Welcome to Racerhead, coming to you from just outside the gates of the third and final Anaheim of the 2015 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, as well as a tumultuous first month of racing. It's a rare month where we will actually will get five races in rather than the usual four, which has given us media types and the internet much to talk about, dissect, discuss (and disgust), and argue. From absent superstars to unwelcome black flags, new rivalries (Cooper Webb vs. Tyler Bowers) to old ones (Matthes and Steve Cox vs. the internet), first-time winners (Eli Tomac, Jessy Nelson, Webb, and Malcolm Stewart) to the expected (Ken Roczen and Trey Canard), and the ever-present unfortunate injuries of our sport. In other words, it's business as usual.
This weekend at Angel Stadium promises to at least look a little different as Feld Motor Sports picked A3 as this year's "retro" race, a throwback to the good old days of two-strokes, kidney belts, Scott Venturi face masks, big hair, neon colors, box vans, pay phones, navicular bones, the dreaded Epstein-Barr virus, high-school motocross teams, hand-painted helmets, and all the rest of those things that make us feel nostalgic. So to get in the mood for yesteryear, I decided to go visit an old friend earlier this week.
Supercross as we know it—nighttime races inside big stadiums on motocross-inspired tracks—started in 1972 with the Superbowl of Motocross at the Los Angeles Coliseum, which was purpose-built for the 1932 Summer Olympic Games and later hosted the 1984 Olympics (Carl Lewis, anyone?). The building has long hosted University of Southern California Trojans football games, and for a time the Los Angeles Rams and Oakland Raiders. There have been big concerts, X Games, and maybe even the pope visited.
But it became the de facto capitol building of supercross after promoter Michael Goodwin came up with the idea of hosting a motocross race there on a summer night in the early seventies. Goodwin once told me his goal was "to bring motocross downtown, into the big city, where the people could see it all from a comfortable seat and drink cold beer and buy hot dogs." A man named Allen Becker was already doing similar races at the Houston Astrodome, though there was only one jump and the event was called a TT, and Daytona was already doing their "stadium-style" race, but it was during the day and on the infield of Daytona International Speedway.
Goodwin called his race the Super Bowl at first but got a cease-and-desist from the NFL, who took umbrage with him calling his big race the same thing they called their big season-ending game (the first of which was played at Los Angeles Coliseum on January 15, 1967 and was won by the Green Bay Packers). So Goodwin tweaked the name on a typewriter and dubbed it the grammatically incorrect Superbowl as a way around the NFL's trademark. The first race was a modest success, with maybe 25,000 fans in attendance. It was won by a just-turned-16 Marty Tripes, who rode his bumblebee-yellow Yamaha to 2-2-2 finishes in the three-moto format for the overall win. Tripes remains the youngest winner of an AMA Supercross or AMA Motocross race: 16 years, 10 days.
The next year Tripes won again, only this time on a Honda, and more people showed up. The track was also changed with an added run up and through the Peristyles, followed by a ski jump back in. The late AMA referee Ron Crandall used to call the jump out and the jump back in "Jack and Jill," and he used to hold the riders’ meeting there, near the same place where USC football great O.J. Simpson (yes, that O.J.) once filmed a Hertz rental car commercial.
Come 1974, it was Czech CZ rider Jaroslav Falta who won, with THE Roger DeCoster finishing second aboard his Suzuki. By that time the "Yamaha AMA Super Series of Motocross" was up and running, but the Coliseum race was not considered part of the series. That would happen in '76, by which time the Coliseum was almost jam-packed. From there the series would grow into what is now Monster Energy Supercross, and the Coliseum was the center of it all. Supercross would proliferate, and the Coliseum would even start hosting doubleheaders (and on one special summer day in 1999, something called SummerCross came along and was won by Chaparral Yamaha's Tim Ferry, who was wrenched by our own Steve Matthes, and then it went away). Anaheim was in the supercross game by 1976, and soon the Rose Bowl would also host races, and even Dodgers Stadium just a couple of years ago. In fact, Anaheim took over as the epicenter of supercross in 1999, one year after the Coliseum hosted its last true AMA Supercross race, which was won by Frenchman Sebastien Tortelli in a shocking upset.
