Attention Daytona Motor Corp

The outdoor season is fast approaching. In fact, if you haven't looked at the updated outdoor schedule, you should. It has been updated and changed significantly this year. In light of this fact, here is something pertaining to the outdoor season.

Imagine this: Your in amazing shape, and at the age of 30, you have a program that has evolved over the years to meet your needs as a rider and boost your fitness to an all time high. You may not smash the lap records book, but on lap twelve twenty five minutes into the race, you are just as fast as on lap one.

You have established yourself as a solid top twenty outdoor rider in previous seasons, although you only race one or two nationals a year. Suddenly, a new rule emerges, effectively ending your chances at ever racing a national again.

The rule I speak of is the timed qualifying, and here is my take on it.
I am extremely partial to this post. I know a rider, Matt Karlsen (http://www.karlsenracing.com/profile.html), who always makes it to my local track's Thanksgiving Team USA Championships race. He is in unbelievable shape, is damn fast, and never says die! He is a beast to put it lightly, I would say he makes Andrew Short look weak! In previous years, he had made a few Outdoor nationals, and done well for himself, largely in part due to his fitness. At our race, he always starts mid pack out of 40, looks like he will finish tenth for the first half of the race, and always ends up passing pros left and right in the second half to finish top 5 and sometimes top 3, against very respectable names. All due to fitness.

However, with the new qualifying structure he no longer makes the show, when he used to do so well. Of course, I am partial, but there are problems with this current set up.

My first point: The riders have their best chance at laying down some wood when the track is freshly prepped and practically bump free. This means, that the first couple laps of practice are one huge pissing contest to get the fastest lap time. Or, for my favorite underdog Matt Karlsen, a mad dash to get in the show! If motocross were car racing, I would agree with the rule. You don't want a car on the track that is way off pace! But if this were car racing, you wouldn't want a car in the race you knew couldn't go the distance. That is analogy applies perfectly to the current situation.

Second: If you work your ass off, allowing yourself to be just as fast on the last lap as the first, you should be rewarded for that. Tim Ferry is rewarded by great late charging finishes, heck he even gets faster as the race goes on! His fitness (and talent...) aspect allows him to be a front runner.

Third: Motocross is not just who can go the fastest. It is a huge mix between fitness and speed, and for many, the more fit they are the faster they can go. Why then, is qualifying for a race based on purely the speed element of racing? I personally know a couple intermediate (B) class riders, (and by judging from the Mini Olympics in Vegas, you know/heard of a couple) who could easily qualify for an outdoor national. Hell, Justin Barcia and Dean Wilson set 2 of the top 5 lap times with Barcia setting the fastest all week, as B class riders. That said, I guarantee you they aren't fit enough to crack the top twentieth maybe alone thirtieth place in the first moto, let alone the second moto (well, maybe Barcia and Wilson could, but that's the exception to the rule...both are going top factory pro in a year or so).

Matt Walker said, "It takes a real man to do thirty plus two...ugh twice."

Fourth: The track is getting destroyed by the mad dash in an entirely new manner. No, it doesn't get rougher than usual, dryer than usual etc... now it gets one lined. A one line track is as detrimental to good racing as anything else you can imagine. This is not me complaining from a fan standpoint, I am just restating the riders opinion over the course of the previous year.

Those are the problems, and some of those points, if not all, overlap.



Here is the solution:

All riders must qualify based on the average of their top five or seven (needs research so they don't cruise one, go fast one) fastest laps per each practice session. That doesn't mean the 5 (for arguments sake) best laps between the two sessions, but the fastest 5 in that particular session.

Or, even better, they should qualify like in the good ole' days. That way the importance of starts plays in, as well as fitness. This would allow those who get good starts to use that strength, as well as those who are in shape enough to hold on for the entire qualifier to use that strength.

All that, of course, will be after a non timed practice session is held to allow the track to develop multiple lines before the madness begins.



There were a lot of top twenty riders who didn't qualify to nationals this year... to keep this PG-13, I would be forced to leave the things they have to say about the rule.

To attempt and quote Matt Karlsen on the new rule (a real PG-13 guy),

"It sucks cause it leaves out people who actually train and work hard during the year and off-season and replaces them with slackers who may be able to go fast once, but are people I kill at local races longer than 4 laps. If they end up making the show, they ultimately get dead last lapped 3 times in moto 1 and are too tired to race moto 2. What fan wants to see someone give up while on the track?"

Well put, Matt, well put.

