by Andy Bowyer
One Industries Rev Up: Escape from LA
Saturday, January 22, 2011 | 12:35 PM
Dragon is a leading mx goggle manufacturer with innovative new styles like the NFX frameless goggle with patented lens technology. To win a pair of these premium NFX goggles, go to Dragon’s Facebook or Instagram page and pick this week’s 450 AMA Supercross winner.
Tweet
Advertisement | Advertise with Us
Share
Comment
Email
PrintHello, everyone, and welcome to the Rev Up. Now things get interesting. After a fairly slow season opener, the train is on its way to full song after a great race in Phoenix. While it was really cool to watch RV Park stalking Bubba Stewart, one of the coolest things to me on the night was the much ballyhoo’d traction control scenario. I wasn’t into it because of the legality or performance enhancing possibilities, I was wearing a big smile because the sport is reaching new levels. Let’s face it, unless you’re a die-hard fan, three hours of supercross isn’t the best show on television. Yet! “TV” is what makes a sport great. The NFL, the NBA, NASCAR, any of the big shows are what they are because of the production. There is a reason ESPN can get 50 million people to watch cars go in a circle for 500 miles over four hours. They make it so you know when the drivers are on the gas, brakes, yelling at other drivers, and their crew chiefs... so on so forth. You're virtually in the car.
Have SPEED and the JGR boys opened pandora's box?
Photo: Simon Cudby
When SPEED cut to the radio communication with the JGR boys, I think it opened pandora’s box of opportunity. We need more of that stuff! It puts the folks at home on the couch, down there on the starting line and into the race. Just that one little sound bite spun the supercross community into a week long, and on-going, chat storm. That is the stuff of a growing sport.
I remember a few years ago somebody laughed at me when I told them the racers should have radio communication in their helmet. Think about how cool it would be to hear Chad Reed talking to himself on the starting line, or while he takes the cross flags. Yes, we are limited because of the incredible concentration it takes to navigate a supercross track, but there is a lot to be heard. Who knows what we would hear if the riders knew they were being heard? It’s something to think about and something I feel would make the show even greater than it is.
Kudos and thanks to SPEED channel for giving us live TV.
Ok, enough of that. The racing is getting good. Let’s put the balls of the feet on the foot pegs, get the elbows up and get Revved Up for The Los Angeles Supercross!
250
Every racer has a few that get away from him is his career. Broc Tickle let one get away from him last Saturday night. I think he would have been able to hold off Hansen had he not lost the front wheel. That said, Hansen is riding superbly. You really can’t teach riding style but take the polar opposite of say, Ken De Dyker and you will see #100 out there flicking it un-turn down style around the track. It’s really cool to watch Josh ride.
I think round three will show a different scene. Eli Tomac, and one of the Rockstar Suzuki guys will make a stronger showing for the win this time around. I just have a feeling about that one. I'm not sure what the dirt will be like this weekend, but if it ruts up, Tickle will be even stronger.
Roczen should continue to improve as the season rolls along.
Photo: Simon Cudby
Man, poor Ken Roczen. Welcome to the show, my man. Sometimes too much, is just too much. Go back to Robbie Reynard, Travis Pastrana and even RickyCarmichael and James Stewart. We always throw our boys to the wolves, 300 style, and hold out breath that they make it back. Pro Supercross is
too much of a mind game for a 16-year-old. They’re too thick on adrenaline and too thin on concentration. Make no mistake, young Roczen learned a lot. Take your medicine, bro.
He’ll be back.
450
This deal is about to go nuclear! Don’t think for one second that Ryan Dungey has lost what it took to wear the red number plate. If he gets a start, he’ll win. The almost forgotten rivalry between he and Villopoto will emerge this weekend as the two will go toe to toe for the victory.
Will Dungey still be wearing the number one plate at season's end?
Photo: Simon Cudby
Speaking of rivalry, we heard a little bit of The Thunder rumble last weekend. Chad Reed is probably two or three races away from being a threat to win each time out. All of those guys run on confidence and with it comes the flow. You can tell when Reedy is feeling it. He moves around on the bike a lot more and his corner speed goes through the roof. Get mean out there, two-two and show the kids how you did it in 2003.
