Rev-Up: The Thing That Should Not Be
January 21, 2010 1:35pm | by: Andy Bowyer
Messenger of fear in sight
Dark deception kills the night
Drain you of your sanity
Face the thing that should not be
Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Rev Up. Two things I love in this world are heavy metal music, and being right. I told you folks madness was headed your way last weekend, and well, read 'em and weep. It only took two rounds for the 2010 Monster Energy Supercross Series to go nuclear, and we will be feeling the Phoenix fallout for quite a while. I was driving down the road thinking about all of the craziness last Saturday night, then the old-school Metallica song, The Thing That Should Not Be, came on my iPod. I reached over and clicked the volume up on my remote and thought about seeing that number-one guy 20 feet in the air wearing a KX450F on his back. I thought about seeing #22 and #1 lying on the ground in a pile on lap five. Then I thought about rookie Ryan Dungey pulling away from Ryan Villopoto for the first win of his career, and a 16-point lead in the standings (over James Stewart, anyway, although RV is only nine points back). By all practical standards, those are things that should not be.
(“...seemed like a dream you know, like, it's not right." - James Stewart -- Racer X On-Line Video Interview)
Face it, that's the writing on the wall as we head toward a soggy night in Anaheim. No sympathy for the devil, ladies and gentlemen. It's time to get the shoulders back and prepare for more. If you've been watching the news, or reading your Cali buddies' Facebook posts, you know that Southern California has been getting drilled with precipitation. Preventive measures have been made by constructing the track early and getting her covered, but like all of the four elements, you can run but you can’t hide from rain. The track will be soft, rutted and sketchy. We're likely to see some Flying Ws as we return to Anaheim. Crank up the aforementioned song as we take a look at both classes.
250 Class
Isn't it weird how the drama has shifted between the 250 and 450 classes? The 250 group used to be the guys that nobody would predict, but thus far in 2010 the chips have fallen pretty much where I figured. Jake Weimer is ruling with an iron fist, Blake Wharton has been riding good, and Ryan Morais has been a podium machine, as per the norm. I don't think Trey Canard likes Phoenix too much. Last year, he lawn-darted into a berm, and this year he banged himself up in his heat race. There is a lot of racing to go, but I think 2011 will be Ice Trey's year in supercross. He's an outdoor guy and I hope he makes it to the Nats healthy.
While I think the podium will look pretty much the same with these guys, I'd keep an eye on Wil Hahn and Broc Tickle to make a cameo soon. They just need starts. Hahn has put down the second-fastest main event time two weeks in a row. In darkhorse country, you have Josh Hansen; nothing to lose, and a whole lot to prove on that Monster Energy/Pro Circuit rocketship.
450 Class
Oh, the drama. That's kind of how it's supposed to be, though. The positives are the huge buzz that's spread throughout our community. There is no such thing as bad press, and while it did take us (moto journalist community) until Wednesday to produce words from #22 and #1, it's all out there now. Another positive is that we have a shiny, new title contender that has a 16-point lead in the standings (over Stewart). Hurt or not, James can win six in a row and take back the points lead at Atlanta. But, as good as Dungey is riding, and as kooky as things have been thus far, that scenario will be interesting. The negatives are that we lost a title contender in Chad Reed. It's beyond me how the most consistent Supercross rider I've ever seen came out in the 2010 season with back-to-back 19th-place finishes and a broken hand. All things end badly, that's why they end. Is this the end of The Thunder from Down Under? Naw, he'll win another SX before he rides off into the Outback. But maybe not this year.
Suffice it to say, the 2010 season has caught our attention and the world will be watching, listening, and reading about it this coming Saturday night. All I hear is a growling electric guitar and a pounding bass drum...
Crawling chaos underground
Cult has summoned, twisted sound
All right, let's do it! What's going to happen this time?
Thanks for reading, see you next week.
Dark deception kills the night
Drain you of your sanity
Face the thing that should not be
Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Rev Up. Two things I love in this world are heavy metal music, and being right. I told you folks madness was headed your way last weekend, and well, read 'em and weep. It only took two rounds for the 2010 Monster Energy Supercross Series to go nuclear, and we will be feeling the Phoenix fallout for quite a while. I was driving down the road thinking about all of the craziness last Saturday night, then the old-school Metallica song, The Thing That Should Not Be, came on my iPod. I reached over and clicked the volume up on my remote and thought about seeing that number-one guy 20 feet in the air wearing a KX450F on his back. I thought about seeing #22 and #1 lying on the ground in a pile on lap five. Then I thought about rookie Ryan Dungey pulling away from Ryan Villopoto for the first win of his career, and a 16-point lead in the standings (over James Stewart, anyway, although RV is only nine points back). By all practical standards, those are things that should not be.
(“...seemed like a dream you know, like, it's not right." - James Stewart -- Racer X On-Line Video Interview)
Face it, that's the writing on the wall as we head toward a soggy night in Anaheim. No sympathy for the devil, ladies and gentlemen. It's time to get the shoulders back and prepare for more. If you've been watching the news, or reading your Cali buddies' Facebook posts, you know that Southern California has been getting drilled with precipitation. Preventive measures have been made by constructing the track early and getting her covered, but like all of the four elements, you can run but you can’t hide from rain. The track will be soft, rutted and sketchy. We're likely to see some Flying Ws as we return to Anaheim. Crank up the aforementioned song as we take a look at both classes.
250 Class
Isn't it weird how the drama has shifted between the 250 and 450 classes? The 250 group used to be the guys that nobody would predict, but thus far in 2010 the chips have fallen pretty much where I figured. Jake Weimer is ruling with an iron fist, Blake Wharton has been riding good, and Ryan Morais has been a podium machine, as per the norm. I don't think Trey Canard likes Phoenix too much. Last year, he lawn-darted into a berm, and this year he banged himself up in his heat race. There is a lot of racing to go, but I think 2011 will be Ice Trey's year in supercross. He's an outdoor guy and I hope he makes it to the Nats healthy.
While I think the podium will look pretty much the same with these guys, I'd keep an eye on Wil Hahn and Broc Tickle to make a cameo soon. They just need starts. Hahn has put down the second-fastest main event time two weeks in a row. In darkhorse country, you have Josh Hansen; nothing to lose, and a whole lot to prove on that Monster Energy/Pro Circuit rocketship.
450 Class
Oh, the drama. That's kind of how it's supposed to be, though. The positives are the huge buzz that's spread throughout our community. There is no such thing as bad press, and while it did take us (moto journalist community) until Wednesday to produce words from #22 and #1, it's all out there now. Another positive is that we have a shiny, new title contender that has a 16-point lead in the standings (over Stewart). Hurt or not, James can win six in a row and take back the points lead at Atlanta. But, as good as Dungey is riding, and as kooky as things have been thus far, that scenario will be interesting. The negatives are that we lost a title contender in Chad Reed. It's beyond me how the most consistent Supercross rider I've ever seen came out in the 2010 season with back-to-back 19th-place finishes and a broken hand. All things end badly, that's why they end. Is this the end of The Thunder from Down Under? Naw, he'll win another SX before he rides off into the Outback. But maybe not this year.
Suffice it to say, the 2010 season has caught our attention and the world will be watching, listening, and reading about it this coming Saturday night. All I hear is a growling electric guitar and a pounding bass drum...
Crawling chaos underground
Cult has summoned, twisted sound
All right, let's do it! What's going to happen this time?
Thanks for reading, see you next week.