RC poised for 'greatest feat' in AMA motocross.

The 2002 season has been building in anticipation of this Sunday's AMA Chevy Trucks US Motocross Championship finale at Steel City Raceway in Pennsylvania - and not just for Ricky Carmichael, but also for the entire motocross community.

Carmichael has the opportunity to complete the perfect season this weekend, going undefeated through a full summer on the gruelling US circuit. Since he started his unprecedented winning streak in San Bernardino back in early May, the anticipation of an unbeaten season has been building with each victory. If Carmichael wins both 250 motos and finishes off the 2002 series with a perfect 24 moto and twelve overall wins, it will go down as the greatest accomplishment in the 30-year history of AMA Motocross.

And the icing on the cake for RC is that he could also break the legendary Bob Hannah's record for all-time AMA 250 Motocross wins - currently at 27 - with an overall victory on Sunday.

A weekend packed with a unique convergence of monumental possibilities awaits the fans that come to watch the Labor Day Weekend Classic. Years from now racing historians will likely look back at the 2002 AMA Chevy Trucks US Motocross season as the one in which Carmichael laid claim to the title of America's greatest motocross racer of all-time. It is not only that the 22-year old factory Honda rider has won all of the races this year, it's the way in which he's won them. His performances have been the most dominant in the history of the series. Carmichael has led 323 laps this season - his nearest competitor, Tim Ferry, has led five - and he's frequently winning races by 20-30-second margins of victory.

The sheer idea of an undefeated season in motocross was considered ridiculous until about halfway through this season. Even then Carmichael wasn't convinced.

He was quoted as saying that an undefeated motocross season was next to impossible and would probably never happen. Even through the later rounds of the series, he tried to downplay the possibility of an unblemished season, instead focusing first on winning his third-straight US 250 Motocross title. But after clinching the championship on 18 August in Millville, it was obvious that Carmichael was then thinking about and shooting for the unbeaten season.

While the focus will be on Carmichael at Steel City, newly crowned 125 champ James Stewart also has an opportunity to set a record of his own. If the rookie sensation takes home a win at Delmont, it will be his tenth of the year, which would be an AMA Motocross record for the most AMA 125 wins in a season.

Perhaps Stewart is the only rider capable of challenging Carmichael's dominance in future years. The 16-year old rookie is slated to stay in the 125 class next year, so fans will probably have to wait for 2004 before the two Floridian champions meet on the track. But, for now, Stewart is already starting to etch his name in the AMA record books. Last week in Binghamton, he became the youngest national champion ever in AMA Motocross and this weekend at Steel City will be shooting for the record for the most 125 wins in a season.

The weekend marks the 14th year that Steel City Raceway has hosted AMA Motocross. The circuit, located just east of Pittsburgh, features supercross-like jumps mixed with high speed sweeping turns, uphill fliers, tabletops and tough rhythm sections. It's a demanding track that puts as high a price on a rider's jumping skills as it does on his speed skills. Steel City is built into a natural bowl and fans can see almost the entire track from their grandstand seats.