And then there is James Stewart. I’m really proud of him for where he has put himself at this point in his career. There was a time when I didn’t think he would be able to pull out of the tailspin in seemed he had spun into. The money, the ego, and Ricky Carmichael almost put the racer we used to know as #259 into the shadows. Well, he is here to stay now, it seems, and good for that. Supercross needs James. Can he keep it rolling? (nodding head) He's a bad dude, plain and simple.
Yes, it is still early, but this is a pivotal point in the season. The opening round jitters are out the door and it’s time to start taking care of business. Ryan Villopoto and Josh Hansen are the early point
leaders, but can they escape from LA in the fashion they’ll ride in? As they say, “that’s why they run the races.”
Well, my friends. The game is afoot and it’s just about to get real interesting.
Thanks for reading, see you next week.
Did you like this article?
Check out LONE STAR RISING
in our Latest issue of Racer X available now.
The James Stewart Freestone AMA Spring Classic in Texas has quickly earned a place on the list of must-attend springtime amateur events. Page 182.
Look for the verified symbol 
Impulse Studios
wack SPEED channel 'story lines' and nascar like soap opera dramas during the race DOES NOT grow the sport. it drags it down to a nascar like mentallity. supercross and motocross deserves better. focus on the athletes and the track SPEED channel, leave the b.s. out please. you don't have to market the sport to me like i am an idiot.
Great article Andy! I agree with you on the topic of the traction control uproar.. Excited about the future of our sport! And sick shot by Cudby of the Dunge!
Man, those are some wishful predictions..... I hope you're right!
Kawasaki and the Dogger had a Helmet mic way back and the AMA said NO NO!!!
I said earlier this week that RD needs to step up this week or at round 4 for sure. If he finds himeself down 18-20 points going into round 5 he might be in trouble and the pressure will build. With the field so deep this year and RV and JS a step ahead so far 20 points would be VERY hard to make up unless someone gets hurt. Come on RD mix it up with RV and JS this weekend.
Im with stacy.
I agree with andy, The radio communication is an awesome addition to the broadcast. I wish all the teams did it. They should show more of what the mechanics are writing on the pit boards too. why does everyone congratulate andy after an article? he's a great writer and always kills his piece, thats why he works for racer x...
stacy...totally 100% accurate. Nascar abandoned its core fans to go &quot;mainstream&quot; and it bit them in the ass. They alienated their base. Hopefully that doesn't happen.
love the anonymous post. i know you were too busy to fill in your real name because you are constantly swinging from andy's and nascars nuts. have fun swinging.
I want to see Dungey get a holeshot, I really do. If he does will he run away?? If RV and Stewie get close can he hold them off?? I hope it happens, cant wait.
Stacy, Yeah, I didn't mean to go so NASCAR heavy on the radio thing. I also wanted/meant to write about how exciting it makes the NFL games. Hearing Payton Manning call out audibles, and the defenses reading the plays. I was just thinking out loud this week, and I figured it would rub some folks. Thanks for reading though. Can't wait for tonight!
hey andy, what is the fascination that the moto world has with nascar? nascar is wack, if i wanted to read about nascar or have a nascar slant on the sport, i would go watch nascar. does weege get to write articles with a supercross slant over at nascar world.net? keep your nascar love were it belongs, over at nascar. there has to be a better way to attract casual fans to the sport other than rely on soap opera style broadcasting(ala nascar).
According you Andy everyone should just stay home and give the trophy to the (one bad dude)! I know who the one bad dude is, and he came back from a way worse injury than Stewart did. If you've been around this sport very long you can count the riders on one hand that were able to come back and be on top again for that kind of injury. That one bad dude is leading the points!
RV and JS are just a cut above right now. I do not predict that anyone will bridge that gap. Sure, I wish some could but it is not likely. There is a fire that burns hotter in these two and they will push past a point other are not willing. Trey is currently the only guy that I could see do this, but that is a lot for your rookie season. Outdoors is where we will really see the gap and that should look a lot like an RV run away. just my .02....but let's see how close I get.
