Racer X ReduX: Toronto
Tuesday, March 29, 2011 | 2:20 PM
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In bench racing circles, the 1980’s hold a special place. This was the super training era, and the list of riders who could realistically win each weekend was staggering—Hannah, Johnson, Bailey, O’Mara, Lechien, Ward, Glover, Barnett, Hansen, Howerton and on. It was impossible to accurately predict who would win races, and the results bear this out. The 1982 AMA SX title was decided by 16 points, and the 1983 title by two. In 1985, the top five riders (Ward, Glover, Lechien, Johnson and O’Mara) finished within 22 points of each other. In the 28 races held in 1984 and 1985, only twice did a rider put together a win streak of any kind. Yes, only two win streaks of any length in a two-year span--Bailey won back-to-back in Foxboro, Massachusetts and Sacramento, California in ’84 and Lechien won on back-to-back nights in Seattle in ’85. That was it! No one else even won two in a row at any point over the course of two seasons!
Old timers refer to the 1970s as the golden age. Back then, every kid had a minicycle in the garage, Bob Hannah lit the sport on fire, and everything was less costly, less serious and more fun. Good times mixed with nostalgia. And today’s setup is pretty good, too, with way more fans, media, attention and rewards than back in the day. Each era has good points and bad, but for sure, the mid-80’s hold high water mark for parity, and each year before Anaheim 1, some old-school guy makes sure to remind us.
Will 2011 go down as the best season ever?
Photo: Matt Pavelek
I’m always intrigued by how fluid those 1980s seasons were. On one weekend, a rider would blow everyone away, but the next week, someone else would turn the tables and beat him. It changed every week, and you could never exactly pin down who was faster or better, because each week seemed to start a completely new season.
We’ve had years that matched the1980s for depth. We’ve had years with points races that were just as close, and we’ve had years with more off-track drama. But what we haven’t seen, in 25 years, is a series this dynamic. This 2011 Monster Energy Supercross Championship has reached that point.
Look at the last few weeks as a reference. Chad Reed was faster than Ryan Dungey in Atlanta. But Dungey was clearly faster than Reed in Indy, where he caught him, crashed, then caught him again. But then Dungey wasn’t faster than Reed last week in Jacksonville, in fact, when Dungey lost the pace of Reed and Trey Canard, many declared his championship hopes dead and buried. Now, one week later, Dungey turns the tables on Canard and Reed and beats them both in Toronto the exact same way they beat him in Jacksonville! By the way, Canard caught and passed Dungey twice in the heat race, but Dungey was better in the main. Amazing.
Each time you think you finally have this season figured out, it changes as soon as you can say “next week.” Two weeks ago Ryan Villopoto was in control, now he’s not even in the points lead. It was clearly not Chad Reed’s championship when he was digging his head out of the sand on the first lap in Los Angeles. Now he is in the points lead. And a few days ago, no one thought this could be Dungey’s year, either, until he won in Toronto, and look at that, he’s down just eight points despite losing at least fifteen in Anaheim with a derailed chain.
Just a few weeks ago, RV looked to have a stronghold on the championship.
Photo: Matt Pavelek
“No,” you say. “You can’t say ‘What if’ to Dungey’s bad luck in Anaheim, because it has only been neutralized by Villopoto’s bad luck in not making the main in Jacksonville.” Fair point, but at least Dungey only lost huge points from a mechanical problem that was no fault of his own. But you could easily counter argue that by saying Villopoto and Stewart only lost huge points in Jacksonville through first lap crashes that were not their fault—their only error there was getting a bad start. Following that, Canard has admitted blame for running into Dungey’s chain while they were fighting through the pack—so if Dungey hadn’t gotten such a bad start in Anaheim, Canard wouldn’t have hit him, just like Villopoto and Stewart wouldn’t have lost points if they hadn’t gotten terrible starts in Jacksonville, so maybe we’re all even in the luck category. Just keep playing this game. Run through the scenarios and the evidence and the proof and we’ll still be here for weeks just going around in circles. It’s become impossible to determine who is the favorite, who is the best, who is the luckiest or who will ultimately win this championship.
