Geico Powersports Honda's Kevin Windham and San Manuel Yamaha's Chad Reed (Photo: Steve Cox) » More Photos

However, his contentment didn’t last long, as Reed eventually found a spot to block-pass Short for second at the halfway point.

“I was just riding around behind him, and I didn’t really know what I was going to do, but it was actually harder for me to ride at his pace, so I made a move that I knew would stick,” Reed said. “At the time, K-Dub (Windham) was quite a ways out front, but...”

The “but” came when Windham made a couple of key mistakes out front, including nearly endoing before the finish line, which allowed Reed to get right on his tail. Again, it was hard to figure what was going to happen, as Reed was going for a championship, and it only took a sixth-place finish or better to secure it. A failed pass attempt on Windham could’ve easily ended in Windham putting Reed down or off the track, which could potentially cost Reed the title.

However, in the whoops on lap 14 of 20, Reed pulled alongside Windham, and then secured the position in the same off-camber turn that he used to snatch second from Short. From there, Reed pulled away to his ninth win of the season -- and his first AMA Supercross Championship since 2004.

“This means a lot to me,” Reed said. “I’ve been through a lot this year, and you could definitely say that I provided a little bit of flavor to the championship chase with all the trouble I had. But I have the title now, and as of Monday, I’m unemployed.”

Windham finished second in the race, and the championship, and Short finished third in the race, and the championship.