Racer X ReduX: Atlanta
Wednesday, March 2, 2011 | 10:15 AM
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We report, you decide.
There is absolutely no way I’m going to win you over. You already think what you think of the Chad Reed and James Stewart last lap awesome/lame/aggressive/dumb/smart pass/crash/takeout. Arguing about dirty riding is like arguing about politics, and I realized a long time ago I’m not smart enough to do that. So I write about dirt bike racing instead.
But I do know this: You may hate what happened, or you may like it, but I find it hard to believe that anyone didn’t think it was exciting.
Reed and Stewart had 70,000-plus on their feet all night.
Photo: Andrew Fredrickson
Atlanta is a special place for supercross. Nowadays 100,000 people claim they watched the GOAT Atlanta SX in 1990 from the stands (and my guess is it was more like 20,000). It’s the race we all wish we would see every week. I’ve watched the tape of that 1990 race 100 times, and I’ll never know why on that night, eight guys were evenly matched and made passes all the way down to the last lap. It was the perfect mix of action and excitement, and I’d trade a winning lottery ticket to watch that kind of racing every weekend.
This one came close to reaching that rare air of 1990. It didn’t have the pure action—eight different dudes going for the lead is tough to top—but this one packed the nuclear bomb of supercross weapons: Chad Reed versus James Stewart.
This is the longest-running rivalry in the history of the sport. As Motley Cru once said, it’s been a decade of decadence. We’ve reached overtime now because six months ago it didn’t look like we’d ever see another one-on-one Stewart/Reed battle for a supercross win again.
But James is still fast and Chad has really stepped up over the last few weeks. In fact, you can argue that this is one of Chad’s best performances ever. Of his 39 career wins and 107 career podiums, how many of those included him matching Stewart’s speed and holding him behind him back for 19 laps? Most of Reed’s wins come from capitalizing on a Stewart crash, or in his absence. But he very nearly did it straight up this time. He looked aggressive and strong, and hit his marks with consistency. Early in the season, Reed was mistiming jumps in spots. Go watch this main event on your DVR again and you’ll see the Two Two nailing perfect backsides on every obstacle, lap after lap.
They even got away from Villopoto and Dungey. The parents fought back against the kids!
Stewart hasn't won since A2, could Daytona mark his return to the victory circle?
Photo: Matt Pavelek
Mind you this all just highlights the crazy double standard for Stewart. When someone merely matches or comes close to his speed, we get all pumped up. We heap praise on the other rider. We wonder if something is wrong with James or his bike. Even in a race where he’s in the darned lead on the last lap!
But, Stewart didn’t win this one. I’m not even going to make a judgment call on Reed’s last lap move—dirty or aggressive is like republican or democrat. But I do know that Stewart couldn’t have done anything to avoid it.
Did he “leave the door open?” Please. Saying Stewart should have shut the door is like saying he should have spun straw into gold. Sounds good but it can’t be done.
Reed had to slice off 90 percent of a turn to get underneath him. Stewart didn’t leave the door open, he just went to the berm because that was the fastest way to get around. He was a sitting duck. There was nothing he could do. There’s no way to effectively close the door in that situation. If he had jammed his bike into first gear and rolled around the inside to make sure Reed couldn’t get underneath, Reed would have passed him around the outside (and Stewart tried to do that in the final turn, and Reed rode right around him). If he had anticipated Reed cutting over to the exit of the corner, and tried entering on the outside so he could cut inside at the exit and miss him, then Reed would have gone straight and block passed him--like Stewart did to him a few moments earlier.
Heck, if Stewart had taken the exact same line Reed did, he would have gone so slow through the corner that Reed would have passed him. You’ll notice Reed had to basically stop in order to make that turn. That’s fine when you can stop in front of a dude and give him nowhere to go, but it doesn’t work when you’re in the lead.
The aftermath of the Reed-Stewart battle.
Photo: Matt Pavelek
So then, should he have “backed off?” Please. Just like in Houston, you can watch these crashes in slow motion, but they don’t ride at that speed. In real time, there was about .02 seconds between Stewart nailing the gas and nailing Reed. There was not enough time to see Reed get to the spot, get on the binders and come to a complete stop.
This is just like leading a road race on the last lap when there’s a draft. The guy in second is in control of the situation and you’re at his mercy. In 180 bowl berms, if the second place is that close and willing to go on a suicide mission, there’s not much you can do.
I don’t believe Reed purposely tried to knock Stewart down. It was a hail mary or a desperation three pointer at the buzzer. Throw it up there up hope for the best. But prepare for the worst.
It was dirty, but it was awesome. If you were in the building, or watching on TV, I guarantee you were going crazy. It was exciting. It was dramatic. It was much more fun than watching Stewart simply hold him off on the last lap. I’d rather bench-race over another crazy Stewart/Reed tangle then wonder what would have happened if Reed hadn’t screwed up while lapping Chris Blose. We have two guys who want to win bad, going for it, giving it their all and trying, scratching and clawing. Don’t you want to see your team go down swinging?
(And we can’t compare this to one team cheating to win, because we all know that no one calls foul or hands out penalties after moves like this. Not in this game. At least not right now. So technically, Reed didn’t cheat or break any rules. Even last year in Phoenix, Reed was temporarily penalized for striking James with his hand, not for crashing into him).
After all the chaos, it was RV who would stand atop the podium.
Photo: Andrew Fredrickson
You also had Ryan Villopoto winning the race, and Ryan Dungey taking second. And what if Trey Canard had not crashed while running third? My mind is blown right now! If any of these five guys win Daytona, it would not shock anyone. When was the last time we had five different riders who could realistically win a race?
Villo didn’t quite have the speed on this night like he did in, say, Los Angeles, but he’s got a 10-point cushion to work with. After the race, we had a good laugh in the Kawi truck about their supposed “strategy”, which I defined as “wait 19 laps, and then attack!” The real question is if RV can get the speed advantage back that he had in January. On the other side of it, though, remember back in Redux from A2, when I asked if Stewart’s dominance was a one-night-only deal or a sign of things to come? He hasn’t won a race since.