Things might have been just as exciting 25 years ago, but not enough people cared. In 2011, we have a lot more fans to eat up all of this excitement—yeah, yeah, Anaheim drew like 70,000 back in the 1980s, but I think about 800 people showed up to see Mark Barnett win the 1983 Kansas City supercross. Back then, you’d have been hoping for a crowd as big as we saw this year in Jacksonville.
So combine all of this excitement and all of this conjecture and attention, and only one thing is for sure: this is the best supercross season ever. Sweet!
Stewart is in major need of a vicotry.
Photo: Matt Pavelek
Let’s throw out some more ways in which this series is nuts. Over the last two weekends, James Stewart has taken an eighteenth and a fourth, and each time he has inched three points closer to the points lead! Chad Reed is pumped on taking over the points lead, but he’ll really only get paid if he gets three wins on the season (he’s got an insurance policy that pays him big if he bags three Ws). So despite gaining a staggering 32 points in the standings over the last two weeks, he’s also bummed about leaving a big chunk of change on the table with two-straight runner-up finishes.
This season is like a fictitious bench-racing session unfolding right before out eyes. It’s very hard to compare riders from one generation to another, except in this case it’s happening right now! You’ve got two superstars who can still go—Stewart and Reed—matched up against the two next-gen stars in Villopoto and Dungey. And better yet, all four believe they can win, because Stewart and Reed went out last year, allowing the Ryans to build the confidence necessary to challenge two of the greatest riders to ever get on a supercross track.
Reed and Dungey represent the role of the consistent guy, making sure to never throw away huge points, but lacking either the pure speed—or the risk versus reward equation—to go after piles of wins. Besides losing his chain in Anaheim, Dungey has finished in the top five of every race (and he was running fifth when he lost the chain). Reed’s worst finish is a mere seventh, while RV has a DNQ, Stewart an eighteenth. No wonder the gap is so close between Reed and Dungey. It’s like they’re basically the same guy from two different generations colliding at the same time.
Dungey and Reed have had very similar seasons.
Photo: Matt Pavelek
Stewart and Villopoto, meanwhile, are the fast guys. I look at it like this: if Stewart and Villopoto start one-two in a race and don’t crash, one of them is going to win the race. Put any other name into that equation instead, and I’m not sure. No wonder the gap is so close between Villopoto and Stewart. It’s like they’re basically the same guy from two different generations colliding at the same time.
Oh wait, they are actually colliding! After all of this, it would no longer be shocking if four guys get stuck in Canada with passport problems and Canard rips off a win in Dallas and gets the points lead. Or maybe one of the top riders gets arrested…. At this point, the series has reached what ESPN sportswriter Bill Simmons has called “The Mike Tyson Zone,” in which if you heard any sort of story about it, you would probably find it believable.
Unfortunately, all of this unpredictability makes pundits like myself look dumb. We can vilify Dungey for taking third in a critical race last week, but then he goes out and wins in Toronto. Two weeks ago on the Racer X Podcast, I said Dungey will win a race this year. Then last week I downgraded it to a no. Look at me now!
My accuracy is probably made worse if I’m not actually at the races. And, um, I didn’t go to Toronto this weekend. Remember what I said about passport problems above? Well, I ran into those. And not even in a cool way like, “I beat up some dudes up and I’m a fugitive from justice.” Much lamer than that. See, I was moving into a new house over the winter, and when I told the movers to “take only what was in boxes” they just decided to ignore that and grab everything including the briefcase with my passport and a whole bunch of other paperwork that would have come in really handy when buying a new house. And I should add that these dudes also straight-up lost my TV in the move. Lost it. Just gone. Then they shrugged their shoulders, told me I should have purchased insurance, and took off. The battle isn’t over, but for now I’ll just tell you to never work with Frontier Van Lines in Pittsburgh.
Canard is still fighting to become the second consecutive rookie champion.
Photo: Matt Pavelek
Anyway my passport was about to expire, but since I couldn’t actually get access to it I couldn’t renew it and suddenly Matthes had to cover the Toronto race for Racer X by himself. It was in Canada, so I had faith in him. Meanwhile I’ve already booked flights to the remaining rounds. See you at the races!
I figured I would be fine by just watching everything on Twitter and then making some calls and watching the race on TV. But lo and behold on Saturday, Twitter broke down to a battle between Steve Cox and Dan Dunes on how lame it is to cover races without actually being at them. Ooops!