Why did the series stop going to what was once the most famous stadium in America? The neighborhood around it changed dramatically, for one, and the 1992 race had to be postponed after the Rodney King riots took place all around the area. There was also the problem of the stadium itself needing some serious renovation, which is a big reason (but not the only one) why there is no NFL team in Los Angeles right now. Lately the place has undergone some upgrades, and there's been a big improvement in the neighborhood after the California Science Center went in next door, and now you can go there for free and see the space shuttle Endeavor and a myriad of other cool planes and jets and space capsules. But I can tell you that the lack of parking would be a huge problem for the massive convoy that is our current supercross paddock and infrastructure, let alone the fans who would drive in. It's sad that the venue is no longer on the schedule, but it's understandable given the lack of space for the practically downtown Los Angeles stadium. I was lucky enough to race there once, which makes me as nostalgic as anyone for the place, but the difficulties in bringing it back to life would be tough for the series to overcome.
And then there's the saga of Goodwin, the original promoter. He later earned even more notoriety when he was named the prime suspect in the contract murders of his former business partner Mickey Thompson and Thompson’s wife, Trudy, in March of 1988. Goodwin left the country shortly after the murders and sailed around the Caribbean on his private yacht, then returned to California a few years later by way of Aspen. He was immediately arrested on a tax-evasion charge. For years he was investigated and questioned repeatedly in the Thompson murders. He was even brought up on charges in Orange County, only to have it dismissed over a jurisdiction issue. Goodwin was finally arrested by Los Angeles County (where the murders took place), and after a lengthy wait of some five years, the trial finally happened in 2006-'07. Goodwin never took the stand in his own defense, and even though the prosecutors offered mostly circumstantial evidence, he was found guilty of ordering the murders and sentenced to life in prison (x2) with no chance of parole.
Goodwin recently had another day in court, as his lawyer hoped to get the conviction thrown out based on prosecutorial misconduct. The judge disagreed, which means it's all but certain that Goodwin will never get out of prison again. Here's a story on the failed appeal.
So that's how I started out my retro weekend: going to the place where this all started for a walk down memory lane, which reminded me of the underbelly of that era when Goodwin and his Superbowl of Motocross were the biggest thing that probably ever happened to "stadium motocross" (and I should mention that O.J. Simpson is still in jail, too—not for the double murders we all know he's guilty of, but rather for a kidnapping and robbery charge in Las Vegas). Maybe Thomas Wolfe was right: you can't go home again. Time to get back to reality and the fun side of this retro weekend, and all of the current events in Monster Energy Supercross.
WILSON UPDATE (Chase Stallo)
As we reported yesterday, Dean Wilson underwent successful surgery on Wednesday to repair a torn ACL and MCL suffered last week at the KTM test track. Wilson will be sidelined for the remainder of Monster Energy AMA Supercross, and his return will depend on how he recovers over the next few months.
“It’s really disappointing to see Dean injured this early in the supercross season,” Red Bull KTM factory team manager Roger DeCoster said in a team statement. “He has put a lot of work into preparing for supercross and just as his results were improving, with a 8th at Anaheim 2, this happened.”
“My doctor said the surgery went well and I’m looking at a regular rehabilitation process for my knee,” Wilson added in a statement. “I have been down this road a few times over the past five seasons but I have never been more committed to getting myself back to the top of the mountain.”
In his first season with the team, Wilson has one top-ten finish in three rounds of Monster Energy Supercross. At this time, the team has not announced if it will seek a fill-in rider.
Press Day: Anaheim 3 (Holly Wingler)
I was able to attend press day at Angel Stadium yesterday, where the Yoshimura Suzuki and Cycle Trader/Rock River Yamaha teams where on hand. I fired off some questions at Blake Baggett and Alex Martin; here’s what they had to say.
Blake Baggett
Racer X: How has the switch been to 450s been treating you since your debut at the Monster Cup last year?
Blake Baggett: The switch to 450 has been good. Definitely just getting used to it and the change in power and the way the bike handles has been the biggest change. New team, new brand of bike, new gear—you know, the whole setup’s been new, so still getting comfy with it. Basically just trying to figure it out and be steady and slowly work our way towards the front.