We all have that local favorite who we love to see do well, but I do think that purely basing qualifing on speed is fundamentaly wrong considering the many other aspects in riding.

Thanks for reading, email me if you have any comments or thoughts on the matter at aggiemoto99@yahoo.com

Seattle SX - Supercross Class

HOLY SMOKES!

From merely listening to the webcast from the always awesome Weege and Hollywood Holly, my heart is still pounding! I just listened to the most exciting race in a LONG, LONG time.
With 13 points to overcome, the fan favorite K-dub did exactly what he needed to. He pulled a big fat hole-shot dripping in glistening, delicious, wonderful opportunity to make up points. To add the adjectives, Reed fell down in the first turn! I was so excited at this point, I prematurely...assumed...that he and Reed were going to Vegas toe to toe.

But the night wasn't over! On one of the early laps, Windham got stuck in a tuff block cover! His bike stalled with the unholy "tuff block" cover impeding his desire to win, let alone move, and without some luck on his side, K-dub was very nearly parking his ride for the night. I was shouting curse words at the computer monitor and hitting my head on the ceiling from jumping so high trying to "E" urge K-dub back into action. But he showed some unprecedented intelligence in motocross history, going backward to get the cover out in order to ultimately go forward again! Who would think those from the south could think so well (I live in Texas...it's ok). He resumed his race in fifth place...but a distant one at that.
Reed, however, had worked his way up to a mere three back from K-dub by this time already! Now the dog had a rabbit to chase, as Windham was only a straight away.

The race was now officially on! I was then treated a the best riding clinic ever produced, as Windham had an absolute fire under his @ss with Reed matching him step for step. Windham made something along the lines of 10 seconds up to make up to pass the then leading Andrew Short for the numero uno position. Of course, he this was after making his way like a freight train through Josh Grant, Tim Ferry, and Davi Millsaps. Reed, seeing Windham's success, followed suit. But he quickly found out it wasn't as easy for him! It went so far as he and Andrew Short banging bars with one lap to go so hard that Reed nearly wadded himself into a crumpled tissue, as his hands got knocked off the bars. After the race, there was some "talking", but no knuckle samples were given.

Reed clearly expressed his distaste with the run in.
Shorty, on the other hand, had nothing to say other than racing is racing, get over it.

Shorty (an adopted Texan) is jacked, I don't think Reed wants to go there!

If you have looked to the right column on my blog, I put a think about it list, which contains "Windham mad" in its items. I did this long before Reed hurt himself, because I had thought about it.

Now that he has had his run-ins with Reed, Windham is pissed. He has been extremely serious and almost hyper focused at each round since, but in a very un-Windham like manner, instead of riding tight like he used to when he gets too serious, he has ridden like a man mad at the world. I'm so glad he has finally shown his ability, and I didn't even get to watch it yet!

Reed:
He is so fast coming through traffic, and he is an absolute monster on the bike. He rode so well to come from last to first that I absolutely applaud him in his effort this year. I already ragged on him this year once in the Daytona post, but I think he deserved some of it at the time. Now that Windham is finally responding to the challenge on the track, Reed is back in my good book. Don't forget, he is still recovering from the nastiest crash I never want to see again, which you can view here.

So.
Vegas approaches, and there is a 10 point lead held like super glue holds your fingers together by Chad Reed. After the race tonight, even Kevin almost faltered and said in an interview that the championship is out of reach. But anything can happen, and if Reed had any mechanical problems, has problems with a tuff block, or wrecks, Windham is right in it.

On to more exciting things, the outdoors. I'll detail a post later, but Windham is going to race! Only a few though, and that makes me happy. A few are better than none.


Email me with any thoughts, related or not, at aggiemoto99@yahoo.com.

Thanks for reading!

An Arm and Leg

Mark these words.

The cost of racing will drive out the people that make our sport so good.

Just look at nascar. How in the heck would you ever go pro in that? Buy your own car like Ricky's? No. Try dirt track? No. Car racing has almost become reserved for the rich of wallet, not the most talented. Hell, I would LOVE to race cars, or shifter carts, or some sort of 4 wheeled vehicle, but I just plain can't afford to.

Here is the motocross story, before it goes extinct.
First came the four strokes.

• Yeay for more usable power!
• Yeayfor no more fouled plugs!
• Yeay for no more premix!
• Yeay for no more religious top end rebuilds!

