Sparkplug 48

There is simply no way that I can let the 2006 Supercross season end without a final comment, so that is the subject of this week's Sparkplug.

In a word, this year was phenomenal. That “perfect storm” everyone expected for 2005, heralded by the arrival of an opponent finally able to give Rick Carmichael a run for his money? Well now we know it took 11 months for it to build up to Category 5 conditions. It wasn't until December of '05 that we finally got a glimpse of the Great War to come, during those two races in Canada that represented the unique FIM-points-only World Supercross rounds. And unveiling a new bike, a new attitude and a new number was the man who would be king (but not this year, maybe later), James Stewart.

It's not my intention to recap the season with a blow-by-blow, round-by-round summary. If you're reading this, you probably are as crazy about motocross as I am, so you also witnessed the fantastic races that made up this championship run, either on cable, network television or on the web. And that's one of the things that made this season so memorable: EVERY RACE was suspenseful and exciting, and EVERY RACE was made available to a reasonably large television audience. It was all so fantastic it's almost hard to believe.

Yes, there were never more than three riders vying for the win. The same three. The BIG three, Chad Reed, James Stewart and Rick Carmichael. Yes, it's true, not another rider was capable of turning lap times comparable to these stellar racers. Yes, it would have been even more exciting if there were more rivals for the championship, but to paraphrase our possibly senile Secretary of Defense, “you go to the races with the racers you have”, and those three are without a doubt the most talented, dedicated, motivated and galvanizing supercross racers alive today. We were blessed to be able to witness their 18 round battle.

Chad Reed has the heart of a lion. I remember watching RC seemingly tear that very heart right out of his chest in Atlanta in '05, chasing Chad Reed down and beating him mercilessly. But Chad reached down deep the very next race at Daytona... RC's home track!...and proved to Rick and the world that he could still win and win big at that. This year, Superbad Chad was all but dismissed as the perennial third place horse... I even opined, prior to the start of the season, that Reed would be fighting off a challenge for third overall from Ivan Tedesco. Boy, was I wrong about that! Reed hung tough all year, every single lap, and as such put himself in perfect position to capitalize on the mistakes that are usually NEVER made by RC and his team. Chad only won two main events this year, and each one was the result of severe bad luck striking both RC and JS at the same time. However, that was enough to put him in the amazingly unlikely position of being able to win the whole shooting match at the very last round. He made his own luck by believing in himself and never giving up. He deserves an award just for that.

James Stewart is the fastest supercross racer the world has ever seen. And that's not just my opinion; that same sentiment has been voiced by the top names in the sport, including one Rick Carmichael. Stewart overcame broken bones, intestinal illnesses, disastrous results and a lot of flack from fickle fans during the first 11 months of 2005 to triumphantly record stunning victories in December of the same year. He went on to compile an impressive win record in '06, winning 8 more rounds and on the way, winning every heat race he entered, a feat never before achieved, not by Carmichael and not even by the undisputed King of Supercross, Jeremy McGrath. Of course, heat race wins are ignored by the record books, but it still remains a remarkable accomplishment. Yet James still had moments on the track that caused him to finish off of the podium a number of times, losing valuable points in the process. Now James is the World Champion of Supercross, a title that used to mean little, even when it was held by the likes of Carmichael and Reed. To some, it still means little, but I'm sure it means a heckuva lot to Stewart, his team and his family. On top of that, James is the first rider in the history of the sport to wrestle a championship title away from formerly unbeatable RC. Now that's saying something about the both of them.

Rick Carmichael is simply the greatest motocross racer that has ever lived. And my opinion is backed up by fact: his number of championship titles is unprecedented, his records are arguably unbreakable. And if you need more proof, all you need to know is this: not only did he beat the King of Supercross at his own game, when faced with the fastest supercross racer of all time, he rose to the occasion, did what he had to do, and came away retaining his National Supercross Championship. No, it was not easy and he didn't make it look easy. RC suffered an uncharacteristic mechanical DNF at St. Louis and just missed serious injury in a scary getoff at Dallas. But he never stopped working hard and like Reed, never stopped believing. If he did, there was no way for us to tell.

Some say the fact that one series crowns two champions is unnecessarily confusing, and I understand where they're coming from... but at the same time, I feel strongly that having two winners is the best possible outcome for this season. These two guys put on the show that we've been waiting for since RC dethroned MC back in the day. And the truth of the matter is that there are many more winners this season than just two. We've all won something of value as spectators: the experience of watching one of the best years of indoor racing to date.

Now, who's ready for the OUTDOORS??!