Ping,
Why does purple Powerade make my poop green? If anything, shouldn't it be purple?
Lebowski. Delaware, Ohio

Lebowski,

That’s troubling. Thanks to the folks over at Zip-Lock, I know that yellow and blue make green, but they don’t make any mention of purple. Maybe it’s because purple isn’t a primary color? Maybe it’s because nothing rhymes with purple? Maybe it’s because Powerade is chemical-filled sugar water that can’t be absorbed by the human body without making your turds look like a cucumber? Maybe you should just drink water.
PING

Ping,
I ran into you a couple years ago at the Indy Trade Show and talked with you for a couple minutes. You seemed like a really nice guy in person. I gotta admit, that was somewhat of a letdown.
Thanks,
Darin House. Springfield, MO

Dear Darin,
Oh yeah? Well I was probably just having a really good day. That’s not the case right now, you jerk, so piss off.
Kindly,
PING

Ping,
I just finished reading Jeremy McGrath's book, Wide Open. Jeremy spoke about how one time in the middle of a race in 1995, he needed to pick up the pace a little, so he threw down a fast lap of 57 seconds. That made me stop and think a little bit, because it seems that RC, CR, and James are running lap times in the 49-52-second range at most supercrosses these days.
    Since you have experience racing supercross at that level, I figured you were a good person to ask this question. What do you think is contributing to a 5-6-second difference in lap times? In the book, Jeremy said that they were making the tracks harder in an effort to slow him up a little, and everybody is talking about how easy the tracks are these days. Do you think the newer track style is the reason for the lower lap times, or is it because the pace RC, CR, and James are running at is just 5 to 6 seconds faster now then when MC was in his prime?
C. Palmer. Baghdad, Iraq

Dear Mr. Palmer,

photo: TFS

The tracks used to be much tighter a decade ago. The Dirt Wurx crew has been watering down the tracks to keep riders from getting hurt. The theory seems to be working, as most of the top riders are still healthy going into the last few races of the season. Another trend that isn’t working, however, is the new faster track layouts. Ten years ago, the tracks were mostly 180-degree turns, switching back and forth across the length of the stadiums. Lately, the tracks skirt the baseline of the ballparks, making a series of 90-degree turns to finally connect. The result is a much faster track that allows for much less passing. In a tight, 180-degree turn, riders can dive inside and make block passes, square the turn early, and make a pass as they exit the turn, roll around the inside, or rail all the way around the berm. There are more options to pass and the tight radius stretches the lap times much longer. And it seems to me that the slower speeds would help to minimize injuries, as well. RC and Bubba are going very fast, don’t get me wrong. But even McGrath himself was within a second or two of their times at the races he attended this year. Maybe Rich and the boys will go old-school on us next year and put a few more tight turns back in the track maps. Well, not that old-school … let’s leave the mud holes out.
PING