Racer X Online - Motocross & Supercross NewsRacer X Online

  • Latest
  • Features
  • Breaking News

Racer X Online - Motocross & Supercross NewsRacer X Online

    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    Used to sign in with your email and password, or a different site? Sign In Now

    .

    Create an Account

  • Features
    • 10 Things
    • 30 Greatest AMA Motocrossers
    • 3 on 3
    • 250 Words
    • 450 Words
    • Ask Ping!
    • Bench Racing Ammo
    • Between the Motos
    • Breakdown
    • Exhaust
    • How to Watch
    • Injury Report
    • Insight
    • In the Mag, On the Web
    • Longform
    • MXGP Race Reports
    • Observations
    • On This Day in Moto
    • Open Mic
    • Polls
    • Privateer Profile
    • Race Day Feed
    • Racerhead
    • Racer X Redux
    • Rapid Reaxtion
    • Saturday Night Live
    • Sign of the (Lap) Times
    • Staging Area
    • The Conversation
    • The List
    • Wake-Up Call
    • Where Are They Now
  • Multimedia
    • SX Preview Shows
    • Classic Pix
    • Instapics
    • Photo Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Racer X Podcast
    • Racer X Tested
    • Racer X Films
    • Video
  • Races
    • Series Schedules
    • TV Schedules
    • Teams
    • Results
    • Champions
    • 2018 Numbers
  • Results
    • Points Standings
    • Race Results
    • Riders
    • The Vault
    • Loretta Lynn's Vault
  • The Mag
    • Subscribe
    • Current Issue
    • Gift Subscription
    • Back Issues
    • Customer Care
    • Dealer Locator
    • Sell Racer X
    • Free Stickers
  • Shop
    • Latest
    • Features
    • Breaking News
    Results Archive
    Supercross
    Minneapolis
    Articles
    450SX Results
    1. Eli Tomac
    2. Jason Anderson
    3. Marvin Musquin
    Full Results
    250SX East Results
    1. Jeremy Martin
    2. Zach Osborne
    3. Jordon Smith
    Full Results
    MXGP of
    Portugal
    Articles
    MXGP Results
    1. Jeffrey Herlings
    2. Antonio Cairoli
    3. Tim Gajser
    Full Results
    MX2 Results
    1. Jorge Prado
    2. Thomas Kjer Olsen
    3. Jed Beaton
    Full Results
    GNCC
    Camp Coker Bullet
    Articles
    Overall Results
    1. Kailub Russell
    2. Thad Duvall
    3. Ricky Russell
    Full Results
    XC2 Pro Results
    1. Josh Toth
    2. Ben Kelley
    3. Austin Lee
    Full Results
    Supercross
    Foxborough
    Articles
    450SX Results
    1. Marvin Musquin
    2. Eli Tomac
    3. Jason Anderson
    Full Results
    250SX East Results
    1. Zach Osborne
    2. Jordon Smith
    3. Kyle Peters
    Full Results
    Upcoming
    Supercross
    Salt Lake City
    Sat Apr 28
    Articles
    Upcoming
    MXGP of
    Russia
    Tue May 1
    Articles
    Upcoming
    Supercross
    Las Vegas
    Sat May 5
    Articles
    Full Schedule
    One Industries Thursday  Rev Up: Heart and Soul
    Andy Bowyer

    Andy Bowyer

    One Industries Thursday Rev Up Heart and Soul

    September 8, 2011 12:30pm
    by: Andy Bowyer
    Advertisement | Advertise with Us
    Advertisement | Advertise with Us
    • Home
    • Rev-Up
    • One Industries Thursday Rev Up: Heart and Soul
    Advertisement | Advertise with Us

    Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Rev Up.

    Like so many other mornings I awoke to the voices of the local radio talent as they brought in the new day. The usual dirty “Cali-comedy” I had grown to enjoy was going through the motions. I heard them halt their scheduled broadcast for a breaking announcement of a plane crash in New York City...then came the Pentagon, then the plane in Pennsylvania....

    I remember every cold hour of that day like it was ten minutes ago, not ten years ago. It remains the scariest and saddest thing I have ever experienced. It was for all of us. We need to remember it forever. One of my favorite quotes is, “We forget what we want to remember and we remember what we want to forget.” It’s no cliché in saying that it is our onus to never forget that day.

    undefined
    The season finale at Pala kicks off this Saturday at 4pm EST.
    Photo: Andrew Fredrickson

    I believe we all fight to wear a smile through this controlled chaos we call life. “Take the good with the bad;” “Everything happens for a reason;” “Fall down seven, get up eight;” “It’s always the darkest right before sunlight;” so on, so forth.... Life is, in its purest form, a never-ending algorithm of highs and lows. The things we have to live through are not fair and for most of the humans in the world, do not carry a lot of joy.

