Stewart brings the Supercross crown back to America

The family that plays together stays together. James celebrates his championship with his parents, brother and fiance. GuyB at Vital MX took this shot and says the cool shirts were made by Stewart's sponsor, Answer racing.

The best podium of all: the 2009 AMA Supercross Champion

11 wins in 17 races. But those are just numbers; the 2009 Monster Energy AMA/FIM Supercross championship was a thrilling duel from the very first round. Here's the victor, James Stewart, Jr., claiming his second 450cc title by vanquishing a very fast foe, Chad Reed. The #1 plate has changed hands.

James took a moment to gather his thoughts reports GuyB at Vital MX.

Ryan Dungey is a Champion!

Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Ryan Dungey finally wrestled that mean ol' "no title" monkey off of his back, when he sealed the deal on his very first professional motocross championship, the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series West Region 250cc crown. Yes, he stepped up and relieved Jason Lawrence of the Number 1 plate, although Lawrence was a factor for exactly one race in this series... that is to say, not a factor at all. I think Dungey has vindicated himself after losing the points lead, and title, to Lawrence last year.

Congratulations Ryan Dungey!

Podium photo by GuyB at Vital MX.

Salt Lake City Beauty

Here's to another beautiful Monster... Monster Energy drink spokesmodel, that is, stopping to smile for GuyB's camera atop the scenic Rice Eccles stadium in SLC. GuyB and Vital always get their girl.

Seattle: In the pocket

Some say James rode a smart race. James himself said it "...was the best second-place finish that he'd ever got" according to GuyB at Vital MX. It was probably all that and more, and the biggest winners were those that got to see it. Check the body language and positioning; look at the roost coming off the tires: more motocross art by GuyB.

A large part of the buzz out of Seattle, though, is from the big swing in championship points due to Chad Reed's sub-par performance. Chad clearly wasn't feeling it in Seattle, and that first turn crash didn't help at all. Stewart took the points lead for the first time all year with only two rounds to go. Now we'll really get to see who wants it more.

Seattle: This is why you go to the races

Look at that sea of open mouths. The Pacific Northwest Motocross faithful showed up in Seattle to get a mess 'o the MESS. They wanted to see some motocross action and James Stewart complied, putting on a passing show that had to be seen to be believed... or so I'm told. GuyB, of course, got this shot of Stewart soaring past Troy Adams over a triple!

Kids, if you do this at home, you should be doing it at a Supercross near you.

Seattle: More obscure music refs

I think the drummer wants some more. Ryan Dungey (10) is due and clearly the man is hungry for it. He really wants this championship and it showed in Seattle... kind of like last summer in Washougal. He's not out of the woods yet (har), but his win increased his lead to 9 points going into the final West Region 250cc round this Saturday in Salt Lake City.

Will he choke? Will his team choke? Will his rival, Jake Weimer, choke?

Another cool pic by GuyB at Vital MX.

Seattle: There will be more of this

Monster Energy Kawasaki's Ryan Villopoto scored his first 450cc main event win on Saturday, severely ticking off Mike Alessi in the process. In this GuyB photo of Ryan in his heat race, some say he's looking back to see where James Stewart is... I say he's just checking his roost to see if it can draw enough attention to his sponsor's logos on the tuff blocks...

Seattle Supercross: Ch-ch-ch-changes

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Motocross, indoors or out, remains visually captivating, witness this beautifully-timed shot of Troy Lee Designs / Seaspan / PPG / Honda's Chris Blose (63) braking hard with his rear wheel locked and floating. GuyB's photo-work likewise remains consistently excellent, and this gallery of pics from the Seattle round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series is further proof of that claim.

Oh shit, it's on now! Zee Oh wins the Grand Prix of Turkey!

Wow. American Zach Osborne won his very first World Championship event on an Easter Sunday far away from home. Oz rode his #338 UTAG Yamaha YZ250F to a 3-1 score, after blasting fastest time in Saturday qualifying. Now he's 5th in the World Championship points standings after 3 of 15 rounds. Thanks to GuyB for the coverage at Vital MX.

Zee Oh! Get on down, homey... there's a lot of season left, sure, but you really oughta bring that title home with ya.

Ten Win Kingpin: Stewart stacks Jax

Oooh, take the money and run. San Manuel Yamaha's James Stewart captured his tenth win of the 17-race MESS at Saturday night's round in Jacksonville, Florida. Stewart still trails his championship rival Chad Reed in the points standings, but now it's only a 5 point deficit with three rounds remaining. Another fantastic photo by the moto-photo maestro, GuyB of Vital MX.

Jax Prax: when Giants Collide

The two fastest supercross racers in the world squared off in practice for the second Florida round of the MESS and Steve Cox has the Jacksonville practice story and photos at Racer X Online. This series is getting better and better!

Say a prayer for the Feldkamps

My heart goes out to "Bud" Feldkamp, owner of Glen Helen Raceway, who lost two daughters and 5 grandchilden in this tragic plane accident in Montana. Such sad, sad news. May they rest in peace.

