Ask Ping!

Dear Mr. Ping,
I could not help but be totally offended with your obvious disrespect for the sport of ice-skating through the posting of that picture of the gold medal-winning skater on your most frequent Ask Ping segment! Nuff said,! I have enclosed my own photo supporting the ice skating sport, and the intensity they have in their eyes is amazing! Another sport I feel which has participants that are unjustly ridiculed as non-athletes is poker. My first question is, if they are not athletes why are their tournaments so readily available for viewing on major sports program channels? I have photo evidence of the intensity poker players exhibit which more than makes my point that they are athletes. My second question is: what can motocross/supercross do to get more of the valuable TV attention these other sports and athletes have so justly earned with their daring athleticism and thrill-a-minute performances?
Peace,
Randy

Dear Randy,
Wow, I thought that fruity guy in brown tights with little pink flowers on his uniform was a mess. I’m not sure what look these two were going for but they look like Fire Marshall Bill and a lady just crazy enough to light herself on fire. Now, I like the Olympics. The alpine skiing, short track skating, and even the hockey were really cool to watch. But curling, ice dancing, and whatever it was these two nut jobs are in the process of doing is just ridiculous. I don’t know what’s wrong with our society when more people tune into poker and lawn mower racing than motocross. Very sad.
PING

Hi Ping,
I was watching Supercross recently (the Indianapolis round) and I noticed that at least half of the 250cc riders that were interviewed have the same type of hair... you know, that fluffy fro-looking thing. Then the riders put their hats on and the fro just seems to hang out the sides. Kinda like a moto mullet; Business in the front, party in the back. Does this make you ride faster or jump higher? If that is the case I'm gonna stop cutting my hair immediately.
Thanks,
AJ

Dear AJ,
Fads are funny. Just the other day Wil Hahn and I were laughing about a company called JoJo’s. They were baggy, MC Hammer-looking pants that were completely badass back in the early 1990s. Their slogan was "JoJo for your BoBo." Classy. 
       The mullet is another great example. It’s just not cool anymore, but if you are over the age of 25 you probably had one at one point and loved it. I think it’s hilarious when I see people getting sucked into silly fashion fads. How about those flat-billed hats with the sticker on them? And how about everyone tucking their ears into their hats now? Do you have any idea how badly you would’ve gotten your ass kicked in my high school if you did that back in 1993? Do you have any idea how frequently you would get your ass kicked now if you went out wearing Z-Cavaricci pants with the tall and tight waist and the rolled cuffs at the bottom like I did then? At some point, all the stuff that seems weird when you first see it usually ends up being weird. The shaggy hair that so many guys are running right now will look absolutely ridiculous five or six years from now. So go ahead and get your hippie on… we’ll have a good laugh about it in 2020.
PING

Hey Ping,
I will admit there was a time I could not stand you, but what you're doing today is pretty cool. It’s good to see guys stay in the sport and have meaning. My question is, would you do the U.S. Open and race one-on-one with an old rival, Greg Schnell?
Ron Filkins

Dear Ron,
It’s good to hear that someone that actually hated my guts with a white-hot passion has come around and decided to take an apathetic stance towards me. Yes! I used to have a few enemies on the track. Greg and I hated each other ever since the 1996 Anaheim supercross. I holeshot and led the opening lap until Greg ran up the inside of me, took me wide and I crashed. I ended up crashing again later in that race with James Dobb, the whoop-section yard sale would end up in heavy rotation in crash reels worldwide. I was an angry young man back then and Greg got the wrath of that the following weekend and every weekend after that. It wasn’t until I quit racing that I realized what a waste of time it is to hold grudges like that. I’ve since patched up the bad relationship I had with Greg, Brian Deegan (funny story with me and him at Ponca City in 1992… another column), Mike Metzger and a several others.

Would I show up for a grudge match with Greg in Vegas? Sure. This time I’ll let him lead the first lap.

PING

Got a question for Ping? Email him at ping@racerxonline.com.