In summary, I don’t have a problem with James or Chad. Chad did what he had to do, and James couldn’t have backed off or shut the door. It was racing, it was dirty, and it was exciting and it’s just part of the deal. For Stewart and Reed, it has been for ten years, and I was pumped to see the rivalry renewed (a few weeks ago Stewart told Matthes that he guaranteed he and Reed would end up riding together during the week at one point. I don’t think that’s going to happen right now).
See, the problem for me back in 1990 was, I came home from school on Friday afternoon, and watched the Atlanta race on tape. It was awesome and that was it. I didn’t know a single other person who cared about dirt bike racing when I was a kid. I wanted to discuss that race so bad, but no one cared—the darned thing aired at 12:30 a.m. on Thursday night, three months after the race took place.
This one aired live, and fans dumped the clutch and exploded with opinions. Stewart went on Dave Despain’s Wind Tunnel (and Despain, by the way, was one of the TV announcers for that epic 1990 clash) to talk about the crash. We can analyze and criticize all we want, but that’s the whole point—it was exciting enough to keep us talking and salivating for the next weekend’s race. And we really don’t know who is going to win!
Wilson had a big night in the A-T-L.
Photo: Matt Pavelek
Meanwhile, yet again the track designers got off the hook with a simple layout that didn’t provide much passing. We’ve seen several great races this year on these types of tracks. It’s making me start to think—gasp! —that there’s a method to this madness.
Passing room sounds great, but what if Stewart knifed past Reed quickly and started getting all crazy in a jump section like he did at Anaheim 2? What if Houston’s first turn didn’t produce an epic crash? We would have left Houston and Atlanta saying, “at least the Lites race was pretty good” instead of ranting and raving about the SX class.
The action in the ATL main managed to overshadow a superb Lites race, in fact. Dean Wilson passed his way through the field (on a track you could not pass on) and notched Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s 200th win.
Dude really established himself with this win. In Houston, Justin Barcia won, and I thought Baggett looked the fastest. In Atlanta, I thought Ryan Sipes was finally in position to get one, especially after he won his heat race and got a good start in the main. Both of these riders were in front of Dean in the main, and he passed them all both en route to victory.
But what about Blake? Wharton’s season was on the verge of falling apart already. Sipes knocked him off the Houston podium, and he crashed twice in his Atlanta heat race. Sometimes, things go that wrong early on, confidence, enthusiasm and results waver. But then Blake went out and pulled a crazy holeshot from the outside! He caught a huge break with lapped traffic (Barcia and company had closed the gap and were about to attack him when Hawaii 5-0 Lipanovich got in the way and let Wharton pull back out). Wharton had this one. On this track, it would have been really tough for Wilson to make up that much time and make a pass in four laps.
Wharton had a tough night in Atlanta.
Photo: Andrew Fredrickson
But Wharton washed out. Such a bummer. Blake’s a cool, funny guy and he works hard. You want to see guys like that succeed.
Not sure if Blake has the pure speed to pull this off again—you could tell he had a little extra adrenaline boost after pulling the start from that gate. Maybe he will ratchet it back up this weekend, but right now I think Dean has established himself as the fave. Especially if Barcia’s wrist is jacked. He told me it wasn’t, but a wrist brace is a rare sight at this level.
Can’t believe Brett Metcalfe even got through this one. His heat race crash was a ugly, and he texted me yesterday saying, “I have not felt this bad from a crash in my life. Feels like I hit a brick wall. Kinda’ did, I guess.” Tenth place is impressive, considering. It sucks though because Metty made some major bike changes during the week and seemed full of confidence before the night began. And he was running right with Reed in the heat before the big get off.
A few weeks ago I saw Justin Brayton breaking away from the “B pack” and making a run at the big five. Now Andrew Short is trying to establish himself as the best of that bunch. And really, with Villopoto, Stewart, Dungey, Reed and Canard healthy, sixth is probably right where Shorty would be if he was on an orange bike or a red one, a 350 or a 450.
As for Brayton, he crashed in practice and didn’t quite have the mojo after that. JB has says he’s trying to push harder this year and trade consistency for a few more crashes, all in the name of going faster. So yes, he’s had a few rough rounds, but it’s only because he’s trying.
Can Short grab a podium spot before season's end?
Photo: Andrew Fredrickson
I expected a breakthrough night from Brayton’s teammate Davi Millsaps, but it didn’t happen.
In Lites, Hunter Hewitt logged the best supercross of his career with sixth in the main, and Sipes just got him for fifth in the end. He was also fourth in his heat. Hunter’s dad owns and manages the Rockstar Suzuki team, but Hunter didn’t make the cut this year with amateur champions Ian Trettel and Jason Anderson hitting the pros. On this night, Hunter got the better end of the deal. Trettel hurt his shoulder, and Anderson took ninth. But good things are still to come for Anderson. He logged the second-fastest lap of the main. He’s going to figure this out and I wouldn’t be surprised if it happens on the outdoor-like track in Daytona.
Atlanta usually holds several traditions for me. First, you have Friday night’s DMXS party, where people get DMXS tattoos, or ride minibikes naked through the bar. Always good times because that’s how DMXS rolls.
On Saturday night, our Webcast crew would always head to a place called Taco Mac in the Virginia Highlands neighborhood for wings and beer. Taco Mac doesn’t serve tacos or macaroni. Apparently, some people bought an old taco shop and turned it into a wing joint, but they didn’t have the money to change the sign. The place took off, and now Taco Macs are all over Atlanta, still serving wings and still not serving tacos.
