May 22, 2006 6:19 pm (EST)

Hangtown (2)

Oh great. Sounds like Hangtown turned out to be good! And I missed it. Yes, I guess it was muddy, but thankfully there was a ton of sand dumped on the track, which helped absorb it all. Actually, there were 2000 tons of sand dumped on the track, which makes this the rare instance where the made-up term is actually less than the actual amount. That’s like saying “Oh yeah well that guy is like 100 years old!” and the guy was actually 110. Or saying “Yeah well you only told me that a million times” but in actuality the guy said it 3 million times. There was a ton of sand on the track. But it was actually 2000 tons.

And by the way if that’s true that’s A LOT of sand.

Anyway I wasn’t there. I was watching the GNCCs return to normalcy, as for the third time in three races we actually had a real race, a out-and-out battle for the win, and once again it was between Charlie Mullins, Barry Hawk and Juha Salminen. It makes no sense to me how those two were able to hook on to Juha all of a sudden after he made it look so easy at the first four races. But the bottom line is that they have, and that’s awesome because the races are so much more fun to watch now. And Barry Hawk proved, for the 1 millionth time (but actually about the fifth or sixth) that a rider with true mental toughness is never out of it. Congrats to Barry for digging and digging and working his way back to the top.

But oh, you all want to hear about Hangtown? Well I wasn’t there, but from what I surmised, I didn’t need to be. What was so surprising about the goings ons out there? You knew RC and Bubba would be on a different planet than everyone else, and they were. I think it’s a little surprising that they battled in the first moto, and Stewart was actually able to leave RC behind. That hasn’t happened in eons. But people who were at the race were telling me RC gets a free pass for losing the battle because he lost his goggles. I’m sure if Stewart lost for the same reason we wouldn’t be giving him that kind of wiggle room, but hey, Ricky’s won EVERY SINGLE national for two years now so he’s earned it.

Then he waxed him in moto two. Was James trying or just hanging on to the overall? We’ll find out soon enough, I’m sure.

As for the other surprises, like David Vuillemin getting fourth, hey, DV was hovering around that spot last summer, too. And although you may question if the dude has actually been training and stuff, I doubt he was pounding out the sweat last summer either. In a field this shallow, DV can get fourth on talent, and that’s exactly what he did. Sounds like Millsaps crashed in both motos (and by the way, ‘Saps hasn’t ever really set the world on fire outdoors – unless those weak 250Fs were really holding him back). Tedesco and Byrner are out. Windham – something is wrong there. Preston? Voss? C’mon. Honestly, DV was basically on par. Except for Nick Wey. He could be the fourth man this summer – and maybe the third. What’s the Vegas over/under on Reed racing the entire series?

Now let’s look at the Lites. Last year’s series was crazy wide open and it actually stayed that way all summer long, right until the final round, which was the craziest of all. So it’s easy to think this year’s series will be just as competitive.

But…

How surprising was Mike Alessi’s dominant performance? Let’s look at the list: Tedesco – gone. Langston – hurt. Hepler – hurt. Millsaps – gone. Hughes – gone. Townley – hurt. Who else is going to mix it up with Mikeee boy? Villopoto is on the top of everyone’s list, but honestly he’s a rookie and Mike isn’t, so a championship against his old rival is a tall order. Who else? You know Josh Grant is going to lose the front end and tip over a whole bunch all summer long – he already did in H-Town. Those boys will be fast, but I can’t see them being consistent like Mikeee. And the guys who could stay with him are all gone.

Uh oh.

May 17, 6:45 pm

Hangtown

Okay I’ll have to size up them there party photos later. I just realized something: Hangtown is this weekend! This weekend. The Clash of the Titans II! Carmichael versus Stewart outdoors on 450s! It’s on!

Well, I’m not buying it. It probably will be awesome, but I’m not falling for it this time. Last year I spent $380 to fly to Hangtown and work with the announcing crew for FREE because I didn’t want to miss that race. Yeah, so what, you’re saying – you would pay good money to watch RC race JBS (and some of you probably had) and you would work for free, too, if it meant getting a pass for the infield. But, remember all I had to do was wait just one week, and I could have woken up at my own house and driven to High Point in 15 minutes and watched them battle. But I couldn’t wait a week. Oh no. No way. Not for the Clash of the Titans.

It turned out to be a dud pretty quickly. Somehow Reed, Windham and Stewart all had problems on the very first lap and Carmichael was gone and the Suzuki 450 was obviously fine. There was no doubt about it. And then Stewart pulled off in moto two, and the legendary John Ewert had to jump in as the Kawasaki PR guy and handle all of the questions from the media on what the hell happened.

It was a crazy day. But was it what we wanted? No. So, with memories of this stuck in my head, I just can’t get too pumped up for Hangtown this year. Plus, my hype glands are still exhausted from Vegas.

If it works out awesome there, I can just wake up at my house on Sunday morning and drive to High Point and watch it all unfold again.

One thing funny about the hype machine this year. When everyone, and I mean EVERYONE was on Stewart’s case last summer, when he was lazy, slow, stupid or whatever else that prevented him from battling Ricky, the whole 250 two-stroke argument wasn’t good enough. No sir. The boo birds that circulated the Red Bud and Unadilla podium were not satisfied with that worm – Stewart had become so hated last summer that, in comparison, the fans were CHEERING Mike Alessi. And if you dislike a guy that much, well, you’re not just going to give him a free pass and say his bike is slow.

