Dallas SX – Notes, observations and such.

This may be lengthy, so pull up a chair, fix a drink and read on.

First off, I have to say that the Monster Energy Drink logo is every where at the races. When the deal was first announced that Monster would be the title sponsor, I was a bit concerned whether or not they could handle it. Well, rest assured, they’re handling it. You can’t go any where now without seeing Monster this or Monster that. Good for them and good for Supercross (but I still won’t drink that shit).

Secondly, whoever decided that it would be a good idea to hand out thousands of those plastic Toyota pit boards for people to write stuff on and hold up for the cameras, needs punched in the neck. Nothing pisses me off more than hand held signs held up right in front of me while I’m watching practice or racing on the track. And to that little punk who kept holding his up after I repeatedly asked not to do so unless the cameras were on him, sorry about that Mountain Dew I spilled during that 450 heat race. I know your shirt and pants were soaked and you probably had sticky back the whole night, but it just slipped right out of my hands when the lid was off.

To someone at LiveNation: Which one of you decided it would be okay to let all the kids in the pits on those damn razor scooter thingys? Then, the little rats got ‘em in the stadium! Either you or security need to ring the necks of them little bastages. Seriously.

Also spotted in the pits, the ridiculously gorgeous Jamie Little. It was comical watching a tidal wave of heads turning as she walked by. I sure wish we had her back on the telecast.

Saw 500Guy (not near as cute as Jamie Little by the way), but he was in deep talks with some guys and when I came back with my $9 BBQ sammich and $5 bottle of water, he had disappeared. Sorry Jay, I’ll catch you next time.

Attendance was frighteningly low. Lowest I’ve ever seen for the Dallas SX. But, since most Motodrivers will say the economy is doing just fine, I’ll let them explain why there were so many seats left empty. Should I care? Not really. But do I? Yeah, I do, believe it or not. Attendance is critical at these events and the sport can’t continue to bleed internally the way it does and keep going. Who’s to blame? No one specifically, but someone (ahem, LiveNation….when you’re done with the little bastages and their razor scooters, you may wanna look into this) needs to.

Weather was near perfect. Blue skies, warm temperatures. It really couldn’t have been better as far as the weather was concerned.

The track? Not so perfect. One phrase I heard to describe the track was “Awful”. Another pro rider said the track was “Shitty, really shitty”. And yet another referred to it as “A really shitty arenacross track, but bigger”.

Girls, it’s a Supercross race, not a fashion show. The six inch heels, halter dresses, $400 designer jeans, leather skirts, and dinner plate-sized earrings are a bit much don’t ya think? And those cheesy retro 1970’s-ish sunglasses that didn’t even look good on Farrah Fawcett have to go. Oh, and the eating disorders need to be left at home as well. Seeing a girl with legs as thick as a toothbrush handle is just wrong. Eat a sammich for cryin’ out loud!

And don’t even get me started on the girl across the aisle from me. She was either trying REALLY hard to pull off her best Amy Winehouse, or she just crawled out of rehab….no no no.

Practice was fun to watch. I always have a good time sitting and watching riders dissect a track and see the different lines and rhythms that develop. What we as fans see up in the seats is totally different than the riders see from the seat of their bikes.

Three things stood out in practice most:

1. Tommy Hahn’s crash over one of the triples scared the shit outta me, I’m sure he’d agree. On the approach to the face of the jump, his bike just died. At that speed, on a jump like that, you know what happened. The front end dropped like mad, but Tommy rode it out and caught the landing on the front wheel and crashed over the bars. Luckily, he walked away. I talked to younger brother Wil later in the evening, and he too agreed that it was scary. The bike puked on Tommy again in the main (after an impressive 3rd in his heat race) and he wisely pulled off instead of risking injury. Glad you’re alright, Tommy.

2. The Lites guys seem more aggressive in practice. Not sure why, but that’s what it looked like to me. Canard, Grant, and Villopoto all attacked the track from the start of practice. Other Lites riders rode very aggressive as well.

3. No DV12. Where the hell is DV12? Every race I go to, I always try to make my way to go see and say hi to DV. He’s always been a class guy to me and I always try to stop and catch up with Le Cobra (if in Texas, he should be Le Rattlesnake). More on that later.

Speaking of DV, his absence left only one Suzuki in the 450 night show. That Suzuki belonged to the #17 of Robbie Reynard. Reynard’s a fan favorite and has been for many years. His perseverance through pain and injury is unreal and the stuff of legend. But last night, Robbie rode well, but couldn’t get the starts he needed to make the main. Maybe Roger would loan Robert and Robbie DV’s motor for a few weeks? I know, I’m dreamin’….

