DNA Shred Stix/Star Racing/Yamaha - San Diego Supercross Race Report

San
Diego CA. (February 19,
2011) Over the weekend, AMA Supercross visited Qualcomm stadium in
San Diego, California for yet another exciting west coast round. Kyle
Cunningham #35 and Nick Paluzzi #72 of DNA Shred Stix/Star
Racing/Yamaha showed up knowing this was going to be one of their
last shots at some quick success. With the normal day program
abbreviated due to the harsh weather, timed qualifying surely showed
the team was in contention for strong performances by both riders.

Heat
#1 had the Star Racing duo of Cunningham and Paluzzi lined up on the
gate, it was Kyle grabbing the holeshot who has honed his starting
skills as of late. Paluzzi rounded the first turn in 2^nd,
and went over the first triple jump nearly side by side with his
teammate showing the strength of Star Racing’s motor program. At
the end of lap one, with small bobble exiting a slick turn lead to a
crash dropping Cunningham back into the thick of the field, while
Paluzzi dodged his downed teammate and assumed the role as the race
leader. Nick rode with great poise for the entire race, fending off
any attempt to overtake the rookie. With three turns to go, the
situation unraveled a bit when he and the second place rider
collided, causing Nick to slip to 3^rd
in a quick swoop. Thankfully Cunningham at the end of six laps
successfully stayed out of trouble and finished up in 6^th.

When
the Lites Main Event took to the track, it was Cunningham again
getting the best of starts sitting in 5^th,
while Paluzzi circulated outside the top fifteen. Up front,
Cunningham found the pace he needed to maintain, and locked himself
into a six way battle which put his Yamaha in a sweet spot with the
leaders just in range and with very little pressure from behind.
Finding some race rhythm was Paluzzi who had risen up to the 15^th
position on lap three, but rode tentatively with the compromised
track conditions. Lap seven went into the books, and Cunningham was
putting the pressure on to take over 6^th,
and to keep his Yamaha in podium contention. Pulling the trigger, and
executing the pass over the finish jump looked positive, but
unfortunately in the following turn he was block passed and fell to
the ground. Remounting in 11^th
after being stuck under his bike, Cunningham would go on to finish
10^th
on the night. Paluzzi pulled through on this occasion in fair
fashion, and came away with a 15^th.

Star
Racing is proudly supported by:

DNA
Shred Stix,
Yamaha
Motor Corp,
Scott
Sports, N-Fab,
FMF,
Cosworth,
North
County Yamaha,
DNA
Energy Drink,
GYTR,
Factory
Effex, Dunlop,
Easton
EXP, Enzo,
Renegade
Fuels,
Sunstar,
Motion
Pro, ARC,
ODI
Grips, RK
Chains, Excel
A60 rims,
Yamalube,
Ride
Engineering,
Twin
Air,
LightSpeed,
Braking,
Vortex
Ignitions,
ICW,
JD
Built, Crank
Works, Eibach,
Met
Tec, Tammer
MX