But we don’t have the Webcast anymore. I had a whole lot of stories to cover in the pits (the race was controversial. Maybe you heard?) so the Taco Mac tradition died. Sad. At about 1 a.m., I was cruising to the hotel with Racer X photo editor Andrew “Fred” Fredrickson when we stumbled on what’s guaranteed to be a new must-do stop: the original, real-deal, first ever Chick-Fil-A!
Weege outside the original Chick-Fil-A.
Photo: Andrew Fredrickson
It’s called the Dwarf House. It’s magical. And I have no idea why it’s called the Dwarf house. It has a dwarf-sized front door. It features sit-down dining and a menu that includes burgers (the menu even jokes, “Don’t tell the cows!”) We were also there at 1 a.m., which means we were eating burgers at a Chick-Fil-A on a Sunday. It was superb, and when we walked inside, we were greeted by a pack of industry people. Yamaha honchos Keith McCarty and Jimmy Perry were holding court with a gang of Yamaha team personnel, and then Trey Canard and his gang came in with Tim Ferry in tow. Yup, we were eating burgers at 1 a.m. with Ferry, flanked by the team that powered him to victory in the first moto of Budds Creek 2003. You so missed out, Matthes!
If you folks have anything left in the Reed/Stewart tank, shoot me an email at [email protected]. By the time you read this sentence my email box will be full.
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the races here are great but......hmm........ look at how many bikes were stolen
Nice job Weege! Well said, best take on Atlanta yet.
GREAT READ!!!!
>Reed had to slice off 90 percent of a turn to get underneath him. Stewart didn’t leave the door open, he just went to the berm because that was the fastest way to get around. He was a sitting duck. There was nothing he could do. There’s no way to effectively close the door in that situation. If he had jammed his bike into first gear and rolled around the inside to make sure Reed couldn’t get underneath, Reed would have passed him around the outside (and Stewart tried to do that in the final turn, and Reed rode right around him). If he had anticipated Reed cutting over to the exit of the corner, and tried entering on the outside so he could cut inside at the exit and miss him, then Reed would have gone straight and block passed him--like Stewart did to him a few moments earlier.<............... That is so true. I laughed at the people all week saying JS could have let off, JS could have protected his line bla bla bla do some of these guys even ride let alone ever race??
Good job. Weege. Open by pretending you're above arguing about the crash, then go on to make your argument about the crash. ;)
chick fil a is awesome i live in michigan and we don't have any here but theres one in south bend indiana near red bud get the 50 piece party platter for red bud every year.
Great read Jason, and yes we just have to wait for Daytona..... Time for me to have a burger also, I have this place called Country burger just down the street LOL Keep up the good reads. And to all of the racers good luck at Datona and may it be another thria from Unidilla. A little pun from Ali and FRaizer in Manilla...
1/2 the crowd leaves by lap 15 of the SX race normally. Thanks to Reed they couldn't do that at Atlanta, and the fact that we all know he'll do it again if the situation calls for it will keep us watching. He ought to get a bonus 'pool' from all the sponsors and fans cuz he added 5 laps onto our viewing. Stuarts solution is called a 'gap'. If you can't produce one then ya better lift that leg cuz it's liable to get broke if you don't cuz Chad's gonna be 'runnin it in' on you all the way to Vegas.
Reed keeps parking his bike in front of Stewy & expecting him to just give up the position. How many more times are you going to force your bike into a situation where neither of you wins?
And we all know that if Stewy ever gets passed on the track, he panics/freaks out & whisky-throttles it. Remember when Ricky passed him in the outdoors & Stewy jumped on his back? What about Preston, Windham & all the others who have been taken out because Stewy was in his "I'm getting beat & I cant have that" panic-zone. Stewart & Reed are like oil & water, they just dont mix!
toroP, That wasn't an arguement. He basically said it was everything that everyone was saying and that it was epic. No one can argue that!
and yet the racers themselves, trainers, and team managers all feel he left the door open....what do they know??
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU YHANK YOU JASON WEIGANDT!!!! Finally somebody lays out the reality of the situation. I cant believe how many people on here try to blame the fact that they both went down on Stewart. "there was about .02 seconds between Stewart nailing the gas and nailing Reed. There was not enough time to see Reed get to the spot, get on the binders and come to a complete stop".....WORD!! "Stewart didn’t leave the door open, he just went to the berm because that was the fastest way to get around. He was a sitting duck. There was nothing he could do. There’s no way to effectively close the door in that situation. If he had jammed his bike into first gear and rolled around the inside to make sure Reed couldn’t get underneath, Reed would have passed him around the outside (and Stewart tried to do that in the final turn, and Reed rode right around him). If he had anticipated Reed cutting over to the exit of the corner, and tried entering on the outside so he could cut inside at the exit and miss him, then Reed would have gone straight and block passed him"........WORD WORD WORD!!!!
21MotoRules Has said it all.
"5 different guys that can win". This sport has needed this for a while. Add Pourcel for outdoors and SHIZAMMM!!! The only way this could be cooler is if they slowed em down on a yellow half way through the race to stack em up, got em on the start straight and dropped a rolling green!!
Excellent read Weege! I remember standing on my couch watching the tape of the Atlanta SX in '90 yelling at the TV. I felt like I was 15 again on Saturday doing the same thing!
reed is so full of himself that he couldn't let stewart win he could have backed off because he knew he wasn't going 2 get him so he took him out on purpose and i think that thats just being a jerk
reed is so full of himself that he couldn't let stewart win he could have backed off because he knew he wasn't going 2 get him so he took him out on purpose and i think that thats just being a jerk
billlC..There was 25 points on the line and if chad would have won that would be huge for his team and all of his fans..right now stewert is the man to beat!! chad had to cut him off...I race all the time and Id give it a go for a chance to win!
mslief: why would you just let somebody win and not even try to take one last move...I dont know about you but i always try to win and id be so pissed that i didnt even try!!
Hahahahaha,
so true about yelling at the TV, LOL !!