On Sunday I watched the race on TV with my dad. While watching, Stewart comes up on Villopoto in the whoops and takes them both down. I immediately said, “Man Stewart just took him out!”
My dad didn’t agree, so we hit the replay button over and over. And over. After more looks, it became pretty obvious that this was a racing incident and no one could really be blamed. Chad Reed cut off 90 percent of a corner in Atlanta to try to, um, make something happen on the last lap. That was pretty much a suicide mission. This time, Stewart just stuck it up the inside—but not nearly as far as Reed. It wasn’t a suicide move, and I don’t think he was trying to knock RV down, he was just trying to pass him. I don’t think RV saw James on the inside, so he went to cut down and they collided--BOOM!--Madden style. I at first thought James lowered his shoulder to hit Ryan harder, but it looks like he did it to simply brace himself for the hit at the last second.
And I won’t comment any further because I wasn’t there so that would be lame.
Anyway, best series in ages. You know this. You saw the race on TV like I did. What else can I even tell you?
The Lites East class is being overshadowed, but is still very deep.
Photo: Matt Pavelek
Oh yeah, same story in the Lites class. One weekend in Atlanta, Dean Wilson is passing Ryan Sipes, Justin Barcia and Blake Baggett on his way to a win. So he’s the fastest Lites rider. Then Baggett dominates Daytona, so he’s the fastest Lites rider. Then Sipes wins. He’s the fastest. Then Barcia pulls away from them all. He’s the fastest. Then Wilson runs Barcia down and gets him this week!
What we’re seeing here is real racing. The competition is so close that one guy may just feel a little better one week, or maybe he has one section dialed in (Wilson had the whoops this time) and that’s enough to tip the scales that direction. If it stays like this, we’re going to have upset winners and new storylines every week. Anyone else really excited about this?
See you right here next week. Or email me this week: [email protected]
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Ryan Villopoto may have locked up his 450SX title a week early, but the 2013 Monster Energy Supercross Championship finale still had drama and excitement to spare. Page 124.
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An insurance policy for winning races?..Never heard of that before..Hope MC had one of those in 1996 HA!!!....Now we know why Reed took Stewart out in Atlanta....for the points of course....what a tool.
Exactly Rick......Reed was seeing dollar signs, and the fact that he just can't stomach being passed by JS on the last lap!!
rick melon your gay, sounds like a comment from a guy whose never raced a day in his life, go be a melon
Bubbles in handcuffs.Sweet!!!
This season is crazy!! Something big goes down each and every weekend. Vegas is going to be off the hook.
Maybe Reed should just put some blue light on his bike and try to pull Stewart over....then he thought about it and said....no, i'm not the dumb.
They should have arrested Bubbles for impersonating a champion!!
How could a guy like Weigandt say Rd will not win a race?? He has been ridding GREAT the last 4 weeks and you wait till NOW to say he wont win when he is ridding the best he has all year... And this is your job?? I am shocked by that.
My take on this whole Stewie bust is that he was using the red and blue police lights in order to get thru traffic faster and when he came behind the off duty cops they did not move over quick enough (they knew this truck was not a police vehicle) and when Stewie pulled along side they thought it OK to verbally bash the occupants....but to their surprise it turns out to be off duty cops. Stewie then panics, as most adolescents do, makes matters much worse by running (arrogance that he can get away with it) and gets caught at the airport. Stewie, whether he likes it or not, is a role model and should have the intelligence to know this, but alas, he is consumed with money, fame, greed, arrogance, did I say money......The loser in all this are the many fans that look up to Stewie. Lets hope this stain on Supercross/Motocross does not last long. Just look at how sponsors left golf, albiet momentarily, when TW had his episode with reality............
I do agree 100% with ya on know one beating RV or JS from behind, I have been saying that all year. For RD, TC or CR to win they need a little luck.
Rick Melon, Reed did that two years ago for the outdoor title, made 2 mil i think when he won it. Reed is quite the gambler.