What have you been doing in between rounds? You’re working with Rick Johnson—what’s he teaching you?
Yeah, been working with Ricky, definitely just been trying to be more steady and get up there off the start. The start it pretty much the key to it. Everybody kind of funnels into one line, so just work on starts and then work on being aggressive—not too aggressive, not trying to send it in there and kill somebody, but been definitely trying to hold my own in the first few laps and then make good judgment calls and make good passes, just work our way towards the front. First two rounds were decent but definitely trying to improve each week after that.
You came from outside the top ten to inside the top ten at the last two races. Do you think we can expect to see you in the top five this weekend?
Well, that’s the goal. The goal is to get to the top five and stay there. If there is an opportunity to go forward of course, take it, but the goal right now is to get into the top five [and] try to be in there each week.
Alex Martin
Racer X: We talked a bit after the race at Oakland. Has it sunk in that you made your first podium win this week?
Alex Martin : Oh, absolutely.
What type of calls and text were you getting?
A lot. I wouldn’t say any type of calls. Just a lot. A lot of text messages and stuff. People I haven’t heard from in a long time. You know, it was a good thing, for sure. I was surprised for sure, all the people watching the race.
What have you done this week to keep your top-three mindset?
Just trying to focus forward. It was one race. Yeah, I rode good, but there’s still four more West Coast supercross races left. I just want to keep doing it. It looks even better if I can stay up there.
What’s the podium mean for your team?
Oh, its huge. Essentially, it’s a win for Cycle Trader/Rock River. They have been around for a while, at the privateer level. They have steadily, over the last two years, have gotten a lot more support, and I think it’s really going to be big in the future.
LOVE TAPS AND HATE (Jason Weigandt)
The news for the last two weeks has been dominated by rough riding incidents that could have, apparently, been much rougher. This, despite some involved saying it was too rough! First, we had Chad Reed, Trey Canard, and #blackflaggate. Reed summed much of it up here to our Steve Matthes.
“Love me or hate me I’m pretty damn good with these dirt bikes,” said Reed after Oakland. “I’m like a surgeon in the fact that if I want to hurt somebody with it I promise you I can hurt somebody with it. And my 'malicious attempt' as Mr. Gallagher called it, if I’m 'malicious intent,' trust me I’m not going to just bump a guy into a tough block.”
Later Matthes spoke to Tyler Bowers. Bowers, you know, got block passed on the last lap of Anaheim 2’s 250SX main by Cooper Webb, then passed Webb with serious contact in Oakland. The contact was most likely due to Webb turning down just as Bowers showed up deep on the inside of a corner. “But if he’s [Webb] going to talk trash, I can definitely do it on purpose a lot harder,” said Bowers. “He got that elbow right then on accident, wait until he gets an elbow on purpose.”
Okay. So, by now you all have your own opinion on all of this, but I’ve noticed the similarities of Bowers and Reed both saying how much damage they could do if they really tried to do damage. I’m left wondering, what the heck would that look like? How gnarly could a guy get on a dirt bike if he was really out to hurt someone? Maybe it’s a good thing we don’t know. Or do we?
TOMAC STRIKES BACK! (Steve Matthes)
Well not really, but last night whilst building some goggles for Anaheim 3 my phone started lighting up with a few texts. It seems that GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac had listened to the Adam Cianciarulo podcast where we were discussing Tomac’s weakness in terms of getting bad starts while Kenny Roczen has been killing that area lately.
This being 2015, Tomac took to social media to let me (and everyone else) that he wasn’t so pumped on this conversation:
@pulpmx Dude if you mention bad starts one more time or anyone in the media for that matter, I might lose my mind! I've actually holeshotted 3 out of 9 gates(PHX HEAT/MAIN/OAKHEAT) dropped. No a 33% holeshot rate isn't great, but much better than 99% of the field. Anaheim 1 might as well been one until myself and 800 bumped into each other. Yes I just listened to your latest podcast with AC, which sparked me to cause this massive uproar!
