Finally, Phoenix: TWMX post race interviews

Transworld Motocross has a great feature going: Tell Us About Your Weekend, the freshest tape of the top riders, right before they leave the track for the night. This is great stuff!

Phoenix Phireworks, Part 3: Before the Fall

Chad Reed shown here chasing James Stewart in the middle of the pack on lap 4 of the Phoenix main event. Reed is seconds away from breaking a bone in his hand. This sucks for both riders. GuyB stops time.

Yes, It's Hot in Phoenix

These beautiful twins have become regulars for Monster at the Phoenix Supercross. And yes, I have given these ladies some good-natured grief about their clothes not being sexy enough before, but I must admit that they are looking extremely hot in this GuyB photo. Nice threads!

Phoenix Phireworks, Part 2: The New Man wins his first Supercross!

Wow.

Here are the facts: Rockstar Makita Suzuki star Ryan Dungey holeshot the Phoenix Supercross and led every single lap to notch his very first 450 win and surge into the championship points lead. Monster Energy Kawasaki and L&M San Manuel JSE Yamaha also made the podium, but not with their current and former Supercross champions. The other Ryan, Villopoto, ran fast all night keeping Dungey honest, and Josh Hill represented strongly and grabbed third place.

The two guys everyone thought would be gunning for this champonship finished 15th and 19th after colliding in a heap early in the race. James Stewart, riding injured from a hairy heat race crash, rode out the race in obvious pain. Chad Reed reportedly broke his hand and did not continue.

That's it for the facts of Phoenix. Unfortunately, this year's race will be known mostly for the heated emotions that boiled over after the crash.

GuyB gets the good part.

Phoenix Phireworks, Part 1

The rocket's red glare. Opening ceremonies of the MESS in Phoenix. These would not be the only fireworks erupting this evening. GuyB shoots the lights out.

James Stewart's New Bell Moto 9?

You're looking at some serious product power here. The 2009 Supercross Champion was trying this Moto 9 prototype the other day; Swapmoto at TWMX has the story and pics.

Nike AIRMX Motocross Boots: Ryan Dungey haz 'em

Here's a pretty cool vid by Transworld Motocross: Ryan takes a few minutes to tell us about his custom-fitted, carbon fiber Nike boots. Talk about factory!

He Can Do This

Ryan Dungey exceeded all expectations at the first race of the season. He qualified second fastest, he led most of the main, he finished second only after battling it out to the last lap. 2009 was a phenomenal year for Dungey, and he knows there is only one way to top it in 2010. GuyB sees it.

Pro Circuit: speed on display

In the 250 class, horsepower is everything. Pro Circuit consistently builds some of the fastest bikes on the track, and this GuyB shot of the first turn of the 250 main at the Anaheim opener pretty much says it all: two PC Kawasakis leading the charge. Jake Weimer (12) went wire-to-wire for the win, firmly taking the points lead and position as offical "favorite" to win the whole West Region shooting match.

Supercross 2010: ... and then the work you put in pays off

James Stewart won the opening around of the MESS at Anaheim last night. GuyB has the story and photos over at Vital MX.

Supercross 2010: Steve Scott sacks Terry Boyd?

A curious announcement from Feld Motorsports, Inc. (FMSI) hit the motocross websites today. It seems that former freestyle and monster truck announcer Steve "Lurch" Scott will be the "new face and new voice" of the MESS.

Okay, so the dude who was working FMSI's Monster Jam series is now making the move to the Supercross side of the house. Or as FMSI likes to call it, one of their "most popular properties."

Good news for Lurch, I'm sure he'll do well at the job, although I'm a little concerned about his idea to "bring a new spin to the meat and potatoes," although that is exactly what FMSI did to freestyle with the new "Nuclear Cowboyz" show. Best to just wait and see what's up.

Like, what's up with the current announcers? Who is Steve Scott replacing? The press release doesn't say, and I wonder why?

Supercross 2010: First you gotta put in the work...

James Stewart has been documenting his supercross "Boot Camp" and putting some photos up on his website, JS7.com. It's nice to see the young man healthy and ready for the season. Good luck, James!

Do you know this man? Jason Lawrence speaks

Catching Up With Jason Lawrence, Part 1

Thanks to Swap at Transworld Motocross, Jason Lawrence gets to speak his mind. And freshly out of prison, he says he's racing Supercross!

Nuclear Cowboyz: On Board with Mike Mason

Tell me this doesn't look like fun. Check out the other videos on their site. I guess now I know what Feld Motorsports has been up to during the break between SX seasons: working hard on taking freestyle to a new level of performance.

Obviously, I am the one that doesn't get it

Hear about Nuclear Cowboyz? Transworld Motocross has this gallery by Dan Guetter from the preview of Feld Motorsports' new, scripted freestyle show with the curious name. Now this is right in Feld's wheelhouse: tightly-controlled, artistically-rendered spectacle. I admit have been entertained by the stills alone.

Twelve months later, it appears Feld still doesn't get it

So, what have the folks at Feld Motorsports been up to during the supercross off-season? Negotiating a big-buck, high-visibility network TV deal to improve the reach of their premiere motorsports "property", the "Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship?" Apparently not.

Yesterday this press release hit the motocross websites I like to frequent (this one's on Vital MX), announcing that the opening round of the "Monster Energy...," well, I like to call it the Monster Energy Supercross Series, or "MESS" for short... the opening round will air live on the SPEED cable channel. Well that news doesn't suck. But that's not all, or even first. The press release includes the news that the Feld Motorsports monster truck circus will have it's opening round on the same night, but in Atlanta, Georgia, and SPEED will carry that event live as well. BEFORE the supercross.

FMS is touting this as some sort of big deal, as if all of motocross had been waiting years for someone to finally add monster truck "racing" to the program. Charlie Mancuso, president of FMS, went so far to call it the "ultimate six hours of pure motorsports coverage." Well done, Mr. Mancuso, spoken like a true huckster.

Look, I really don't have anything against the monster truck thing. But I'm a motocross purist, and I get pissed off when people disrespect my sport... and people dis it all the time. Some of those people actually make money off of the sport, yet still they show it no respect at all. No respect for the seriousness of the endeavor, no respect for the commitment of the athletes, no respect for the history of the competition.

To lump our sport in with an exhibition event consisting of characters that call themselves "Grave Digger" and "Mass Destruction" and pretend that this represents some type of positive achievment? No respect.

Someone needs to rescue supercross from its current owners.

Have I Stopped Feeling It?

No. Just stopped writing about MX for a while, that's all. Be back shortly.

Happy Holidays to all!

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.