Stanton Close to Rare Reprise : Motocross: He needs to finish at least ninth to become the second rider to win consecutive Supercross titles.

Only one rider, Bob Hannah, has won consecutive Supercross championships since Mike Goodwin introduced stadium motocross to the world 19 years ago, but Jeff Stanton is on the verge of becoming the second.

Stanton, 22, a Honda factory team rider from Sherwood, Mich., needs only to finish ninth or higher tonight in the season-ending Coors Super Challenge at the Coliseum to win his second title and the $50,000 bonus that goes with it.

Hannah, who recently left motocross to race Formula One tunnel hull boats, won three in row in 1977-78-79.

Stanton has won the last two races, at Oklahoma City and San Jose, and moved into a 14-point lead over his Honda teammate, Jean-Michel Bayle of France and Redondo Beach. Bayle won the world 250cc motocross championship last year and the 125cc championship in 1988 before moving to Redondo Beach to make an all-out assault on the Supercross championship.

Jeff Matiasevich, a Kawasaki-mounted rider from La Habra Heights, led most of the season before dropping to third place after a spill last week in San Jose.

“I would like to win in the Coliseum again, but all I really need to do is keep from falling down,” Stanton said.

Last year, he had already clinched his first championship before the Coliseum race, but won it anyway.

This will be the first time the championship battle has gone to the final race since 1985 in the Rose Bowl, when Jeff Ward won the title by finishing fourth and beating Broc Glover by two points. Johnny O’Mara was the race winner.

Bayle, 21, has won five of the 17 races, more than any other rider, but missed two races with an injured shoulder. To win the championship, Bayle would need to win tonight and have Stanton finish 10th or worse.

Stanton and Damon Bradshaw, a teen-ager from Charlotte, N.C., who rides a Yamaha, have each won four races. Bradshaw got off quickly, winning the first two races at Anaheim and Houston, but like Bayle, missed several events.

The top 10 finishers in points will split a $125,000 point fund, the champion getting $50,000 and the runner-up $25,000.

Also on the program is a Camel shoot-out for 125cc support class riders, matching the 10 top riders from the East against the 10 best from the West.

Denny Stephenson of Omaha, on a Suzuki, is the Eastern champion. Ty Davis of Hesperia, on a Honda, and Jeremy McGrath of Sun City, on a Kawasaki, will race for the Western title in a special runoff tonight.

Chris Young, an independent rider from Mission Viejo, will continue his iron-man stunt of competing in both the 250cc and 125cc races.

The Coliseum course, which is slightly more than three-eighths of a mile, is the longest of the season. The meandering circuit includes a pair of 85-foot climbs from the stadium floor to the top of the peristyle landing, after which the riders launch their bikes into space for a return drop equivalent to a seven-story fall. Supercross standings: 1. Jeff Stanton (Sherwood, Mich.), Honda, 314 points; 2. Jean-Michel Bayle (France), Honda, 300; 3. Jeff Matiasevich (La Habra Heights), Kawasaki, 294; 4. Mike Kiedrowski (Canyon Country), Honda, 265; 5. Larry Ward (Society Hill, S. C.), Suzuki, 262; 6. Jeff Ward (San Juan Capistrano), Kawasaki, 259; 7. Mike LaRocco (La Porte, Ind.), Suzuki, 243; 8. Damon Bradshaw (Charlotte, N. C.), Yamaha, 225; 9. Ron Tichenor (Palm Harbor, Fla.), Suzuki, 217; 10. Guy Cooper (Stillwater, Okla.), Suzuki, 200.

Former Coliseum winners: 1972--Marty Tripes (Santee, Calif.), Yamaha; 1973--Tripes, Honda; 1974--Jaroslav Falta (Czechoslovakia), CZ; 1975--Jimmy Ellis (East Hampton, Conn.), Can-Am; 1976--Ellis, Can-Am; 1977--Jim Weinert (Laguna Beach), Kawasaki; 1978--Mike Bell (Lakewood), Yamaha; 1979--Mark Barnett (Bridgeview, Ill.), Suzuki; 1980--Broc Glover (El Cajon), Yamaha; 1980 (second race)--Glover, Yamaha; 1981--Barnett, Suzuki; 1982----Bell, Yamaha; 1983--no race. 1984--Jeff Ward (San Juan Capistrano), Kawasaki; 1985--David Bailey (Axton, Va.), Honda; 1986--Rick Johnson (El Cajon), Honda; 1987--Johnson, Honda; 1988--Glover, Yamaha; 1989--Jeff Stanton (Sherwood, Mich.), Honda.