I texted back and forth with Eli after this post, and although he wasn’t pissed at me, he wanted to let me know that I’m very wrong about his starts. They’re much better this year than they ever were on the 250 or even last year on the 450. And I admit, maybe there is some leftover bias from before that I’m just going to, in terms of speaking about generalities of Tomac’s skills.
I went back this morning and watched some starts from the first few rounds, but I didn’t watch heat races. To me, starts in heat races are irrelevant. You’re up against half the field and there isn’t as much pressure nor points on the line in a heat. And Tomac’s got a point: his starts have been better this year than maybe I gave him credit for, but for whatever reason his first-lap aggressiveness hasn’t been there and he’s dropped positions that way. You could call that the “start” of the race also, right? I realize we’re splitting hairs here, but through the first four rounds, Roczen’s first-lap position in the mains has averaged 1.75, and Tomac’s has averaged 5.25.
As I’ve been saying, I think Tomac can beat Kenny if he can start with him, but he can’t give Kenny an average of four spots after lap one. There are these quotes to Weege after Anaheim 2 where Eli says his start at the race was the difference between him winning and not:
Racer X: What was the difference between last week and this week for you?
Eli Tomac: It’s the starts. Yes, it’s annoying when everyone says that but there’s too many fast guys to start in even seventh or sixth place right now.
So maybe a compromise here would be that Eli’s races to the first turn have been better but his first laps have not been as good as Roczen’s? I like Eli—he's a great guy with a cool family and I would like to think we can work though this "issue," if you want to call it that. One more thing: I do appreciate his fans letting me know that I’m terrible at my job.
CONTROVERSY OVER (Stallo)
A week after things boiled over at Anaheim 2, Chad Reed and Trey Canard put to rest any ill feelings toward each other and let bygones be bygones in Oakland. Canard made a clean pass on Reed en route to his first win since 2011 and squashed any traces of bad blood between the two after the race.
“Yeah, I said, ‘I apologize for jumping into you; that was a dumb race move. I just hope there aren’t any hard feelings,’” Reed told Aaron Hansel after the race. “He said there weren’t any hard feelings; he was just upset about the flag. I just want to make sure things are good between us. I really respect him as an athlete and I want to keep peace.”
Reed looked like a new rider in Oakland, capturing his first podium of the year and the 126th of his career. He, like Canard, said there was zero bad blood between the two. “For sure what I did wasn’t right, but I don’t feel like I need to write an apology,” Reed told Steve Matthes. “I didn’t put anybody in harm. Love me or hate me, I’m pretty damn good with these dirt bikes. I’m like a surgeon in the fact that if I want to hurt somebody with it, I promise you I can hurt somebody with it.”
As for Reed and the FIM’s John Gallagher, Chad added: “And my 'malicious attempt,' as Mr. Gallagher called it, if I’m 'malicious intent,' trust me, I’m not going to just bump a guy into a Tough Block. So last week’s done for now. Now it’s up to the lawyers. That should be fun.”
Stay tuned.
HIGH SCHOOL MOTOCROSS? (Wingler)
Going into the final press day of Anaheim, I treated it as any other press day. See the teams, talk to the riders. This time was different. I saw a large group of high-school students overpowering the room with their orange shirts that read RIVERSIDE POLY MOTOCROSS. Interesting. If you’re not from Southern California, Poly is a high school, and believe it or not they have their very own motocross club. The club got started within the school—their principal is very moto-friendly and the teachers even got involved. The group consists of moto kids, video production students, and calculus/physics students.
Currently, they are working on their newest project as a group: building the dream supercross track. Students that are in the calculus and physics class are actually the masterminds behind the track, and the moto kids test it out. They all work together to create what will be, in their minds, the ultimate supercross track. Any student from any school is encouraged to visit their booth this weekend at A3 to see what they are about and get a chance to be part of the vision. The video production students are filming all of this from start to finish, and they’re airing their own 30-second bit in the actual night show of Anaheim 3 this weekend. Everyone involved in the project has been working hard on it, and no professionals were paid or were involved in the making of this production. Be sure to check them out in the pits this weekend and give them a pat on the back—this is a job well done.