199 in Full Effect: Pastrana Rules St. Louis

Supercross is in St. Louis, Missouri tonight, featuring a track designed by Mr. Nitro Circus himself, the unforgettable 199, Travis Pastrana. Yes, this is a big deal, and to make it even bigger, ol' Trav is racing the event! Pastrana set 13th fastest time in practice, so he definitely still has it. It's gonna be an interesting night of racing. Photo by Bayodome at Transworld Motocross.

And a huge shout out to Donny Emler...!

Big Boi: Jason Lawrence returns to action

Another fine picture by Bayodome at Transworld Motocross. Number 338 on the Boost Mobile AM/PM Monster J-Law Racing Yamaha YZ450F Jason Lawrence posted 7th fastest practice time in the "Big Boy" 450cc class. Now, that's not quite as remarkable as his pole (har) at Daytona, but still... few expected the mercurial Lawrence to have staying power during his part-time foray into the premier ranks. I think the writing's on the wall (and on teh interwebs): Jason is a 450 rider now.

"J-Law Racing." Lol.

Fast from France: Pourcel excels at SX

It's time for some cool photos from the St. Louis Supercross, and Bayodome at Transworld Motocross has posted a great set of shots from the first practice session. Here's East Region championship points leader Christophe Pourcel on his Monster Pro Circuit Kawasaki KX250F.

Regarding the pyrotechnics of the preceding photo

Yes, that is indeed a giant fireball erupting inside the Superdome. You will see a kickass fireworks show if you go to any of the remaining MESS supercross races (and I highly recommend that you do). American supercross has always had a decent display of detonations, ever since the Pace/CCE/LiveNation and now FMS folks have run the show. Of COURSE the show producers are setting off fireworks, pulling off successful stadium shows for upwards of 40,000 paying customers requires those same producers to create a memorable spectacle, no matter what happens on the track.

And, yes indeed, I used the word "show" four times in the preceding paragraph. For almost as long as "supercross" has existed in the USA (30 yrs?), series achieved it's largest successes at the box office when marketed as a piece of theater, grand entertainment for the throng of willing American consumers. That's undoubtedly one of the reasons behind the decision to create FMS and buy the series.

"But it's a serious motorsport! The dynamics of supercross are natually "explosive", with racing machines blasting out of tight turns and launching over huge triples; man-made explosives are not necessary. Why can't the promoters conduct it as a serious motorsports competition (think events like the 24 hours of Le Mans or the Formula 1 series) one worthy of the respect of the world?" my naive inner motogeek asketh outloud. There will be no satis-factory answer, just go and enjoy the show. It could be worse.

New Orleans: James Stewart was on fire

And Vital MX's GuyB captured it for posterity. San Manuel Yamaha's James Stewart throws a "hotter" version of the standard finish line whip, if you will, while taking a wire-to-wire win in last night's 20-lap 450cc main event inside the Lousiana Superdome.

Quiet Explosion: the Nationals will be International

MX Sports dropped another major television announcement yesterday; here's the press release courtesy Vital MX. According to the blurb, ".... the 2009 racing series will reach far beyond American borders and directly into households and television sets on 6 continents, 80 countries and over 430 million possible homes."

Wow, that's an incredible number! The press release goes on to decribe one the of broadcast partners, Greenlight TV:

Greenlight TV, with its Motorsports Mundial, Planet Speed, and Max Power programming, reaches over 400 million homes throughout the European Union, Russia and the Orient. The network will feature highlights of each round of the 2009 championship.

Wait. Is this the same Greenlight TV "formed in 2004 by C.E.O. and President Eric Marciano to act as distribution company for programming content produced by a variety of his other enterprises"...? If so, then the picture of the lovely lady, which was found on the "About US" page over at the Greenlight TV website, finally makes some (limited) sense. Don't know who she is, unless that's really Eric Marciano. I kind of hope not.

Or is it the same Greenlight TV that was reportedly 'kicked in the teeth' by the Isle of Man government when the pols denied the company the exclusive rights to film the legendary Isle of Man TT last year, according to this IOM TODAY news story I unearthed with my trusty google shovel? Yep, it's this one, a true powerhouse of international television distribution.

Just playin' around, y'all.

Anyway, this is humongous news. Congratulations to MX Sports and their fortuitious partnership witth the Alliance of Action Sports. And while it's going to be great fun watching it all come together this summer, what I'm REALLY looking forward to is how the inevitable results of this superior coverage will change the sport in the years to come.

Daytona: Redemption for Reed

Look at that see of happy faces celebrating Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Chad Reed after he put on a stunning ride to chase down and win his third Daytona supercross. The victory had to taste particularly sweet for Reedy, because it not only made up for last year's last-lap breakdown heartbreak, but it fully capitalized on Stewart's sorrowful mistake and moved the Australian's championship-points-chase advantage into the double digits. Here Chad smokes it for his fans in another phantastic photo from the great race report by Brendan Lutes at Transworld Motocross.