Canard oh-so-close to lead as Motorcross tour returns to Pittsburgh area

DELMONT, Pa. (Aug. 30) – The 2010 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship schedule is winding down, but the GEICO Powersports Honda riders are still in the hunt for some very important spots in the final championship standings, including the overall 250cc title.

A mid- to late-season surge has propelled Trey Canard to within 13 points of the 250cc lead. After a slow start, Canard caught fire and won four overall titles in a row. Last week at Moto-X 338, Canard saw that win streak broken, but he still captured the hardware in Moto 1 and finished the event third overall.

Now at the Steel City National on Sept. 4 -- the next to last race of the season -- Canard will have two more motos to attempt to surpass Christophe Pourcel for first place in the 250cc standings.

"If you think about it too much you won't have a good race," Canard said. "I just have to concentrate on what I need to do during the week and follow it up on the weekends.

"It's a matter of showing up ready and doing the best that I can."

The championship in the 450cc class was clinched last week by Ryan Dungey, but GEICO Powersports Honda rider's Brett Metcalfe and Andrew Short of Red Bull Honda are in a pitched battle for second place.

Metcalfe made up 11 points on Short in the last race, and he now trails his friendly rival by just three points heading into Steel City.

"I had a rough day at Southwick, but I was still able to make some gains," Metcalfe said. "I'm looking to lock up this spot by running more consistently and running up front these last four motos of the season."

GEICO Powersports Honda's other riders are still jockeying for position further down the charts. Barring disaster the last two races of the season, Justin Barcia is pretty well locked into fifth place in the 250 standings, but he still has goals to accomplish before outdoor season ends.

"The whole GEICO Powersports team has been just awesome," Barcia said. "I just want to get wins for us. I felt like I could have been more in the championship hunt this year, but I just had some bad races. I want to finish strong so we can really put something good together next year."

Teammates Eli Tomac and Blake Wharton are battling it out for sixth and seventh place in 250. Tomac leads Wharton by just three points.

Opening ceremonies at Steel City begin at 12:30 p.m. EDT. The 250cc race will be televised on SPEED starting at 8 p.m. EDT and will be immediately followed by the 450 race starting at 9 p.m.