Vicki Golden fails to make history in Supercross main event

Vicki Golden’s attempt to become the first female rider to qualify for a Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series main event didn’t last long.

Golden had an earlier than expected exit, failing to qualify for the night heats Saturday at AT&T Stadium.

“Today was good and bad,” Golden said. “Unfortunately I did not qualify, but all week I have been saying that if I don’t qualify, I want to be as close as possible.

“We did that at least today.”

Even though Golden didn’t make it, there was plenty of action in the night races to keep the announced crowd of 54,931 entertained.

One of the sport’s biggest stars, Ryan Dungey, had a wire-to-wire victory in the 20-lap finale of the 450SX division. His second win of the season gives him a 12-point cushion atop the standings and puts him in good shape in his quest to win a third championship (also in 2010 and 2012).

“Those wins are important; you’re going to have to have them especially as we get to the end,” said Dungey, who now has 16 career wins.

“We’re in a great spot with everything and just trying to build on it. Tonight we got off to a good start and it was nice. It was good to get a win. Those 20 laps felt good.”

Frenchman Marvin Musquin ended up winning the 250SX division, but there was a scary incident midway through the final race. Aledo’s Kyle Cunningham went down hard near the start-finish line, ending his night. The race was red-flagged and resulted in a staggered restart.

That didn’t seem to bother Musquin, who jumped out in front of the pack and had a comfortable lead once the checkered flag dropped after 15 laps.

“Man, I’m so glad to get it done,” Musquin said. “We had an awesome bike and an awesome team.”

It was the second race Saturday that drew a red flag. In the 450SX Heat 1 race, rider Sean Hackley went down hard after a jump on the second of six laps and was taken off on a stretcher.

Outside of those scary moments, the story of the day remained Golden. At some point, logic would suggest, Golden will eventually qualify for the nightcap the more she competes.

After all, she was less than four seconds away from doing it in Arlington and becoming the first woman in the sport’s 42-year history to do so.

Golden was one of 62 racers in the 250SX Eastern Division class, and the top 40 in the afternoon qualifying advanced to one of two 20-rider heat races in the main event.

Golden’s qualifying time was 1:01.009, and the time needed to make the cut was 57.203.

She will attempt the feat once again when the series heads to Atlanta’s Georgia Dome next weekend.

“I felt good on the track today, and I just need to be loose on the track,” said Golden, the 22-year-old rider for Hansen Racing.

“I am going to make the most of this week and come back strong next week for Atlanta.”

This story was originally published February 14, 2015 at 10:05 PM with the headline "Vicki Golden fails to make history in Supercross main event."