Serious illness forces Stewart to the sidelines

First, get well James. Your health is more important than anything. Anything. Even Larry Brooks said it is your "first priority" in this press release titled

Team San Manuel's James Stewart Force to Withdraw from International Supercross Races

over at Vital MX. So believe that.

Unfortunately, there's no doubt this announcement of will cause disappointment all around, among Stewart's fans and foes alike. If I were a ticket-holder to either event, I admit I would be disappointed. But that's because I have actually seen James Stewart ride, in person. If you have not and you have any familiarity with a motocross bike at all... you want to see him ride, in person. You know you want that.

And if you have seen him ride, again, in person... you want to see him do it again. All the videos in the world are not the same as watching Stewart scrub a supercross triple while you're sitting only 50 meters away. The fact that you'll be in relatively comfortable stadium seats with your friends and family doesn't hurt.

The truth of the matter is this: there are only maybe a few hundred thousand people on this planet that have seen Mr. Stewart do his thing on a racing motorcycle, er, in person. They are all in agreement that it is indeed a spectacle to behold. But now the thousands of Italian and Australian motocross fans that were hoping to add themselves to that list by having their own "James Stewart Experience" will be deprived. I truly feel sorry for them.

Stewart will sit out the Genoa Supercross of Genoa, Italy and the final round of the Australasian Supercross championship series, the Super X of Brisbane, Australia. To my Australian and New Zealander brothers and sisters, I particularly feel your pain. I was eagerly anticipating this "last race of '09 showdown-throwdown" between Stewart and Reed, too. The Super X series has been highly entertaining this year.

However, health trumps all. Short-term thinking is fun and all that, but let's stay real about the important stuff. According to the press release

After recent medical evaluation, his Doctor and L&M medical staff found his immune system to be dangerously compromised and James was advised by his Doctor and Team that he should discontinue any strenuous activity and not travel out of the country at this time.

Considering current events, one doesn't need to be a doctor to understand that a "dangerously compromised" immune system is a condition to be taken seriously. Yet many motocross folks are from the "tough guy" school, in which riding injured or impaired is viewed as heroic, despite the dangers of doing so. I am glad to see that the L&M team seem to be taking this seriously. I certainly wish them the best, and hope James gets healthy soon. But I'm in no hurry; if it turns out to be so serious that James has to sit out all of 2010, I wouldn't mind. I have seen him ride, in person.

Super X Kings: Builder and Owner

I think it's cool that the undisputed King of Supercross, Jeremy McGrath (left), is willing to gear up and race in Chad Reed's Australasian Supercross Championship, the Monster Energy Super X, so I'm going to hold back on goofing with the acronym for a minute. This picture is from a gallery on the official site, and this link is to a pretty cool interview with the typically straight-talking MC, who admitted to being "ten years past" his prime.

Sponsored by Honda, McGrath recently raced at Canberra Stadium, the 4th round of a surpisingly competitive series. Speaking of surprisingly competitive, McGrath had the speed to run with the young Australasian lions; he finished 3rd, 16th and 7th, respectively, in the three races that night.



Chad Reed, now Monster Kawasaki-mounted, and part-owner of the Super X series, won the first two races in Canberra, then suffered a hard get-off while leading the first lap of the third. Reed sits in third place in the series, behind CDR Rockstar Yamaha's Jay Marmont and series point leader Dan Reardon, who's racing on a Woodstock Honda Thor team bike.

Reedy at speed-y, flexing the flat track steelo in big bad Orange and White Thor gear.

One of my favorite James Stewart videos

"James Stewart video before turning Pro. Featuring the music of Mos Def." -- thanks to dmenace259.

Great camera angles, great footage, great music, compelling use of split-screen, a challenging race track, this video reveals the hard work involved to become a champion. James Stewart, Jr. practicing at his home track in Florida, coached by his father. A winning combination, for sure.

The Highest Paid Motocross Racer of 2009

This year, Rockstar Energy sponsored what has become the traditional year-end race that sort of marks the start of the "pre-season" for next year's stadium motocross series. Rockstar found the winning number this year for sure, as their Suzuki factory teams absolutely swept motocross racing in America. However, a Red Bull-sponsored athlete owns supercross.