I was screaming as if they could hear, you just gotta love this stuff.
your guy might not be winning and then the leader faulters and you are off the couch hitting the ceiling screaming anything and everything, then the cat in the house freakes, poops themselves n runs n hides for a day.
Hahahaha, "You gotta love this stuff"
Weege... you always seem to make the best arguments and I find myself agreeing with your take on situations more so than anyone else. Whether it be in these columns or one the podcasts.
Nice work!
LINKIN I agree but that move had maybe a 1% chance of working, Very unlikely it would turn out good ever IMO . He should have picked a better spot IMO. Could have ended one of there seasons right there.
RC says it wasn't dirty
Kind of think he's a better judge.
RV would've done the same
Stewert telling Despain "I don't race that way" is a joke
Wharton pulled the holiest of holies ! That as by far the biggest lauch I have ever seen ! Stewar should have never "let Chad bye". Chad looses his mind and rides at a whole nother(?) level !
Dirt
PHX 2010 - I always laugh when I see Reed hit James on the head, like it was James fault Reed dove under him and took them out. Is Reed a princess or something " let me win or I'll take you or us both out"....
"Go watch this main event on your DVR again and you’ll see the Two Two nailing perfect backsides on every obstacle, lap after lap" ---- Was this before or after Reed almost lost it over the triple or rode the tuff blocks almost crashing before the finish line jump??? Or following a lapper on the outside of the whoops into a right hand turn?? That, which Reed admits is a pretty lame move...hardly perfect...much worse than James not shutting off. Reed had an entire straight away to pass Blose, Stewie had ".002" seconds to react....
DAYTONA!!
Jason - Taco Mac does have tacos. I had one on Friday afternoon. They are $2.50 a peice and they aren't good. I had the wings as well which I didn't like either. IMO Buffalo Wild Wings have the best Wings. Just Sayin'
LINKIN - Pleanty of riders have said " you know, i just settled for second tonight" for various reasons like track conditons, arm pump, so and so was faster, etc. Settling for second is not unheard of.... There is a 3 points difference for 1st and 2nd I beleive, so why risk 3pts for possibly 25points? If Reed reinjured himself or his bike got damaged....especially at rnd 7, then he'd really feel stupid...But Reed had a taste of victory in San Diego and couldnt wait to taste it again....not a smart move, but he made the move and it costed him more points than holding on for 2nd....who knows, maybe JS7 would have screwed up again and Reed could have won.....Reed could have taken 2nd, said "great race" and continued on...now he needs to ride with a rear view mirror if JS7 is behind him...
WORD?? good write up Weege! I still love the fact that Reed is not taking any crap from ANYONE. James better get back to gapping the field again because RV2, and the rest will be as aggressive as Reed from here on out! All bets are off and Reed woke everyone up! Survival of the fastest!! WORD!! (right whatever?)
"I expected a breakthrough night from Davi Millsaps, but it didn't happen."
One sentence that defines a night, a season, a career thus far. But I do hope he does turn it around.
(This is me not holding my breath).
The JS7 Koolaid brigade has been waiting for an article like this all week. I'll stick with all the vets and insiders than know you don't leave the inside open on the last lap lol.
Too Bad JS didn't ride the entire last lap like he did the last few corners, looking behind him...
Weege, or should we now refer to you as, Mr. Pulitzer? I am so glad that you love supercross!
It would be fun to see James show up at the gate for the next main event in elbow pads, neck brace, and full on back-shoulder-chest protector.
Ask any rider and Daytona and Unadilla are the 2 trophys they want on there career resume. Even without the drama this was gonna be good. But with it, it should be one of the best. Go Reed, Canard and Barcia.
This article is an example of why I read this site over twmx's; always updated and relevant info. Keep it up!
Little off the subject here but, gotta say it...
I saw Ping in the pits in Anaheim and he is a fat ass! We always hear him ripping on RC about his weight but, Ping looks as though he ate Ricky! Pingree has the biggest man-boobs that I have ever seen! He's in his 30's and looks to be in his late 40's. He looked incredibly hung over to boot.
Anyway, we need to call Ping out anytime he starts ripping on Carmichael!
Great read, and this is really like any other time two riders hit and somebody goes down. Its a "judgement call"" And you can really argue that. Its like arguing balls and strikes with an umpire at baseball, you cant its all his judgement. Of course alot of guys side with their favorite riders no matter what. And some just call it like they think it should be called no matter who is involved. I personally think Reed really got kinda desperate, he had no chance of pulling it off. It wasnt going to go clean no matter who would have let off or whatever, it waas going to get ugly. but it is very exciting and definately adds to an already great season so far. Daytona here we come.
MXerAZ - Hilarious!!!, no doubt..... I believe the term is "fat has been".
What amazes me about RC however, is he obviously is the GOAT and knows his stuff, but he says " WHOA" and gets overly excited about the littlest things...and he always talks over Emig.....But he is better than Ralphie boy who if you didnt notice lost his voice last week after the 7/22 incident...hopefully its permanent...
Weege, Excellent analysis. Only an idiot would find fault. One thing that wasn't mentioned is the one quote that I heard from JS and that is "It's just racing, right?". IMHO he's really saying, "Reed, look out, because it's going to be "just racing" when I punt you into the cheap seats!"
I implore everyone on this site, to go and read this article:.
http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/616/Motorcycle-Photo-Gallery/2006-AMA-Supercross.aspx
It explains what went down in supercross 2006, between r/c and stewart. My memory was a bit fuzzy about it too, I just dont remember r/c annihilating stewart, like some of the people on here, keep insisting that he did.
trick......RC didn't always "annihilate" Stewart, but when you look at the big picture and the things that count like championships and being a person to look up to as a "champion" for our sport, they aren't even in the same league.
Weege looks like a bipolar transient. He needs to bail on Chick-Fil-A and walk his homeless ass to the nearest great-clips.
What's with the flannel dude?