AND THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL BEGINS! MAYBE STEWART SHOULD HAVE USED THE LIGHTS HE USED ON THE UNDERCOVER COP CAR IN HIS MAIN EVENTS AND EVERYONE COULD PULL OVER SO HE COULD WIN ONE. I'VE BEEN SAYING IT FOR 3 MONTHS NOW HE'S DONE HE'S TOO STUPID TO BE RICH, $$$$ IS NOT EVERTHING LOOK WHAT IT TURNED STEWART INTO A SELF CENTERED MEATHEAD WHO THINKS HE'S ABOVE THE LAW. WHAT A DISGRACE.
off topic.. I really like the twitter thing on the website, but pllleassee racerx stop just posting your own stuff.. i know about all those things your posting already because i'm on ur website.... just show the riders comments...
Nope not gay sorry, you interested???...and I have raced pleanty but didnt have the skillz buddy....I actually raced with Huffman, Windham back in the day if you must know....I just never heard of the insurance policy arrangment before.....call me gay or whatever, but clearly that was more incentive to take out Bubba, surely not just for points...
@johnny cashman, that isn't your real name is it? you sir are a crystal ball, a fount of knowledge, and real philosopher...
and a douche-lord
ever been arrested? just curious...
HEY HALF, IM SORRY. I TAKE IT YOUR NOT HAPPY ABOUT BUMBLING BUBBLES. WERE YOU THE GENIUS THAT WAS RIDING SHOTGUN? AND NO NEVER HAD THE PLEASURE.
Indeed the '80's were the pinnacle...to this point. My personal favorite period was 82-85. Works bikes, Hannah on a Honda, Bailey still competing, Pre-Lechien implosion,and 10 guys (literally TEN GUYS) capable of a race win at any given race.
Great article, Jason Weigandt.
Always enjoy your insight and 'take' on the weekends events and how things played out in similar Supercross seasons past.
Keep up the good work.
@golfyoda
That scenario you suggested about JS7's recent 'off-track 'incident' sounds very plausible but equating it to what Tiger woods did to his marriage, wife & kid?
Not a worthy comparison..., not even close.
johnny cashman lay of the caps!! LOL.. maybe your just pissed because he has so much money??
The pass Chad Reed made on James Stewart in Atlanta was the same pass that James Stewart made on Ryan Villopoto in Toronto. James cut into Chad in Atlanta, Ryan cut into James in Toronto. I think Ryan cut into James worse than James cut into Chad. Chad Reed is my favorite racer too.
@billc, stewarts mother made an interesting comment once not to long ago when asked about how james likes his new yz she said and i quote, well thats like getting a new pair of sneakers for us.when getting a new dirt bike has lost its fun and excitment whats left! now imagine how many people who cant even afford to eat much less ride see the arrogance and say wow mom and dad i would love to ride a dirt bike and cant ,BTW i consider myself richer than anyone even w/out millions of dollars i have health a loving family and the appreciation for all the little things so thanx for asking its been a pleasure responding.
How old is whatever? 15, 16?
THIS JUST IN...James Stewart admits to impersonating an officer under the grounds "Sorry guys, I'm just trying to figure out who stole my 2011 SX championship!".
johnny cashman.... Getting a new bike to ANY of these guys is no big deal. I think you are taking it to far IMO, Not insulting you in any way, I see where you are coming from but don't let a few things like that turn you off. ALL people, I bet even you have said things you wish you did not say or said in another way.
KG....the reference was to the sport, not a to the person. Our sport, Supercross/Motocross is more fragile thanthat of golf, therefore, it would not have to be a "huge imorale issue such as with TW" and would just take a "stupid, hair brain immature" act such as what Stewie "allegedly" did, in order to unravel/erase alot of hard work, by so many people, to get our sport to the legitimate stage that it is at today. That was my comparison.............
@bill, Yes i have, I guess i look to deep into things, but it just hit me, she didnt know better? fans and sponsers 'yamaha motor corp' are watching say something good about the bike even if you dont mean it, its bad.. it says a lot about the whole stewart mentality how self centered they are, i could go on forever with simular things but im tired of it i hope this will bring them down to earth because thats exactly what they need to do.
Do you think Ralph & Jeff will mention JS7's legal trouble's at all this week? Doubtful... But, wow anything else that can bring up his name during the broadcast, they will talk about the entire race. They name drop his name more than all the other riders combined, and he is fourth in points and not won in 7 races. Time to talk about people in the sport who are winning, and law abidding.