    This Tuesday I was standing in the blinding rain carrying three heavy boxes of paint into a hardware store for delivery. My knees and arms were burning and it was raining so hard I literally couldn’t see. After making the delivery I ran back to my Fed Ex truck and quickly grabbed my cell to see how my brother was doing at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Through a dozen text messages, Twitter and Facebook updates, I read (in about 1.5 seconds) that his car had crashed into the wall. All I could think about was being miserable and pissed off. It hurt to know how much my brother hurt.

    Wednesday was a new day and around noon I had to take a moment to stop and look at how beautiful everything was. The sun was shining through the low hanging clouds and the clean smell of the “day after” thunderstorm hung in the air. In an instant my knees felt strong and I was back in my work truck with steam in my stride. I actually caught myself singing out loud as I was shifting gears. Then I began to feel guilty about being worked up and emotional about such trivial things. They weren’t trivial to me at the time, but they didn’t mean shit in the big game and I was ashamed.

    undefined
    Can Dungey put on one final charge and catch Villopoto?
    Photo: Andrew Fredrickson

    Where am I going with this? Well, I had an epiphany that we are all susceptible to darkness and hard times, and those instances are all relative. What doesn’t mean squat to you means the world to me and vice versa. What makes a person hard is their ability to weather the bad, yet carry the charge about the good. That’s what makes America hard and strong.

    I hope some of that caught a little backside with you folks. 

    Be that as it may, it is time to get the shoulders back one last time in 2011. The final charge of 2011 makes her way to Pala Raceway in sunny Southern California this Saturday afternoon. Who’s ready for a grand day of racing in the mecca of it all? I am. Dammit.

    What a season of professional motocross we have had the privilege to take in. I was there when the Georgia Dome exploded as Chad Reed cleaned out James Stewart. These two feet stayed stuck to the ground as I watched Blake Baggett pick himself up off the muddy ground at High Point to earn the win. I struck gold for the third time when I watched two of the fastest riders in the world go toe to toe for 35 minutes last weekend at Steel City. It was a true masterpiece and I was on my tip-toes watching #1 and #2 throw down. Two things you cannot take away are Ryan Dungey’s silky-smooth style and Ryan Villopoto’s head-straight, never-say-die determination.

    RV got him in the last turn in that fight. It just might have been the nail in the coffin. Or was it? Ladies and gentlemen, it isn’t over. Both riders have fought back from far worse than what it’s going to take to decide the heavy weight title belt of the world. DNFs, carting huge, riding poorly...both Ryans have been through the whole deal this time around. Lest you forget how the 2010 250 championship was decided with Trey Canard and Christophe Pourcel. Do you think any heart and soul was involved with that one?

    undefined
    It's Villopoto's title to lose.
    Photo: Andrew Fredrickson

    In closing, I went with “Heart and Soul” as the title of the end of the 2010 season, the beginning of the 2011 season, and now the conclusion of what has been the nuttiest tour on two wheels. Because that’s what it takes. Our sport is 100 percent heart and soul. It’s what every team manager, mechanic, racer, and fan brings to the table with every drop of the gate. If anyone of you have read this far, you know that I am all heart and soul. I love it. All I want to see is RD1 and RV2 finish the game. Pure and simple. And that is exactly what they’re going to do.

    It’s time to take it around one last time this season, folks. It is a very special weekend for all of us Americans. Shoulders back. God bless America.

    Thanks for reading and see you next week.

    Advertisement | Advertise with Us
    • 450 Words: Steel City 450 Words: Steel City Thu Sep 8 11:00am
    • The BTOSports.com   Racer X Podcast: MXoN The BTOSports.com Racer X Podcast: MXoN Thu Sep 8 1:30pm

    Motocross & Supercross News - Racer X Online

    122 Vista Del Rio Drive, Morgantown, WV 26508 | 304-284-0084 | Contact Us
    ©1999 - 2018 Filter Publications LLC. All Rights Reserved.
    Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
    designed at: Website DesignImpulse Studios
    Subscribe
    to the Racer X
    Newsletter