Fire in the Game.

Well here we are on the verge of the 2009 Supercross season and there is a little fire in the game again this year. Chad Reed has the number one plate to defend and although he looks fit and happy on the yellow bike he also has a lot of weight to carry. The always outspoken Aussie has continued to have a prickly relationship with a portion of the US SX fan base and will need to lay down some wins this year to solidify his position as one of the sports elite. Personally I like the guy from what I see and read from him, he is a straight shooter that will tell you what he is thinking. Sometimes it is exactly that candidly, passionate stance which has raised the ire of the fans but I think that’s unfair to count that as a negative. If training and riding with Rockstar/Makita Suzuki teammate RC has had any effect on Reed’s confidence then we may see a very dangerous guy under the 22’s helmet because if history has proven one thing it is that James Stewart’s only weakness was Carmichael’s ability to put him under pressure.

So what will we see out of James this year? Everybody seems ready to give him the championship before the gate has even dropped once and I have to say that seems like a smart bet. Stewart looked smooth and unstoppable at Bercy but only took the win at the US Open after Reed bobbled on night two. There is no question that giving James an open track is a recipe for a blow out so look for Reed to take a page from RC and apply constant steady pressure. If Reed can run James’ pace early and often without it putting him on the ground then we have got a game my friends.

Kevin Windham is returning after possibly his strongest season in SX since his days on a two-stroke 125 and if he is in his groove again look for K-Dub to take a win again this year and be a player on the podium more than that. Honda teammates Davi Millsaps and Andrew Short will also be fighting for a spot on those crowded 3 steps and both can be counted as possible contenders for a win depending on how the game goes up front. Millsaps needs to bring the fire he brought to take the win at Atlanta and Short needs to start out this year fighting as hard for a win as he finished it last season. Villopoto makes his move to the 450 class this year to high expectations and some large boots to fill. So far he has been playing it very low key and putting in massive amounts of time on the test track prepping. I think this kid is going to ride smart start taking some podium spots in the Supercross class towards the end of the season and indeed may even be the spoiler for the championship race.
Team Yamaha has some rebuilding going on with Broc Hepler and Josh Hill both looking to put in strong rides, hopefully Hepler can make it through the season without injury as that has really been the only thing keeping him down. Joe Gibb’s will also be flying the colors for big blue and with Cody Cooper and a very motivated Josh Grant they should be not just a very viable team to look for on the podium but an indication of the future of racing.


Now on to the Lites;
The Lites class has been the place to find the fighting and scrapping for the past couple years and this season looks to be a repeat of that trend. The West Coast field is about as stacked as it can be so I am just going to talk about the obvious.

My pick for the West Coast title battle is going to be Ryan Dungey versus Trey Canard with Jason Lawrence throwing in the unknown element that is his calling card. Dungey let himself be beat last year by his own mistakes more than anything else.
Did J-Law get in Dungey’s head?
Absolutely yes but don’t look for that to happen this year and I also don’t expect that Ryan will make the same rookie mistakes that cost him the title last year. That brings us to the other guy on the line running a number one plate Geico Powersport/Factory Connection’s affable and determined returning East Coast champ Trey Canard. Look for this kid to be the one who can run Dungey hard, be patient when he needs to and take some wins when it counts. Trey is who I want to pick to win it but I think Dungey has got the fire this year and has something to prove before he leaves the Lites class.
All of which brings us to Lawrence, the guy with a question mark running just under that number one on his plate.
What can we expect from Jason? Well who the heck knows….
The kid has got some talent but the struggles with “outside influence” kept him from really showing his ability. If Jason has been working hard he can definitely get it done but the long run hasn’t proven to be his strong suit and I don’t expect that if Dungey has consistency issues it will be Jason who is there to take advantage, the field is too strong this year.

Austin Stroupe will be the banner rider for Mitch Payton this year so he has got a fair degree of pressure on his shoulders to bring something to the table. Brett Metcalfe made a surprising jump from under the Pro Circuit Kawasaki tent to run with the other powerhouse for the Lites class at Geico/FC Honda along with Dan Reardon who I think will run strong through the series. Martin Davalos has put in some solid rides over the past couple seasons but has yet to have that break out ride to take him to the next level time will tell if that is going to change this year.

Best quote to sum it up so far comes from Kevin Windham;
“Reality is there’s going to be a lot of guys hunting for three spots and the podium isn’t getting any bigger.”

Now let’s drop the gate and see who comes out on top.