Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Rev Up. The 2008 Rockstar Energy Drink US Open of Supercross will take place this weekend in fabulous Las Vegas. It’s really cool to me that this race has stuck around. It’s gone through a couple different headline sponsors and race parameters but the main ingredient, the fact that it takes place inside the MGM Grand Arena, has helped the event stay strong. As we step back and take a look at this year’s USSX, wow, this might be the most competitive yet! This time of year is weird with our industry. Rewind back to the first race in 1998. Fox was the title sponsor and their flagship athlete, Jeremy McGrath was a lame duck. It was also MC’s first season on a Yamaha. Sounds oddly familiar, doesn’t it? That race was Jeremy’s last main event in Fox clothes, and this will likely be James Stewart’s last ride with a Fox Head logo on his person. Forget about “last times.” Check out the first times!
The USSX marked Carmichael’s first race on a KX250, His first race on a Honda, and his first American race on a Suzuki. This weekend will mark Chad Reed’s American supercross debut on a Suzuki. Wonder if he’ll run the red #1? And enough of that, how about the idea of the 250Fs squaring off against the 450Fs? Will Dungey be able to scoot around the tight track faster than the big boys? Those are some intriguing questions and facts, but the thing that makes them really interesting is that big, fat $100,000 check. Yes, these guys make good money, but I know a lot of rich people and I don’t know one of them that wouldn’t take a hundred grand, very, very seriously. Let them be serious, races are about the fans. And the fans in Sin City will have a hard time taking anything serious.
Ah, Vegas. The tractor beam of the devil. The relentless stimulation of the city that never sleeps can be quite a bear. Even the flights to Vegas are tough. The stewardesses on Southwest look and sound like they didn’t quite make the cut in the Cirque du Soleil act. The singing and jovial tone is quite unsettling. That clinking and clanking you hear when you step off the plane rings in your ears for the duration of your trip. The first time you hear the sound it excites the senses you can’t wait to step confidently into the steely grip of the home of Wayne Newton. If you think he is creepy in person, wait till you see a 50-foot sign of that dude at 4am. When your trip is over and you are sitting at the gate with shaking hands and bloodshot eyes, that clinking and clanking carries a much different tone. On your way home there is that juxtaposition of happiness and regret between the big winners and the big losers, when in all reality it’s only Las Vegas herself that has come out on top.
That said, the race this weekend is going to be a barn burner. There is more hype coming into it than I’ve seen in several years, perhaps ever. I mean, Damon Bradshaw and Jeff Matiasevich will be going toe to toe! Any bets on if they will make it a lap before crashing? How about Reed vs. Stewart? Yellow and blue makes green, for the promoters, that is. I see this one really shaping up to be a grinder.
So for ya’ll attending, have a good time, but be mindful of your surroundings. I cast you out as sheep amongst the wolves. Keep your drink in your sights at all times. Make no mistake, Vegas is bat country!
Thanks for reading. See you next week.
