San Diego Supercross race a welcome stop for front-running GEICO Honda team

SAN
DIEGO (Feb. 6) – GEICO Honda's Eli Tomac will be gunning for his fourth
straight Monster Energy AMA Supercross Lites West victory this Saturday
in the same place --Qualcomm Stadium -- where he won his first
Supercross race a year ago.

"I
can't wait to get to San Diego," Tomac said. "There will definitely be a
good vibe going. I got my first Supercross win there last year and this
year we're coming in off the turkey (three wins in a row).

"Plus, the Chargers are my favorite NFL team and we'll be riding in their stadium. How cool is that?"

During
his three-race win streak, Tomac has built a 22-point lead over
second-place Dean Wilson. Tomac said he believes the football stadium
track layout will suit his style and that he's hoping for another solid
night before the two-month break in the Lites West schedule.

"It'll
be cool to have the longer lanes and the longer whoops (section) that
you typically get in a football stadium," Tomac said. "We actually had a
pretty long section of whoops in Anaheim (on Feb. 4) so that kind of
got us ready for what we'll most likely see in San Diego.

"We're
sticking to the same program we've been on all season. There's no
reason to change anything. I think having our condo out here in
California has been huge because it's like a second home. You have a
comfortable place to relax and live while we're out on the West Coast.
I'm sure not missing all the travel. It wears you down."

Another
GEICO Honda teammate who has found benefit to sticking around
California is Supercross rider Kevin Windham, who has moved up to fifth
place in the Supercross standings after consecutive sixth-place
finishes.

"I'm
staying out here again this week for a few more days of testing at the
Corona track," Windham said. "It's a benefit, for sure, because the
weather has been bad back home so it would be tough to ride there. I
miss the family, but this is an important stretch for us.

"I
love Qualcomm because it always sells out and the fans there are really
into Supercross. That feeling reaches us down on the floor, believe me.

"The
track will be a good bit different than what we've seen in these
baseball stadiums. It should be more wide-open and faster and I think
that suits my style of riding a little better. Plus, they always have
good dirt in San Diego. I hope I can finally get this GEICO Honda on the
podium. We're right there. We just need to get it done."

The
team's other Lites rider, Gavin Faith, is entering his last race
filling in for injured rider Wil Hahn. Faith said his riding has not met
his own lofty expectations, but a solid showing in San Diego will take
some of that sting away.

"I've
definitely wanted more and expected more from myself so hopefully I can
have my best showing this weekend," Faith said. "I'm making a lot of
rookie mistakes. I've had a little bad luck. I feel like I've got the
speed I just haven't been able to show it yet."

Practice
for Saturday's Monster Energy AMA Supercross stop at Qualcomm Stadium
begins at 12:30 p.m. PST with opening ceremonies starting at 7 p.m.
SPEED TV will air the racing live starting at 10:30 p.m. EST.