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Even though Team Makita Suzuki rider Ricky Carmichael has never failed to defend a championship (he has 10 major titles in all), he somehow is pegged as an underdog year after year.  A couple of seasons ago, Yamaha's Chad Reed was picked to replace Carmichael as the AMA Supercross champion, but that didn't happen.  Then last season, Kawasaki's James Stewart was the chosen one.  Again, Carmichael held onto the title.  When the start of the 2006 season rolled around, you'd think people would give the champ a bit more respect.  But once again the hype centered around Stewart.

You can't blame anyone for picking Stewart.  After all, he won the first two warm-up rounds in Canada before going on to post a convincing win at Anaheim 1.  Stewart's wins were so dominant, in fact, that there was even some talk of an undefeated season.  Carmichael, meanwhile, seemed to be slightly off of Stewart's pace in all three races.  When questioned about the difference in lap times, Carmichael appeared unworried.  He stated that his training program has always been structured so that he would peak in January, not December.  He quietly and confidently said he would be ready to go when the AMA series started.  As it turns out, he was right.

Round Three brought the riders back to Angel Stadium in Anaheim, CA for the second of three scheduled races.  Carmichael and Stewart were locked in a tie at the top of the points standings with 45 each, and Reed was just one point back in second place with 44.  Clearly, the outcome of this race would provide a bit of separation.

In the first heat race of the night, Stewart showed that the fast laps he was putting down in practice were just a taste of what was to come.  He won the heat and secured a good gate pick for the main event by finishing 2.1 seconds ahead of Reed.  Team Honda's Ernesto Fonseca took third place, and seven-time champion Jeremy McGrath, who is making limited appearances this year, also qualified for the main with a fourth-place finish.

Heat two wasn't even a contest, as Carmichael took the win despite getting tangled up with Factory Connection's Mike Larocco as the two riders came off the gate.  Ivan Tedesco finished in second, a distant 17 seconds behind teammate Carmichael.  In third it was Kawasaki's Michael Byrne, and Larocco crossed the line in fourth.

In the main event, David Vuillemin of the Bookoo Honda team was first to cross the Toyota holeshot line, so he scored a $1,500 bonus check.  But he soon fell behind Tedesco, who led after the first lap.  Stewart came around in fifth place, with Carmichael in hot pursuit in sixth and Reed lurking in eighth.  Stewart got around Vuillemin to move into second place by lap two, and he finally got past Tedesco for the lead in lap four.  Carmichael followed suit and was on Stewart's tail by lap five.

They would stay close together for the next 13 laps in what was shaping up to be a great finish.  The crowd could see Carmichael looking for a way around Stewart, perhaps mentally noting where he would try to pass the number 7 bike on the last lap.  For every fast lap that Stewart put down, Carmichael did the same.  At times there was less than one bike length separating the two riders as they went at it at full speed.  After matching each other jump for jump over the triples, into the rhythm sections, and through the whoops, Carmichael caught a break.  Stewart came into a blind corner a little too hot and didn't notice a downed rider in front of him.  In his haste to stop, he slid down and stalled his bike.  Carmichael had the presence of mind to ride around both Stewart and the other rider, and cruise on to victory.  Reed also took advantage of Stewart's mishap to move into second place, where he would finish for the third week in a row.  Stewart was able to remount and cross the line in third place.

So after three rounds, Carmichael now holds a four point lead over Reed and a five point lead over Stewart.  The next race will be January 28 at Pac Bell Park in San Francisco.