You probably didn’t miss it but it’s back and I’m pretty proud of this one.
You probably didn’t miss it but it’s back and I’m pretty proud of this one.
Photos by: James Lissimore
Yup, I skipped Swizcorner Daytona. Much like Cole Trickle from Days of Thunder when asked if he’d ever been to a race, said “I’ve watched it on television, ESPN. The coverage is excellent, you’d be surprised what you can pick up”. So I figured, I might as well be consistent and only write about the races I don’t attend.</unfunny intro>
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This guy knows the value of live TV race coverage. |
The Indy Track
Man I love the looks of the east coast dirt, that’s real dirt. The only thing that would make the east coast rounds better is if they would appoint a true east coast venue, preferably around Jersey, so I could attend and enjoy the Jersey dialect in person. I would really push for a local calling the race action as well, now that’s entertainment.
The track was tight and looked rather boring from the track map but the long start straight( no doubt rethought after last years mini-start straight resulting in a night of constant first turn pile-ups), sand section and dragon back made for some drama. The whoops on the other hand were about as one-lined as I’ve ever seen.
Lites Class
6th- I’m wondering if there is something ailing Dean-O? He hasn’t looked like himself the last two weeks. Granted, in Daytona his crashes held him back and he had another last night but Dean has never really been known as a crasher. Perhaps a suppressed injury is the cause?
5th- Matt Lemoine finally made it through a main without a crash, well an off track excursion yes but not anything requiring him to re-saddle and re-fire which has been his achilles heel. There’s no reason Matt can’t be top 5 every week and it’s nice to finally have a solid result to show for it.
4th- Lil’ Bro Stewart, like Jenga Lemoine, also curbed his crashy-ness in Indy to net himself a solid 4th. Everyone has seen it, Malcolm has serious supercross skills. Like serious enough that a win is totally achievable if he can just reel in some of his excitement which leaves him over-riding at times and ultimately sampling soil. Hopefully he pinpoints, retains and files away what he did in Indy to build on in Jacksonville, somewhat of a hometown race.
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Mookie Fever |
3rd- Poor B-Dubs. You could totally empathize with his disappointment in himself on the podium. If it weren’t for that tough block to toe on the finish take-off putting him on the deck, he looked tough to beat. But if’s and bu-… you know the saying. I don’t see that mistake or his disappointment sticking around for Jacksonville. He may still be the guy to beat. Yes, I think he’s that solid.
2nd- Justin rode an incredible race. I was glad to see the wrist brace not corralling his aggression but the thing that made me gain a lot of respect for Justin is how he raced Sipes when he caught him. He could easily have cleaned him or them both out on a few occasions and thought it better to keep the contact aggressive but not detrimental to either rider. That’s good shit, make contact, make your point and presence known but keep the race going. Well done Justin, you’d be hard pressed to find a fan of racing who doesn’t like the way you handled that.
1st- It only took 6 years. I gotta be honest, I didn’t think Ryan Sipes was going to find the podium before the season but starting with round 1 he showed he definitely has found more speed in his year off the little bike. I’ve been impressed with him every week with Indy obviously being the pinnacle thus far. Right from the start of his heat race Ryan looked like someone who was not going to be denied victory. Im not sure what it is but this season Sipes has broken out of that sort of transparent Justin Brayton-esque cloak he was in previously and it’s nice to see him assert himself.
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It took just less than 1 dog year for Sipes’ first win. |
Asst Pts.- I’m conflicted about PJ Larson’s riding in the LCQ. First of all, it’s the LCQ, all bets are off in my mind usually. His push over the berm of Lance Vincent was aggressive but hey it’s the LCQ. The problem I have is where he cross jumped Lipanovich resulting in Sean going down and PJ going outside the tough blocks. Cross jumping is stupid no matter how small the jump because with a 250+lbs motorcycle the penalty can always be catastrophic.
Keep praying for Ian Trettle, people.
Supercross Class
4th- The Dungenator rode a good race but had little to show for it. Word is, he and Trey came together in the opening laps which apparently left Canard on the short end of the stick as he confronted Dungey about it after the race, later apologizing saying emotions got the best of him. Dungey worked his way up to Reeds rear wheel, literally, and high-sided right over said wheel. Too bad because Stewart had just caught their group and rode safely past as Dungey remounted to again work his way up to Reed. You could tell Dungey was frustrated when he caught Chad again because he had the speed to run with and pass Reed in Indy but he still didn’t make it happen. You gotta wonder when Dungey is just going to break character and be like eff it, this nice guy stuff isn’t worth it if Im not winning.
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I think the Dungenator needs to ramp up the killer instinct. |
3rd- You could see all night Reed didn’t have the fight in him, he was just trying to get through the race. He had a great start and rode a subdued though error free race to secure a podium spot. Considering how he looked after the race, I think that’s a successful weekend. Hopefully he kicks whatever bug he had early this week to reduce its effects on Jacksonville.
2nd- Man, James is one unbelievable mofo. The saves he had in Indy were pretty spectacular. It appeared in the beginning of the race he realized RV got the start and was going to lay down as many clear track burners as he could, so he wanted to work his way up fast from an abysmal start. Well, he may have over-rode the soft Indy track, simply cross-rutted or just straight up made mistakes but he found himself in a few close calls which would have left most reaching for the eject button. They were incredible saves and certainly without them, that podium would have been much harder to attain. Man, those saves, only James pulls that off.
1st- RV. What can you say about this guy? His churning stomach from St.Louis through the outdoors last season has fueled him in exactly the way his competitors were concerned it might. He’s sidelined his crashing and found a comfortable mix of aggression and containment to formulate a seemingly ideal SX style. Nobody looks as aggressive and controlled as RV right now, it’s easier to do that when your out front and you determine your pace and his great starts of late sure make that a lot easier to do. He made three more points on James and with his confidence soaring and focus maintaining, he’s hard to bet against right now.
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This guy races like he hates the world. |
When it comes down to people talking about gifts and having wins handed to RV it makes me wanna puke, that’s f@$*ing racing! Just like last season when James and Chad exited the series with injuries and later RV, Dungey maintained and won the title, don’t dilute his title because he was the fastest man left standing, that’s how racing goes. Shit happens and all the racers can do is prepare themselves and hopefully put themselves in a position to win. Enough with this “gift” bullshit.
Cant wait for Jacksonville, it would be hard to imagine a better Jacksonville than ’09 between Reed and Stewart but if any season has the potential, its this one.