But should we say:

• Yeay for 2000 dollar engine rebuilds?
• Yeay for heavier bikes?
• Yeay for 5000 dollar mod bikes?
• Yeay for increased part wear (tires, chains, sprockets)?
• Yeay for more expensive purchase prices?
• Yeay for the "neutral only start" routine?
• Yeay for the death of the used bike market?

With the introduction of the four stroke in to main stream racing, you bought a lot more for each bike.

• Valves (originally titanium)
• Cams
• Cool pistons
• Oil pumps
• Titanium exhausts
• Carburetors with fuel squirter's (accelerator pump).

The four stroke is a technical marvel, but think for a second. Which bike requires more of a tuning knowledge? I feel the two stroke is magnanimously cooler when you look at the actual science behind the tuning.
Four strokes: more air in, higher revs, more power out.

The two stroke is a constant balance between power and ride ability.

Four strokes were great when Yamaha released them. The required almost ZERO maintenance, and were easy to go fast on for everyone. People no longer had to ride on the pipe, and the gap between beginner to novice to intermediate closed substantially.

But then came the problems (although I would like to say leave Yamaha out of it). When bikes blew up, they BLEW UP! (Ready, Inhale!) Now, a new crank was needed when the piston abruptly stopped moving from the valves sticking open because a 5 dollar valve keeper got loose requiring a new cylinder combined with a new head because the valve destroyed it (Phew! exhale!). Oil starvation required new cams and heads, sometimes a piston, and don't count out a crank after you fix the aforementioned problems because the effects of oil starvation weren't present during the rebuild. After a new reciprocating assembly, your transmission goes out, because the root of your oil starvation problems are a 3 dollar crank seal.

Then the used bike dilemma surfaced. With a particular brand of bikes experiencing valve recession, when you bought a bike, it was only a matter of time.
TICK, TOCK,
TICK, TOCK


BOOOM! There goes your brand "new" used bike.

People, realizing the problem, did a couple things. First, many completely serviced their "new" used bike, checking and often replacing every part necessary. Second, others bought new bikes only. Many raced a year, traded in, and raced another year, dumping off their used steed to some poor soul.

Of course, dealers were happy, they were selling an abundance of high mark up parts, and it wasn't their fault the bikes were breaking! They also got more shop business because the public were duped into thinking the four stroke is hard to work on.

Manufacturers were happy, they were selling more new bikes than ever, and they were selling more parts than ever, in part because mags were all raving the how great four strokes were, and in part because the pros were slowly coming round to the four stroke.

The aftermarket was happy. Exhausts now cost upwards of a grand, motor mods over a grand, pistons two hundred, weird trinkets and triple clamps surfaced to make the four stroke handle better like the two stroke. With valve failures, the aftermarket could now offer "upgraded" parts to make the bike last longer.

So yeay. Yeay for a thriving bike economy, yeay for cool technology, and yeay for faster riders.

But not really. With EFI on the horizon, jetting is no longer know how and a 2 dollar jet or a free change of the needle position. Now a computer tuner is needed when you add an aftermarket exhaust or air filter, and even more sad is that the stock jetting can be wrong.
A computer science degree is needed to work the systems. Don't beleive me? Just read about how horrible the Suzuki is stock, and how much worse the problem is with a pipe. The tuners are easily 500 bucks.

And the used bikes are REALLY in trouble. Now you may need a new injector, fuel pump or will think you do when a wire goes astray.

All for what? Did EFI really make the Suzuki better? No, it did horribly in the reviews. Did four strokes make the sport better? No, I see less and less riders every year at my local track, and it used to be packed, every practice. Now the track can barely stay afloat, and race turnouts are barely making three to a class. Are riders truly faster? The clock may say so, but their skill would belay the numbers. Put em' on a two stroke, and weep. It is that sad.


Don't feed into the B.S.
EFI will only cost more in the long run, and it doesn't make more power. Four strokes are killing the sport, and in five years, I will no longer have a local track. Hell, it's for sale as we speak.

My local track is Cycle Ranch, the BEST dirt in Texas, with one of the best layouts for true motocross, PERIOD. Don't beleive me, just ask the Alessi's, Heath Voss, Pastrana, the Hahn family, Sean Hackley, and many, many more. Dirt Rider calls it the hidden treasure in the south.
And yet, the track is going under from lack of turn out.

I'm not blatantly saying buy a two stroke, but think twice before you get that four stroke.

St. Louis SX Lites

WOW!


The season that can't be predicted was to,sum up,-----unpredictable. With the tango for two set up coming into the weekend, the pressure was on two of the young guns in our sport.

