James Stewart raced to his first Monster Energy Supercross victory of the season Saturday night, beating Ryan Villopoto in front of 38,339 fans at Chase Field.
Villopoto leads the season standings with 47 points, two more than Stewart.
Earlier, Kawasaki's Josh Hansen, from Elbert, Colo., raced to his second straight Supercross Lites Western Regional Championship victory.
Riding aggressively in pursuit, Villopoto closed onto Stewart's rear wheel as the two powered free of the pack. However, the showdown evaporated before it really ever took shape; Villopoto miscalculated and crashed away his bid for a second straight win.
Free of Villopoto's pressure, Stewart never looked to put a wheel wrong on what proved to be a tricky circuit en route to his lopsided triumph.
"I rode all right during practice and had a so-so heat race. Kawaski ace Villopoto held onto his championship lead by remounting and carrying on for a runner-up finish--"The track was tough tonight.
James Stewart cut the fastest lap in qualifying for tonight's round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona.
Meanwhile, Dodge Motorsports/Bel-Ray Hart & Huntington's Ivan Tedesco edged Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Ryan Dungey for the fourth fastest time, logging a 49.707 to Dungey's 49.768.
In the Lites division, Monster Energy Kawasaki's Josh Hanson topped the leader board with a 49.877.