The List: When the Series Balloon Bursts

That's the way Saturday afternoon felt in Nashville when Red Bull KTM's Cooper Webb, just 11 points down on Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's Eli Tomac, crashed on the exit of a corner and was clipped by the closely following Kawasaki of Adam Cianciarulo. The whole stadium gasped at the sight (and seemingly sound) of Webb getting hit like that, followed by the entire stadium releasing a collective groan. The three-race stretch run for what's been a fantastic series was pretty much ruined, though everyone—including Cianciarulo, Tomac, Honda's Chase Sexton, Barcia, and more—were relieved that Webb's injuries were limited to a concussion. Unfortunately, it also marked the end of his run at a third title against Tomac—compounded by the late-race crash of Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GasGas rider Justin Barcia that left him with a broken collarbone, and then the midweek news that Monster Energy Kawasaki's Jason Anderson will miss the rest of the series with a neck injury from a practice crash in Nashville. 

In 2005 we were just one muddy main event and a few practice laps into the "perfect storm" that was supposed to be James Stewart's move to the premier 250 class and an impending showdown with his old 125/250 rival Chad Reed and the GOAT himself, Ricky Carmichael. But in his early practice at the second round at Phoenix, #259 Stewart crashed and suffered a broken arm. Despite it being much, much earlier in the series, the news hit the supercross audience hard: the "perfect storm" would have to wait another year.

Stewart was involved in other similar moments in both '08 and '10. In that first year both he and Chad Reed looked to be at their peaks, splitting wins and runner-ups in the first two rounds. But then before round three (Anaheim 2 SX) the Kawasaki team that Stewart was riding for called a post-practice press conference: Stewart's knee, injured the previous summer at Washougal, was not fully healed. He was dropping out, ending the anticipated Stewart-Reed battle we were all waiting for after just two rounds.

Fast forward to 2010 and the race we mentioned in the intro, the one where RV injures his knee while chasing Dungey. They were in that position because Stewart again had to drop out after winning the opener—but this time he waited until the third round. James and Chad Reed crashed together at the second round in Phoenix which left Reed with a broken hand. Then Stewart bounced back for third at A2 while Dungey began to assert himself. We were just getting started back up in our bench racing when Stewart was again forced to the bench, with another untimely injury. This time it was his wrist—he had actually broken it in a huge crash during the heat race at Phoenix—that would push him to the sidelines for the rest of the season. He would come back outdoors for a single race, Unadilla, where he went 3-DNS.

Sometimes the balloon doesn't burst so much as it just deflates over the course of an afternoon. That's what happened way back in 1992 at the final round Los Angeles Coliseum race, that notorious day when Yamaha's Damon Bradshaw just couldn't get himself going again, while Honda's Jeff Stanton just flat took off. Twenty crazy, frustrating laps later, Bradshaw was still riding on eggshells in fifth-place while Stanton was celebrating a third SX title in four years.  

In 1997 Suzuki-mounted Jeremy McGrath got off to a lousy start to what he was hoping would be a fifth-straight AMA Supercross Championships, struggling to get used to his new Suzuki RM250 after four championship seasons with Honda. Jeremy started putting things together right when early series points leader Doug Henry of the Yamaha team went out with a broken arm. Standing between MC and the SX title was Kawasaki's Jeff Emig—the same rival that had prevented him from accomplishing a perfect season the year before. Emig wanted the SX title badly to add to the outdoor crowns he already had, but with four rounds to go Jeremy was coming. He almost certainly would have won the Pontiac Silverdome but ended up giving the win away instead with a crash in the funky grandstands section. But he was right there, just two points down. And then McGrath looked solid at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and had a good shot there, only to realize he had a flat front tire on lap nine. He soldiered on to seventh, while Emig was fourth. That put the points gap at six points with just two rounds to go—both riders controlled their own destiny. Dallas was next, then Las Vegas, and everyone prepared to see a battle royale between these not-so-friendly rivals. Unfortunately, it didn't work out at all like that. The Dallas round (actually held in the old Texas Stadium at Irving) had an open-roof. When a rainstorm hit, it seemed to spell trouble for McGrath, as the St. Louis-born Emig was always a good mudder. And that trouble came in the very first turn when McGrath got caught up in a big pileup and Emig raced away with easy win and a 13-point lead going into the last round. The series had lost its grand conclusion, as Emig just rode smart and safe at Vegas to secure the title. The race is probably most remembered for Doug Henry showing up on that white Yamaha prototype thumper and changing the future of supercross bikes that same night.  

Sometimes the air goes out of a series, but it doesn't change the championship. In 2012 Kawasaki's Ryan Villopoto had already wrapped up the championship and was on a four-race winning streak going into the Seattle round, his hometown race. But in the main event RV twisted his knee badly going into a corner and ended up out for the series, as well as the summer. Villopoto was still so far out front that he won the series by 57 points, despite missing the final two rounds in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. Chaparral Honda's Andrew Short was the lucky recipient of Villopoto's bad luck in Seattle, and then Red Bull KTM's Ryan Dungey won the last two rounds. RV's departure didn't cost him the title, but it did cost him a shot at repeating as double SX/MX Champion like he did the previous seasons. It was definitely a balloon burst for both series. 

And sometimes it doesn't even happen during the series. In September 1979, Bob Hannah was taking a break after having swept both the AMA Supercross Championship (for the third year in a row) and the AMA 250 Pro Motocross Championship (for the second year in a row) and even the Trans-AMA Series. Hannah was water-skiing with his friend and rival Marty Tripes at Lake Havasu when he got too close to the shore and ended up badly breaking his leg. It cost Hannah not only the Trans-AMA titles, but the following year's SX and MX titles, badly deflating the interest in either series. Hannah would never be the same—he would not win another title post-injury. It's hard to imagine how different the record books would like had Bob Hannah not gone water-skiing that day in September '79.  

Same goes for David Bailey and Donnie Hansen, both Team Honda factory riders who were literally in the prime of their careers. In September '82 Hansen was coming off a remarkable run, having helped Team USA win the '81 Trophee and Motocross des Nations, as well as the AMA Supercross and 250 Pro Motocross Championships. He went to Europe to prepare for the Nations races, winning the final Grand Prix of the '82 FIM 250cc World Championships in Sweden. But then "Holeshot" was practicing at Rolf Dieffenbach's home in Germany when he crashed hard and suffered a severe concussion that turned out to be a career-ender. David Bailey was also practicing in January '87 at the Golden State warm-up race at Lake Huron in California when he went down hard. It was the "Little Professor" with a broken back that paralyzed him from the waist down. He was the reigning 500cc National Champion and was preparing to take on Honda teammate Rick Johnson for the AMA Supercross crown when the crash happened. In both cases, the accidents took the air end of the championships to follow, before they even started.