----Ryan Villopoto----

At times, he has been the most dominating "lites" rider we have ever seen. He has blazing speed, he is an animal on the bike where others are mere humans, and he has an air of confidence around him that makes other riders shake in their boots. The Vegas odd makers absolutely KNEW he would win this year, every magazine KNEW he would dominate year, and I KNEW he was invincible. After a terrible race one, I KNEW he was still in it. After a mistake riddled second race, I THOUGHT he could pull it out. After getting pummeled at Daytona, I questioned his health but knew he was the fastest. Then he proved me right, by reeling off 3 easy wins, dominating the competition in true 2 fashion. With a final race left, mano y mano, I had no doubt he could use his dominating ability and put forth his confidence by showing his blazing speed to become truly invincible this season.

Heck, he jammed Ben Townley, the mx2 WORLD champion, under his boot when the pressure was on during the epic outdoor season, who is Trey Canard again?

----Trey Canard----

The rookie sensation took a vacation the past couple rounds, allowing Ryan Villapoto to get within striking distance. At this point, anyone who is anyone, and even those who aren't, thought Canard's dash for the cash (the title) was over for the year, although the general consensus was his debut season was a brilliant success.

The Villopoto train had just got rolling,
"CHUUU CHUUUU!"
and what started as a slow "CHAuuuuga chuuuuuga chuuuuuga, CHAUuuuuuuga chuuuuuuga chuuuuuuuuga"
changed into a ROARING "CHUGA CHUGA CHUGA CHUGA" moving at a speed so fast even asteroids had to throw their respect.
When Villapoto gets going, HE GETS GOING.

After a solid amateur career, and a championship at his final Loretta's, Canard entered the pro ranks as someone to look out for in the next couple years. In the remaining nationals after Loretta's, he had some strong showings, besting even his teammate Josh Grant a few times, but didn't show the blazing speed Austin Stroupe debuted or the amazing speed Villapoto showed the year previous at Glen Helen. Apparently, Trey is not one to sit idly in the off season, as he ripped into first 3 rounds of the AMA supercross Lites East Coast division by winning big. In doing so he amassed himself a seemingly infallible points lead and a ton of confidence.

But he the young one lost his way at some point, and let the talk get to his head! He started losing points faster than Russian Skaters with a French Judge, with no seeming answer.

On Saturday, April 20, Trey Canard fought back to a "chuging" Ryan Villapoto to not only win his 4th race of the season, but also his first ever championship.

Read at over RacerX the controversy that took place, but it was no doubt one for the record books. Thanks for reading, I'd do a race report, but others already have!

The Call to Arms

WHAM. Everything fades out, then comes back. You crawl off to the side, and lay there. You feel like you cant breathe, and every labored inhalation you take seems as if your sucking in nothingness. Yours ears are ringing, and you can barely hear the track crewman shouting to you.

".....ight?" filters softly into your brain. You try to process the comment, but it makes no sense

"are you aLL RIGHT?" fades in a man shouting at you.

Are you o.k.? You haven't had time to think that far ahead yet. You try and think about your body and each element, but you have to respond soon, or the guy will freak out.

You don't know, and shrug your shoulders at the man.

"Stay here, don't move." he says with clarity, looking you straight in the eyes.

You slowly move each body part, first your ankle, then leg. You repeat this on your other side. You move onto your fingers, wrists, arm, shoulder. Everything seems o.k,, but it still feels like you were hit by a Mac truck.

Slowly you begin to catch your breath.

Your neck feels fine, but a little stiff, and your head seems fine, although maybe a little fuzzy. Then you try to sit up, and the wave of nausea and pain hits you. Your right rib cage erupts in pain, and you nearly throw up.

The guy re emerges in your vision.

"You doing alright buddy? That was one heck of a wreck!" he says almost encouragingly.
"Glad you got off the track, though" he says gravely "watched a kid get hit just last week..." he begins "he was ok though..."

"Is my bike o.k.?" you ask.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two hours later, sitting in your house, you try not to hurt. Your buddies are chattering about events from the day's race, they joke at your wreck, you reflect. Tomorrow is going to hurt. BAD. You have broken a couple ribs, sprained a muscle or two, and have hit your head well enough to need a new helmet.
"Dammit" you think.

Amidst one of your friends jokes, you state, "Screw this riding crap, I'm selling everything"

The room bursts with laughter.

