Even when he crashes, Ricky Carmichael still is the most dominating motocross racer in the country. Despite a low-speed mishap, Carmichael righted his Honda bike, passed the leader and went on to win Sunday for the third consecutive time in the Thor Nationals at High Point Raceway in Mount Morris, Greene County.

The victory in round two of the AMA Chevrolet Motocross Championships was the 11th for Honda in the 250 class at High Point, and it tied Carmichael, of Havana, Fla., with Motorcycle Hall of Famer Kent Howertown for the most consecutive wins at the track.

In the 125 division, James Stewart of Haines City, Fla., continued to roll through the circuit on his Kawasaki bike. He won for the first time at High Point, one of the few stops on the tour where he had never won.

Despite the star power of Carmichael and the absolute dominance of Stewart, the crowd favorite was Broc Hepler of Kittanning. Hepler, 17, finished second to Stewart in the 125 event on what he considers his home track. He trails Stewart by 25 points in the overall standings.

"It's real exciting in front of your home crowd," said Hepler, who races a factory-backed Suzuki. "Everyone's cheering for you. You want to do real good for yourself and all your fans and friends and family."

Like many in the 125 class, Hepler's goal is to eventually move into the high-profile 250 division.

"That's definitely everyone's goal," he said. "Right now I'm doing good in the 125 class so hopefully in the next year or two I'll be able to win a championship in the 125 class and then I'll be able to make the jump up to the 250s.

"Usually, even the greatest riders take two to three years in the 125 class and make the step up after that if you're doing well."

Ganassi named in lawsuit

The National Jockey Club filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday in Chicago accusing Chip Ganassi of Fox Chapel for failing to pay his share of a multimillion-dollar debt resulting from the construction of Chicago Motor Speedway. The track was the host to Championship Auto Racing Teams events and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races from 1999-2002, but no longer is in operation.

Reached through a team spokesperson yesterday, Ganassi relayed that he had not seen the news release from the club and therefore declined to comment on the matter.

Hemphill impresses in ARCA
After shifting from the American Speed Association to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series last year, Ryan Hemphill of Apollo has settled into the ARCA Re/Max Series this season and has been impressive. A former star at Motordrome and Jennerstown speedways, Hemphill, who is part of Chip Ganassi Racing's driver development program, has won two poles and two races, including the Quaker Steak & Lube 100 a week ago at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C.

His next race is Saturday at Kansas Speedway.

Lugnuts
Ed Lynch Jr. won his fourth sprint car feature of 2004, and the 68th in his career, Friday at Lernerville Speedway. Lynch will aim for his fifth win tomorrow in the Bill Steinbach Memorial Sprint Race.

Neil Brown won the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series late model feature Friday at Motordrome Speedway to close the gap on points-leader Rick Miller. The Pennsylvania Legacy Series will join the six divisions in racing tomorrow night.

There will be three big-block modified features Saturday at Mercer Raceway Park as part of the Bill Emig Memorial "Legacy Series." Each feature will be 25 laps that pay $1,500 to win and $150 to start. Sportsman modifieds, stock cars, strictly stocks and a demo derby round out the program. The big-block modifieds features will be sanctioned by the B.R.P. Tour.

Johnny Rumley of Summerfield, N.C., won the USAR Hooters ProCup Series Lucas Oil 250 Saturday at Jennerstown Speedway. Logan Dernoshek of Canonsburg, a former racer at Motordrome and Jennerstown speedways, was knocked out on lap 120 with a motor problem. The race will be televised at 8 p.m. today on Speed Channel. A regular program with the Pennsylvania Legacy Series will be featured Saturday.

Steve Baker put his late model in victory lane Saturday at Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway and leads Dave Wade by 14 points in the overall standings. There will be a regular show Saturday and a "test-and-tune" Wednesday to prepare for two 20-lap late-model features June 12.