(And because I love to be the kind of guy who says I told you so, scroll to the blog from post Unadilla last summer, hit that link and read July 19th, 2005. See what I said about Bubba’s chances on the two-stroke. He had no chance. )

But now that Bubba, or James, is back in the good graces of the fans, media and industry, now everyone, even Carmichael himself, has come to realize it will be a much fairer fight this summer. Last year, well, it wasn’t. So it’s on now…wait, no. I’m not going to get excited about this yet.

 

May 15, 2005 5:15

House WARMING

Last year I made a nearly tragic mistake once supercross ended and tried to exhale. You know what happens when you’re working a lot, people start telling you to relax, take a break, chill out, unwind, recover or whatever.

Yeah well after covering like 20 races in 18 weekends to start off last year, I went completely low profile after Vegas and tried to take it easy. Two weeks later I was on a flight to Hangtown to watch the latest is a series of showdowns of the century. However, I was starting to feel a little under the weather by the time the flight rolled around. By the time I landed in Sacramento, I felt like I had fallen asleep in a trough of cement. My head was so clogged and plugged up – I felt really, really bad. I started to get better by the end of the weekend, but I knew recovery time would be scarce. High Point weekend was coming, and there is absolutely no weekend harder on you than that. High Point is the only time when the racing family comes to us, so we must press on an attend every event, every party and every race.

And that was all I had in me. By the time the motos were done on Sunday, I just took the announcer’s headset off and collapsed. I had nothing left and boy was I sick. I was coughing and coughing and coughing. I even, (gasp!), had to skip the post-race party over at Hylton and Jenn’s house (of Parts Unlimited fame). I spent the night on the floor, coughing and coughing until I had the worse headache. I had to skip a party on High Point weekend! Something was wrong.

Finally, Road Racer X’s Laurel Allen convinced me to go to a doctor. The verdict: I had pneumonia! It was bad. But why, why did I survive week after week of travel in supercross and then finally break down after I took two weeks of rest?

Well, there probably isn’t a reason. Sometimes sick just happens. But I had a few people tell me that when you’re used to being on the run, and then you stop for a moment, that’s when it all breaks down.

Well, I’m not one to pass up good advice (if it means in any way shape or form “go for it!”)

So, to make sure I didn’t have a chance to let myself get sick again, Bowyer and I decided to host a big party at the Weege/Bowyer residence on Friday night. The goals of the party were several-fold, partly to celebrate my first weekend in town all year, partly to avoid sickness by slowing down, and partly to make a big fire so I could burn all these branches I had to cut down a few months ago. Not to mentioned piles of leaves and cardboard boxes.

I think we accomplished all three. Look for some photos here tomorrow. Although I’m starting to feel a cold coming on again, anyway….

May 10, 12:15 PM

The 110th percentile

Ten years ago, my dad and I were obsessed with basketball. The NBA. We were gigantic New York Knicks fans and had to endure the annual summer showdown – and elimination – by Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls. In the 90’s, the Knicks began every season as title contenders. But they never got that title, while Jordan won six during that span.

It hurt really bad watching those guys win, but every season, when it was all over, we realized that sometimes it’s just the way it’s supposed to be. Jordan was supposed to be the champ. He was the GOAT of the sport, and it just made more sense in the legacy of he and his sport that he would win. Yes, the other teams were doing everything they could to knock him off. Yes, they deserved it. But Jordan was the man, and it was supposed to end with him as champion. My dad used to tell me that – and it kind of put things back in perspective.

I can’t help but look at this supercross season that way. Yes, it was awesome to see it tied going into the last race. Carmichael’s spring problem in St. Louis, crash in Dallas and terrible start in Seattle made this series exciting – which is something just about any championship chase starring RC has not been.

So it was kind of cool to dream and think, “Dude, could Reed pull off the upset? How CRAZY would that be?”

It would be crazy. It would be quite the story to tell. But, like the Knicks knocking off the Bulls, it wasn’t the way things were supposed to be.

Especially when Carmichael announced this season would be his last. Since Reed ended up titleless, he wasn’t even seen at the SX Banquet on Sunday. He never went on stage, never got to thank anyone. That’s the way it is, even if you’re just two points short. But can you imagine if it were Carmichael in that situation? It only made sense that the GOAT, in his final championship season, got to celebrate the championship.

Sure, there are Yamaha fans and Reed supporters and maybe even a few relics from the Carmichael hater days. But there were plenty of people in Salt Lake City rooting for Karl Malone and John Stockton back in 1998. But when Jordan sunk the title-winning shot on them, and ended his career as a champion, well, you just got the feeling that was the way things were supposed to be.

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Make no mistake: Chad Reed is a game competitor. We all knew Ricky Carmichael and James Stewart would be great. They’ve dominated through their careers in amateur racing and through the 125s – they’re super-human talents and it was their destiny to end up at the top of the highest mountain in the sport.

Reed was an unknown – he wasn’t even on the American MX radar six years ago. But with each challenge presented to him, he proved himself worthy of more hype than anyone was giving him. He proved he was fast. Smart. Fit. And mentally tough. And make no mistake, he is still all of those things. Bottom line is that Chad stayed in the AMA Supercross Championship chase into the 11th hour while battling two of the greatest talents to ever race motorcycles. It’s a worthy accomplishment.

But, if Reed is so game, so fit so fast so smart and so obsessed with winning, why didn’t he win? Well, it seems to me that the only thing that separates Reed and Carmichael is Carmichael’s inhuman ability to go beyond himself. Ricky is all of those things, too: fast, fit, smart and obsessed with winning. But when he’s pushed, and when he has to step it up and go to another level, he can be even more than those things. More than just the sum of his parts.

In the heat of the moment, when it has to happen, Ricky just finds a way to will himself into going faster. It’s something that shouldn’t be possible. Everyone has speed limits and crossing them just makes you crash and get hurt. This is the rule for every human being who has ever raced anything. Except Carmichael.

