Ryan Dungey heads into Steel City with the 450 Class title in the bag. Image: Simon Cudby.

The penultimate round of the 2012 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship is upon us, slated to take place this Saturday on 1 August at Steel City in Pennsylvania.

Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey has already wrapped-up the 2012 450 Class title in impressive fashion at the previous Unadilla round, marking KTM’s first-ever American outdoor title in the premier class.

Behind Dungey sitting comfortably in the runner-up position is MotoConcepts’ Mike Alessi. Alessi heads into Steel City with a 56-point buffer over Chaparral Honda’s Andrew short in third position.

Short has slowly moved himself up the series’ standings in the final half of the season, jumping 18 points ahead of Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer who is now relegated to fourth.

Weimer also sits tied in points with Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Broc Tickle, watch this space for some bar banging action.

In 2011 at Steel City, Dungey and eventual champion Ryan Villopoto put on an incredible battle for the fans, going bar-to-bar all afternoon long. Villopoto eventually took the victory, putting himself within striking distance of his maiden 450 Class outdoor title.

Blake Baggett continues to lead the 250 Class on his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki entry, maintaining his red plate from round one of the 12 round series.

Sitting 24 points behind Baggett is GEICO Honda’s Justin Barcia in second position. Barcia is followed closely by his teammate Eli Tomac who sits just 4 points off of the second place spot.

All-three of these riders have a chance to take home the 250 Class title for 2012, which will surely make these final two rounds very interesting.

With last year’s winner Steel City winner and overall champion, Deal Wilson, out of action the door is left wide open for the top three to battle it out.

Stay tuned to MotoOnline.com.au for updates and highlights from the penultimate round of the series.