LAPPERS (DC)
We all found it quite interesting that at the Anaheim opener, twenty of the twenty-two riders in the 450SX Class finished on the leader's lap, which meant they completed all twenty laps of the main event. To illustrate how quickly things can change, a closer look at the Oakland main event shows just eleven riders—exactly half the field—were still on the lead lap at the end. And in an unlikely twist, RCH Racing/Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John's Suzuki's Ken Roczen was the first man to get lapped after his admitted "brain fart" briefly knocked him silly as he was going past the veteran Reed in the main event. He could have done much worse to himself than he did, as we've seen guys snap their wrists with blunt, sudden landings like that.
THE OTHER STEWART (Weigandt)
He’s usually called Malcolm or Mookie. To say “Stewart” as we would “Roczen” or “Dungey” instantly means James, the older, more established, and usually faster brother. Speed-wise, Malcolm has gotten to James’ level a few times, like in their Red Bull Straight Rhythm duels and a brewing battle at Budds Creek a few years back. Most of the time, though, the younger Stewart was a fun side story in the never-ending drama that always seemed to follow James (unfortunately, such drama is still with him as we speak). Malcolm was always there with smiles and laughs, style and speed. But a genuine threat to win races and titles? It didn’t seem like Malcolm took things seriously enough to get to that level.
That makes the latest Stewart family turn even more surprising. James has now been forced to the sidelines with a sixteen-month suspension from a drug test, the worst news he’s gotten in his career. Around the same time, Malcolm got the best news he’s ever gotten in the form of a phone call from Team GEICO Honda. His Anaheim 1 was crash-filled, but he’s been solid since and now has a win. Hey, does everyone remember when James hit the pro scene in 2002 and became the first African-American to win a supercross? Back then, everyone expected this to open the floodgates to a new generation and, yes, race of racers. Turns out the second African-American winner of a supercross was from the same generation as James: literally. It’s his own brother, thirteen years later. Credit to the Stewart family through all the ups and downs, as even though James Jr. is barred from racing, Big James is still at the races cheering Malcolm’s every move.
I do remember Malcolm as an amateur with his dad pushing him just like he did with James. One year at Loretta’s was shaping up as Malcolm’s best chance to finally snag a title, as he won the first moto of the Motocross (450) B Stock class in 2008. Malcolm rode well all week but would be outdueled for the title by a complete unknown … who would turn out to be much better as a pro than anyone expected. That rider was Weston Peick.
Today, both Peick and Malcolm have the best rides of their careers, and this year logged career-high supercross results. They’ve worked hard to break from the shadows and become serious contenders each time they line up. In a world usually dominated by riders who were anointed as future stars before they turned 10 (names like Roczen, Tomac, Webb, and, yes, James Stewart come to mind) it’s good to see the late bloomers finally showing you all they can be.
THE NUMBER: 20 (DC)
When the checkered flags falls on this weekend's fifth round of the 2015 Monster Energy Supercross at Oakland, it will bring to an end the month of January. And if you're looking for any effect on a brand or the series since four-time champion Ryan Villopoto's decision to ride off into the sunrise for his Grand Prix season, look only at the results and a lack of a Kawasaki-mounted winner so far in either class. It has been since 1995 that Kawasaki was shut out in the month of January. The best anyone is doing it Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Tyler Bowers, who moved up and over from Amsoil Arenaross and very nearly won the Anaheim 2 race.
With Will Hahn injured, Davi Millsaps still getting used to the new bike, and young Chris Allredge having suffered some epic crashes, only Bowers and the veteran Jake Weimer have been consistent—though Weimer, who rides for Team Tedder, is consistently right around tenth, just like Chad Reed was before he got his own mojo back and had a fine ride on Saturday night. With RV gone for good and Adam Cianciarulo also out back east, 2015 is going to be a long way for the hardworking men in green.
PRO PERSPECTIVE: PASSING A RIDER WHO HAS KNOCKED YOU DOWN (David Pingree and Jason Thomas)
PING: Passing a rider back after they have smashed into you or knocked you down can be tricky. As a guy who rode with my emotions on my sleeve, I was terrible at this; early in my career I would go out of my way to plow into a rider who had knocked me down or done me wrong. But when you are seeing red and all you want to do is line that guy up and even out the score, you have to be able to pull back and see the big picture.