There are faint traces of this in Carmichael’s career path. It’s why RC can win races early in the season when he has to, but doesn’t at the end of the season when he doesn’t have to. His post-Daytona speed may be what he true speed – and Reed can run with that. But Carmichael’s pre-Daytona speed is the work of this other level. That’s why James Stewart was faster than Carmichael all year, but, whenever Ricky absolutely had to make it happen, he just did. At Anaheim 2, Carmichael pulled up behind Stewart and just willed himself up to that pace. Stewart should have pulled away. He’s faster. But Carmichael just found something he didn’t even have. He generated speed in the moment. It’s something only he can do.

David Bailey told me about this theory last year. At the time I thought it was some esoteric, intangible BS that didn’t necessarily make sense.

But I’ve seen it. Carmichael was able use this last year to beat Reed for the title. But this year Stewart showed up as the new challenge, and he was even faster. So Ricky found a way to will himself to that speed – or close – by exploring that upper one tenth of a percent a little more. He may have even gone beyond that. It’s like Carmichael really can ride at 110 percent – and not in the ridiculous cliché way, but in reality. He’s able to go faster than he is actually able to.

Reed continues to be fast, smart and fit, but he’s merely human. So as I’ve repeated on here a million times, don’t blame his lack of success on him – he’s trying hard and if you watched that Vegas race on TV, you could see Chad was riding his heart out.

But Carmichael’s heart beats at 110 percent.

May 7, 12:49 pm (EST)

Tied 3:16 (6)

So that’s it. Are we disappointed? I don’t know. What was supposed to happen? A crazy knock-down drag out crash fest? Take outs? Punches?

I don’t know. Yes that stuff is exciting to watch and I would have been flipping out over it, but I’m not really too bummed out. This was a mano-e-mano challenge, no excuses, it wasn’t like one dude crashed in the first turn and it was over. All three guys rode their asses off – just absolutely pushed it to the edges of the edge of the edge. All three put it out there, rode their hearts out and had no excuses. It was 20 laps of watching that transponder and watching that gap and seeing RC and CR just pushing and pushing and pushing, all with Stewart just in front of them – and he wasn’t that far away, because the two guys behind him were going that strong.

So it was a mano-e-mano duel, no excuses. I think it was pretty cool.

Plus other things worked out. Voss ran the Supercross: The Movie level of blocking. Tedesco was a big factor – he was the reason Reed couldn’t triple on the first lap and fell so far behind. And the WSXGP vs. AMA thing was solved with ease. Everything was presented as if they were equal, but everyone knows they’re not, but no one had to say it, so it was perfect.

Okay it’s Vegas and I’m basically feeling like a dead man right now. If I can summon the strength, I’ll be back later.

May 6, 2006 12:34

Tied 3:16 (5)

Okay the stage is set. The three contenders made it through practice unhurt – Carmichael, Reed and Stewart are ready to race.

But the spoiler is out. Stewart’s Kawasaki teammate Michael Byrne crashed at the end of the first whoop section and broke his thumb. So much for the help…

But I know you all want to know about practice with the big three. Well, it worked out perfectly because it proved nothing. James Stewart was fastest – no shock – and for awhile Carmichael had the second fastest lap on the board. Then Reed slowed up and got in behind him, then got in front of him, and then logged the second-fastest time. Then Carmichael pushed even harder on the next lap and went even faster – and as a result he ended up second fastest by a few tenths.

But…

Carmichael also had to withstand a deja-vu trek off of the track and nearly into the display boat. Then on the last lap he almost went over the bars in a rythym section. So – Ricky was faster, Reed was smoother. It could go either way …

And James is just crazy fast. But the track is slippery and anyone can throw it away at any time here, and that could be a trap for him, because he is going SUPER fast through the whoops. But those things are really, really slick.

Davi Millsaps looks pretty fast for a hurt guy. The Lites gang is stacked, and I was impressed that Andrew Short looked strong after having his heart ripped out last weekend. Villopoto was fast too … people are really talking up Villo nowadays, so we’ll see if he lives up to the (gulp) hype.

But the race tonight certainly will. It has to. It can’t not. Even if the contenders are seconds apart all night long, on a track this slick no one is safe. Except us. It’s going to be one awesome night for this sport, guaranteed. So tune in Speed, or even our little show with all six listeners we’re bound to get thanks to the TV show. Good thing we’re huge in Europe where they don’t get TV. They won’t understand when we start dropping F-bombs since no one is paying attention.

Why don’t you just log on anyway and make me feel like I’m not screaming my lungs out for nothing. Because dude, I’m going to have nothing left when this is over.

Enjoy!

May 6, 2006 6:07 pm (PST)

Tied 3:16 (4)

What a grand spectacle this weekend has become. On Thursday we went to Ceasar’s Palace to watch Mike Metzger backflip over the fountains. He made it. I’m not sure how one of these deals is supposed to work – you just stand there for like two hours and then he jumps for like five seconds. But he made it. It was pretty crazy when you think about how nuts both the backflip and the Ceasar’s jump once were. So congrats to Mike. But I’m still confused as to what we were supposed to

Then we went to the Orleans for a Fox goggle introduction. A few people got to ride and stuff. So it was all pretty cool. But all of this was really just window dressing – the real stuff was yet to come.

So we held the press conference yesterday, and it should have been the biggest moment of my life. Here I am, flipping out all week here, so I should have PLENTY of material available and great questions at the ready. But if anyone choked, I did. As always, I thought of about 500 awesome, provoking questions AFTER the PC. I feel, as always, like I blew it.

