First of all, I want to say a huge thanks to Feld Motorsports and Speed. Growing up in the days of NO motocross coverage accept for a once a year ABC USGP show (three months late BTW), this era of live coverage is beyond awesome. Hell, I thought it was great in 1990 when all I had to do was set the VCR for 2 AM and watch the race the next day (still often tape delayed a month or more). Moto fans today don’t know how great they have it with live coverage via Speed and the internet. It is a great era to be a fan of motocross my friends.
As to last night’s race, was that a rodeo or a Supercross event? Maybe it was just being in Dallas, but every year this event seems to bring out the 8 Seconds (what is Luke Perry up to these days anyway?) in everyone. I saw more bikes doing a mechanical bull impression last night than is recommended for good health. That scrub/catapult by Zach Bell looked like Mavrick and Goose punching out of their F-14 for God’s sake. When I say that, I was genuinely afraid that boy might have ridden his last race, he looked contorted and limp in a way that is NEVER good and I feared the worst. To see him actually get up was remarkable; to see him actually race the LCQ seemed foolhardy. Then when he plowed himself into the rock hard Dallas turf a second time, I had flashbacks to a young Travis Pastrana. Remember him?
Super fast kid, incredibly talented, knocked himself out so many times that he thinks jumping out of planes without a parachute makes perfect since. I know the Geico team is running these new helmet’s with internal air bags or some such high tech brain bucket tech, but man those were some brutal hits. A seventeen year old kid does not know what’s good for him even when he is not punch drunk, so lets hope The Rock or someone over there is looking out for his best interest. Just saying…
Here are some thoughts on the actual racing-
1st Place- RV1
I have to admit, after seeing that awesome piece on Ryan last week on CBS (if you have not seen it, do yourself a favor and find it on YouTube) I was extra pumped to see him comeback from last week’s crashfest for the win. He rode a flawless race and put the turbocharger Mike Williamson installed on his 450 last Friday to good use. I would have preferred a battle up front, to a McGrath style run away, but you have to admire a guy who can just ride away from the worlds best like that.
He still has a way to go to catch up to the points leader, but wins are how he is going to do it. Great ride RV!
2nd place Davi Doughnut (am I the only one who still remembers Dandy Donn’s nickname?)
Wow, every week Davi Millsaps is just rewriting his legacy. I know everyone has talked about this ad nauseum, but criminy it is an amazing story. Is it Yogi, or the kid, or the Suzuki (don’t tell anyone, but that is what he is riding)? Maybe it is a bodysnatcher style attack by a retired Mark Barnett. Whatever the cause, it truly is remarkable.
Davie was not even 100% last night and he passed Chad Reed and held off Ryan Dungey for second place. In any other year, that alone would have been amazing, but this year, that is just what Millsaps does. He is solid, who would have thought? Last night he got a second, while sick and having trouble catching his breath. He pulled out another couple of points on the Dungenator and now almost leads the series by one full race. Let me say that again. We are not even to the halfway point and Davi Millsaps leads by nearly a WHOLE race. What’s next, flatbillers untucking their ears? Well, that may be too much to ask.
Next week we head to the ATL and can you imagine how the Georgia Dome is going to be rocking? Davi heads home, with the red plate and a truckload of confidence. Here’s hoping he can keep the distractions to a minimum and lay down the law in the Dirty South. Go Davi, I believe.
3rd place- The Dungenator
Last night was pretty much a typical Dungey race. Good start, solid laps and a podium finish. Ryan is a diesel on the bike; he builds up a head of steam and just keeps plowing away until the race is over. Unfortunately, sometimes that means he has a hard time kicking that big motor into overdrive for a quick burst. He still does too much following for my taste, but he did show a bit of aggression last night on my boy Reed. If he had kicked in the afterburners a few laps earlier, he may have gotten by a wounded Millsaps (he was closing late but ran out of time). Those are valuable points if he wants to capture his second Supercross title and he needs to start beating Davi regularly if he wants to keep it close. Still it was a solid ride by the Dunge, and if Millsaps falters he will be there to pick up the pieces.
4th place –Speedy Reedy
Damn, early on in the main I thought Chad might be ready to make a run, but it turned out to be another frustrating night for the #22. He still seems to be a bit uncomfortable on the new CRF and is just a tick off his speedy self. Fourth is certainly not terrible, but I think all of us Reedy fans were hoping for more this year. Chad usually hauls a$$ at Atlanta and maybe the softer dirt will be a better fit for those Oingo Boingo front forks. In any case, Reed Nation will be pulling for better days ahead for Team TwoTwo.
5th Place-Justin Brayton
This is a nice ride for Jason Weigandt’s favorite bicycling buddy. Last week he ran up front for 80% of the main and this week he pulled off a solid top five. I think this is about where Justin should hope to be considering all the top guys are still in this thing. He is solid, but still lacks the blinding speed of the fastest guys in the class. If things go as usual and a few guys bow out early, he might get a few podiums before the year is out. Considering how things went for JGR last year (and the bittersweet turn around of Millsaps), I hope they do get on the box before long.
6th place Justin Barcia
Bam Bam fall down go boom in heat race. Bam Bam get bad start, not finish good.
7th place- Trey Canard
After a awesome start to the season, the nicest guy ever to ride a motorcycle appears to be having a mid-season slump. He can’t seem to keep his CRF on two wheels (time to try a quad BROto?) Once again he had trouble in his heat, which like his teammate translated into a bad start in the main. I have to wonder if Reed’s allusions to setup issues with the new CRF (and his insinuation that the kids don’t know any better) are not finally catching up with the youngsters. There do seem to be a lot of red bikes on the turf lately. Regardless, with Tim Ferry in his corner, I’m sure he will get things sorted out soon.
8th Matt Goerke
Nice ride for the team BTO KTM rider here. Matt is having a solid year on the KTM and top tens have to feel good for a team that had a hard time making the mains last year (sorry JT$). I’m sure with all the added support from KTM there is more pressure to perform but top tens are a great thing to build on for Karsten and Forrest. If they keep up the good work, maybe we will see a BTO top five in the Nats this summer.
9th Place-Andrew Short
The Baby-faced Assassin had another solid ride last night in Dallas. I love the fact that he has been able to keep the ball rolling in spite of all the turmoil this year. I sure hope he can get enough support to ride the rest of the series. The sport needs guys like Shorty and it would be a tragedy to see a guy like that on the sidelines. Maybe Moser can rent a Sprinter and take Andrew East…
10th place-Broc Tickle
Even though he only finished one place better than last week, I bet this race felt a lot better for Broc. Starting upfront and getting one’s doors blow off is never a recipe for awesome self esteem and Tickle got the full on boat anchor treatment last week. This week, he can say he got a top ten and leave it at that. I think Broc is still a year away from making waves in the SX series and for him, his best bet is to stay healthy so he can be Suzuki’s top guy in the outdoors (I don’t think anyone really thinks we will be sing the #7 this summer).
I don’t know about you guys, but I can’t wait for next week. Hotlanta here we come!
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