Aftermath

Well the hype and craziness surrounding Anaheim 1 has come and gone, the storms pounding the western US spared us a total mud fest and it looks like we are finally going to have some good racing in both classes for the new season.

Chad Reed had the look you normally see reserved for kids on Christmas morning after putting his L&M Racing ride on the top of the box at Saturday night’s opener. Although having Stewart go down in turn one didn’t hurt Reed I think the difference this time was that he never backed off his pace and let Stewart catch up. There is no doubt that the rutted and slippery track made it a little more difficult for James to blaze through the pack and reel in the leader as we have seen in the past but there is more to that fact as well. Since both riders had to deal with the same slip n slide track surface and the laptimes they had stayed pretty similar throughout the race one could argue that we are seeing a stepped up and ready to fight Reedy this time around. The other difference this time around is the fact that James looked like a much more mature rider. Running in second had to gnaw at the Monster Kawasaki pilot but as the old saying goes you don’t win the championship at A-1 but you sure can lose it there. I think that was the smartest ride we have ever seen James put in and if that fact is any indication of how the “new” Stewart is going to run this season there is a good chance he will repeat as the SX champ. Having said that I can guarantee you that Chad is going to do everything in his power to try and make sure that doesn’t happen. Let’s face it the guy doesn’t want anymore second place trophies, he probably isn’t worried about where his next paycheck is coming from so effectively Reed has nothing to lose. That go for broke attitude is going to make Chad a very dangerous man this season and I am going to put my head on the chopping block here and say you will see him on the top of the podium again this season.
Factory Yamaha’s Grant Langston seemed to struggle all night to find his groove and was plagued by little mistakes throughout the heat and main. Meanwhile Tim Ferry playing the part of the crafty vet put in another solid ride once again making the investment by Team Green seem all the more worthwhile.
The Red Bull Honda team didn’t get off to the start that they were hoping for with virtually every member of the team in that freight train crash in turn one so I would look for some real fire out of those boys when the gate drops in Phoenix. Millsaps and Short both put in respectable rides to finish 7th and 8th respectively while Tedesco struggled in the main. Kevin Windham looked strong and put in the kind of mud ride that everyone seemed to expect, even though he was collected in the melee at the start K-Dub rode solid to storm through the pack.
The 2008 season re-build for the Makita Suzuki squad went fairly well with Vuillemin putting in a steady top 10 and Alessi just missing top 5 after a late race pass by Windham. Mike struggled early in the evening taking the long road to the main but it looked like a more mature Alessi this time around and I think Mike will be consistently near or in the top five week to week.

One rider that team manager Roger DeCoster has got to be smiling about was Lites winner Ryan Dungey the man who is the odds on favorite for the title this year. The youngster that was famously plucked from the amateur ranks to land a full factory ride last year is proving to be the real deal by running a rock solid pace all night long. The “thread the needle” pass that Dungey put on race leader Jason Lawrence was absolutely brilliant and seemed to put enough mental pressure on Lawrence to force him into a mistake a few turns later. Having said that don’t think I am counting Jason out just yet. Putting in the fastest lap of the night in both classes does make a statement and I think you’re going to see a fired up J-law come main event time in Chase Field. Justin Brayton had to be happy with his performance taking the final spot on the box and we haven’t seen the last of the MDK/KTM pilot on the podium this season. Brayton was solid and consistent all night which could make the difference in the championship when all the points tally at the end. Daniel Reardon acquitted himself pretty well in the main after rocky start to the night going over the berm in the his heat race, you can bet that he is going to be looking to take one of the spots on the Phoenix podium. Making your debut in SX has got be a pressure cooker for any young rider and Austin Stroupe made sure that everybody on hand knew he could stand the heat by running a solid 5th. Looks like some of the good mojo from that #51 Pro Circuit ride is rubbing off on Stroupe and I wouldn’t be surprised to see more of the same out of him all year.

So now we head indoors for round 2 and it looks like the kind of track that is going to make for some high speed battles at the front of the pack for both classes. The ultimate winner in all of this looks to be the Supercross fans that will be tuning in to follow 08’s racing action.

I would like to take this opportunity to send out my condolences to Gavin Gracyk and his family on the loss of his father Gary. ALS is one battle that has no winners and this has got to be a very dark time for Gavin and his whole family, my thoughts and prayers go out to them.

Donn