Rev Up: Las Vegas
April 30, 2009 4:35pm | by: Andy Bowyer
More than that, the series as a whole has been pretty much phenomenal. The live broadcasts, the stellar spectator turnouts, and all three titles being close made for a wonderful winter of supercross. The best thing about it all is that, with Vegas on the board this weekend, it still has the potential for more fireworks. Perhaps the most explosive of the year. It's time for somebody to put the title belt around their waist and hold both arms up.
Title time aside, the Vegas supercross is one of the best party weekends of the year. From the casinos, to the girls, to the plethora of afterparties, and after-afterparties, the place is going to roll all weekend. The Dave Coombs Sr. East/West Shootout looks as nasty as it's ever been, and only 20 laps remain with the big boys. Let's give this pig another kick and take it around one last time indoors. Let's watch the colored flames dance a final time, see the lasers shoot through the smoke, and ready ourselves for the final charge of the 2009 Monster Energy Supercross Series. Let's roll the neck, throw the dice, and Rev it.
Whoa, Nelly, do we have a big one here! Who do ya love? C-Pour, Dungey, Weimer, Morais, Stroupe, or Canard? One of those cats will win it. Before I go any further, big ups to Ryan Dungey for earning his first professional championship. About four years ago, Ricky Carmichael told me, "Watch that Dungey kid, he's the real deal." Looks like Ryan has his racing program right where he wants it and as the two-time defending winner of this race, he'll be tough to hold back.
On the other hand, I'm a big fan of mother momentum and right now Trey Canard has a lot on his side. I think Trey favors softer dirt, but he's been getting good starts and if he finds a groove out there he'll try to run and hide. Another West Coast name that deserves a look is Morais. Ryan hasn't won yet and he'll be ready to lay it on the table for his last shot at a main-event win.
If you're a fan of great vengeance and furious anger, Jake Weimer is looking through a set of red eyes for this one. It was a grand fight between he and Dungey and he came up five points short. I'd look for #19 to be carrying the mail on a quest for a little redemption and personal pride. What about his eastside teammate, Pourcel? Christophe has already climbed Mt. Everest to get back to his old form and this main event may just be small molehill for him. The boy's smooth, and that's much needed artillery for the always hard-pan Vegas terra firma.
It's the last time for the Lites guys to race indoors, but the first time we'll get a look at what the gate will look like at Glen Helen – minus Tommy Searle, Tyla Rattray, Justin Barcia, Max Anstie, etc.
I'm not exactly sure what the points spread was between Chad Reed and Carmichael back in 2003, but I think it was around six points. Reed won that night easily, and that's exactly what he'll have to do if he wants his third championship. James Stewart has it a lot mellower. He can go out there and ride at 70-percent and place himself on the podium and win the series that he has owned since the second round. Yes, Chad held the points lead longer, but 194 laps led and 11 main-event wins color this year's title blue.
But, there's more to it. A lot more.
Some nastiness emerged last weekend in Utah. “Team tactics” is a term that always makes me cringe. I watched the videos, read the interviews, and heard whispers about what happened. Was it low-down, shit-ass racing? I really don't think so. My opinion matters not, what does matter is that is was enough to make things extremely tense. Chad's teammate Mike Alessi always gets the holeshot and he'll be a factor. Will Mikey play tactics? He has shown he'll do whatever it takes for himself, but what will he do for his team? Is Rockstar/Makita Suzuki bitter about last weekend? Yep.
Whatever happens, it's clear the FIM has an eye trained on the possibilities.
Screw that, though. All I want is 20 more laps. Two men enter, one man leaves. If James claims the title, good, he earned it. If Chad wins on the heels of a Stewart misfortune, good, he earned it, too. It's like the first sticker I ever bought at the Motocross Shack back in Kansas. "When the gate drops, the BS stops."
So, I send you guys out to Bat Country with a lot to look forward to. You ever been out at a club or a party and had a great time dancing with a girl? You know how cool it is when they announce one last song? You know it’s your last chance to win or go home with your tail between your legs. Reed and Stewart don't have anything to bow their heads about because they've been awesome.
Time for one last dance. Time to finish the game.
Thanks for reading see you next week.