Stacy, What if I would have left the car racing part out and only used the NFL reference? Since you're so vocal I have a question for you. What is your stance on radio communication with the riders?
Radio communication between the meachanics and team guys off the track is ok with me. Having a rider with a mic is silly in my opinion....thats what pit boards are for. Moto is supposed to be man, machine and his competition. Direct communication with rider only opens the door for more BS tactics...." Dungey is coming up on your left in the whoops.....move over".....an Besides, the few times they have used a mic, you cant hear a damb thing over the noise of the bike anyway and it would only distract the rider in the heat of the race...Keep it real........
I know how they can "Escape from LA". Bring some damn races to the East Coast! How many races to you need in Cali? Charlotte, NC was always packed when they use to come there WTF? I am sure there are plenty of suitable venues along the east coast that would love to have a race there. Thanks AMA for dumping on alot of fans for yet another race in cali!
4 those who didn't take economic's 101 nascar is #'s....the same thing that is printed on currency....volume=$$$$ if you live in the past yr going 2 get "PASSED" move forward....
I'm with Stacy. Why would MX/SX want to do ANYTHING like NASCAR, which I think is boring as snot! (No, I don't care how many millions of people get into watching cars go around in a circle. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz).
Stacey's a turd, Andy. Don't worry about it, dumb people will always have something unintelligent to add. I think the whole radio communications is a great idea, it's where our sport needs to go.
James Stewart was not running a traction control system on the bike... It is a GET system for READING data. Chad Reed is running it also.
No, it isn't where the sport needs to go JTV777. There was nothing unintelligent about what Stacey said. Its good to have an opinion as long as it's your opinion, is that an intelligent enough assessment? NASCAR is lame- be creative and stop trying to follow that soap opera model. Moto is unique and should be presented as such. The JGR cut in was an uninteresting train wreck at best.
I prefer when mx was an elitest sport. Nascar, Wal Mart, country music, line dancing, monster trucks & sister banging should go back where it came from. We all know what part of the country that is.
hey andy, my stance is this.... audio recording of the riders and broadcasting said audio would be fine by me. but i do not believe in radio communication for mx/sx. it should not be a 2 way system. if SPEED wants to mic the riders and then we can hear their vocalizations to themselves and other riders during the races thats cool. i do not want to hear pit to rider banter, and i got a feelin most riders would not want their team managers in their ear during the races. pit boards work.
Andy- No on the direct rider communication. Once that gate drops, it's man and machine. That is what makes it so cool, for me at least. The chess match is over once it becomes man, machine, mechanic, team manager, spotters 1 through 5, ama officials, and on and on. It's not broke, why fix it? I don't think it should be in the NFL either.
bottom line is this,SPEED needs to go back to marketing classes and learn how to identify their target demographic.
DJ KC, Reed admitted in an interview with Matthes that every team he has ridden for uses some form of traction control. They can call it what they want. Read the interview KC and the Sunshine Band.
Core fans of SX/MX are riders, racers or former racers; not just viewers looking to see who takes the next guy out. Most all of us have been 'in' the sport in some way for years, some even decades. How many WWF..., er..., As a whole, few Nascar fans have ever raced or driven around Daytona, Talladega, Watkins Glen or Indy, right? Show some depth too, SPEED PRODUCERS: WE DON"T WANT TO BE THE NEXT NASCAR! YOU CAN DO BETTER! Most here will agree, we're more knowledgeable about aspects of this sport and what it takes... Questions (sorry ERIN BATES) last week for both ROCZEN or STEWART were pretty ridiculous. Riders are in a zone, thinking about what just happened, whether they crashed or won. There's so much more to a good dialogue with a rider. An interesting interview should not include obvious "gotcha" questions. Be thought provoking, guys (and girls). Let's go against the grain some. How about it?
Some of you need to think "big picture". "Growing the sport" means that every race is televised live, just like NASCAR. Hopefully we will get there one day. The target audience that things like radio banter and "traction control" appeals to is not YOU. i.e. people who read this site. We already watch every race!. There is nothing Speed channel could do to make me not watch a Supercross. That being said, I am behind anything they can do to make SX more mainstream, so I can see all the races live on tv. If you don't agree that the people who run NASCAR are marketing geniuses, you must have been home schooled...
