Dirty Little Secrets
Dallas is easily the coolest stadium of the season. Jerry Jones’s $1.5 billion home for the Dallas Cowboys is a welcome sight for the supercross world. After being in California for the past six weeks, getting to a new region and changing things up is something to look forward to. All of the spectator amenities are first class and the concession offerings are what you would expect from a new venue. The coolest part of AT&T Stadium has to be the massive jumbotron that stretches for sixty yards across the middle of the arena. That thing costs $40 million, and it’s a great way to follow the action and catch replays, regardless of where your seat might be.
Typically, the dirt in Dallas is not much to write home about. It’s hard and slippery, and doesn’t really get any better regardless of how it is prepped. For 2015, though, they have brought in new dirt. How that turns out is yet to be seen, but I wouldn’t expect a huge improvement. The dirt in that area is just very difficult to shape and develop traction. I raced in Dallas for supercross fourteen times and even once in Fort Worth for arenacross , and let me tell you, it is always hard and slippery. Hopefully they can improve on that somewhat, but I doubt it will be a revolutionary change. Calm your throttle hand and turn up the traction control when you come to Dallas.
Glancing at the track map, it looks like there will be some big rhythms. The whoops are notoriously tough in Dallas and they generally don’t break down very much due to the soil’s density. I am interested to see if anyone will quad into the turn after the triple, just before heading backwards down the start straight. There was a section similar to this in Vegas a few years ago and Kevin Windham started jumping it, blowing many people’s minds. With the dirt staying very consistent, riders will be more likely to try bigger combinations. Just something to watch for.
Who’s Hot
Trey Canard is coming in hot! After winning two of the last three races, he is coming into his home race of Dallas. He won the 450 class here back in 2011. Look for more from Canard this weekend.
Ken Roczen bounced back in San Diego, pushing Canard all the way to the checkers and getting his first podium in a few weeks. He looked much better than he did in Anaheim the prior week, so I expect him to be on the podium again in Dallas.
Eli Tomac’s results don’t have him here but his riding does. He was absolutely on fire in San Diego, but an early tangle with Chad Reed put him way back in the pack. If he can stay out of trouble, he will be a threat on Saturday.
Who’s Not
Davi Millsaps actually looked much better in San Diego than in recent weeks. He was up front in his heat and in the main event, but his health issues seemed to affect his stamina and he suffered two crashes in the main event as well. The speed was certainly better, though, and a silver lining to an otherwise rough night.
Jason Anderson has been struggling a bit with crashes and misfortune and his results have suffered because of it. I still feel he is riding well enough to be in the mix every weekend, but he needs to eliminate the big mistakes if he wants back onto that podium.
Bold Predictions
-Trey Canard wins his second race in a row in front of the hometown crowd. That makes three out of four for Trey.
-Justin Bogle books a gig to not only race on Saturday night, but will also be doing rap battles on the Party Deck of the stadium. He wins the rap battle easily as his closest competition had a cowboy hat on, rode to the race on horseback, and was utterly clueless as to what was happening.
-Marvin Musquin comes out swinging and dominates the first round of the East Region.
-Jordon Smith attempts to race with a broken hand. With only one hand in control, he whiskey throttles his GEICO Honda, catapulting it into Jerry Jones’s private suite. Jerry, from the safety of his local mansion, thinks the move is great: “That Smith kid is so brave he would charge Hell itself with nothing but a bucket of ice water. We in Texas don’t cry over spilt milk. Heck, a worm is the only animal that can’t fall down. That jump was as big as a Brahma bull with balls to boot; it’s no wonder he keeps his saddle oiled and his gun greased. I love this motocross thing. These kids are faster than a sneeze through a screen door, and having them in my building has me pert as a cricket.” Thanks, Jerry, riveting stuff.
-Jeremy Martin wins his heat race in Dallas after two consecutive years of failing to qualify at the opening round.
-Chad Reed calls someone or something a dumbass for the third time this season. If he reads this, that dumbass will be me.
Picks
450
- Trey Canard
- Ken Roczen
- Ryan Dungey
250
- Marvin Musquin
- Justin Bogle
- Joey Savatgy