Here is what I should have asked: To Ricky and Chad, I should have asked how the respect level for each other off of the track has changed. With everything that has gone down this year – fuelgate, for instance, you know these two have to have moved beyond the crazy respect they used to show for each other. Ricky didn’t even say Chad’s name at the PC…

So I apologize for seizing up. Sometimes you get a feel for the room and the atmosphere and the attitudes of the riders and get lulled into it. In this case, RC and CR seemed ridiculously relaxed considering the circumstances. For sure Carmichael answered a lot of the doubts about him being able to handle the pressure because he seemed to be almost licking his chops over the idea of beating Chad straight up and proving once and for all who is the man. What was funny was that he said he’s looking forward to racing James like he did at the beginning of the season – again, no mention of Mr. Reed.

As for Reed, he didn’t seem worried either. The guy has great self-confidence considering, as Ricky was quick to point out, he really hasn’t had the speed to run with Ricky or James all year. But he says they’ve made major strides with the bike and he’s finally feeling good. Maybe, unlike in years past where Chad has peaked in the second half of the season, maybe he’s planning on just peaking at the very last race.

But that’s going to be tough. As much as RC and CR are planning on racing the best race of their lives tonight, with all of this pressure, that’s going to bet tough.

And then there’s Stewart who has basically no pressure at all. If James was three points down, he’d probably be sweating right now. But he’s five points back, it’s not his title to lose. So he can just put on a show - you just can’t get a better set up than that.

Oh man it’s going to be great. And just in case you needed ANOTHER reason…

The press conference also became the Ricky Carmichael retirement announcement. If you didn’t hear, he announced 2006 will be his last full season of racing. No more going for titles – this is definitely it. Oh. Boy. Can this race get any bigger?

Then the boys went out and rode for the press. It was the hardest charging most pressure packed press day ever. YOU KNOW Ricky and Chad were sizing each other up, even though they were only getting to ride on half the track. Hell, having those two out for press day together was like the guys in the Oscar De La Hoya fight skipping the weight in and the press conference and just sparring with each other in the actually ring. It would never happen.

And the intensity claimed a victim, in this case Grant Langston. It was one of those awful crashes where you hear a panic rev and EVERYONE looks – and in this case you saw Langston go rag dolling.

At first it appeared to be a broken wrist for Langston and an exit from the AMA/Toyota Motocross Nationals – but now word is that it might not be broken or dislocated, and Langston might be able to will himself through some races to save points.

Where have we heard that before?

Anyway, it’s all right in front of us right now, but it’s so surreal, that in fact it’s like no one even notices. It feels like a normal night. But with this championship and live TV and Vegas, it’s not going to be.

Enjoy it.

 

Tied 3:16 (3)

It’s hard to even imagine what a race like this will do for the sport. The mainstream publicity, the excitement, the vibe. We’re going to make believers out of a lot of people who usually don’t believe. But when we get them, be sure to tell them that it’s ALWAYS this good and it ALWAYS will be. Don’t let them leave!

Just a few examples of what I’m talking about. Krista Voda joined the supercross TV squad this year. A year ago at this time she was not involved with supercross in any way, shape or form. So she comes on board and is merely welcomed by the greatest season ever. So she’ll be the one on live TV catching the emotions of these guys – it could be an all-time epic moment, even for a veteran journalist like her. All year long, whenever I see Krista, I ask her “do you like this sport?” I all about converting people over to this strange religion we follow, maybe get them to come to church with us every weekend because they want to and not because they have to. For someone like Krista, who has been to tons of races and sporting events, getting an endorsement of “this is really fun” means a lot, because she’s been around NASCAR and could easily see this as second rate, a sideshow or, worst of all, less exciting than cars going around in a circle.

But she always assures me that she likes it. I want to believe her, and now I believe this season might make that true. When Krista interviewed Reed on the podium at Dallas, she said started the interview by saying she was speechless. Maybe this incredible season has made her a fan. I hope so – we have to get them one at a time.

In Dallas, DC invited his neighbor, Corey, to the race. Corey has been watching the races mainly through the influence of DC, but it was time to spread his wings and see one in person. And it was Dallas, a crazy crash fest of a night. We had lunch with him a few days later and he said it was awesome – and then I made sure to run the “Man it’s ALWAYS that good” line. One at a time.

On Sunday I was still riding on the high of watching this series go all tied up heading to the finals. I was so pumped I even did some yard work – anything seems fun when you’re this fired up. Anyway, remember the girl I met from the NY Times? The one who showed me where to go and what to do in Manhattan a few weekends ago? Yeah, well she’s moving into town here to go to WVU in the fall, and she was stopping through for the weekend. She called and we met up downtown. As luck would have it, the TV at Gibbies was tuned to Speed since it’s NASCAR-land. But Speed is pushing SX HARD right now due to the live show. So every commercial break pumped supercross. And then Wind Tunnel came on and RC was on the phone with Dave Despain, and clips from Seattle were aired and the sport looked so grand and glorious and big time that even a girl who lives in Manhattan and works for the NY Times had no choice but to say things like, “that looks cool…that looks fun…I didn’t know they did these in a stadium…wow it’s on TV live…I didn’t realize it was that big of a deal….” She was impressed. I assured her that it’s ALWAYS like this. One at a time.

Then there’s my buddy Colin. Colin’s been my best friend for a good ten years now, but it never had anything to do with motocross at all. None. In fact, most of my friends from Jersey don’t even know I’m into this! It was a quiet little secret I had, this motocross thing.