Dyingbreed... I know the interview... and I never said that they didn't use traction control systems... But the device that everyone talking about isn't for traction control. The AMA knew and know it is there, and they know about the device. Now!! You have something more to say?
Don't get me wrong... As much as I am a purist about MX (and not SX being equal to MX), I LOVE the ability to sit in my living room and watch live ( or pre-recorded) SX. ...and I am all for the guys making good money ( i.e. "a living") doing it (because in my day no one was making a living doing it). I do miss the late 70s opportunities to walk up to a cordoned-off box van and shake the hands of "The Man" and his competitors. It's not like that anymore and I understand that. I despise NASCAR not because it is not racing, but because of the attitude that comes with it. Motorcycle racers are different. They race and when they are done, they shake hands - As it should be. Very few sports come with that type of camaraderie and respect for each other (maybe tennis which is not a potentially life-threatening sport). No disrespect to Ms. Bates, but I also despise the "in your face", point-of-intercept while I'm in pain interviews. Mr. Hannah (as well as others) may have just as well punched you out if you got in his face asking him if so-and-so was "riding dirty" after an on-track upset. Yea... I know, don't bite the (money in the) hand that feeds. I can see the trend going towards NASCAR (as well as other professional sports) and not that I am a "ball" fan (I'm not) that concerns me because I really don't see many life-idols in ball sports, but you see a kid (like I was watching Lackey, DeSoto, Robert, Mikkola, Hallman Etc) watching our best and wanting to be them. THAT (to me) is what the sport is about. Just leave the drama out and keep it what it is and that includes the elbow banging, rock and mud-in-your-face real. Please.
Good stuff, guys. This is what I was looking for. Just some talk. Next week will be different again. More traditional Rev style :)
Hey BIG MX: Keep it civil, dude. Stop blindly judging people. Some of the young riders in the sport on their way up are home schooled to some degree as they chase-the-dream of a future as a Professional Motocross and/or SuperCross Racer. No need to 'smack-talk' anyone who doesn't give props to the Nascar marketing 'geniuses'... Everyone here has an 'opinion'. Be cool, brother.
I just wanted to add that I (and my race-viewing family of 4) FULLY support having rider/team radio communication and it â
I just wanted to add that I (and my race-viewing family of 4) FULLY support having rider/team radio communication and it â
Only about 1/3 of my post is shown?
Not an advocate of of mic-ing the riders and having reciprocating means of communications for several obvious reasons which could lead to more of a risk to the riders safety. One idea wold be to montior heart rate and repirations, which would showcase the great shape these riders are in. They ride a tight line.....maybe exagerating a bit here but it could be explained like riding a unicycle on a tight rope uphill while juggling lead filled bowling pins. One little brain flatulance, and their season is over. Now throw in 19 other riders and adrenilin. Nascar is no where near that, sprint cars maybe the closest as they are hitting a 2-4 inch cushion near the wall flat footed. Trophy trucks would also be comparable. Sewing machine operators have the foot control and hand eye coordination like cup drivers.Am I on to something. How about the semi-truck drivers up until the 80's driving their load through switch backs, cab temp near 140 like the cup guys.....It doesn't impress me when the color commentaries talk about the heat in the car. I do know there is that extra talent that the top cup drivers posesse, but they do have seats and buckles that will fit the guy who never carries the heavy end.
For those of you who are so ignorant (Stacy) to not want to see the sport grow in anyway possible baffles me. I have been a pro for many years and lets be honest, at times watching the races on tv can be boring. We only get a handful of good races every year were there is a great battle for the lead. Why would we (as a sport) not want to bring some excitement into the broadcasts? Not only does it attract new fans by way of drama but it also attracts new sponsors because of the growth of of the fan base. Its not like these story lines are made up, its actual stuff happening that all of the fans are oblivious too. Why not open up the can or of worms and let what happens, happen? Bring the new fans, bring the old fans, bring the new sponsors, bring more live television. Or should we take a step back in time when the supercrosses were only pulling in a few thousand people? Should we go back to mono-shocks as well? The true fans of the mx/sx family will always follow the sport no matter what. We need progression. Bottom line.
