Life Inside the Supercross Circuit 1






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We're looking forward to heading to the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indy to see what happens next in the 2011 Monster Energy Supercross series. It's been a while since we've had this many title contenders healthy and competitive this deep in the season...though by riding smart and consistent, Ryan Villopoto has been piling up points, and now has a gap of 23 over James Stewart, 24 over Chad Reed, and 31 over Ryan Dungey. But it's way to early to call this one. As we've seen so far, just about anything can happen. Do we expect more surprises between now and the end of the season? You bet.



Despite the Daytona Bike Week racing calendar being split up, with Supercross last weekend, and road racing next weekend, rather than all in span of a few back-to-back days, the crowd was strong there.



"Hey, are we going to do a parade lap?" Kevin Windham looking for his mechanic, Brian Calma, during rider introductions, and wondering how he's going to ride without goggles. GuyB did a poor impersonation of running, and helped retrieve his Spys.



DNA Shred Stix / Star Racing / Yamaha's Gannon Audette has shown plenty of speed so far, but maybe tuning it back a notch would prove beneficial to his results.



Kilbarger Racing's Nico Izzi has show plenty of flashes of his old speed, but doesn't have a lot to show for it so far this year, with a 15th, DNQ, and a 17th.



After a mechanical DNF in his heat race and a broken case, Mike Gosselaar and the Rockstar Makita Suzuki crew had to scramble to get the engine swapped in Ryan Dungey's RM-Z450, and get him set for the LCQ.



Teamwork. After his Lites heat race, Justin Barcia stopped by Trey Canard's spot on the line to offer up some tips on the track conditions to Trey's mechanic, Brett Presnell.



It's been a while since we've seen Gavin Gracyk in action, and he was at Daytona on a Cycra-backed Honda.



Daytona was the last stop on Ken Roczen's 2011 Supercross tour...well, until Seattle, that is. He'll head back to Germany to get ready for the GP season, and be back to finish up the Lites West series. His holeshot of the second Supercross heat at Daytona had to be a highlight.



Valli Motorsports Rockstar Yamaha's Ricky Dietrich was in a potential transfer spot in the LCQ, but got off-line in a mogul section, and said he got cleaned out in the next corner. He'll now focus on preparations for the 2011 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship.



Three races into the 2011 Lites East title chase, and Malcolm Stewart (Team Suzuki City Nitro Circus) put in his best race so far, a seventh.



Another best-of-the-season ride went to Jason Anderson (Rockstar Energy Suzuki), who was sixth. We're still hoping for a good outcome for his teammate, Ian Trettel, who crashed in Daytona and suffered some brain trauma.



Les Smith (Jimmy Weinert Racing) had missed the first two main events so far, but came through at Daytona with a tenth-place finish.



After Antonio Balbi crashed during practice, suffering a concussion, it was all spectating for MotoConcepts Yamaha Team Manager, David Vuillemin, and Brent Myron. Pretty soon they're going to need replacements for their replacements, as Antonio Balbi will have to return to Brazil to start his season down there.



Consistentcy pays: Matt Lemoine is in seventh spot in the Lites East standings with finishes that include a pair of ninths and a tenth.



After a rough weekend in Atlanta, James Stewart (San Manuel Red Bull Yamaha) was on a mission at Daytona. Here's his lead...after one lap. (Yep, that green dot back there is Ryan Villopoto.) The crash that happened a couple laps later was a surprise, and the ride after he remounted was amazing. But with a 23-point deficit, he'll need to put together a string of wins to start reeling in Villopoto.



Ryan Villopoto's being smart and consistent so far this season. Yep, some things have swung his way this season, but he's making the most of it.



An annual tradition at Daytona is for the crowd to come across the infield and join the podium celebration. They came prepped with signs (some nicer than others), and plenty of enthusiasm.

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