Who put this dork on TV?
I never said they were, retardcross. I am only providing the info of what happened in '06. I am talking about his speed, and ability to race with r/c, not his P/R skills.
2 different arguments altogether.
The only difference between the negative bashers on here, and stewart, is that all of stewarts dumb mistakes, have been broadcast on international tv, for all of you to see and hear. Maybe if stewart came into YOUR life, and examined it with a microscope, he would find some stuff to hate on YOU for.
And, when is the last time Erin Bates shoved a microphone in YOUR face, when you were upset about something?!
Lets just enjoy the GREAT racing, not all sx seasons are this exciting.
Even with the very controversial move by reed, it was certainly entertaining, dirty or not. Would it have been better, if stewart had just cruised to the win, with reed chasing in frustration?
I cant wait to see what happens at daytona. Last years was boring, if I remember correctly, with hardly any passing at all. This time we have stewart and reed, at the height of their rivalry, and the young guns, coming hard, waiting for mistakes, by either one.
Rv got his butt kicked by Canard at daytona, so he is not invincible there. I hope its a 3 way battle til the checkers, and I dont care who comes out on top.
I just hope they all leave in one piece.
My bad, I thought you were comparing the two to try and pat Bubbles on the back like he's better or something lol.
That is an awesome photo at the very top of this article!
Reed pulled off a text book block pass. why does everyone freak out over it? watch old supercrosses of Johnson, Bailey, Hannah, Bradshaw, they did that every single lap...
Another point. Unlike coombs or mathis, people on here, rarely criticize weigandt for his journalism skills or opinions.
That MXA quote, that has been cut'n'pasted into these boards, doesn't even have an authors name on it.
And, i respect the fact that weege has a neutral view on reeds pass.
Trendkiller, stewarts handlebar was on reeds broken hand, and he was trapped, that is why he was hitting stewarts head, and that is why the AMA retracted the penalty for reed, after examining it more closely.
HOOTERS has the best wings! and the decor isn't bad either.
And, during the reed/stewart battle/pass fiasco, it sounded like someone tossed a live rattlesnake into the announcers booth. hiho hah yow wee hoo yaeh yow whooooooahhhhh yeooawwww ect ect ect. I remember despain giving some great play by play, even when things got exciting.
Jason, sit up. Don't slouch. This is the article you should have written.
Yes "Fattireguy"..........W O R D!!!!!!!!!
"yamaha35"...Reed did NOT pull of a textbook block pass.......he did not actually make the pass at that moment AND he ended up on the ground, definitely NOT a "textbook block-pass"!!
I think that if reed had been two more bike lengths ahead, than where he actually was, then it WOULD have been a beautiful, textbook block pass, and he would have made the turn. But, he was too far out to have a chance, it was a split second decision, that didn't work out. I have to appreciate his fire, but I hope it doesn't result in anyone getting hurt and dropping out.
Whatever - You got that right. Plus, can you really compare block passes in races from 20 years ago to today? Not to discredit the guys from the 80's (i am one of them) But, watching some of those old races are going half the speed and were surely not 3rd gear pinned coming out of a turn on a 450 running into a wall..Johnsons slam into Bailey at 86 Anaheim for example, they were almost at a stand still....rough racing and dumb rough racing are two different things.....especially when the one making the pass falls too....if only Stewie went down, then mission accomplished I guess....
Well BillC some of us do race and realize that on the last lap, after making a pass like the one Stewart put on Reed the lap before you have to be expecting them to try something back. It was an agressive pass by Reed that you would expect out of any rider on the last lap. I love the great racing and looking forward to Daytona! Though I wish we could have seen the rest of that lap between reed, stewart, and dungey instead of villopotto by himself while carmichael and emig screamed about the race behind him.
More motocross trivia:
not including regional 125's, stewart has 5 titles, compared to r/c's 15 titles.
It took r/c 10 years, to amass those 15 titles. Stewart has only invested 6 years, so far. How many will he have after 10 years, if he stays that long? Not enough time to tie r/c, but enough to be the junior GOAT, should he start winning every championship.
Also, of r/c's 15 titles, 11 of them, were not racing against stewart, only 4 were.
Facts like this need to be kept in perspective, when comparing the 2 riders for their 'on track' accomplishments.
Sorry to bore you with my incessant posts. (im off today)
Hey Open, I see you're still trying to talk some sense into all the "instant experts." Give it up man, you see... they all have a friend, whos' ex college roomates neighbors cousin used to date a chick whos brother use to race. So they know what they're talkin about.
grifter you are hilarious LOL, well said ! This what they mean when they say that our sport has grown in recent years. Think about it.
And Open, No my wife doesn't have a sister....sorry man. She does have two brothers....little guys with kinda girlish figures.....one of em likes to go do that Larping crap on the weekends (you know, the make believe sword fighting and stuff) (they dress up like knights, and Gnomes, and Fairies and other characters)
Hmmm....I wonder if he knows any of these weenies that like to post comments on here? I'm betting yes.
Yeah Trick, you're right. I mean, I guess it's good that the sport's growing....but it's just like other sports...like Surfing.....or Mountain biking....skateboarding....etc....In the beginning, it's only the cool guys who know about it....then it goes more mainstream and every geek on the planet is now "involved in the sport". If you walk through the mall now and see someone in a Fox t-shirt, you can't ask them what district they race anymore....they'll think you're nuts....they probably won't even know what Motocross is!
How about this.....Back in the 70's and early 80's only the really cool people had tattoos. You were rebelling against society....you were a freekin rebel....people were like, afraid of you. Now, if you get a tattoo....it is so common...you are actually trying to be like everyone else.....trying to fit in....almost the opposite of a rebel......you are like, a follower! Think about it....if you want to be a rebel...DON'T have any Tattoos!
What makes you so much tougher than all of the "weenies" "griffter"?? Who made your ass the ultimate authority on all things MX??