Cooper Webb was a great example of this last weekend in Oakland. He got knocked down pretty hard by Tyler Bowers, though I think it was more of a racing incident than a takeout. Still, Cooper hadn’t seen the tape yet, so in his mind he got smeared for no good reason. And yet, when he caught back up to Bowers, he made a clean pass and cleared out en route to his second-place finish and extended his points lead. That kind of singular focus will help him win this title. Likewise, Trey Canard probably owed Chad Reed a little “elbow,” as Chad put it. Instead, Canard made a beautiful pass without even hitting Reed with roost. Both moves were classy and smart and probably the opposite of what I would have done back in my heyday. I was a bit of an idiot. So kudos to those guys for making the right decision. Choices like that will keep both of these guys in championship contention this season.
JT: This would be incredibly hard for me, but I will say that I was never in contention for an American title. Knowing the gravity of that, I would be more inclined to see the big picture in that case, and really just avoiding Bowers is the best strategy. Webb has the speed advantage and is ahead in the points, so why even bother? Leave Bowers to his own devices and ride off into the sunset. This all sounds logical and wise, but when emotions run high, good luck executing this plan. But that’s just what Webb did last Saturday. He rode right past Bowers without even a wave. When you are the fastest guy, as I believe Webb is, there is no upside to altercation. Especially with an elbow to the face.
THE DIESEL (Weigandt)
Can we just stop this madness and stamp this as an official nickname? He’s The Diesel. Diesel Dungey. Attn: Fox Racing, put this on the back of his pants. Dear Monster Energy Supercross Voice of God, please howl this during opening ceremonies. Ralph and Jeff? Don’t be afraid to drop a few mentions on Fox Sports.
Today’s diesels are efficient, reliable, and strong. Gas engines may provide a quick thrill, but a diesel gets up to speed only a tick slower and never loses steam, no matter the load. For all the talk of burnout and injuries and pressure and the many perils of being a pro rider at the very highest level, Dungey never tires of the work and the life. Already, some of Dungey’s contemporaries are finding new things to do, and those who are older have enjoyed lengthy breaks due to injuries. Not Dungey. He just competes for the title in every series, every week, every year. Is he always the quickest? No. Is he always there, pulling the load? Yes. No one expects thrills out of a big diesel rig (unless you like rolling coal) but everyone respects the work they do. Everyone respects the diesel, Ryan Dungey.
THE NUMBER: 4 AND MORE (Andras Hegyi)
Over the years, due to injury and otherwise, we have seen riders win races some time apart in the Monster Energy Supercross. For instance, Tallon Vohland won the Houston 125 SX in 1991, then the second Anaheim race in 2000, having spent much of the nineties in Europe. But in the premier class, there have been some big gaps between SX wins for guys who just took a long time to get back into the winner's circle.
Larry Ward: "Big Bird" was always around in the nineties. He was able to get podium almost every SX season in that decade (he only missed in 1991 and '93). But to win it was more difficult for him. He was able to win only in three seasons, he won in 1990 and in '98, after eight years, and then again in '99. But that eight-year gap is the record for time between wins in supercross' premier class.
Mike LaRocco: GEICO Honda's current team manager and an AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer was able to get at least a podium in every season between 1989 and 2005—seventeen consecutive seasons, an absolute record in supercross! (Last Saturday in Oakland Chad Reed got podium in his thirteenth consecutive season, going back to 2003.) But the Rock was able to win only in seven seasons. Moreover, LaRocco went from 1995 to 2002 on a dry spell, before he got his winning mojo back.
Ezra Lusk: One of the top rivals of Jeremy McGrath's later years, Ezra won in every season between 1997 and '99, but after that he wasn't able to win for four years in supercross. This winless period had many reasons, including a difficult-to-heal shoulder injury at the beginning of 2000. Lusk finally won again in 2003, his last victory.
Kevin Windham: K-Dub got podium in all but two seasons between 1996 and 2012 (he was injured for much of '02-'03) and he won in eight seasons. But Windham had a four-year break between SX wins (2000-'04) when he wasn't able to race for much of the time. He won in 2000 aboard a factory Honda CR250 but when he returned in '04, he was on a four-stroke Factory Connection CRF450 Honda.
