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...

Daytona SX

No word can ever describe the Daytona Supercross, but a few that come to mind are:
-bad-ass
-brutal
-epic
-unpredictable
-unique
-defining
Let's not forget brutally exciting as well! The Daytona SX has a history much its own unlike any other venue in Supercross, and I'll have more on that later.
This year, after watching two somewhat amazing races, I could do nothing other than write some thoughts down.

- The "Lites" Class -

How amazing is Trey Canard? The kid has already smashed through the walls of conventional wisdom not just once, not just twice, but now a third, and very un-conventional, time. He just keeps winning. Given the first race circumstances with Villapoto's wreck, one could have thought it was a fluke. The second race, with Villopoto clearly showing his dominating speed and desire after an uncharacteristic Villopoto moment, had some people thinking yet another "lucky break" for the ole' 48. But this Friday night proved that Canard is no fluke, as he stomped everyone, including the new two, into the ground.


And what a stomping it was. If ever a rookie were to have a race to prove the neigh sayers right, this was it! Torrential rainfall, the track a complete slop, extreme pressure from who many are calling the next big thing (Villopoto), a change of his routine schedule with the gate dropping 24 hours earlier than usual, and a lack of a mud racing background to boot are only a few things presented to the young rook trey, yet he still won. This kid knows how to work hard; he may not have always been the fastest, but in the last couple years, he made a choice, and it shows.

But don't count Villopoto out yet! The championship at this point must to look like Calculus to a sixth grader, damn near impossible. But, some sixth graders have done Calculus, and Villopoto has some serious fight. I think the real story with him has to be the injuries. No reporting agency has the full inside scoop, but we do know his bike setup was changed to accommodate that injury. Think about that for a moment, if you have to change your bike from what is fastest to what feels better because of an injury, and speed is at a premium, it must be major. I also don't think Josh Grant helped Villopoto's wrist with the wall incident either (understatement of the century).

Speaking of which, what is up with Josh Grant? This was his year to prove he is a winner, his year to become a new champion, and his year to move on to better things. I think he may be the newest Ezra Lusk, and that's a shame. With Villopoto showing weakness, 4 (I believe) years of experience, a healthy off season, and a great bike, he has ZERO excuses. The kid is talented, everyone knows that, and he isn't a fat blob by any stretch of imagination, but something doesn't seem to click come main event time. Good luck to him, I'd love to see him break through.

- The "Supercross" class -

If you watched the race, it was exciting. For a mere 4 laps, that is! Reed struggled at first, in my mind maybe a little to aggressive for the track, and experienced more than one off track expedition. And yes, I said expedition, as each off track instance was one where he checked his backs, got anal cavity searched, boarded his plane, and took a vacation. He cheated! At the beginning of the race I have no doubt his run outside the lanes was beneficial, and his re entering with Windham the last time was complete cheating. That said he was fastest. I'd like to tell you about the other racers on the track, but from what was shown on the the telecast, I honestly can't, they received no coverage.

Chad Reed. He has absolutely pissed me off this year. He has had a "I'm better than you, shove off" mentality since his little "Hiatus", which I'd rather call his "I don''t wanna get beat again" time. The entire year he off handedly mentions about his "problems" needing to get worked out, but never mentions what. It is getting old. He is an amazing rider no less, and deserves a lot of credit. He was clearly the fastest tonight, but bad luck struck at quite nearly the worst time it could have. Having completed 11 and 3/4 laps out of 12, his bike, as the Brits say, expired. When it first happened, I leaped from my half seated, half laying position and shouted and emphatic "YES!" to the T.V. thanking the motocross gods for the vindication upon Chad Reed. Now it was a race! I still assumed the bike would run, but it wasn't to be, and his bike truly did, expire.
You have to feel for the guy here, he put in a very inspired showing, was clearly the fastest on the track (or pond), and gritted out damn near 12 laps of hell.


Kevin Windham; my boy! I, along with tons of fans, love the guy. Maybe it's because America loves an underdog, or maybe it's because he is just that cool, but either way, he is always a fan favorite. I hope he continues to have fun: maybe one race night we will all get to witness the god like Windham many speak of. Still, even though he hasn't proven he is clearly faster than Reed yet, he still managed a couple wins thus far. I'm glad he won Daytona, I'm glad he choose to ride this season, and maybe I'm just plain glad, because otherwise, I wouldn't even watch the races.


Speaking of which, is it just me, or was making the riders race in those conditions absolutely STUPID?
If we really want to grow the sport and expand to larger audiences, how is showing a mud race going to accomplish this? If we want Nascar like status, maybe we should implement some Nascar like policies. One that comes to mind is postponing racing during wet conditions. I don't mean when there is a little muck, but the conditions this race were atrocious. Supercross was invented to showcase the high flying, talented riders our sport has to offer. Not the feet locked in skiing position, slow, rolling of obstacles that mud racing presents. Had I personally went to the event, I would have felt jipped of my ticket price, and stayed only because I had spent that hard earned money. (racerx photo)
Imagine this, your Ricky Carmichael, you spend tons of effort designing, what looked like, a bad ass track. You even suit up and rode it to ensure a good design! Then, mother nature runs its course, and your masterpiece becomes a master-mudpie. I would feel disrespected having my track raced in such condition.

Which brings another point. Imagine your a privateer. Not the kind with paid for equipment, and a salary of some sort, but the kind who shows up in a pick up truck with your one bike. You decide to give it hell, manage to make the main, only to learn you must ride in those conditions. You are now putting your bike on the line, your health on the line, and your pride on the line, for NOTHING. All the who's who are going to write off any good finish you have anyways. They will say, "well with the mud, he got lucky." Now your bike is ruined, your most likely poorer because the promoters hoard all the ticket sales money, and you've gained nothing towards a deal with a team because of the the inclement conditions and their view on your luck. I'd say no thanks, I'll show up next year.
Congrats to Jacob Marsack for finishing third.

The T.V. coverage was pretty damn boring too. They literally only showed the leader of each race. Nascar doesn't do that, they show the RACING, whether it's the rubbing for first, or for last. The broadcast team should go thank Yamaha and Chad Reed for his bike blowing up. It made the telecast interesting. I honestly would have said Daytona was the worst race of the year if it weren't for Reed's bike letting go. Speed needs to take a page from the Canadian motocross broadcasts, nothing gets me excited about racing like those guys!
Things they do speed doesn't:
-Showcase all racing on the track: I have literally seen broadcasts where the winner of the race is only seen when he crosses the finish line and on the podium, if he wasn't battling someone, they don't show him.
-Less rider analysis, more rider hype: They at least get rider names out there, giving them exposure
-Get excited about racing: I love listening to them talk, or shout, or yell, or whatever it is they do, because it is interesting, something neither Ralph Shaheen or Jeff Emig are.