But Colin started checking things out last year, because he thought it was cool that I was on the webcasts and DMXS and TV and stuff like that. And he started getting sucked in. When I told him about the mind games at the press conferences and such he was intrigued. Finally he wanted to go to a race, so we went to Atlanta where we got to experience Fuel Gate and the DMXS party and all kinds of hilarious stuff. It was an epic weekend and I assured him they’re ALWAYS like that.

Then a month ago Colin said he wanted to go to Vegas. He booked his ticket. Now he’s going to be there for the wildest show ever. To give him an idea of how big this is, and how lucky he is to have ended up going, I told him the truth: It’s NEVER this good.

Can’t wait!

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May 2, 11:00 am

Tied 3:16 (2)

There are two ways to break this championship situation down. And we’re gonna’ break it down because that’s what you do when THE POINTS ARE TIED GOING INTO THE LAST RACE.

Have I mentioned that?

Here it goes: on paper, it’s still Carmichael’s title to lose. All he needs to do is finish second to Reed, and realistically that shouldn’t be hard. Beating Stewart will be next to impossible, but beating Reed and everyone else should be no problem – Reed has not been faster than Carmichael at any point this season. Not once. Remember, a few months back I asked, “do you think Carmichael has any fear of Reed anymore?” Why would he?

So based on that, it’s still Carmichael’s world. Plus he has a zillion titles and all that. He’s the GOAT. How do you bet against a winner (even in Vegas)?

But …

This is not a typical situation, which means everything you see, and everything on paper, is not as it seems. Sure, Ricky was faster than Chad in every situation this season, but we didn’t have a situation like this. This is pressure, this is for all the marbles, and in this sport it’s possible to make it deep into a successful championship career without having to face it. Stick and ball athletes live and die by the clutch moment – buzzer beaters and two-out base hits and two-minute drills and overtime and playoffs and on. But motocross isn’t like that. Carmichael, Reed and Stewart have never been in this situation before, ever. How will they react?

And if the pressure is hot, why not take a little off and play underdog? All three of these guys tried to play that game a few weeks ago during that round table meeting with Ralph Sheheen. He asked what the title would mean to them, and they all said it didn’t mean that much! They're all trying to pretend it doesn't matter as much as everyone knows that it does.

But let’s look at the scenario coming in. This was Ricky’s title to lose - and he could lose it. He’s undefeated in championship defenses. He had the solid points lead. I know he’s accomplished a lot and always says any additional wins and titles at this point are just icing on the cake, but c’mon, can he really smile and walk away no matter what the outcome is on Saturday? This was his title a few weeks ago. It has to be tough to realize, “Oh my God it’s slipping away.”

As for Reed, he’s been the underdog all year. He was done six months ago in Canada. He shouldn’t even be in this position. He is the one with everything to gain and nothing to lose. If he comes up short, hey, he shouldn’t have even been here anyway. No pressure there.

And Stewart, well can you have a better wild card situation than this? I’m not sure if Bubba is a great clutch performer, but he doesn’t need to be because he has even less to lose than Reed. And he’s so dangerous with that speed, and the margin of error Reed and RC and hanging onto is so slim (five points) that he’s not out of it. You know James will be smiling and loving every minute of this. If he were a few points closer, he wouldn’t be though …

So it comes down to this: how much of an effect will pressure have on this situation? If it’s business as usual, then Stewart’s speed will carry him to his fifth win in six races, Carmichael will ride smart but still outride Reed and finish second, and that will be that.

But this is far from business as usual. Do you go with what you see on paper, or do you go with what your gut says? Because I’m sure right now Carmichael and Reed’s stomachs’ aren’t feeling too good right now.

Have you ever raced before? Think about your thought process when you’re on the line and the card is up. THINK ABOUT HOW NERVOUS YOU ARE. Now imagine what it will be like for Ricky and Chad on Saturday night when the card is up.

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Let’s review the Lites showdown from Saturday. You heart has to go out to Andrew Short. This was supposed to be a mano-e-mano showdown, but in the mud it’s more of a crapshoot. I’m not sure if Andrew could have pulled this one off or not, but he never even had a chance. Short started in front of Langston, but Nate Ramsey got stuck right in front of him in the second turn and he had nowhere to go. Suddenly Langston was gone, and then Villopoto moved right on over for him and handed GL the lead. Short was way back and had to charge. A lap later he cross-rutted in the mud and went flying off of the track.

He never got a shot at it.

It hurts more because we know Short works hard, he’s a nice guy, and it could be his last, best chance at a championship. And I know he’s really busted up right now. Some guys seem to almost miss what they’re doing and don’t realize the importance of the situation. Not Andrew. He’s taking his opportunities seriously. You’re not going to read the Andrew Short story in ten years and hear, “Yeah I partied my ass off and blew my chance with Honda. I was young and making money – I wish I knew then what I know now.”

Nope, Andrew knew how important this was. This was his chance. But he never really had a chance last Saturday.

You just hope this doesn’t break the guy. I could see him sulking through Vegas and the Nationals this summer. Years ago Brock Sellards and Stephane Roncada came into the final East SX round tied, and Sellards got taken down in the first turn – never had a shot. Ron-Ron won the title and then went to the nationals on fire and nearly pulled off the title. Meanwhile Sellards, who finished second in the nationals the year before, was on cruise control for most of the summer.

The lesson: Championships that come down to the last round can really mess with people!

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April 30, 2006 7:00 pm

Tied 3:16 (1)

Oh brother it’s on now. Super on. Crazy on. Super Bowl World Series Game Seven on now. We finally have our “it” event. A final playoff game. One race for all of the marbles – one night, one race, one event, and it’s in Vegas and on live TV.