It is time that the announcers stop treating the broadcasts as a way to educate new viewers on how the sport works. It usually cliche after cliche and it gets old.....lets here the mx to soccer reference for the 10,000,000,000th time Emig. Start catering to the core fans as we are the ones that are tuning in every week. Call the frickin race for once, do you guys remember when Bestwick called the Nationals and it sounded like a race for once. He even dogged Short for no pushing hard enough.......the politically correctness of the current staff is sickening, The sport grows when it is treated like a real sport. We do not need to change it. Two way radios....? lol. I remember the Team Green Cookie Incident at an off road race years ago......? They turned out to be choc chip cookies. Suzuki retaliated with a guy named " Otis Fudpucker".....aka Guy Cooper. Now that woulda been good tv. Hi Stacy.
This is the biggest problem, true fans of mx do NOT want nascar kinds of fans in our sport! If anyone on here knows anything about auto racing, they know nascar is actually the worst form of racing but it pays the most money! Only because the people who know nothing love to watch "detroit" auto go 500 miles! Little do they know those guys drive taxi cabs. Its the most burning debate out there, do we sacrifice the roots of our sports for publicity and big money?? you tell me?
Speeds target demographic IS the nascar, hot rod lovin, lame auto auction audience..Maybe they should re air more races to attract more fans? MORE MOTO! lets see some Epic outdoor race reruns? how come we dont get any of that? dowd doin work at southwick, or any of the rc/ bubba battles...we get nothing just more guess how fast my hot rod go's in a straight line type shiat. I suppose it is hard to make a real fan out of someone with no seat time whatsoever...
Having riders communicate with riders and off track is bad idea. It will lead to more on track intentional take outs, un-sportsman like conduct and also will be a safety risk distraction for the rider and could cause them to lose focus, crash and get hurt. Also I don't know about any of you but when i'm racing about the only time i ever talk is 1. i almost crash and i swear. 2. some one almost takes me out and i swear. 3. some one makes a dirty move and i swear and finally 4. lapper is in way and i swear. I think radio broadcast of the mechanics and team mangers and such is fine, but leave the rider out of it. As for Nascar i want our sport to have nothing to do with what a circus that is and so far the closet thing to Nascar it has come is when at a southern track there was guys(nascar fans) yelling racial slurs at Bubbles (JS7) and we all know every true rider/racer is better then that and that's not an imagine any of us want for our sport.
name calling huh? classy. anyway, no where did i say i did not want the sport to grow and the athletes to be paid what they are worth(more than most stick and ball sports imo). but there has to be a high road path to attract casual fans. right now SPEED channel is on the low road. hey cory, great points,i agree, why tell the basic sx 101 story over and over? the athletes desreve more, the sport deserves more and the fans that have been following this amazing sport since the early 1970's deserve more.
It would be so sick to see the greatest races rebroadcast, but I think sometimes it could detract from the current mains events.... Yes I have now seen enough Bubbas world for the rest of my life. There is plenty of real drama going on without creating it. I would like to see the track walkthrough animation with a red and a blue, show the newbs where the alternate lines are, the arrow doing a whip was cool. Talk about the track and relate the line choices back to the viewers.