"Yeah, right, just like you said you were gonna land that double today!" One friends says.
"Ha Ha, yeah, just like Ricky Carmichael I think you said!" pipes another

Your trying not to laugh, let alone breathe, but everyone is laughing hysterically, and you can't help but crack a smile.

"No, no, no, let him sell it! Now I can get me a new bike, CHEAP!" laughs another.

Internally, you have about had it with riding though.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

A couple weeks later, while piddling around in the garage, you see your bike. It is still dirty from the day of your wreck, and you can still smell the race gas in the tank.
"George, can't you do ANYthing right?" you mutter to yourself chastising your buddy who dropped the bike off.
You walk over to your bike and lower it from the stand. You move it a couple inches to the left, straighten it to just the right angle, and re lift it.
The grips feel so good in your hands, the brake lever a perfect distance from the throttle.

You move on, and leave it.

A couple more weeks later, it calls to you. You have been avoiding the garage, but today, you can't help it. You enter, see your dirty bike, and know immediately what you must do.

Three hours later, the bike is showroom clean, has a fresh filter, every bolt is tight, you have lubed and adjusted the chain, and the oil has been changed, swapped out for some fresh synthetic.

The bike just sits there, and the more you stare at it, the more it begs you to turn it on.
"Just start me, that's it, I promise" the bike says.

You hop on, go through your start up routine, and then kick hard. It explodes to life. You let it warm up, get ready to turn it off, but you hear something.
"Just up and down the street once" you hear, ever so faintly.

Now, you don't even think, everything is secondary, and you feel yourself notch the bike into second, slip the clutch and roll off smoothly towards the street.

You cruise for a second, it feels good. Without thinking you get on it, whacking open the throttle. Internally the carb slide opens, air races towards the engine, sucking fuel along the way. The explosive mixture pours into the cylinder, compresses, and then silence. BOOM! The fuel ignites, forcing the piston down, and escapes out the exhaust. The bike leaps foward, Second, Third, Fourth gear fly by, and the wind is roaring around your ears. You snap closed the throttle and cruise up your driveway.

You kill the engine, dismount, find neutral and wheel the bike into the garage angling it just right before lifting it on the stand.

Your hands are shaking from the adrenaline, your hair is straight up from the wind. You look around, colors look sharp and crisp, you process things as if they were almost in slow motion.

The rest of the week feels so mundane, everything so dull.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"RRRRRING. BBRRRRRRINNNNG." your house phone screeches.

"Heeellllo. Yeah. This sunday? 8 my place? Great, see you then."

Back to the races!

Detroit Sx- Lites Class

The lites class in Detroit looked like any other this year, with Villapoto laying down the fastest lap in practice, followed by Grant and then Canard. With Canard showing a strong performance in Dallas despite a first turn wreck, and the uncharacteristic reliability of the Honda's this year (the same can be said about all the bikes for that matter), everyone assumed that Ryan had no shot at the title.

When the race took off, Villapoto found himself out front, followed closely by Canard a few spots back. At this point, even Ryan admitted it didn't look like the night he was hoping for.

But somehow, Trey Canard threw it, along with his kung fu grip on the championship, away with a wreck that resulted in issues rekindling the fire in his screaming Honda. After he finally resumed his charge toward the finish, he was way back. With the night over, the "new 2" found himself a mere three points back with one round left! Talk about excitement. This means that in order for Ryan Villapoto to claim an East coast championship, he must win the upcoming race, and vice versa for Trey Canard. If Ryan wins the race, and Canard gets second, they will end the season in a points tie! The tie breaker would then go to Villapoto on a rule stating the rider with the most wins ultimately....wins.


The parallels existent in this years competition between the east and west coasts lites division has been unreal! They've both had a couple riders each who were favorite to win the championship. They've both had those riders experience misfortune in early rounds, and they've both had a rider with a seemingly unsurmountable points lead. Somehow, be it bad luck, or poor decision making, the once top dog made underdog has found himself the top dog once again in each series.

Unbelievable, I'm glad I'm not a betting man.

If you watch one race this season, make the next two! With turmoil in both classes unfolding in the past couple rounds, the time to watch is now!

Thanks for reading, shoot me an email at mhsgolfstud@gmail.com if you have and comments or thoughts. Be sure to check back soon for an extremely interesting article on the KTM suspension. Finally...some answers.

Detroit Sx- Supercross Class

Speedy Reedy may have just hurt his championship cause this weekend. Let me correct that: Chad Reed significantly hurt his championship cause this weekend.

