Excerpts from: Cycle News, March 31, 1999, p. 22

Briefly...
By Dave Derringer

Team Honda's Kevin Windham will have to sit out the rest of the AMA Supercross Series following a hard get-off during the second practice session at the Minneapolis Supercross that left him with a broken clavicle and a possible bruised lung. Windham was taken to the hospital, where he was patched up and released. "I cased a jump in one of the rhythm sections," Windham said after returning to the stadium later that night. "I basically broke my clavicle and was really concerned about coughing up blood, but it turned out not to be anything. I have good wind in my lungs, and the lung looked fine on the ultrasound and the X-rays. I'm going to see Dr. Ting next week for my broken collarbone, but as far as internal injuries, I believe I'm all right. I knew something was wrong with my shoulder, but that's not life-threatening. It was the first time I was bleeding internally, so I was a little concerned. It was a great relief to figure that out."

After returning to action last week at the Houston Supercross, Team Planet Honda/Pro Grip's Mike Craig was a no-show at Minneapolis. "He cased a triple in practice last weekend and cracked a bone in his ankle," said team manager Paul Lindsey. "He raced that night with a broken ankle unaware of it, but on Monday he couldn't walk." Craig will sit out the remaining supercross races but plans to make a full assault on the outdoor Nationals in the 125cc class.

Although Team Yamaha was present with their team transporter, there were no factory riders under the tent. Jimmy Button is still out with injuries after his big crash in Dallas. John Dowd is, of course, still out with the shoulder/arm injury he suffered at Daytona. Button is expected to return to action at the St. Louis Supercross next weekend, while Dowd is expected to make the first round of the Nationals in May. Dowd, however, was on hand at Minneapolis to sign autographs.

The Minneapolis event marked the first time in a long time that no Saturday prequalifiers were run. "I can't remember the last time that happened in my nine years doing this," Duke Finch said. "He believes that the lack of contestants could be attributed to several reasons, the foremost being that a number of riders are injured right now. Secondly, this was the final 125cc Western regional event of the year, and riders - primarily on the West Coast - not in or near the top 10 points did not want to make the trip to Minnesota, as there was an Arenacross being held the same weekend in Northern California.