Reed, who turned 22 on Monday, came into 2004 the pre-season favorite after closing out the 2003 campaign with six-straight wins. So far this year the Aussie sensation has not disappointed. He’s already jumped from 17th to 9th on the all-time AMA Supercross wins list and has an opportunity to tie Jeff Stanton and Mark Barnett for seventh on the list if he should win in Indianapolis this weekend. Last week’s St. Louis win made Reed the first rider to string together a three-race win streak and the importance of that wasn’t lost on rival Windham.

“It’s the first time anyone has put together three in a row,” said Windham. “I definitely didn’t want Chad to build the momentum he did last year against Ricky. To beat him I’ve got to ride the best I can. That’s it.”

Reed won the race in St. Louis despite suffering from severely bruised ribs and hip suffered in a crash at the Daytona Supercross a week earlier. He was so concerned with how his body was feeling that he went in to have an MRI just three days before the St. Louis race. He credited trainer Jeff Spencer with getting him ready to race. Even after winning in St. Louis Reed sounded as if he was ready for the off weekend from the grueling schedule after Indy.

“I am real happy to come out of the race and win again,” Reed said after last week’s victory. “It’s the first time I have been able to put three together and I am really looking forward to the rest of the season and for sure our weekend off.”

While Reed is the clear favorite to win Indianapolis, Indiana fans are hoping that home state hero Mike LaRocco will finally break through and win his home Supercross. The 33-year-old South Bend resident is having a strong season despite being the oldest regular in the series. LaRocco is third in the point standings coming into Indy and has earned six podium finishes this year. LaRocco has certainly lived up to his nickname “The Rock” by recently celebrating his 200th AMA Supercross start.

LaRocco has raced in Indianapolis since the AMA Supercross Series first came to the city in 1992. He’s always been very competitive earning a total of five podium finishes in the race, including runner-up finishes in 1997 and 2000. He’ll be riding Saturday with sore ribs after suffering a hard crash in practice last week. Even though he’s been consistently competitive wins for LaRocco lately have been few and far between. His last Supercross win came in Anaheim, Calif., on Jan. 20, 2002 and before that it was nearly seven years back to a previous victory in the series.

“I love racing in front of the fans in Indy,” said LaRocco. “Over the years I’ve felt maybe a little extra pressure to win there. It seems like a lot of times I’m battling injury by this time in the season, but everyone has to go through that. I’ve been riding well this year. I just need to make sure I get a good start and who knows, I think I still have what it takes to win. If I didn’t I wouldn’t be out there.”

Kawasaki’s 125 ace James Stewart will make his Indianapolis Supercross debut. The 18-year-old from Haines City, Fla., is a perfect five for five in the AMA 125 East Supercross Series coming into Indy. He clinched the series championship last weekend in St. Louis – the earliest any rider has wrapped up the title. Stewart said his goal is to go undefeated in the series this year and it appears that unless he crashes or has a mechanical failure on his bike there no way anyone will stop him. Stewart has averaged over a 23-second margin of victory in the first five rounds of the eight-race series.