After being heralded as the most consistent rider on the track, and proving season in a season out that he just plain gets good results, he decided to change that notion mighty quickly in the day practice. Apparently he sampled the Detroit dirt, analyzing its texture and firmness, as he crashed hard in a tricky rhythm section. Coming up coughing blood and potentially hurting his shoulder (very likely from reports), he was forced to make a visit to the E.R.

The mood shifted in the pits for sure, as each rider found a new breath of wind in their sails, a jump in their step, some extra oxygen in their lungs, and some bigger cajones in their pants!

Coming into this season with a new mentality, a "fresh" Chad Reed told everyone he was going to hang it out at every event, with no regard to the championship. He was "tired" of losing, and wanted to prove he is a winner. Sadly for the fans, Lucky Number 7 had to withdraw his bid for the championship due to a bummed knee. With James Stewart out, everyone had Reed as a lock for the race to a winning tally of championship points. At the start of the season, his strong performances had people thinking perfect season from Stewart's point of withdrawal. Thankfully, some excitement unfolded, and since, the season has been up and down for Reed, keeping the fans interested.

Amidst this, Reed has stayed strong, and after a devastating race at Daytona (read here), he managed to slowly increase his points to a seemingly insurmountable lead over Kevin Windham. That flew out the window this Saturday afternoon with his extremely hard crash.

With a 27 point lead coming into the weekend, 4 races to go, and the point structure, Kevin would have to beat Reed by a minimum of 3 spots each week in order to win the championship. In fact, unless Kevin won each of those weeks, he may have needed to in the range of 4-6 spots each race with bias put on his previous results.

As the night show unfolded, uncertainty hovered in the air. Speculation about Reed's injury left people wondering if he would race. Reed, trying to show no chink in the armor, emerged on the start gate for his heat only to pull out on the first lap, obviously showing intense pain.

With the night even more uncertain after Reed's showing in the heat race, the main event approached, looming like a fog, everyone unsure of what would appear at the end. All said and done, Reed gritted what looked like a very long main event to finish 12th. He had little help from Wey and Carpenter late in the race, and his teammate Ramsay may have helped him as well by not passing him with laps waining. Even more impressive, was the fact he fell on the first lap.

Windham had another golden opportunity with Reed's early day bobble, and did manage a respectable third, but he left 5 crucial points on the table, chipping the lead down to 16. He may be wishing16 was 11 with 3 rounds left, but he is much closer now than ever before.

With all this math out of the way, a few more thoughts for next week. Reed has proven his strength in the past, but this is a rough deal with only one week to recoup. The swelling will set in, his body will most likly tire, and he will have an entire week to remember exactly his wreck.

To add to the already exciting night, some drama unfolded in the main event between Kevin Windham and Chad Reed. With Reed barely making it around the track in his hurt condition, a close moment unfolded when Chad Reed left Windham a questionable amount of room while getting lapped. If you watched the T.V. coverage, you would have seen Reed almost hold up his good buddy Millsaps as well, although he didn't seem to have any comments regarding the on track issue.

After the race, Windham went up to Reed an exchanged a few pleasantries on the matter.
While no one has a news report on exactly what was said, Windham did share what his thoughts were after the race on the web cast from supercrossonline. I have uploaded an mp3 clip from the online web cast of Windham's comments on Reed. You can get that here

I can't wait for the season to unfold!


When asked about his night, Reed has this, and much more, to say:

"I cant believe you here. How did you do this?" - Weege

"I don't know... I don't know. You know I've been here before...I knew the riders that I was competing against...there not as strong as what I am...This is the win right here, we're standing in Vegas and were champions."" - Reed
A powerful statement from a man you should be afraid of!


Chad Reed is one bad dude, and I'm not the first to say it.

Dallas SX - Who's the real star.

"Bzzzzzz. Bzzzzzz. Bzzzzzz. " - cell phone

"What up!" - Me
"Hey, what are your thoughts on going to Dallas for the Supercross" - Friend inquisitively
"Uh, it's like two days away, I don't have tickets." - Me sadly
"Do you want to go or not?" Friend with attitude
"Yes but---" Me whining
"---But shut up. I got 4 tickets, let's go, you pay for gas." Friend stipulates

Two days later, the road trip begins! But not before his truck gets a flat 6 hours before we have to leave, making that exactly 6 hours before any shops are open. After some scrambling, a few tears, and some four letter words, the road trip begins. We're already late.