Trey Canard: Last weekend's big winner moved to a 450 in 2011, won three races, then had some very serious injuries in the next few seasons. Now in 2015 it's full steam ahead for the Honda factory rider, who enjoyed a convincing win in Oakland.
THE NUMBER: RED 2 (Andras Hegyi)
The winning combo of Trey Canard and Malcolm Stewart marked the forty-second time that Honda was able to sweep both classes, going back to 1985 (the year the 125 class was introduced to supercross). The first time it happened was at Orlando '85, when factory Honda rider Ron Lechien topped the premier 250 class at Orlando, while Larry Brooks, a Honda support rider, topped the 125s.
In 1991 Big Red was at its peak in records, winning both classes, as Jeff Stanton and eventual champion Jean-Michel Bayle traded wins while the new Peak/Pro Circuit Honda 125 class team (Jeremy McGrath, Brian Swink, Jeromy Buehl) won most of the 125 main events.
After McGrath left Honda in 1996, it wasn't until 2002 that Honda would get another sweep, as Ricky Carmichael won the 250 class and Factory Connection Honda's Travis Preston topped the 125s in Dallas. Then it was another six years before Honda swept again, which coincidentally happened at Atlanta 2008, the night of Trey Canard's first supercross, in which he won the 125 (by then "Lites" class) and Davi Millsaps topped the premier division.
And before last Saturday night the last time it happened was Phoenix '13, when Justin Barcia won the 450 class and Eli Tomac topped the 250s on his GEICO Honda.
THE NUMBER: 114 (Andras Hegyi)
In earning his first victory as a professional racer, GEICO Honda's Malcolm Stewart became the thirty-second Honda-mounted winner in AMA Supercross history in the 125/Lites/250 SX class. Malcolm also notched the 114th Honda win in small-bore SX racing. The youngest Stewart is also the first Floridian rider ever to win on Honda in this SX class (although Davi Millsaps was born in Florida, he long called Cairo, Georgia, home). Here are all of Honda's winners in this class, by the number of successes they achieved in supercross
(13 wins) Jeremy McGrath
(11) Justin Barcia, Eli Tomac
(7) Doug Henry
(6) Trey Canard, Brian Swink
(5) Cole Seely
(4) Willie Surratt, Davi Millsaps, Keith Turpin, Andrew Short
(3) Larry Brooks, Mike Brown, Jeromy Buehl, Joshua Grant, Kyle Lewis, Travis Preston, Stephane Roncada
(2) Wil Hahn, Ty Davis, Mike Kiedrowski, Justin Bogle
(1) Michael Brandes, Billy Laninovich, Mickael Pichon, Nathan Ramsey, Brock Sellards, Casey Lytle, Jake Weimer, Blake Wharton, Jeff Willoh, Malcolm Stewart
PULPMX LINKS (Matthes)
Jason Thomas has an idea of where the next SX’s should be held here.
David Vuillemin & JT joined me on the Fly Racing Moto:60 Show to discuss A3 here.
Timmy Ferry, Wil Hahn, and Andrew Short were all asked three rapid-fire questions about SX and responded here.
As always, here are David Vuillemin’s thoughts on A3.
HEY, WATCH IT!
Cool Supercross Live! Race Day profile of Ryan Dungey.
Georgia Lindsay hosted press day for Racer X Films yesterday, which we streamed live. You can check out the archive here.
RANDOM NOTES
Very cool moment for Andrea Leib and On Track School as both Malcolm Stewart and Trey Canard are graduates of the program. Congrats, Andrea.
Heading to Anaheim for the fifth round of Monster Energy Supercross this weekend? Stop by the Racer X booth—located in the Party in the Pits—to pick up a free copy of Racer X Illustrated. You can also sign up or renew for just $20 (60 percent off the cover price) to get a one-year subscription, a FREE pair of Racer X socks, and an extra issue!
For the latest from Canada, check out DMX Frid’Eh Update #4.
Trey Canard's first AMA Supercross win since 2011 landed him on the cover of this week's Cycle News. You can check out the whole issue here for free.
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading Racerhead. See you at the races.