O, and very humerous that they disabled posting on the page with the links about his arrest. Love the comment about him finding the person that stole his 2011 Championship!!! I do like JS7, not my favorite but can't deny his speed, he just needs to focus on what made him famous... Racing.
Oh by the way, Wilson and Dungey won.
RacerX wrote: "We hope to continue to allow commenting on our site without logging in, but if we continue to see racist, hateful, or otherwise inappropriate comments here, we're going to be forced to switch to a registered log-in system only."
Dear RacerX,
Just shut it down, your will never get motocross fans to heed any warning. Have you guys ever been to a Supercross? Then you should know that we are no different than idiot NASCAR fans, literally the exact same rude, obnoxious and alcoholic crowd. In other words, we are a bunch of idiot children who simply cannot be bothered to behave, even the pinnacle of the sport has set a perfect example for us to follow. If you want to know how an MX rider should behave, look no further than the 'professionals'.
Thanks,
Ashamed Fan
Sorry, i'm being a complete dumbass on here!! I get carried away sometimes!!
Has anyone taken the time to compare Villopoto's 'attempted' pass of Dungey last year to Reed and Stewart at Atl this year?
I think and said the RV2's pass or takeout on Dungey last year was dumb. Wasnt even close, Reeds move on Stewie was dumb, and I said it then too. And Stewie's move on RV2 was dumb too. It was early in the race and all. Its just the Stewietards will agree with me on the first 2, just not the one on Stewie, like he is perfect and can do no wrong. And they wonder why people get sick of the crap and cheer for someone else. They make it hard to be a fan of his..hypocrites..
nice try, whoever i take it your speechless or to dumb to come back with a worthy comment your a bigger quitter than james the convict stewart. hey this gives a whole new meaning to the james stewart compound!!!!!
Of all the ignorant, arrogant, uninformed, narrow minded, losers that post on here whatever is the absolute king of them! Clearly has a limited/poor understanding of anything real moto, obviously doesn't understand/comprehend much of anyhting outside of his own small county and has no ability to objectively view anything!!!!
Do yourself and all of us a favor and keep your infantile intellect out of public view.
Sorry whatever...that was uncalled for. You are just expressing your opinion and thats cool....i'm over-reacting!! i apologize!!
You know, you actually have got me thinking..... Maybe you and dozens of others are actually right and I am a narrow minded, JS7 obsessed loser after all.......
The earlier comment about Stewart being too stupid to have $$$ is correct. Only a complete idiot would use the red/blue lights in a vehicle like the one he was driving. That thing is a magnet for attention. Any fool who lifts his truck that high is just looking for attention and screaming at the top of his lungs "hey, look at me everybody". He acted like a typical immature kid in this case. This likely isn't the first time either. He just needs to mature a little and realize that since he is in the public eye that he has to act differently than other rich immature idiots. He likely won't learn anything from it though. So what if he loses his truck and gets a fine? He can quite easily afford it. At least he's not being arrested on drug or violence charges like a lot of other celebrity athletes.
Dear Larry Brooks, I am self destructing. Please come back and give me guidance. I'm sorry I ran you off the team. Your friend, James
Well,Well,Well.....i see we have some idiot hackers on here......signing on under other posters names....wow....ingenious!!! Well, if it doesn't have the pink and black "whatever" avatar folks, you are not getting the real "whatever"!! Nice try though imbeciles!! RacerX, you REALLY need to revert this site back to the way it was, with usernames that were password protected, it really, really takes away from this site to have it just be a free-for-all!!
A strange thought passed through my head momentarily...............what if this "improves" Stewarts "street cred"???????
Yes mine was 'hacked' too. I wonder who did that..... LOSER!
how do you insert your avatar to your profile / name?
911 CALL:
Officer Reports Being Pulled Over
Tuesday afternoon, WFTV obtained the 911 call off-duty troopers made.
"911 what is your emergency?"
"I'm an off-duty trooper with the Florida Highway Patrol," the caller told the 911 dispatcher Monday night. "They did activate red and blue lights behind me and attempted to get me to stop."
