The last time we were in Texas, Dean Wilson called himself “Barcia's bitch” in a post-race interview after the GEICO Powersports Honda rider got the better of Deano in Houston. This time, the boot was on the other foot as Wilson rode a masterful fifteen-lap race to take the Dallas SX main-event win on his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki. He also seemed to erase that unfortunate label he’d given himself at the East Region opener: Dean Wilson is nobody's bitch right now! He's got the first modest winning streak of his career, having tacked the second Texas race onto his Toronto win.
Barcia and Wilson went back and forth all night.
Photo: Simon Cudby
The points, however, tell a slightly different story. Barcia wisely tempered his game, and rather than getting physical with Wilson after the late-race pass that cost him the lead, Barcia thought better of a do-or-die pass, or even a pick-up pass (that’s where both riders go down and see who picks bike up first). He took the three-point loss in stride and now holds a 13-point edge with two rounds to go....
And that's where it gets interesting. Rather than see the East Region tour end in St. Louis next weekend, Wilson and Barcia (not to mention Ryan Sipes, Blake Baggett, Malcolm Stewart, Darryn Durham, and the rest) will have to wait until May 7 to put a cap on this championship and see who takes the #1E plate. That's because Las Vegas now counts as the final round of the 2011 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series for the big bikes and as the last round for both the East and the West Lites. And then they have the Dave Coombs Sr. East-West Shootout, which will see all of these kids going up against the best of the West, which means Hansen, Tickle, Tomac, Rattray, and more.
Wilson would eventually get the best of Barcia, en route to his second consecutive win.
Photo: Simon Cudby
With all three championship classes apparently going down to the wire, and then a shootout to boot—and the fact that Manny Pacquiao is fighting Shane Mosley—Las Vegas is looking like it could be one hell of a night!