7 long hours later, parked 3 miles away from the stadium, running with the stiffest legs and ass as awkward as humanly possible in order to get inside before the heats start, cursing the Dallas traffic and our asleep limbs, we were almost there. We're still late.

As we fly through the pit area, a bike fires up. We screech to a halt.

It starts on a slow rev, held just above idle, then, "BAAHHHMM, BAAHHHHHM, BAAADADADAAHHHM," then shuts off, race gas floating through the air in into our flared nostrils. Crap, we're even more late.

We resume our sprint.

We slide through the ticket entrance, shoving 3 year olds along the way, and immediately race to the stand section to watch the opening ceremonies.

Did I mention we were on time?

Here are some thoughts on the night, instead of a race report, hopefully I can add some things not seen on T.V.

-The Lites Class-

Villapoto. Enough said, dominated all day and night.

The first lap saw some carnage, with Canard and Jesseman both on the receiving end of an impasse smack down laid by the track. I'm not sure who got going first, although I think Jesseman was dead last once he got going.

Canard looked fast. He charged hard, showed aggression on the bike, and took each position away from the other riders like a mom takes away your desert when she is mad at you. He rides like he dictates what can and can't be done, other riders look like they are hanging on for the ride.

After the first lap, I thought the night was going to be like the last Grant/Villapoto race, insane! But Grant stalled, and that's all she wrote, as he had nothing in the tank for later.

Jesseman made a serious charge early on, but stopped moving forward towards the end, I think he needs a holeshot to set him off for a race, his season has been litered with random bad luck, as he landed on someones bike, and got stuck.

Villapoto may have dominated, but in the whoop section, he damn near lost the race one lap, as he swapped so hard I could see the Monster sticker under his rear fender allowing his rear wheel to hit a tough block. I can honestly say that was the first time I've seen a tough block help someone, as it acted as a temporary wall and got him back in line.

Check out this photo of Villapoto's bike I stole from TW. Sweet steering damper!

Great ride by Tyler Bowers, I think he may turn heads out doors.

-The Supercross Class-

In Reed's heat, I saw why he is the best this year. In the tricky rhythm section after the finish, after stalling and falling back some places, he busted out a seemingly impossible triple to pass 3 people. He jumped from a little take off, over another little take off, and landed to a tall one, with NO run. He literally pulled the bike up and over, muscling over something that was impossible by merely bike alone. I nearly spit my beer on the 10 year old in front of me, which would have been a costly disaster, at 7 bucks a beer.
That feat would not be done again for the rest of the night, but what really saddened me was it was skipped over in the telecast in their "condensed" heat format. I will never be able to watch that again.
His ability lead him the "man's step" on the podium.

In the main, Ferry looked good for a while, but just didn't quite have it. I watched a scary moment for sure when he got kicked on the last whoop, rode a nose wheelie damn near up the entire triple face, and still managed to land it and ride out. I bet he shit himself, maybe Matthes can find out?

Windham looked REALLY fast. I bet had he holeshot, a battle royal would have unfolded (ED note: racerX's sign of the times has him as the fastest all night.)

Travis Preston must have worn himself out in one lap! He went nothing but backwards, although he showed some serious speed the first lap! I bet he hates not having the pre season training in him about right now, he had a golden egg in his lap with that holeshot.

Josh Hill should thank Kevin Windham for pressuring Millsaps.
It allowed him the "big boy's" step on the podium.

Take a look at this photo of his bike.

Bet you can't tell whats different on his than on Josh Summey's (cosmetically).

Millsaps never ceases to impress me at times, although not with his speed, but his weird ability to save himself from the craziest wrecks. At the throwback race in Cali, he saved something once that had me spitting popcorn out of my mouth. At this race, he did it again in the rhythm section before the switch backs.
His effort rewarded him with the "baby step" on the podium.

Josh Summey, formally of the Charles Summey variety (he used to go by Charles so there would be no confusion between him and Josh Hansen) did extremely well! he matched his best finish of the year, and managed to get a second in his heat. I noticed he rides really smooth and looks great. He proves that hard work plain works. He beat some big names, and proved to his team that he is worth latching on to. Hansen may have talent, but he sadly must have shown no heart or work ethic to the boys at JGRMX if he got released (unless he left for other reasons). Carmichael may not have partied like a rock star, but now, he can own the rock star. Hansen should take note that he better get it together.

Here is his bike to compare to Hill's.

Ok, I give; the ignition cover on Hill's is all one piece, without the screw in plugs for easy timing access. It is also aluminum colored vs. the black that comes stock. My guess is the one piece cover is less prone to failure, I know I have personally had one of those ignition view caps come out mid race, spewing my engines oil (and life) all over the track.