This has never happened before. Ever. Ricky Carmichael and Chad Reed are tied! They have 316 points apiece, but that might as well mean they’ve each won three heading into game seven. There isn’t a “if this guy does this they other guy has to do this.” Nope. Whoever finishes in front will win the title. And James Stewart isn’t even out of it, since he’s just five points back, and if desperate times calls for desperate measures, there is the possibility of a Reed/RC takeout which could open the door in improbable proportions.

What an amazing scenario we have here. Only it's more than amazing, But I just can't write anything else because the adjective to describe something this awesome and outrageous and incredible simply hasn't been invented yet. So instead I'm stuck saying it's awesome and outrageous and incredible and amazing when in reality it's something so much bigger than that - someone please invent a new word to describe this within the next six days!

So, we need to celebrate like it. This is going to be one wild week. We’ll probably never get a setup like this again so live it up. I’ll be flipping out here everyday and I expect everyone else to as well. This week needs to live in infamy – “the week we were tied.”

And we’re tied at 316 points, which I believe has some kind of biblical ties. That’s how big this is!

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Besides the points getting all locked up, we have to mention one more thing. J-Law made the podium and dropped an F-bomb. Oh hail Thee up above who makes such glorious comedy moments happen!

April 19, 6:30 pm PST

Settled in Seattle

We got the full Seattle experience in here already, and the racing hasn’t even begun! Yesterday we hit downtown Sea-town and a variety of local drink and eat establishments. We have a pretty good crew here this weekend: me, Fubar, Billy Ursic, Matt Ware and Bryan Stealey, and it makes it hard to find places to eat. Ware is a vegan (no meat, no dairy), Stealey is a vegetarian but he does eat fish, and Fubar is a steak and potatoes guy. And basically, Farber is one of those “my way of the highway” kind of guys.

Somehow we settled on a Japanese place that had sushi for we meat and fish eaters, chicken and rice for Fubar, and some kind of tofu for Matt. We had already walked out of three restaurants after checking the menu before that.

Once we were done it was on to the bars. This is one cool town, especially when it’s experiencing a rare bright and sunny day. So many of the downtowns I’ve seen in this country are cookie cutters – Dallas and Houston and Phoenix etc. are really pretty similar. But there’s nothing like Seattle. It’s just, what did Beavis and Butthead say? It’s “cool.”

Huhuhuhuh.

Hehehehe.

We got the rest of the Seattle experience today. It was cloudy and misty this morning and then it’s been raining for hours here. That’s Seattle! I’m super stoked on all of this. You know me, I like the craziness, and it’s going to be really crazy considering we have both Supercross Titles on the line and that West Lites title up for grabs, too. And yes, the Pro Circuit people pretty much assured us Ryan Villopoto will move over for Langston if it’s needed tonight – if Andrew Short wins this one he will have truly earned it. It’s just too bad Matt Walker couldn’t be here bumping people off the gate ….

Here’s a scenario I want to throw out here: chances are both the AMA and World SX GP titles will be clinched in Vegas next weekend. And what’s more, two different riders could win them. Never before have these titles both been wrapped up at the same race. So what kind of deal is this going to be? We could have, for example, Carmichael and Stewart both hoisting number-one plates in Vegas. How confusing is that going to be? It’s like the Steelers and Seahawks holding trophies after the Super bowl.

Hey and Jim and I were looking through the points and realized Carmichael hasn’t won a race since Daytona. Then I realized it’s been years since he’s won a race late in the year. Last year he got shut out. He didn’t race supercross in 2004. Reed won the last six in 2003. You have to go back to 2002 to find Ricky winning a race after Daytona. I don’t even know what this indicates but I thought it was worth mentioning.

Okay let’s talk about the track here – it’s muddy! But there is some good news after like four hours of rain. The dirt here is used to it. I talked to GNCCer Jason Raines, who is from Washington, and he says the dirt here is much better suited to rain then stuff on the East. He said after a muddy ride here you can just hose the bike off and it’s clean, because the dirt here doesn’t stick. That will be a big help in comparison to, say, San Francisco earlier this year when everyone was covered.

So before I go, let’s think about this again: it’s down to the wire like never before in supercross, and we’re going mudding tonight.

THIS IS NUTS!!!!

APril 27, 11:30 am

This is it

When it’s like this, when it’s this good, supercross is a beautiful symphony. In fact, I’ll put it up against any sport, any show, in any time or place when it’s this good. The beauty lies in the simplicity: right now we have three super-elite guys trying their hearts out to win. Two of them are trying so hard that they crash, and the third guy wins the race. Everyone in the stadium can see every inch of it, too. And you don’t need an expert to explain anything. It’s all right there, obvious and plain to see.

Not to demean the work of my boy Jimmy Holley, but honestly anyone could have grasped what was going on in that stadium Saturday in Dallas. You don’t need Tim McCarver to explain the pitcher trying to get ahead in the count, or John Madden talking X’s and O’s. No way – this is just three guys trying to go fast, two of them paying the price, and one of them winning.

It’s not always this good. When the runaways happen – and they happen in this game a whole lot more than any other, sorry – then you need the experts. Then you can talk about subtleties like Carmichael steering his bike with the throttle and the rear-wheel to keep his corner speed up, or Stewart scrubbing or Reed having a trainer who is on Lance Armstrong’s crew. You need to talk about that stuff when it’s boring, and often, unfortunately, it is. But when it’s good – oh it’s SO good.

