My Dallas Thoughts

I didn't make it out to the stadium until about an hour before the night show, but only because I was out getting some seat time beforehand. It didn't take long after seeing the track to find out this was a sketchy situation. The dirt looked even harder than usual, and there were way too many 90 degree turns. That being said, I liked the technical rhythm sections. Timing was everything. The whoops were super lame for the night show. I guess they didn't want the first race for the 250 East series to have big whoops. The first turn looked like a meat wagon call waiting to happen, but there ended up being far less carnage there than I had expected. The last jump in the first rhythm after the start made a come from behind victory to become the most treacherous part of the track. Davalos had a pretty good one there, followed by another lesser one, though I do feel that him crashing in a main isn't exactly abnormal. He still rode very well on a mangled bike with a begooner visor, so I shouldn't bag on him too much.

Adam motha-truckin' Cianciaurulo! That kid was amazing. The heat race was good, but I have to admit, I was just thinking, "Good for him, but there's no way he's beating Baggett over 15 laps. I was wrong! It wasn't so much Adam's speed that impressed me. The more extraordinary feature of his main event ride was his race-craft maturity. He didn't start riding erratically under pressure from the #4, he just kept his cool and rode forward. I can't imagine how mentally strong you have to be as a rookie and be in that position, inheriting the lead like that, and having a national champion breathing down your neck. Kudos to AC. I think Baggett decided second was good enough after they started catching lappers; he rolled the finish on a later lap and then put his "el chupacabra" charge back under wraps. It was a pretty crazy race, overall.
I bet Mitch Payton is one jolly fellow after the trials and tribulations his team has gone through the past year or so.

The 450 race was less crazy at the front, but there was definitely some carnage. Alessi's first turn debacle was quite humorous. When Dungey had the lead, I thought things were going to get really interesting. Dunge and Stew had done drama back at A3, and I was hoping "Angry Dunge" would be making another appearance. Much to my dismay, the #5 bike swerved completely out of JS7's way and allowed him to pass Dungey more easily than almost any lapper did. Yeah, the lappers were pretty terrible. I think that has a lot to do with the abundance of 90 degree corners, especially in this hardpack, blue-groove situation.

The line that Stewart and Dungey started hitting after the finish was so cool to watch. There was almost no margin for error. If you clipped that middle hump in the first triple while carrying that much, you were in for a ride. Even though James had a berth suitable for a cruise ship when passing for the lead, he railed. He executed his lines to perfection throughout the sea of lappers, even though he did have a couple of classic Stewart swaps in the whoops. I think he really has become a smoother rider. He just looks more neutral on the bike.

A couple of side notes:
Steve Matthes has been critical of Erv Braun's announcing at times (most times...okay, all the time), and used Chris Blose as an example of someone who couldn't win when Erv said "anyone can win" several weeks back. Well, while showing the text poll on who was going to win the 450 main, which includes the selection "other rider" Erv made the remark that "maybe that other rider could be Chris Blose. SHOTS FIRED. Haha.

The electronic starting board had a malfunction before the start of one of the mains, and the Monster girl kept hitting it and getting it to work, but it would inevitably quit again. There was a comical scatter of officials running about. One guy handed her the plastic board, then a hero came in and saved the day with a replacement electronic board.

Oh, and shout out to local boy Teddy Parks for making the main in a great ride.

Looking forward to Houston!