Just days after multi-million dollar athlete James "Bubba" Stewart, 25, competed in a huge event in Canada, two off-duty state troopers and an Osceola County deputy say he pulled them over at I-4 and the Greeneway.
"I started slowin' down, and as he went by me I waved my badge at him and he kept driving," the caller told 911. "I guarantee you, this is not a cop!"
Investigators said that's when Stewart Jr. fled the scene, but was followed to Orlando-International Airport where he and his passenger, 44-year-old Thames Jehrrod Quinault, from California, were arrested. Investigators said Quinault was leaving on a flight and tried to hide the police lights in his luggage.
Stewart, who's known as Bubba to his fans, has made millions of dollars on the Supercross series and X Games. He has his own website and TV show on the cable channel Fuel.
According to the Polk County Property Appraiser's Office, Stewart owns a $$3 million home near Haines City.
Is this what James has resorted to??
"Fled the scene"?? Since when did flashing a "badge" in an unmarked vehicle as you pass it become an official reprimand?? Equally as dangerous for someone to be fooled by false blinking lights (yes, stupid) OR by the passing flash of a "badge".........fled the scene, my ass!!
This might be jumping the gun to some people but, if everything goes wrong, where does the Yamaha "Factory" team go? JGR? Larry Brooks? Moto concepts? Valli? Does this mean there is money freed up to hire #377 for the nats? Could this be Ryan Sipes' chance of a lifetime? There are a LOT of variables here..........
Many have referred to Reeds move on Stewart as 'dumb' but look at waht has happned since that 'move'. Stewart has slowly self destructed adn Reed has slowly moved into the points lead. If Reed wins this championship, heck, they'll be doing a special and calling that "The Moment" when it all changed in the 2011 SX season :)
Same old story.... Guy works hard, has success, gains fame and fortune, starts to believe he is special and above the law, gets bored, screws up. I wonder what's next? Now we'll see what he's really made of. BUT WHY IS VILLOPOTO AFRAID TO STAND UP TO HIM? REED SURE ISN'T!
When Honda CR125s cost $700 and a CR250 cost $850, a lot of people rode. When 250s started costing over $2,000, I wondered how anybody could afford to ride any more. By the time 1985 rolled around, the industry was in a big slump. Bikes were over five grand. Bike shops justified the price by saying, "The yen is strong and the dollar is weak." However, notice that when the yen got weak compared to the dollar, the price of bikes didn't drop. Prices are like a one-way ratchet.
There might be more fans filling stadiums these days, but back in the '70s there were a lot more riders, and a lot of local tracks had pro purses of $600-$1,000. Nowadays a pro is lucky to get 100% payback, and even in California there aren't many pros on the line compared to the '70s.
Those were the days when a bike shop would sponsor a local pro and give up a bike with all the mods. In the '80s, shops started helping whatever local amateur's dad spent the most money at the shop, and quit helping winning pros with bikes.
I love modern MX! At the same time, there was a lot to love dearly about MX in the the '70s.
@golfyoda
I got your point, i.e: your reference being about Supercross (this season having achieved possibly the high-water mark of all time) and how it just takes one completely stupid, brainless incident (by the Guy who may be the most well known Rider in the History of the sport) to ruin the credibility that Supercross/Motocross have achieved.
I got that..., and had you left it at that, I would have never left a comment.
This, incident, as bad as it 'allegedly' was, is not that kind of straw-breaking-the-camel's-back stunt people are wanting it to be..., just isn't. Sure, 'terrible' and a hundred other words could be used to describe this bone-headed move JS7 'allegedly' pulled but people are jumping on the bandwagon and blowing this incident way out of proportion. It will be a footnote in his career.
When you included an ending reference to "TW", your argument went off the deep end. The color parallels you grasped onto between JS7 & TW are too obvious & easy, yet at the same time completely mismatched when it comes to what each athlete has done, or 'may have done'. You needed to dig deeper than just referencing the other 'first' athlete of their heritage who broke through archaic social barriers and made it big.
There are legions of truly similar examples of crappy behavior by superstar athletes and celebrities who have started to unravel their own careers, in spite of their unbelievable notoriety & success and regardless of their race.
There are dozens of other ne'er-do-well's out there who did stupid, bad stuff too- but it had nothing to do with bad behavior toward their spouse and their child.
