Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki’s 17-year-old Leandro Mercado came back from a crash to win the AMA Pro SuperSport race at Road Atlanta. Mercado was one of several riders to crash in oil put down in several corners during the early laps of the race. The event was stopped with a red flag so the oil could be cleaned up. Riders who fell victim to the oil were allowed to make repairs to their motorcycles and restart from their lap-three running position. Josh Day crashed out of the lead, without the assistance of the oil, on the first lap, took the restart from the back of the grid and came through to finish second on his ESP Yamaha. LTD Racing’s Joey Pascarella earned the final position on the rostrum with third, less than a second behind Day. AMA Pro SuperSport Presented by Shoei Road Atlanta Braselton, Georgia April 5, 2009 Provisional Race Results (all on Dunlop tires): 1. Leandro Mercado (Kaw ZX-6R), 14 laps, crash 2. Josh Day (Yam YZF-R6), -2.893 seconds, crash 3. Joey Pascarella (Yam YZF-R6), -3.627 4. Armando Ferrer (Suz GSX-R600), -6.848 5. Kris Turner (Suz GSX-R600), -7.037, crash 6. Kyle Wyman (Yam YZF-R6), -13.324 7. Ryan Clay (Yam YZF-R6), -22.276 8. Huntley Nash (Yam YZF-R6), -22.396 9. Derek Wagnon (Suz GSX-R600), -22.840 10. Reese Wacker (Suz GSX-R600), -35.569 11. David Sadowski, Jr. (Yam YZF-R6), -36.547 12. Chris Clark (Yam YZF-R6), -36.856 13. Alex Lazo (Yam YZF-R6), -54.729 14. Brock Terrell (Yam YZF-R6), -54.929 15. Kyle Keesee (Kaw ZX-6R), -66.151 16. J.D. Beach (Hon CBR600RR), -73.018 17. Lloyd Worrell (Yam YZF-R6), -3 laps, DNF, crash 18. Dustin Dominguez (Kaw ZX-6R), -9 laps, DNF, crash 19. Russ Wikle (Suz GSX-R600), -11 laps, DNF, crash 20. Frankie Gillim (Hon CBR600RR), -11 laps, DNF 21. Ryan Conrad (Yam YZF-R6), -11 laps, DNF 22. Darrell Prantera (Yam YZF-R6), -13 laps, DNF SuperSport East Championship Point Standings (after 2 of 9 rounds): 1. Pascarella, 46 points 2. Wyman, 33 3. Mercado, 31 4. TIE, Day/Clay, 27 6. TIE, Turner/Wacker, 23 8. Wikle, 22 9. TIE, Nash/Lazo, 18 More, from a press release issued by LTD Racing: POINTS LEADER JOEY PASCARELLA FINISHES THIRD IN ATLANTA Braselton, Georgia (April 5, 2009) The AMA Pro Supersport race at Road Atlanta was an exciting and chaotic affair, with LTD Racing’s Joey Pascarella finishing third and retaining the East division points lead after the 14-lap event. Huntley Nash had a wild contest in his home race, eventually finishing eighth on the day. The race was red-flagged after three laps when oil and a burning bike brought out the red flag. Before the stoppage, Huntley ran with the lead pack, then dropped to 15th after running wide while dicing with the leaders. Huntley quickly jumped up to ninth. Meanwhile, Joey ran inside the top five and avoided the carnage that collected a few of the top riders and stopped the race. “I had a great time out there again,” said Vacaville, California’s Pascarella. “It was another good race for us and the key is to be consistent and fast. It’s good to have the points lead at this stage even though it is early in the season. Coming into this race banged up, I was a little worried but the bike ran great. I was hoping for a win today but we’ll settle for a podium. I’m stoked and would like to thank my team, my family and my sponsors.” After the restart, it looked like Nash would finish sixth but he lost out a in close battle to earn eighth position. “This was a race where I ran up in the top six but I had a problem as the tires were wearing down and the bike was ‘pogo-ing’ a bit in the corners,” said the Marietta, Georgia resident. “My goal changed from trying to charge to the front to getting points. I was definitely playing it safe this time, as opposed to making a mistake and not getting anything. For next race, I’ll concentrate on getting the most of our practice time and prepare more for the end of the race.” Joey and Huntley will next race at Barber Motorsports Park May 1-3.