The girl that sang the national anthem....she done good. Really good. Glad she didn't butcher it.

Lites Class: The Lites class is deeeeeeep. From the start of the day, it was apparent that Villopoto, Ryan Sipes, and Canard were on their game. Grant, Davalos, Jesseman and a few others were just a fraction off it seemed. If someone were to have a bad start or bad luck, it could be anyone’s game. And that’s exactly what happened to points leader and LCQ winner Trey Canard right off the start of the main when he was collected in a tangle of bikes in the first rhythm section. Hung up long enough to relegate him to nearly last place, Canard put his head down and charged like a bull in Pampalona. The crowd, aware of Trey's situation cheered like mad (not me, I was nervous as an Enron accountant) for most of the 15 laps.

At the checkers, it was Villopoto who took the win followed by Grant, and then Davalos. Had it gone one more lap, Canard could have very well podiumed the race as he was hot on the heels of the mercurial Ecuadorian, Davalos.

Sadly though, we never got to see the highly talented Sipes as he didn’t make the main. A crash in his heat race and a bad finish in the LCQ left the friendly Kentuckian in the bleachers for the main. Better luck next time, Ryan.

450 class: Windham put on a clinic in his heat race. It was a display of dominance we’ve not seen since the #4 Suzuki drove off into the sunset last year. Windham makes going fast on a dirt bike look easy. It kinda sucks really. But anyone who knows this sport that if Kevin wins or if he finishes last, he has a huge legion of faithful fans in Texas. The stadium roared every time K-dub took the track. In the other heat race, Josh Hill once again showed his talent aboard a 450 as he took the other heat race win.

In the 450 main, Travis Preston shot out of the gate like a missile and led lap one until making a small mistake allowing The Yamahas of Reed and Hill to get by. Windham, the obvious fan favorite, got a less than spectacular start but began gaining ground on the front pack. But with Reed out front and Hill in second, the only battle left to fight was for that of third. Millsaps, Windham, and Tim Ferry (I didn’t see man-friend Matthes on the back of the seat holding on). At race’s end, it was Millsaps holding onto third, Windham fourth, and Ferry fifth. Anyway, this ain’t a race report, so just watch it on Speed at 5pm (or 6pm, or 4pm….depending where you live).

Here’s a real race report by everyone's favorite former Motodriver –
http://www.racerxill.com/articles/detail/3155/dallas-sx-race-report.aspx

After the races, myself and a few friends made our way back out toward the Torco Racing/Factory Connection/Honda rig to pat Canard on the back and wish him and mechanic Brent a hearty congratulations. Trey still has the points lead with two races to go. Go get it done, Trey, I believe in you….as do the thousands of other fans you have.

In the pits, it was way less crowded after the races than it is before. I stopped and spoke with Mitch Payton and shook the legend’s hand and told him how much respect and admiration he has from not only myself, but from fans allover the world. He smiled (I’ve never seen him smile before) and thanked me.

So then I stopped by Suzuki and asked about DV12. One of the mechanics, unclear of what I said, responded with, “Yeah, that’s his bike.”. Wait….huh? So I told him I was curious where Le Rattlesnake (if he was a BMX racer, he’d have to be Le Diamond Back, ha ha ha!!!!!!) was and he told me that DV had left after the first practice. Something about a sore back. I know how that goes. Back pain is terrible. Get well soon Le Rattlesnake!

Finally, as I was walking away from there, I spotted Andy Bowyer and we stopped, shook hands and chit chatted a bit. It was then I reminded him, that I still needed to get a Clint Bowyer hat for my dad (my old man is a huge NASCAR fan now days). Well, as it would be, I was in luck. Clint himself was right around there somewhere and so Andy whipped out his cell phone and started tracking brother Clint down. After a few minutes, Andy’s dad walked up and after we made introductions, Mr. Bowyer himself took his hat right off his head and handed it to me, smiling the whole time and acting if we’d been best buds our whole lives.

Soon after, we found Clint and I told him my dad would be super-pumped (RC reference there) to get this hat, could he please sign it for me? Sure enough, Clint walked over to the Pro Circuit/Kawi truck and immediately began rummaging through the tool boxes searching for a Sharpie. Once he found one, my hat was signed and I thanked Clint, Andy, and the rest of the crew and headed out to come back home….a short little 6 hour drive home (some of you will get that joke). Those Bowyers are truly good people.

So, on my way home, I stopped at the folks' house and gave my dad the hat and told him to cheer for Clint today. My old man was super pumped over that hat...and that made my weekend right there.