If you're going to post your thoughts by using bold, sweeping illustrations to parallel similar behavior by an athlete from another sport in order to drive your point home, just get it right. That's all I'm saying. You can't exempt yourself from that kind of flawed commentary. When you name 'names' you gotta' be accurate. What you said was not.
No matter what anyone thinks, JAMES STEWART cannot, alone, ruin Supercross. What he could be pointing himself toward is ruining JAMES STEWART..., but not the sport itself. Impossible. People who believe that are giving him way too much undeserved credit.
Not out to get you golfyoda; it's just that I make my livelihood on this kind of out-of-context inaccuracy. Its 'Bank' for me with my day job.
I respect & understood your overall comments to a point; I just disagreed with how you 'neatly' summed it all up. Let's see if you can show my me the same kind of civility with your response.
Carlsbad.. The golden era.. 1981 to 1985.. Then the production rule kicked in.
Honda was making sweet, sweet bikes.... My personal favorite.. The 1985 bike...
There is some rich guy, collectin these bikes.. Just storing them and that;s it... Man... Lucky SOB!!
Still, for the longest of tim, one could still recognise a bike, knowing which manufacturer it is.. Now the bikes are full of sponsor logos... Pfew...
@ KG Very well spoken, you clearly seem to understand how everthing works, but that is not what you have to deal with, what you have to understand is that most of the people that post on this site haven't a clue what's going on.
I.M.O. Just read the article and ignore the posts. (with the exception of this one)
All my best for everyone involved in the AMA/FIM SX Season may it continue as it has EPIC!!!!
P.S. If you can in anyway please help support relief for the TRAGEDY that occured in Japan...
My guess was Stewart was just being a kid, having some fun with the light and it kind of went south on him; we've all done it. I don't think it's a character indictment. Really, it's kind of funny from what I gather; bet he is freakin now :) My concern is for the way he appears to be spending money; better be putting a bunch back cuz having money then not is worst than having never had it.
this is a great article. Bravo! However i don't think that stewie and villo could be classified as the same rider from different generations. it think villo is much less reckless than stewart. He has so far, been much more consistent but about the same speed. I think it would be fair to pair RV with Carmichael. They are/were both just below reckless but still crazy fast. But carmichael isn't in the series so i can see why he is paired with stewart. love the depth in the article though!
If it were any one of us we would still be sitting in jail and they would be checking DNA samples trying to pin other crimes to this little "prank". I know I'm happy that celebrities have a different set of laws to follow. I have seen people refer to Stewart as a kid or adolescent. He's 25 freaking years old.
Didierlotsyeng, Also, 3 classes running was pretty awesome. Having more racers in one class is good but, losing the big-bores wasn't a good trade. I miss works bikes as well......
@Grawz137
Most of the time it's pretty entertaining..., reading the comments people feel they 'need to share' with the Racing world and then afterword, easy to move on, to other articles written about the latest happenings in Supercross.
I don't think 'golfyoda' wrote what he wrote with any malice whatsoever and as you alluded to, this may not be the right place to argue this point but as I said before, ever once in a while some things hit a nerve...
... like a misdirected comment in this instance, that might remind us of a similar incident of 'real' bad behavior which happened to someone we care about in our own circle which then causes us (me in this case) to 'fire one off' because such a carefree comparison isn't cool.
I'm actually coming to James Stewart's defense here. While I'm not condoning what 'happened' for a minute, whatever he did, senseless and as legally 'infractioniary' as it may be in the state of Florida, it was essentially a prank gone wrong. James Stewart is not a criminal. It was just a dumb moment on his part.
To throw Stewart under the bus (and casually link 'what he did' and how it might 'ruin Supercross') with someone (TW) whom we now know had a trail of behavior that destroyed his home life and truly derided his squeaky clean public facade in the world of Golf, was just effortless commentary.
...
James needs to understand the impact he has on viewers and fans of his sport of Supercross. This is a good PR opportunity of the highest degree for JS7 to go out and speak about what happened; to the press, kids in school, et cetera; and let them know how even with all his money and attributes, James Stewart can make a mistake, own up to it and become a better & smarter person because of it. He can make this work in his favor; in Supercross' favor too.
