Dallas Observations

Dallas Observations


Track notes:

Was excited to see the track and expected it to take the riders longer to get around than most previous tracks due to the size of the seventh wonder of the world (the stadium itself gets this title in a last turn block pass on the 40 million dollar telivision hanging from the ceiling) but it turned out to be the shortest track of the year to my memory. During the first (free) practices, the section before the finish looked slightly awkward for the riders because of the landing of the double after the single being very peaked. The dirt wurx crew was quick to shave the landing of said double off a bit. Apparently there was much discontent about the sand section, as it was modified multiple times throughout the day. Overall I thought the track was one of the best this year and definitely one of the most technically challenging.


Rider notes:

Barcia did not seem to be as on edge as previous races and might be gradually smoothing out. I nearly never saw Pourcel try to get in a fast lap, he was normally just rolling around at about two miles an hour. He was also looking around quite a bit, maybe scavenging for "the little kid"? It was puzzling. One thing I liked about Pourcel was, when he was putting in the seldom-to-be-witnessed hot lap, the frenchman's exceptional throttle control whilst navigating the slick starting line section. Boy got mad skills. Or is it killer skullz? Danny Dolan, maybe help me out here? Windham came so very close to holding the fastest practice time for the ump-teenth time only to be bested by Dungey on the last lap of practice. Brayton gets a shout out for being the only rider I witnessed all day in the section after the rhythm section that followed the start to jump from the dragonback all the way over the single following it. I was impressed with Kyle Regal's speed and skill on the 450 but something told me he was riding a little over his head possibly. He was jumping all of the sections to the same tune of the top guys and just seemed to be doing things I wouldn't particularly encourage. J-law took off at the start of one practice session before the AMA official gave the signal.


Heat Races and LCQ's:

First of all, I want to mention Tevin Tapia, who ended up on the ground in the first turn in all three starts that he was in. I don't know what was up with Metcalfe, he couldn't hold it together in his heat. Same with Windham. Both of the Geico Honda boys completely lost their composure in their heat races it seemed. Pourcel had two or three close calls all back to back in his heat race but kept it together for the most part. Before I move on from Windham, I have to mention his ballsy move after stalling his bike in his heat. K-dub stalled it and got the bike started about twenty feet before the face of the only standard triple on the track and still goes for it! Very cool to watch. Stroupe was very fast in his heat and was all day. He looked very dialed and ready to get that elusive win. The lites lcq was total mayhem up until the red flag after lap 2. Not sure why they re- started, I thought the rule was that they score on the last lap if half of the laps were completed? Sean Lipanovich pulled the start the first time and had a postion in the main locked down until losing concentration and falling in a bowl turn. The restart gave Metty another chance, as the veteran had fallen in the first turn before the restart. He pulled the holeshot with Lipanovich in tow, Bagget in fourth. Bagget quickly made the passes he needed and rode smart to collect the last gate in the main.


Lites Main:

The lites main was a total mind boggle from start to finish. Pretty much every top guy was on the ground in turn one, Barcia being the first big name to get going with Stroupe right on his heels and Pourcel still kicking his bike back to life wondering what the hell happened. The fastest two lucky riders who evaded the first turn shenanigans were Sipes and Bagget. Barcia swifltly invaded the podium party and looked to be the man on the move. One could have thrown a snuggie over the top three for nearly all of the race. Barcia later said he was riding with no front brake the whole race, which would explain why he couldn't quite make it happen with Sipes or Bagget. Lappers came into play and held up Sipes, presenting a golden opportunity for Mr. Bagget. He took the lead near the finish with Sipes and "Bam Bam" Barcia rounding out the podium. One thing that was unorthodox compared to the rest of the season was Stroupe being totally inconsistent and crashing all over the place. He somehow ended up fifth with Pourcel seventh.


Supercross Class Main:

Nick Wey proved that he can holeshot on his TiLube Kawasaki just like he did on the Factory bike by taking the $1500 Spike holeshot award. Dungey made quick work of him and remained out front unchallenged. Canard methodically made his way through the pack like a true veteran and showed yet again that he will be a threat next year, awkwarly challenging the man who he might replace next year, Davi Millsaps. Millsaps looked to challenge #5 early but lost sight later on until the end of the race, where the gap shrinked. A charging Canard and cruising Dungey most likely contributed to this. Villopoto suffered on the start and slowly crawled his way back to the top five.


The first Jone Dome supercross was a great event. Shout out to Tommy Hahn for riding Jesse Masterpool's bike during open ceremonies. We are all praying for you Jesse.