Round 9 of the AMA supercross series visited the city of Indianapolis this past weekend, where it would be the last supercross race held at the RCA dome. The RCA dome will be demolished later this year to make way for a new, even bigger stadium that is double the size of the current dome. Needless to say this was a very special night in Indy.
RCA Dome
The last time Supercross will look like this in Indy. Photo: CWD
Indy also marks the 2nd round of the East coast lites championship. The east coast riders have had the first 8 weeks of the year off, and are ready to take to the tracks of supercross to battle.
Due to the cold weather in Indy this time of year, the pit area was inside a huge convention hall adjacent to the dome(basically across the hallway, as the convention center is also connected to the dome).All of the team semis were parked in a huge room, while the local privateers had to pit against the wall. It makes for a very cozy pit set-up for the teams and riders.
BBMX pit area in Indy. Photo: CWD
The Chad Reed designed track proved to be a technical layout that only saw one little sand section and a little whoop section before the finish line. No whoops, but two rhythem sections on each end of the stadium provided many options for combos/lines for the riders.
All the BBMX riders made the night show out of the practice qualifiers except for Matt Boni. Matt was experiencing bike issues all throughout both practices and could not lay down a solid lap. Look for Matt to bounce back in Daytona this weekend.
The Night Show:
Kyle Keylon was in the first heat of the night as the lites class raced to the first turn. Keylon had a mid-pack start and had to battle his way through traffic. Kyle had a few issues with the tricky rythem sections and cased a triple one lap. He finished 18th and his chance for his first main event would have to come through the LCQ.
Keylon with a great start in the LCQ. Photo:CWD
Kyle launched out of the gate in the Lites LCQ, and was running in 3rd for the first 2 laps. Keylon was passed for 3rd, but was still in a transfer position sitting in 4th. The last lap the pressure was on as Leighton Lillie was all over the back of Keylon. Coming into the last corner, Keylon grabbed too much brake, and slid out the rear end up over the edge of the last turn berm, ending his chance at transfer position. He would remount and finish 14th. Kyle will be out for redemption in Daytona and will be riding hard.
Keylon racing hard in the LCQ. Photo: CWD
In the SX class, JT$ and Bryan Johnson lined up on opposite ends of the dog house in SX heat one. Thomas and Johnson blasted out of the gate and got a great start. JT diced it up front and secured a 5th place finish, while Johnson made up positions and finished 8th to secure his spot in the main event.
The Main:
As the 20 rider gate headed toward turn one for the last time in the RCA dome, both JT and Johnson rounded the first corner middle of the pack fighting for 8th and 9th. On lap five, Johnson clipped a tough block and lost control of his bike, which sent him into the stadium wall that lines the track. The impact destroyed the front end of the bike, but Johnson was able to walk away un-injured.
Meanwhile, JT was having a good race, passing DV12 and Voss to secure 10th. On lap 14 Josh Summy crashed in the sand section in front of JT. JT had no where to go and slammed into Summy's bike. It took a few seconds for JT to untangle his front tire from Summy's bike, but by that time JT was down in 16th. He rode hard to gain 3 spots to finish the night in 13th.
As the exhaust fumes settled and the sound level came back down to normal, the last race at the RCA dome was over. The team packed things up and headed out that night for Daytona and in-store appearances at a few local shops in the Florida area.
If you are headed to Daytona, make sure you stop and say hi to the BBMX guys and let them know you are behind them 100%. Oh, and don't forget to take lots of photos and submit them to the website. The BBMX/Rick Case Honda/DNA Energy/BTOsports.com team will be in full force in Daytona!
JT's helmet and RacerX trading cards for Indy. Photo:CWD
For more information and race recaps of previous races this season, log on to www.butlerbrothersmx.com
RCA Dome
The last time Supercross will look like this in Indy. Photo: CWD
Indy also marks the 2nd round of the East coast lites championship. The east coast riders have had the first 8 weeks of the year off, and are ready to take to the tracks of supercross to battle.
Due to the cold weather in Indy this time of year, the pit area was inside a huge convention hall adjacent to the dome(basically across the hallway, as the convention center is also connected to the dome).All of the team semis were parked in a huge room, while the local privateers had to pit against the wall. It makes for a very cozy pit set-up for the teams and riders.
BBMX pit area in Indy. Photo: CWD
The Chad Reed designed track proved to be a technical layout that only saw one little sand section and a little whoop section before the finish line. No whoops, but two rhythem sections on each end of the stadium provided many options for combos/lines for the riders.
All the BBMX riders made the night show out of the practice qualifiers except for Matt Boni. Matt was experiencing bike issues all throughout both practices and could not lay down a solid lap. Look for Matt to bounce back in Daytona this weekend.
The Night Show:
Kyle Keylon was in the first heat of the night as the lites class raced to the first turn. Keylon had a mid-pack start and had to battle his way through traffic. Kyle had a few issues with the tricky rythem sections and cased a triple one lap. He finished 18th and his chance for his first main event would have to come through the LCQ.
Keylon with a great start in the LCQ. Photo:CWD
Kyle launched out of the gate in the Lites LCQ, and was running in 3rd for the first 2 laps. Keylon was passed for 3rd, but was still in a transfer position sitting in 4th. The last lap the pressure was on as Leighton Lillie was all over the back of Keylon. Coming into the last corner, Keylon grabbed too much brake, and slid out the rear end up over the edge of the last turn berm, ending his chance at transfer position. He would remount and finish 14th. Kyle will be out for redemption in Daytona and will be riding hard.
Keylon racing hard in the LCQ. Photo: CWD
In the SX class, JT$ and Bryan Johnson lined up on opposite ends of the dog house in SX heat one. Thomas and Johnson blasted out of the gate and got a great start. JT diced it up front and secured a 5th place finish, while Johnson made up positions and finished 8th to secure his spot in the main event.
The Main:
As the 20 rider gate headed toward turn one for the last time in the RCA dome, both JT and Johnson rounded the first corner middle of the pack fighting for 8th and 9th. On lap five, Johnson clipped a tough block and lost control of his bike, which sent him into the stadium wall that lines the track. The impact destroyed the front end of the bike, but Johnson was able to walk away un-injured.
Meanwhile, JT was having a good race, passing DV12 and Voss to secure 10th. On lap 14 Josh Summy crashed in the sand section in front of JT. JT had no where to go and slammed into Summy's bike. It took a few seconds for JT to untangle his front tire from Summy's bike, but by that time JT was down in 16th. He rode hard to gain 3 spots to finish the night in 13th.
As the exhaust fumes settled and the sound level came back down to normal, the last race at the RCA dome was over. The team packed things up and headed out that night for Daytona and in-store appearances at a few local shops in the Florida area.
If you are headed to Daytona, make sure you stop and say hi to the BBMX guys and let them know you are behind them 100%. Oh, and don't forget to take lots of photos and submit them to the website. The BBMX/Rick Case Honda/DNA Energy/BTOsports.com team will be in full force in Daytona!
JT's helmet and RacerX trading cards for Indy. Photo:CWD
For more information and race recaps of previous races this season, log on to www.butlerbrothersmx.com
3/7/2008 8:17am
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