That’s where we are right now. Last night I was just thinking about this weekend in Seattle, and hopefully another showdown in Vegas, and I was giddy. I was stoked, pumped and jacked up. This is history. If we really go to Vegas not knowing who will win the title, it will be a surreal experience for everyone. It’s never this good. Never. The last time the title was really in any doubt heading to the finale was LA in 1992, where we coincidentally had the veteran warrior (Stanton), the foreign champion (JMB) and the phenom (Bradshaw) going for it. But I’ll be honest – LA only became crazy AFTER the race because Bradshaw choked. Before that race began everyone thought Damon had it in the bag. So the anticipation of 1992 can’t match 2006, and if you want something closer you would have to go back to the 1980’s glory days, only back then you didn’t have live TV and CBS and 50,000 live fans watching. And it wasn’t that simple, either. Back then there were almost too many contenders. I’ve watched the supercross classics DVD, and one weekend Mark Barnett would kill it, and the next race he’d be rolling around in seventh. It’s not like that now. We’ve got three and only three guys and the spotlight will be on them every single time because they’ll either be out front, or be making headlines because they crashed. It’s so simple and so awesome and so unprecedented. And what’s more it probably won’t happen again. So do yourself a favor and savor every last morsel of these two weeks of title-chase bliss. Read and analyze the interviews and theories and mathematical possibilities. Drown yourself in Mototalk. Stay glued to this freaking blog, whatever. Just remember these two weeks, because it’s what we’ve always wanted and never get.

I’m so pumped up right now. I mean for real. I have arm pump just thinking of holding the mic in Vegas when the main starts and everything is on the line.

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Somewhere in the background of the ultimate showdown between the big three comes this West Region Lites fight. You know the 450 boys are battling hard when you don’t even think about the fact that Andrew Short has just four points on Langston, and Langston has a teammate in Ryan Villopoto who is hauling ass right now. If it goes Langston, Villo and Short this weekend, Langston wins the title in his standard “by a hair” fashion. So it’s far, far from over.

But you have to give Short credit. A few months back I think DC said he’s developing into a little Jeff Stanton over there, and now we’re really seeing it. Stanton wasn’t the world’s fastest guy, but he managed to win the titles he wasn’t supposed to win. Face it, Langston is faster and more talented than Short. But he just isn’t getting it done, and after all of these bad starts and stupid mistakes, he’s put himself behind the eight ball going into this finale, while Short can control his own destiny. Short works super-hard and does what he has to do to succeed. The only piece left is the ability to perform under pressure, and I’ll tell you, looking at his lap times last weekend in practice and the heat, it looked like he was buckling.

But come go time, he was the cool one, staying solid in second behind Villo while Langston, who had speed to burn earlier in the night, got all pumped up and tight when it mattered. And this is a guy who has been down this championship road more than anyone!

I really like both of those guys so it will be sweet to see either one win. Langston has a way of pulling this stuff out – although he’s never actually been behind in points heading to the last race like he is now. I think Short has developed the mental toughness to stare this title in the face. But, it’s the Lites, and anything can happen and usually does. It’s crazy that we’re not even thinking about this because that damn 450 gang is so close!

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I know I'm probably edging too close to being a full Reed supporter here, especially after I gave him all of this credit the other day. Again, I really don't care who wins this stuff as long as it makes for a good story. But, let me just throw Chad another set of props here - if you don't like him go ahead and send me the "stop kissing his ass" emails. Chad and I will read them together on his couch and .... whoa, wait a minute.

Okay here is my point: If Ricky Carmichael had won two races this year and still won the championship because he was consistent peolple will saying he was smart. If Chad wins it that way, well, everyone is just going to think he was lucky.

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I’ve received a few comments this week akin to, “Dude, Villopoto won his first supercross before Alessi. Why haven’t you mentioned this!”

Well, I am now. I would have done it earlier but darned Villo wouldn’t help. I asked him in about 30 different ways what it was like to, “be the bridesmaid as an amateur and now experience this much success so quickly as a pro” and he just blew it off. EVERYONE knows what I’m talking about. He won before Alessi did! C’mon, Ryan, Mike has made you cry before. TALK SOME TRASH!

But that’s probably why people like Ryan so much. He’s the anti-hype. He won’t even hype things up when he wins, let alone five years before he’s even there. I’m just hoping that somewhere, at some time during the last few days Ryan and his family had a little Alessi bash session. For all the heartbreak Team Alessi dealt them back in the amateur days, they’ve earned it.

P.S. I’ve never hated the Alessi gang. In fact, the whole crew are some of the nicest and most polite people you will ever run into at the track. They always make sure to know everyone’s name and respect what everyone does. They’re not punks, which is kind of refreshing. But c’mon, with the way they throw the controversy out there, how could you not indulge. Talking about these guys is like eating dessert.

And speaking of…

I’ve been running a few days a week this year with MX Sports’ Tim Boryk and Racer X designer Jason Hooper. We usually meet on Tuesday and Thursday morning and put the miles in – it’s like a New Year’s resolution that actually worked. And now that the weather is finally nice in the morning, there’s no turning back. But after four months I’ve started to transform. Any of you readers who have done some sort of training have probably been through this. My metabolism is out of control! I can’t stop eating. Hell, I’m hungry during meals right now because my body is starving for fuel 24/7.