To matthes...sorry, this is a direct spin off of yours, but I managed to attend this race for once...

The Greatest Race of all Time

The pure excitement of a photo finish. Nothing quite gets your blood bubbling like that of a race that comes down to the wire.

Quite honestly, after attending the NHRA drag nationals in Houston, TX this past weekend, a few thoughts flew out, around, up, under, and ultimately in to my head. But first, let me just say that if you enjoy racing, you HAVE to go to at least one drag race national in your lifetime. I mean the one where the fastest top fuel cars in the world come to play, where a car literally changes the beat of your heart into the rhythm of a V8 pounding at 8000 rpm, where vendors line the pits, where pit passes are included in the ticket price, where the fumes expended from Top Fuel engines burn your lungs and make even the manliest of men cry tears.

Of Joy.

Last but not least, where millions of dollars are spent for four tiny seconds and 1400 and 60 feet. Four seconds of the most primal thing you will ever experience, pure adrenaline. And I'm just a fan! Imagine the driver's feeling.

There is a fundamental problem in expanding motocross. With the current T.V. coverage, combined with the huge disparity in rider speed, even across the top 20 riders in the country, the racing isn't very exciting. Every once in a while you see a good battle, but when was the last time you saw a photo finish where 5 riders are all within a tenth? NEVER.

That is why motocross will never achieve Nascar like status, and why random people perusing their Television Tube will change the channel after 10 seconds. This just won't cut it.

I have a proposition. It may be crazy, some might say unfair, and many will call it stupid, but I can guarantee you it would be exciting!
Here is the scoop. The race would initially have to be a one off event, much like McGrath's event, or Vegas U.S. Open etc...

It would require a large purse, but for this particular race, a large appearance payout (required to race) would be instrumental in its success.

Also extremely important would be a huge qualifying bonus. The pole qualifier would get a 100,000 dollar bonus with a purse much like a regular race for each position after that. It would be like the fast lap at Vegas, each rider getting a chance to turn one fast lap for 100 g's.

Now, for the real twist. Why are all those elements crucial? It is a reverse pole start. First qualifier starts with last gate pick, second with second to last gate pick and so on... But it gets even better. It would be a timed stagger, calculated by the difference in qualifying times, with a little give for time required to pass. If the highest qualifier was 4 seconds a lap faster than the worst, with a short sprint like 8 lap main (indoor track), he would start 32 seconds back (although more realistically 25 to allow for passing time). Just imagine all the big names having to battle their way through to the front from dead last!

Another important note: with this format, the start would be clean, with less chance of screw up, allowing for a less congested first lap, a problem that allows the person with the hole shot to pull a large gap while others fart around the first lap.

I think the racing would be unreal! With the use of the calculated start stagger, TECHNICALLY (emphasis on "in theory") every rider would reach the finish at the same time if they turned consistent laps.

The main event would be a 10 lap sprint, on a track built for racing. Extremely wide straights and corners, multiple options, and multiple fast lines. Each section would allow for at least 5 wide comfortably, and who knows how many uncomfortably! The track would be less technical, and more aimed at the basics; cornering and braking! I would make it a lot like the McGrath track, with huge ramps, and crazy jumps.

Do yourself a favor, head over to racerxill.com and watch the Josh Grant and Wil Hahn videos at GL's track. Those are the type of jumps I'm talking about.

But the race is not over. The payout would be less than the "super-pole" qualifying would be, maybe in the range of 75k. After the first moto, a second moto would be held (with another 75k payout). This time, with the top finisher starting last and the last finisher starting first! (ed note: some revision of format needed here to account for wrecks and what not)

I want to watch this race! Just think, every fan favorite mired back in the pack, trying their hardest to come to the front. Who wouldn't like to see that! Just as important, it would allow the little guy a chance at some serious bank if he rides consistent.

Sand-bagging could be an issue in qualifying, but think about it. If you intentionally did poorly in the qualifier, you wouldn't make great money. Then you win the first moto because you held out, and make 75 g's. But now, you have to start last in the the second moto. You practically limit yourself to 75 g's. But instead, if you try hard, qualify decent, make 40 grand, then race hard, do well in the first moto, get 3rd, make 40 grand, and then pull it all together and win the last one, and make 75, you just made 155, a lot better than 75.

I own this idea, and am willing to sell for 2% revenue!

thanks for reading