HAHA, that is exactly why i DONT have any ink!! I'll give you some credit on that statement......it is true!!
grifter, I will bet that half the people in the stands, dont know the difference between a 2-stroke and a 4-stroke, and dont care much either. And, they have probably never been to an outdoor national in thier lifetime. I'm not putting them down, they have the right to enjoy the races, and be a fan, but please stay off the message boards, and do us all a favor. If you respond to my post, angrily, then you must be who i am talking about, so dont bother. just try to live and learn.
I hate tattoos. especially on a chick. YUK. looks ok on a gnarly biker guy but thats it. MHO.
I can't believe I haven't thought of this before. To those defending Reed's failed pass attempt with "Anyone else would have done the same thing" or "How can you not expect it in a battle for the lead on the last lap," what do you have to say about last year's crash at Phoenix, the one that spoiled the entire season for both Reed and Stewart?
It was a very similar move on Reed's part, with a similar outcome, except in was only the 6th lap and they were back around 9th/10th. Let's just admit that this is less of a 'racing' thing and more of a 'Reed' thing. Not that it was completely his fault, necessarily, but Chad's obviously much more likely to throw it into James than anyone else.
I had some piercings back in the day.......was smart enough to know someday might want to take em out! Still put the guages in when I go to a race sometimes. Gotta fit in ya know.
I rewatched the TV broadcast (I'm sick so don't judge me) and saw that Malcom was put in a similar situation and he braked early, took the inside line down the whoops, and repassed in the next corner because he had the position. It was totaly possible. My opinion after watching most of James and chads races many times (bar to bar ect.) is that James has never ackowledged any other rider on the track except for RC. Think of all the times he's made inconsiderate decisions that have put other riders at risk (not to say this is one of them or that I don't like him because I do). He has always made contemptous passes on Reed, stopping in corners, as if to say you don't matter to me on the track and somewhere around 08 Reed got fed up. And thank god that Reed didn't bow down to the new American King of supercross or else we would have had nothing to watch for the last several years.
Hey, 21motorules has an interesting theory I think.........from what he's sayin....Stewart's thinking "if every time I get block passed I just keep it pinned"".....and...."every time I get passed I land on top of the guy"..."then everyone will hesitate and think twice before passing me"..."and eventually, if I'm consistent, they will all be afraid to come anywhere near me on the track, let alone try to pass me"....interesting theory....not sure it's correct.....but certainly interesting
Hey, the look of disappointment on Weeges face in the picture tells the tale....you see, Weege obviously has a midget fetish, saw the Dwarf House , got on the binders real heavy..... cuz he thought it was a brothel.....and well...you can imagine the rest....
Oh, and Whatever, lose the complex dude, did I say YOU were a weenie? NO
But, I do wonder why you assumed I was talking about you.....well, you are confident enough not to have to get a tattoo to try to fit into society, so you're OK in my book.
Walkerjo35 is an idiot. Forget about Stewie and Reed. Thus tool said, "Buffalo Wild Wings has the best wings IMO."
Dude, get out of the burbs! That place is straight crap! In Daytona will we see blood!!!
Oh one other thing, since Whatever and Trick and I are all modern day rebels (by not having any ink)...I feel I must give them advice when neccesary.....Trick, DO NOT walk up to any "Gnarly biker guys" and tell them "how nice their tattoos look" but that "they look yukky on a girl"....it could get ugly.....just sayin
Hey Kip, I hope you feel better soon man but I'm gonna judge you anyway....here goes....you are absolutely right......I have always thought it was pretty obvious......
Although I'm sure someone out there will read what you said and say.."no way man...Stewart landed on Charmichael at Unadilla on purpose so he doesn't respect anyone!"
Yeah i hear ya grifter. its better to keep your thoughts to yourself sometimes. When it comes to the chicks, i am not old fashoined or anything, i just think it looks ugly. kinda like a mustache on a chick.
You hit the nail on the head. The Reed/Stewart last lap was awesome because it made the race even more exciting.
after 5 years plus as a major weege fan, thats it, iam over weege.......
he does not know about racing, oh sure, he can rattle off stats and have an opinion, but its 2011 dammit, i want a journalist that can ride at a high level, and has or does race . plus i don't wanna read anymore crap by some dude hanging off of nascar's nuts(d.c), and i can't stand the fat white canadian whale.
later racer x
vurb, vital you there?
lookin for people who report on the race, not give some veiled b.s. opinion.
"stewart had no choice".....what a joke.
and for the record, iam a major stewart fan. #7 freakin blew it like a total rookie.
the kid needs to get his racing head straight.
I agree with ya trick.....My training partner set me up with this fitness chick that I had briefly met only once. Really pretty, nice figure etc....we get to the restaurant and she takes off her sweater and has these big black tribal tattoos all over her arms and back. AND....it looked like a 4 year old did them!...and the placement was all wrong!...I remember thinking I would have to tattoo her whole upper arms and a 3'rd of her back solid black...and then she'd only look a little better....I was thinking I could maybe draw some flames over the black (the only thing I can draw well is flames) but she'd still look nasty. Anyway that was the last time I saw her. I could maybe get past a little tramp stamp (if nicely done), but she was a mess.
if its on her butt, where no one can see it, ok, but ive seen some hot chicks, that look like hell,with huge gnarly ink up and down thier whole arm and leg and back.
i just dont think it looks attractive thats all. i like girls that look feminine and in my personal opinion, tattoo;s look masculine.
Here is an awesome photo recap of the 2006 outdoors, between r/c and stewart.
Stewarts crashes were the problem, not his speed.
http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/627/Motorcycle-Photo-Gallery/2006-AMA-Motocross.aspx
You JS co&*suckers, if I was Reed I would put Stewart over the berm every chance I get. Stewart has had so much attitude in the past when he passes Reed, how can you blame him?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Kniqhabc24
Yep, JS is faster, but so what.
