Supercross | Big wheel coming home

This time, the teenager from Poulsbo can really enjoy his Northwest homecoming.

Last year, when Ryan Villopoto raced in front of nearly 47,000 fans in the AMA Supercross Lites class final at Qwest Field, his Kawasaki teammate, Grant Langston, was chasing a points title.

Villopoto, then 17 and a relative newcomer to the professional ranks, followed team etiquette and spent the race riding behind Langston to protect the eventual winner.

"Not to take anything away from [Langston], but I let him by," Villopoto said after last year's race, which he led briefly before Langston passed him.

On Saturday, when Supercross makes its third appearance at Qwest Field, Villopoto will get to take the equivalent of 15 victory laps in front of his home fans.

Villopoto, who has already clinched the Western Regional AMA Supercross Lites points championship, won't feel obligated to protect anyone this year.

"It was cool riding up there last year, but it was more about Grant Langston that race," said Villopoto. "I just rode behind him. I didn't want to try to race him, especially with it being so muddy. I just let him know I'm there so he didn't have to worry about other guys.

"It will be fun this year being able to just worry about riding my race and trying to win."

A win Saturday would be his seventh in eight races. In 2006, he won the AMA Motocross (outdoor tracks instead of stadiums) Lites Championship in his first full season. The 18-year-old is viewed by some as the sport's next big thing.

Not bad for a kid who grew up riding in an area not known as a hotbed for motor sports. Ryan's father, Dan, grew up riding in California because his father, a motorcycle shop owner, introduced him to the sport at a young age. After moving to Poulsbo, Dan started Ryan on a motorcycle at age 5, when most kids were being signed up for T-ball.

"It started as a hobby, more of a recreational thing," Dan Villopoto explained. "Some people go fishing or play baseball. We rode motorcycles. Basically, Ryan started racing because that's what we do in this family, we ride motorcycles. He just really got good at it."

So good, that some have compared him to the recently retired Ricky Carmichael.

"Obviously it would be hard to do what he's done. He's the best there's been in this sport," Villopoto said of Carmichael. "It's cool to have people be saying stuff like that, but we'll see what happens. Of course, I'd love to have some of the success he's had, but that's a long ways away."

After one more year in the Lites series, Villopoto will move up to the "big leagues" of his sport, the AMA Supercross Series. Saturday night, the Lites race will be followed by the 20-lap Supercross Series final. And while the main event will feature the sport's biggest names, like James Stewart and Chad Reed, the Lites final will have plenty of eyes on it, thanks to Villopoto.

"It's going to be really exciting for him to come home," said Dan Villopoto. "The whole Northwest motorcycle community, anyone who's affiliated with motocross, will probably be there. There's a huge fan base. The Northwest takes pride in having one of their local kids succeed."