With 16 grueling rounds of AMA Supercross action already in the books, the last stop of the 2011 series rolled into Las Vegas, Nevada for the final showdown between the world’s best stadium racers.

With the Supercross-class championship already out of reach, James Stewart entered the finale wanting nothing more than a series-ending win to cap off an otherwise up-and-down season. Unfortunately for JS7, a win just wasn’t in the cards in Sin City, and thus the mighty number 7 will have to wait until 2012 to once again grace the SX podium.

In addition to the highly-anticipated Supercross-class finale, for the first time ever, Vegas hosted the final round for both Lites championship series (Lites East and Lites West), as well as the prestigious East Vs. West Shootout.

Ken Roczen (pictured at top) kicked off the night with an impressive win - his first-ever in Supercross - in the Lites West main event, and then finished a strong third behind Red Bull teammate Cole Seely in the East-West Shootout. In addition to an impressive second-place finish in the ultra competitive East-West race, Seely also secured fourth overall in the Lites West championship point standings with a fifth in the Lites West main event.

SUPERCROSS QUALIFYING HEATS

• When the gates dropped for Supercross Heat #1, James Stewart rocketed down the long Vegas start-straight to grab the holeshot and early lead.
• Behind Stewart, Andrew Short moved into the third spot on lap one and looked smooth and confident on the slick Vegas soil.
• Halfway through the eight-lap heat race, JS7 set the fastest lap of the entire day with a 101.61 - over a full second quicker than second-fastest Chad Reed.
• On lap four, Shorty took a wide line under the “over-under” bridge and caught his rear wheel on the base of the tunnel structure, instantly causing a flat tire.
• Up front, Stewart continued motoring away from the rest of the pack, eventually winning the heat by a whopping 14 seconds.
• Kyle Regal rode to a solid fifth-place finish to qualify for the main, with Mike Alessi following close behind in the sixth spot.
• Short (pictured below) returned in the Last Chance Qualifier and ran away with an impressive win to earn his spot in the Vegas main event.

SUPERCROSS MAIN EVENT

• With 20 riders amped and ready for the final main event of the 2011 series, the gates dropped and Alessi grabbed the all-important holeshot.
• Stewart pulled into third early on lap one after a top-five start and immediately got by Alessi, who had been displaced by Kevin Windham in turn two.
• After a multi-lap battle with veteran Windham, JS7 made a pass for the lead on lap four.
• Pushing the envelope while trying to pull away from the pack, Stewart made a critical mistake in the whoops on lap seven, going down hard on the rigid Vegas soil.
• With a twisted-up bike and a suspected foot injury, JS7 was unable to remount, ending the series with a disappointing 15th-place finish in Vegas.
• The quickest man on the track at the majority of the 17 rounds of action this season, Stewart just couldn’t shake the dark cloud of misfortune that lingered over him for much of the series, and sadly had to settle for fourth overall in the championship point standings.
• Despite starting from the far outside gate, Short rode a phenomenal race to an impressive fifth-place finish.
• In what is being called the most competitive Supercross series of all time, the ever-consistent Short finished in sixth overall aboard his KTM - the best Supercross-class series result ever for the Austrian-made machine.
• Regal finished the main just inside the top ten with a solid ninth to wrap up the series.

SUPERCROSS RESULTS

1. Chad Reed
2. Ryan Dungey
3. Ryan Villopoto
4. Chris Blose
5. Andrew Short
6. Jake Weimer
7. Austin Stroupe
8. Nick Wey
9. Kyle Regal
10. Tye Simmonds

OFFICIAL SUPERCROSS 2011 CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

1. Ryan Villopoto
2. Chad Reed
3. Ryan Dungey
4. James Stewart
5. Trey Canard
6. Andrew Short