I don't blame Reed for taking advantage of Bubbles new found softness. Park that bi&*
You know what this sport doesn`t need? More riders rolling over for Stewart. Not justifying what Chad did, but the boys need to let Stewie know that he ain`t havin`it all his own way this year. In fact, I don`t want ANY racer to have it all his own way this year. Awesome.
desperate move that coulda fckd up the whole season...think about it.dungey should be his stable mate cause he would'nt have that red plate if reed did'nt pull that desperate crap last time...."its just racin right" I like reed but that was a chickenshit pass and the stew camp will be lookin to stick it to him..not a good thing for chad or james..DAYTONA WILL ROCK..chicks with ink are nasty..not such a bad thing...prefer mine no ink,no stink and like to drink
BUT, you guys, if Reed was HANNAH, Reed would not have gone down! OR, If Stewart was HANNAH, Stewart would not have gone down! Wow, bench racing is a lot different nowadays, more people on the same bench, and it's way harder to drink beer and type, than it is to drink beer and gab.
Hey Stacy, why so bitter? you remind me of a child that's fallen off a swing set and can't figure why.
And griffter I agree about the"Poser" effect, I worked in the industry for close to three decades and even guys you would think would couldn't tell me what FMF stood for but they needed the sticker for the rear window of their truck.... Sad but true.
Bye Stacy whish you all the best...
Even though it will be hard for the typical no-brainer MX fan to do it, I must still encourage everyone to attempt to look at the big picture. If no one gets hurt, controversy is good for the sport. Think about it! Do fans really want to see one rider run away with the win every weekend with nothing else going on other than absolute boredom? NO!! How about some bar banging instead! YES!!!
gold coast australia is full of these wanna be poser types u are talking about it is funny watching, listening or seeing their cars theyve got the hats the tatts the big earrings the swagger the talk the inked on little skanks that look so trashy and at the tracks theyve got their man friends pushing their bikes cause they just axed themselves on a tiny pebble in a corner but r so pumped cause they look cool drinking their super sized monster can .... comedy with a capital C.... atlanta was awesome however you look at it ... the season is a wild unpredictable one for sure
Dirty great racing for everyone. What do you mean james didn't T-bone Reed though? That doesn't make sense. You must have missed the pictures posted on the online. I saw them, clearly bubba is a dirty rider out to land on anyone named money.
Stewart should have backed off when he was getting taken out by Reed. Oh wait I just learned how to watch motocross, never mind.
since ricky's retirement, 8 titles have been up for grabs. stewart got 3. reed and dungey each got 2. langston got 1. stewart has not lived up to our expectations, but he has been the winningest rider, since ricky left, even having taken one summer off to make a tv show.
one of my previous posts has an error. stewart has invested 10 years already, same as r/c. But, he is still only 25 years old.
Winning races means nothing if you dont win a title. Its the championships that count. It is what everyone will remember. And Stewie has missed the last 2 outdoor seasons. And it wasnt due to injury either. He had signed a supercross only contract. RC retired at 26 years old, with 15 major titles. 125 regional titles dont count.
A well written accounting of the incident heard 'round the SX world. The fans have their faves and will not budge regardless of playbacks or GOAT opinions or anything else. Yeah Weege, good job. Question: Could that move have been made on a two-stroke? Lastly, it's much easier to objectively see the move when you don't have a horse in the race.
bd200.. Numbers does not seem to add..... RC won 5 SX titles (AMA), 1 WSXGP (fim), 7 MX in the 250/450 class... In the 125/lites class.. 1 SX & 3 MX... A total of 17 titles... Statisitcally.. RC is the best ever!
Those numbers will not be beaten... Seriously..
bd200, in 2003, stewart went on a 28 moto winning streak, and broke ricky's record of 27. But stewart did not win the title for 2003, langston did. So, 16 consecutive moto wins in 2003, did not get stewart a title, but it helped him to break one of r/c's record. So i have to disagree, that wins mean nothing.
Also, langston won the 2003 outdoor 125 title with only one moto win. Stewart and r/c have won titles with 24 moto wins. is langstons title worth as much? Do we remember it as much? i dont think so.
check out this video of stewart in his first race back, after breaking his collarbone in vegas 6 weeks earlier. This was the beginning of his record breaking 28 moto streak.
http://letgame.net/video/fZHk_PI3bTk/2003-budds-creek-125cc-moto-2-part-1.html
http://letgame.net/video/96jQZPHSjVU/2003-budds-creek-125cc-moto-2-part-2.html
and that is david bailey commenting about stewart.
another odd but interesting note. stewart passed 39 riders, and didn't land on anyone, or take anyone out. You can see the aggressive pass on tedesco for the lead, but bailey himself said 'he never touched him'. But, it was embarrassing for ivan, and that is where the bitterness came from, towards stewart. When stewart landed on tedesco, in sx, it was in practice, and we only heard about it. I never saw it on tv or u tube, did you? Ivan was mad, and said "he's just gonna keep on doing it" after his thumb was broken in the incident. But what really happened? does anyone know? Some people on here blow things WAY out of proportion.
correction: it should be 14 consecutive moto wins, since the last race was cancelled due to rain.
I won't go as far as to say wins are meaningless, but championships are definitely what hold big weight. If you're an NHL hockey team that plays well but never gets the Cup, then your team is not "the best team on the planet".
But, if your hockey team has won more consecutive games, than any other team in history, but never got the stanley cup, they are still in the record books.
and, who said anything about 'best team on the planet"?
And, in 2006 sx, the only full season where r/c and stewart raced each other, for a sx title, stewart had 9 wins to ricky's 6 (that is 50% more wins). Had stewarts kx450f started, even on the 200th kick, he would have won the title, because an 18th place finish would have given him the 3 points he needed to beat ricky.
