New Zealander Ben Townley has been crowned Supercross Lites East Coast champion at the seventh and deciding round of the series in Detroit, Michigan.
The Kawasaki rider pulled back a huge points deficit over the series after a first round "did not finish" almost put the 22-year-old outof the running.
Townley was only three points away from championship leader Ryan Morais and five from teammate Darcy Lange, so it was always going to be a tough, three-way battle for the title.
Townley qualified fastest in timed practice but finished third in a difficult heat race.
This was good enough to give him direct entry into the 15-lap final.
After a lacklustre start, and a first corner incident, Townley was back in fourth place at the end of the first lap.
Morais stalled his bike on the second lap and put himself out of contention for the win.
Stringing together a series of consistent, fast laps, Townley hauled himself up to second. With the title almost in his grasp, he kept his cool, didn't make any mistakes, and crossed the line in second place.
At the end of the 15-lap main event, Ryan Dungey won his third main race of the year, but Townley's second-place finish gave him the AMA Eastern Division Lites Supercross Championship.
"This a dream come true," said Townley. "So many emotions, so much hard work and so much blood, sweat and tears have gone into winning this championship."
The win is also a compensation for the 2004 MX2 world champion. Townley finished third in the 2005 MX1 championship, but on arriving in America last year, severely injured his knee in supercross training and missed most of the season.
Townley goes to Las Vegas on May 5 for the East v West coast shoot-out.