As far as 2009 purse money goes, there is no argument: Supercross paid more than Outdoor Motocross, and the richest supercross of all is actually a shrunken version of the sport, contested within the confines of a casino arena.... which tells you all you need to know about the financial interest of this event, particularly with those who actually have a stake in supercross racing. Held in a gambling city, the Open is also open to sports wagering.

I have not seen official year-end figures yet, but I think it is safe to conclude that the combination of James Stewart's 11 regular season wins with his U.S. Open of Supercross victory have put him on top of the earnings chart. GuyB shows us the money.

James Stewart: Winning Again

First race back, first win of the "off season." Of course, one would expect the current National and World Supercross champ to win the biggest little race in supercross. Unfortunately, one should not expect his dominant two-night performance in Las Vegas to change the minds of his many detractors.

Some folks just can't handle the truth.

GuyB gets the hands-free.

Look Who's Racing Again

It's is October in America, and MX has officially moved indoors for the final big money races of 2009. But what if you held a race and nobody showed up? James Stewart, 2009 Supercross champ, showed up with this beautiful 2010 works Yamaha fielded by the San Manuel team. Credit GuyB/Vital MX.

Motocross of Nations: Good for America

The world, and our Nation, is facing challenging times, but it's days like these that remind us to lighten up a bit on the politics and the doom-n-gloom (admittedly, this is easy to say when you live in this country) and just do the things that bring us the most enjoyment. These guys are living examples of what happens when you follow your dream with all of your heart and soul, willing to work diligently to achieve your goals.

These guys won the 63rd Motocross of Nations. Congratulations to Team America!

From left to right, Jake Weimer, Roger Decoster, Ryan Dungey, Ivan Tedesco.

Another perfect photo by Jeffrey Beersden for Vital MX. His coverage of the event is superb.

Motocross of Nations: American Flyer

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... Flyin' Ryan Dungey, 2009 West Coast Region 250cc Supercross champion, 2009 250cc National Motocross champion, 2009 Motocross of Nations 450cc champion.

Heck of a year, Flyin'.

Photo by Jeffrey Beersden for Vital MX.

Motocross of Nations: The New Man

Ryan Dungey blasting through what turned out to be a very treacherous start to the third and final moto:

• Antonio Carioli went down on the start straight and his bike was too damaged to continue.
• Chad Reed got taken out in the first turn and started nearly last.
  
• Gautier Paulin crashed shortly after that and was unable to finish the race.

But American Dungey avoided the carnage and chased down early race leader, Spain's Jonathan Barragan, to win the moto, as well as the overall for the MX1 class. All while sporting the big Number One plate as the captain of Team America in his very first appearance at the Motocross of Nations.

You did it Ryan. Congratulations.

Team America won 2009 Red Bull Motocross of Nations. Again.

Photos by Jeffrey Beersden for Vital MX.

Motocross of Nations: Style Rapide

French racer Gautier Paulin styled like this to the second moto win, wire to wire. Think about that for a second: the very fastest motocross racers on the planet showed up to settle an old, old argument: who is the fastest, right here and right now. Winning a moto at the Motocross of Nations is a very big deal.

Team France finished second.

Photo by Jeffrey Beersden for Vital MX.

Motocross of Nations: Best in the World

Very cool shot of 2009 World Motocross champion Antonio Carioli of Italy, tearing it up as the hometown favorite. Antonio beat the U.S. Champ, Chad Reed in the very first moto of the one day of the year that the fastest motocross racers on the planet gather to decide who's the mickey-fickey man.

Considering that the event was sponsored by Red Bull (official title: Red Bull Motocross of Nations), Carioli definitely did his job by putting his Red Bull logos out in front of the pack en route to winning moto one.

The Italian team finished sixth.

Photo by Jeffrey Beersden for Vital MX

No, really, Suzuki won EVERYTHING in MX this year

Jiminy, was no one able to stop the Rockstar Makita team outdoors? Apparently not even with twice as many wheels. A guy named Dustin Miller won the 2009 Professional ATV motocross title for the powerhouse team, really completing Suzuki's sweep of American MX.

Miller, Dungey and Reed. Congratulations on a phenomenal year!

This is a cool snap of Miller's race quad taken at Suzuki's championship celebration ceremony, shot by GuyB of course. Also check out his nice pic of Mat Mladin's championship-winning road rocket, making that yet another fast Australian winning an American motorcycle racing title on a Rockstar Makita-sponsored Suzuki. Wow.