On Monday I ate cereal for breakfast, was still hungry so I made a sandwich. I was still hungry so when the boys went to lunch at Wings Ole’ I ordered FOUR tacos and gorged through all four. Then I was still hungry so I went through a box of wheat thins at my desk, and then Hooper and his wife were going for sushi, so I joined them and killed my giant plate of sushi, but Hooper couldn’t keep up and finish his so I gladly ran the “you gonna’ eat dat?” and finished up for him. Then Kato Kalin Bowyer (my new roommate) called and said he was at the Mexican joint getting margaritas, so of course I had to go there and have some along with those wonderful bottomless baskets of chips and salsa. But I still woke up hungry so yesterday I had the cereal/sandwich combo again, and then DC took us to lunch at a different Mexican joint that was running the ALL YOU CAN EAT TACO BUFFETT which I basically put out of business. I have now realized that regular cereal isn’t going to cut it for breakfast so I picked up a box of this Kaishi high-protein cereal that Ryan Clark always runs when he comes out to visit. It’s all twigs and rocks and stuff but once I threw it down the incinerator it was gone like I had never had it. Last night for dinner I made like 15 pounds of spaghetti, and I haven’t had sauce in the house for ages so I just took all 15 pounds down PLAIN and then woke up starving. Boryk and I put in six miles this morning and for motivation I just kept telling myself I could eat once the run was finally over. Dude I was hauling! Now I’ve had two power bars and cereal and I think it’s time to make another sandwich because it’s 11 am and I can’t wait until lunch time….

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I think this is the coolest thing ever! I did a feature on Juha Salminen on the GNCC site a few months ago, and now it's turned up again on some other site, only IN SPANISH!!! Dio Mio!

English

Spanish

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April 25th, 9:35 am

Reediculous again

Okay, I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 1000 times, and I’ll probably say it again, but do me a favor and follow this advice: never, ever, EVER say Chad Reed is weak mentally. Don’t say he’s defeated, or over it, or done, or lost. Don’t say “Reed” and then point at your temple and do little 360s with your index finger. The very thing people accuse Chad of, not being strong enough mentally, is the very reason he has had the success he has. He has as iron a will as any racer out there. He is mentally tough, mentally strong, and mentally undefeatable. And yet every time he loses a race, people say he’s done and defeated and over it.

Here is why Chad doesn’t win the races: he’s racing against Ricky Carmichael and James Stewart! C’mon, this is the ultimate dynamic duo – arguably the two fastest and most talented racers of all time, and better yet they’re both going for it at the same time, pushing each other ever further past their already ridiculous limits. We’ve seen the guard change in this sport on the track before, but usually it’s when the older guy is already on the downside – DeCoster was pretty long in the tooth by the time Hannah got to him. Hannah was up there by the time Johnson was ready to fight him at Unadilla. And MC was past his prime by the time RC stepped up in 2001. But Carmichael is not at that point right now. He’s working and training and riding harder and faster than he ever has. And he’s going against Stewart, who for all of his ridiculous talent and speed is even better now because he got his butt whipped by Ricky last year, which means he has to work even harder. This is as close as you will ever get to seeing the irresistible force and the immovable object bashing into each other while both are in their prime.

And yet Reed can’t keep up with this because he is mentally weak? Get out of here. He can’t keep up because the other two are just not even mortal. Mentally, he was never out of the game. He never had been. Once again I will review:

When Stewart pulled over and let Chad by, only to pass him right back, at Unadilla in 2002, that was supposed to just kill Chad mentally. David Bailey even said on the TV show, “once you have something like that done to you, Chad might never beat James again for the rest of his life.” But instead he went out and beat James straight up in moto 1 of the very next race at Millville. Did he get on a win streak after that? Win the title? No. James isn’t mortal and Chad couldn’t beat him again. But after getting punk’d that day at Unadilla, Chad didn’t pack up his tent and go home. He came back stronger.

When Chad got beat by Carmichael at Daytona in 2003, and Ricky had a big points lead and all of the momentum and Chad had become just another in a long line of pretenders to the throne, what did he do? He came back and won the last six races of the season. Was Ricky just riding safe to win the title? Maybe. But Chad didn’t pack up his tent and go home. He came back stronger.

When Chad got beat by Kevin Windham in a few mains early in 2004, did he pack up his tent and go home? No. He came back stronger and beat KW and won the title.

When Chad was dealt a huge points deficit last season and Carmichael was putting the hurt on him, and the tour was headed to Daytona, which is Ricky’s backyard, and everyone said Chad was “done, mentally,” did he pack up his tent and go home? Nope. He won the race. Won a bunch of them, in fact, including the “gloves are off” showdown in Vegas.

So this year Chad is way off the pace. It’s clearly a two-man race between Stewart and Carmichael. Did he pack up his tent and go home? Chad could have folded a few rounds into the season, stopped working and just collected his big paycheck. But he kept digging and kept believing. Then St. Louis happened and he was in the lead. Ricky laid the smack on him for a few more weeks, and then Chad hurt his shoulder, and he really, really should have thrown in the towel. But he kept digging and kept fighting, making it through four races with the bad shoulder. And he kept working and kept believing even though honestly no one thought he was still in title contention – heck the Speed broadcast from Dallas starts with the teaser “Can Carmichael hang on, or will James Stewart ….” and it didn’t even mention Reed even though he was actually second in points!

Everyone had given up on the guy. It was RC vs. Bubba and Reed should have just cashed out, gotten the shoulder fixed and collected his paycheck. But instead he was better and closer in Dallas than he had been all year. He wasn’t quite on the pace with the Florida boys, but he wasn’t getting yarded like he had most of the time this year. He kept trying and fighting because he was not defeated mentally like everyone says he was. Otherwise he’d be right where David Vuillemin is right now – all of that talent and ability sitting at home.

Then the Supercross Gods wreak havoc on the race – thanks to that hole in the roof in Dallas, you know, the one that lets God watch his Cowboys – and Reed finds himself back in the hunt again.

We’ve been racing for five months now. Do you honestly think at this point that anyone believed in Chad Reed at all besides his inner circle of people, and himself? Did you believe in him? I admit I didn’t.

Now he’s just one small miracle away from pulling off this championship. He may not end up winning it, but never, ever, EVER say the guy isn’t mentally tough.

 

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