Hopefully Big James & the people surrounding #7 are over it by now and focused enough on his future to intervene with this kind of thinking. Down the road a bit I have a good feeling we will all be proud of his next set of moves and proud too that he is a leading member of the Supercross community.
It continues to be an EPIC, IN-IT-TO-WIN-IT, SUPER-PUMPED kind of SX season! I don't think this little moment ruins it..., just a wrinkle.
On board with your "help $upport relief for the TRAGEDY that occurred in Japan". One never knows when any of us might need a helping (or forgiving) hand too.
Wonder if he will start hanging out with J-Law now??
Wow!! That's a good one "bd", how long did it take you to come up with that??
Hey whatever it probably took bd as long to come up with that joke as it did for you to make up your gay avatar!!
"Whatever" You really are an IDIOT! I really dont think you understand how stupid you look on this site. Your calling people out because of a J-Law comment, do you have your small little pee brain so far up your @#$ that you cant hear the stupid things coming out of your keyboard!! I have watched you make a fool out of yourself for to long. I truly hope RacerX pulls you from this so we all dont have to watch this sad, sad story that is your life. Go back to riding your training wheels around the block because you dont know how to twist the throttle on a real bike. Stewart is J-Law...just with a lot more dough!! hahaha
puremoto......THANK YOU!!!! I cant wait to see what the little guy writes back!! I really wish he would make an avatar of him and stewart riding doubles.
Hahaha! Add another vote to that Whatev. The dude is a major loser and my post earlier was because I have read the fool on here for too long too.
Trickie wrote: about 2 hours ago
"trick" you know you use the same comments when you get affended, I know your trying to be cool on here and thats your thing, but really do you understand yourself! Seriouly im just trying to get under your feathers and ruffle them up! But your still a moron in my book!!
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Sorry, but I cant deal with the immature, splineless wimps that come on here, trying to mess with other people, just to get thier little jollies off. im out. you have suceeded. I would rather be alone than be with you, because you suck. It is a game for some people ( probably underage children ) who gain amusement, by taunting other people behind the safety of thier personal computers. One day that will catch up with you somehow, it always does.
Anything else you read on here from trick , from now on, is the work of the poser, so if you miss me, you can blame him/her. When you cannot even tell who you are talking to, and you even have little pansie asses who cant even spell 'good', changing thier fake names all around, impersonating others, and messing with people all day, what can you do ? I am 100 percent positive that these little punks will get thier asses handed to them, in due time. If they act like little assholes on the internet, then they will do it in real life too, by the time they grow up. WOW, you guys are COOOOOL ! ! ! , a cyber world of make believe tough-guys and bullies! I am now so petrified, that I'm going to do my laundry. Later assholes. you know who i'm talking to.
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@ welker.. carlsbad..francisco bulto... all my om's, my 'braddahs' it was cool to chat with you all. we had some good ones for sure.... carry onward and live good. ring-a-ding-ding 4 ever... Oh, and stay away from the internet 'chatter' boards. It's just like being on a picnic, and not having a fly-swatter.
Although comparing this season to the 80s is inaccurate, at least it is an attempt at journalism. And after you read THE CONVERSATION, you will see that for the most part, none of the readers appear to even get it.
TRICK don't leave because of some A-HOLE!!! You bring a LOT of good info to this site!!
Trick--Sorry to see you go. You brought some great information and discussion to the boards. I am also leaving after realizing the extreme stupidity that has taken over the RacerX boards. If this is the mentality of the MX/SX fan base I'm not interested anymore. I'm out.
Crap the place is falling apart. COME ON RACERX make people sign up for real and STOP this crap!!
Great Article!
I read the comments beside the names that have the Avatars and that is it, Trick I feel your pain, get an Avatar then you won't be harassed by anonymous posers.
Hey trick (and whatever)...... Great! Go elsewhere and Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa your whining and BS there. Fine by most of us.
Sorry but im not putting my e-mail on here for all these little pansie asses like winder2 to mess with me even more. Fukck you winder2 you faggggot.
This Johnny Cashman guy is a joke. His whole tone is like he has the rebel flag flying on his front porch. His CAPS show his real smarts.
550 cc motor bike i am a ledge rhys bowling is as well