AMA season concludes at Glen Helen.

The 2006 AMA Toyota Motocross Championship Presented by FMF will come to an exciting conclusion this Sunday at the Giant RV Glen Helen National in San Bernardino, California.

The biggest story at Glen Helen this weekend will be the battle for the AMA Motocross Lites Championship. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Ryan Villopoto is on the verge of winning the title in his first full season of professional racing as he leads Mike Alessi by 29 points going into the final round. Alessi, who rides for Red Bull KTM, still has a shot at winning the Lites championship, but he'll need a little luck on his side to do so.

Last year Glen Helen was the site of a dramatic last round. Like Villopoto, Ivan Tedesco looked to have a lock on what was then called the 125 title. But a crash in the first moto left him with no points and the championship was again up for grabs. Tedesco recovered to finish ahead of Alessi and clinch the championship in race two, but not without drama as the two collided and fell - with Alessi later penalised for trying to obstruct Tedesco after they had fallen.

Unsurprisingly, Villopoto is hoping to avoid the nerve-wracking path that Tedesco took to the championship last year. "I'm going into Glen Helen hoping to ride like I have all season. I want to go into the race and have a real solid first moto, and not end up like Ivan last year," said Villopoto, who has won five events this year. "I'd like to gain enough points the first moto so in the second moto I can just race to race - and not race for the championship."

If Villopoto wins or finishes second in the first moto at Glen Helen he will clinch the championship and he has history on his side: Kawasaki riders have won seven of the last nine AMA Motocross Lites titles at the challenging Glen Helen track, including the last four. But Makita Suzuki's Broc Hepler has been on a tear in the class, winning the last three events. That's the longest winning streak in the highly competitive series in two years.

Meanwhile, in the premier Motocross class, Glen Helen will mark the final full time race appearance for recently re-crowned champion Ricky Carmichael who will retire from full time racing after the 2006 season - marking the end of an unbeaten Outdoor

Carmichael is looking to win his sixth AMA Motocross at Glen Helen. The Floridian has won every Glen Helen event since 2000, with the exception of 2001, when Tim Ferry took the victory. He also earned three wins in the 125 class there in the late 1990s.

"Glen Helen is always a challenge," said Carmichael, who had a spectacular crash at the circuit in 2001. "There have been times that I haven't had the best luck at that track, but I've also had some really good races there and I'd like to go out on a winning note."

Carmichael will also use the race as preparation for the upcoming Motocross of Nations in England, where he will team with James Stewart and Ryan Villopoto to try to make Team USA the all-time wins leader in MXoN history.

The battle for second in the Motocross championship will be settled this weekend. Kevin Windham leads fellow Honda rider Davi Millsaps by 13 points coming into Glen Helen.

Upgrades abound at Glen Helen this year. Bud Feldkamp and his crew have invested more than $300,000 in track improvements into the popular Southern California facility.

As part of the recently completed renovations to Glen Helen Raceway, this year's race track utilizes the facility's elevation, giving fans the ultimate viewing perspective. For the first time in history, the track will traverse the hill behind the scoring tower and race to the top of the ridge dubbed Mt. Whitney.