I have been a lifelong motocross racer, rider, reader, and consumer. I have read Racer X magazine from the start when it was still a paper. Your content is almost 100 percent positive—or to put it another way, you only seem to show the bright, happy side of the motocross world. Why never the dark side or the side that does not always paint the happy-go-lucky lifestyle? I am talking about Tyler Evans, Dave Mirra (albeit different sport, just to use as an example), Alex Harvill, Mike Cinqmars, Ryan Capes, and just recently Trigger Gumm. ESPN and Sports Illustrated don’t do that. These stories don’t make us feel warm and fuzzy, but they are interesting, charismatic people that we know. We want to read about them, what happened to them? Why they ended up the way they did. The good parts of their story, but also the downfall. It can not only be a great story but an educational one too. I’m curious about them and I want to read a greatly written piece about them. Are they any less deserving? You may point me to one or two stories you have written at some point, but I see 99 percent bright side.

Tony McFarland / Racer X Online

Thanks for the note, Tony. We don’t do many of those stories in the magazine, but we always report on them online when they happen—and in the past we have done some fairly heavy articles on the off-track struggles of Ron Lechien, Austin Stroupe, and the late Phil Alderton of Yamaha of Troy fame, who died of a heroin overdose. We do tend to focus on the positive, but I agree that a not-so-warm-and-fuzzy is in order from time to time. Stay tuned. DC