I remeber Langstons title win, yes I do. And what if Stewie doesnt crash in the first place, What if what if what if...... And if its the only full season they raced, why is that?? Because he crashed out trying to catch the GOAT. Trick we all know you are a huge Stewie fan because you are always singing his praises, but he raced aginst RC for at least 4 or 5 titles, and never beat him for one. And in the 2006 season you are speaking of, Stewie and Reed were both tied with 366 points a piece, with wins being the tiebreaker, so Reed tied Stewie in points that year. And RC cruised to alot of those 2nd's at the end of that season. I remember him saying. "I have put myself in the position that I dont have to hang it out and win every race, the title is the most important, not race wins"> Now if you are a race fan, You know one thing, if RC needed to win a race for a title, he has never not done it, ever. You arent going to convince me that Stewie is anywhere near the rider that RC was. No way.
And if you want to talk just wins, RC 151 overall wins, 102 outdoor wins. plus 15 major titles in 10 seaons, not counting his Des Nations wins. enough said.
But, but, but.....JS is way faster than RC! And, he grew up disadvantaged, his family gave up everything you know! JS is the fastest man on the planet, noone has anything for him, ever. He would have won every moto and championship since 2005 if he didn't ever crash, get injured, or sit out from the outdoor nationals. Championships don't matter, one individual hot lap time per race is what counts.
singing his praises = no.
providing factual information = yes.
I have stated his screw ups on here, and never said he was better than carmichael.
stewarts crash that prevented him from winning the title that langston won, occurred at vegas, in the final round, where he had already wrapped up the title 2 weeks earlier. if the crash had happened at the end of an outdoor season, he would have not missed the following sx season with a broken collarbone (only takes six weeks to heal), but since outdoors begins the week after sx ends, it was a bad time to be injured. That was also stewarts only injury on the 125.
"And if its the only full season they raced, why is that?? Because he crashed out trying to catch the GOAT" . , stewart only raced him in one full SX season, because the year before he crashed in practice at phoenix, and the GOAT had nothing to do with it. he wasn't trying to catch him! and it wasnt 4 or 5 it was four. and the first 2 were stewart on a 250, while everyone else was on a 450.
at st louis sx which was round 7, r/c had 3 full seasons racing a four stroke, while stewart had a total of 7 races. when the kx450f stalled, he dnf-d. In 2006, the 4 strokes were still notoriously hard to start when they were warm.
If the bike had started right away, he would have won and got 25 pts on r/c , then what would r/c have done those last 5 rounds? even beating him each week aint gonna do it. Stewart gave r/c his toughest competition of any other rider in r/c's career.
please read those 2 photo recaps of what went down between them, indoors and out, i posted the link above somewhere.
and stop saying im a huge stewie fan, thats a couple times you said that.
i can say the exact same thing about you and r/c, but i dont.
i am merely providing the info of what actually happened in history, since some people are very vague about it. I like r/c as much as you do, believe me.
peace.
and i know why you are mad at me, because billc cut'n'pasted my post and shoved it in your face. Take it out on him, dont take it out on me ok?.
I have been waiting or a couple of years for someone to say "ENOUGH!" to that wretched maneuver I will describe as "park to pass". Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to James Stewart for finally opening the throttle instead of hitting the brake.
Reed has been doing that lame move for years, even when he was head and shoulders the fastest guy and didn't have to resort to the move of the punks who can't do it any other way.
I hope this inspires all the other riders to call the bluff of those punks who straighten out the turns in a deliberately dangerous move. No more braking, ram them at full speed until the AMA grows a pair and outlaws "park to pass" with rider suspensions and team fines for the violators.
You ban a heavily sponsored team from even being able to show up at a following event and their corporate sponsors will sit the offending rider down right quick and let them know how thin the ice is in regards to allowing their "punk flag" to fly.
It was a great race and I am glad it was on TV live so I could watch it. Looking forward to watching this coming weeks race!!!
That was truly the most exciting sx race I have seen in years, don't ever recall the AMA saying that block passing will not be tolerated, its all part of racing.
I really hope these two can stay in one piece, and can't wait for daytona.
this daytona has the potential to be one of the greatest EVER. so much drama going in ! as r/c said THE SEASON BEGINS AT DAYTONA>
I just watched Daytona 2010 again and RV is........wow. I think that's the fastest I've ever seen somebody get around Daytona on a dirtbike regardless of track features. If he rides like that tomorrow night noone has a hope in hell if he gets a start because he can and will run like that the whole 20. I predict RV, CR, JS, TC, RD.
i just watched it too. i hope this track is as gnarly as that one.
Weege, I guess this column makes you a Democrat.
BTW, it may have been .02 seconds for James to react, but he had 3 seconds to think of the corner before he got there and put himself in a better position to defend his lead. I would love to hear Ricky's or Emigs real oppinion on whether James could have avoided this, because I think they would admit he could have.
Chick ful a is not open at 1 a.m.. closes at 10p...Also Chick ful a is closed on Sunday....
Retardcross, if Stewie was faster he would have beaten him, especially outdoors, which he didnt do. So he wasnt faster. And I dont want to hear this "he grew up disadvantaged" ccrap. that is a sorry excuse people have been making for years. Once he got on team green there was nothing but advantages for him just like every other team greem member. If they were so disadvantaged they couldnt afford a dirtbike, a very expensive luxary. And RC's Dad was an electrician, a blue collar guy. So it wasnt like they were wealthy. Stewie IS NOT the fastest man on the planet, he wasnt when RC raced for sure. RC ran a short season during retirement and wasnt even in shape and won every single overall. That is the fastest man.
@byrner99, what does a column have to do with a guys political beliefs?? I just read were the Republican Congress just voted to extend TAXPAYER FUNDED subsidies for Oil Corporations, and they continue to make record profits. For guys who preach about cutting spending, they sure dont mind funding big corporations with our tax dollars. But they voted to cut spending for higher education grants and public safety projects, nice.
i grew up far more disadvantaged than stewart. he had it made,