To Andy Bowyer: Great column AB but I have to disagree on one of your first points: ...â
Andy- spot on mostly except for having rider radio available. That would turn into a zoo like some of the bad PR days SX has had in the past I think unless tightly controlled. Other things I saw as I flew through the comments: -NASCAR abandoned its core and "it" bit them in the ass. Really "it"did? Have you been to a NASCAR race lately? Have you ever seen 500,000 people show up for a race at track that holds 120,000 just so they can camp outside the track and watch the race on TV. What an ass biter. There are 50 racing org's I'll bet that will drop their drawers and let "it" feed on their little tushes. (Does that mean if you are Core or It you bite asses?) -Core? Who are core fans? I went to Phx SX (and go to over 100 motorcycle and car events a year). I live in Phoenix and have for ever. I saw about 40 of my "core" buddies in the stands and pits and I also saw about 48,960 just regular fans whose only connection with the sport until that day was a shirt bought at merch or the ticket in their hand. All those tix, all that merch, all those peeps- draws $$ that filters down to the riders, mechs, drivers, team gofer hop up shops, diesel fuel-I digress. -The radio stuff and everything else has a NASCAR mentality. See my comment about eating butts above. Also- if we "core" fans are so uninterested in the behind the scenes stuff, getting more intimate rider detail etc.- Why in the hell do all the Moto Sites hit counts pop through the roof when they initerview someone. Why do we read CR22's twitter account? Remember watching Superbikers (the race for you kids out there) SIX MONTHS after it happened for five minutes at a time sandwiched in between downhill skiing and interpretive ice skating- this info wave we get is good for fans. I am not a complete fan of what Feld does. The Monster Jam to SX comparo was total crap- and it shows that the five minutes of our lives we lost there could have been put to way more efficient and profitable use by Feld. "Core" guys who want no change- you are in the rapidly fading minority I am afraid- technology does not stop. Embrace it and hang on or get left in the gate. Oh and with all the references to the redneck NASCAR fans, I wonder what we look like to say F1 fans?
...NO, â
ANDY, Perhaps we differ in the definition of 'great'. TV is NOT what makes a sport great. While TV is making the sport more popular and profitable, it does not make it any better than its been since it's beginnings without television. The riders skills, catching a little of HANNAH's Roost in your face standing next to a berm, a handshake from THE MAN at RED BUD... reasons why all of us hung over the fences and what has helped to make the sport of Motocross so great.
H2M Racing 438- You nailed it; funny and true (I swear a lot when I ride). Could someone in the Geico truck have radioed in "tell metty he's running low on fuel" at Southwick? What about Pourcel at Southwick the year prior? "We're picking up excessive vibration, tell Christophe he needs to take it easy on the motor." If in-ear communication is allowed, could a rider race with an Ipod? Why not?
Stacy Kohut good comments. Speed needs to fire everyone one and start over.Sorry Jeff. But i feel someone else could do better.
Get David "The Little Professor" Bailey back in the booth!
For the time being MX is for the core fan and SX is for the masses, and the masses (money) need to be entertained hence the light shows and smoke dealies , not to mention the dangerous jump combinations we saw last year. Further the real target demographics (numbers) arent in the seats they are behind their TVs. TGO DVD series does a great job of bringing the struggles and passion of MX to light and maybe we could bring that template to TV broadcasts. Have you ever noticed the passion the mechanics bring when givng the pit board, or the the way the up close pan shots create the rush we all feel. Lastly I think Fro is doing his best work yet and please let Erin stop chasing downed riders.
I think both RC and FRO do a good job adding the input from a racers perspective since Ralph does not know anything.... They should have another former racer down on the track to do interviews with the racers, someone the riders will take seriously, not some dumb ass....I dont watch the SX to see Erin Bates run around with her fake tan and fake tits......seriously.... interview RV topless and maybe we have something....but the ambulance chaser style is LAME!!!
Someone should drop Erin Bates one her head and run up to her with a mic and ask her one of her dumb ass aftercrash questions
dugthefresh1: Don't want to see anyone get hurt, but that was very funny. Would probably make Roczen grin a little bit too.
Good article and I like this weekend format. Couldn't we have some live video stories or more video stories on site?
I think it would be cool to have 2-way radios only during practice. I would love to hear what the guys are saying during that time. It might help with line selection and other things too. During actual races not so much. When your lining up, you don't need anymore BS going on. Just a thought though.
I would rather have the Speed team represented by a girl like Erin than the girls for rent representing the energy drinks.and Ralph I think is actually the glue that holds the crew together, Ask Emig he will tell you. Blaming the on air personalities for a lousy broadcast is like blaming the rider for a blown engine DNF, he was running the throttle but many things are out of his control