 2004 Formula Xtreme champion

Miguel Duhamel: 2004 AMA Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Champion

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (Sept. 7, 2004) -- Miguel Duhamel took home the 2004 AMA Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Championship after winning his seventh Formula Xtreme race at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga., last Saturday. While the Formula Xtreme title is Duhamel's seventh AMA road racing championship, surprisingly it marks the first title for the Montreal native in seven years.

Duhamel proved he was the leading contender in Formula Xtreme back in March when he won the season opener at Daytona International Speedway. He went on to take a three-race winning streak in the series before losing to Honda teammate and series rival Jake Zemke at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., in May. Duhamel came back to earn a pair of two race winning streaks to push his total number of wins to seven. That placed him in a tie for fourth on the all-time Formula Xtreme win list with Nicky Hayden and Andrew Stroud.

Duhamel is one of three riders to have earned a victory in Formula Xtreme this year along with Zemke and Ben Bostrom.

"I believe that we pushed it hard and we just went for it on the last lap again today," Duhamel said of his Road Atlanta victory. "It was just a really tough championship. There were two factory guys, obviously Jake and I were riding up front, but still there's only one place on the podium and it was really hard to get and I feel that this was a tough championship to win this year."

A victory in the series finale at Virginia International Raceway on Sept. 18 could put Duhamel up to a tie for third on the all-time series wins list after only one season of competing in the series.

A VIR win could also tie Duhamel with Eric Bostrom for the single-season record number of wins in Formula Xtreme. Bostrom won eight Formula Xtreme races en route to the 1998 championship.

Duhamel is the seventh AMA Formula Xtreme champion since the series began in 1997.

For immediate post-race results, points, live transponder scoring, in-depth series and rider information, regular columnists and much more, log onto www.USSuperbike.com, the official website of the AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship.

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