Ping,

What do you think of Sarah Palin and the pics out there of her riding 4-wheelers with her kids?? Do you think that by getting her into office, this could bring some new Off-Road parks to open, or more importantly keep from getting any more parks shut down?? I read where her husband has something to do with Artic Cat 4-Whlrs and Snowmobiles. Either you or someone else from the RACERX staff should contact her and ask her the real political questions, like where she stands with the Off-Road community. Also, is her Grandpa McCain on the same page as her, or is he against the Off-Road parks. Questions like this might have an effect on how the MotoHeads VOTE.
Rick C.

Dear Rick,
While the boss doesn’t like it when I wander into the political minefield, I will this one time… I know as much about Mrs. Palin as the rest of the world right now but from what I’ve seen, I really like her. Just by looking at her record you can tell she is the type of person that gets things done. Hopefully the move to Washington won’t change that. She also owned a motorcycle/watercraft/snowmobile dealership with her husband during the nineties so I would imagine she empathizes with the off-road community. Historically, the Republican party has voted to protect the rights of recreational vehicle owners while the other party has sought to close riding areas down permanently to protect insignificant, little known species like the miniature spotted three-clawed hermit crab. I say screw the crabs—and the seahorses they rode in on. Responsible ATV use is a big part of American culture and if I wanted some tree-hugging do-no-gooder to give me a guilt trip about how fragile the environment is, I’d watch an Al Gore movie. I don’t think Sarah Palin is going to take my calls right now but I can almost guarantee you that a McCain/Palin vote is going to protect your right to ride whereas an Obama nod will get your favorite spots closed down quicker than you can say “Change you can believe in.” Your choice.
PING

Dear Ping , With all this talk about "Supercross only contracts" I have come up with a master plan to get all the riders to ride both supercross and outdoor motocross. Get all the outdoor national track owners to build a dome in the middle of their track and have one, 40-minutes-plus-2-lap race that starts on the outdoor track then works its way to the indoor track for a lap then back outside for a lap and so on. Half the fans pile inside the dome, the other half outside. We can call it Super/Motocross!!! What do you think? I’m calling John Beasley right now!
Mike, Maryland


Dear Mike,
That idea is just dumb. I hope you weren’t seriously suggesting it because even if the financial aspect of building a giant dome on each venue weren’t ridiculous enough there would be large periods of time where the riders would be outside the dome and those fans would have nothing to watch. I don’t care how cheap the beer is, fans aren’t going to want to sit in a stadium and stare at an empty track. (Free beer? Maybe.) And riders would not be able to set their bikes up for one discipline or the other, making the racing more dangerous for them. I know you are trying to come up with a solution to the current “supercross-only” trend amongst the elite and you should be commended for that. But while there is no such thing as a stupid question there are certainly stupid suggestions. And yours is one of them. Feel free to try again.
PING

Ping,
I love the fact that Rockstar, Monster, Red Bull, etc., are sponsoring the races – thanks guys! However, my question for you, Ping, are guys really drinking an energy drink at 6 p.m. after two brutal, hardcore motos? I can’t imagine wanting to slug down a huge Monster after two pro-level motos. Do they fill those cans with water? Beer?

BTW – bring back two-strokes, nothing sounds better than a 125 at full boil.
Rob Green

Dear Rob,
Energy drinks have definitely been supporting the industry lately, haven’t they? I mean, you can’t find a rider on the starting line of the finals that doesn’t have one of the “big three” emblazoned across their helmet and chest. I’m a big believer in the phrase, “Don’t crap where you eat,” and as such I’m not going to get too specific here. I think all of the riders have an energy drink now and then. Personally, I’m not a coffee drinker so when I need a bump to get me going I grab a can and load up on taurine, caffeine, glucuronolactone, acesulfame K, aspartame, niacinamide, calcium pantothenate and just a little phenylalanine and I’m good to go. The truth is that most riders drink Cytomax or Muscle Milk during and after training and riding because those are actual exercise and recovery drinks and not “energy” drinks. Most riders prefer water right after a moto until they cool down a little bit so that is probably what you are seeing in the bottles on the podium. Beer hasn’t been consumed on the podium since the days of The Dogger and the Coors Light Supercross Series, as far as I know (although when J-Law is on the podium you can’t rule anything out). And I can remember reading Jeff Smith’s old motocross book where he said he used to prepare for races with a concoction of raw eggs, sugar and a snifter of brandy. Seriously. Old-school rules.

Amen on the two-strokes, Rob. Amen.

PING

Got a question for Ping? E-mail him at ping@racerxonline.com.