250 Words: Wharton's Fortunate Misfortune
Monday, March 28, 2011 | 2:25 PM
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PrintIt’s become one of those years for Blake Wharton. He started the year on the short list of contenders for the East Region Lites Title—we were calling it the Little Five in homage to the Big Five in the SX Class—with Wharton joining Justin Barcia, Dean Wilson, Ryan Sipes and Blake Baggett on the could-be champions list.
He was in contention at the Houston opener, closing on the Barcia/Wilson battle until Sipes got into him and knocked both off of the podium. He appeared to have the Atlanta win in hand until he crashed. More misfortune followed—heat races crashes leading to Last Chance Qualifiers and bad gate picks. Then he crashed in the whoops while fighting for a podium last week in Jacksonville, and hurt his shoulder in the fall.
Wharton got his first podium of the year in Toronto.
Photo: Andrew Fredrickson
Wharton may be headed for shoulder surgery soon, but he showed up in Toronto anyway to try to turn his season around. He got a good start, slammed Sipes to get some revenge for Houston, and hung on for his first podium finish of the year.
Wharton is not going to win this year’s Lites East title. He may not get a race win and in fact may be headed out of the whole series if he elects to put his shoulder under the knife. Tough season all around.
There may be a silver lining, though. Under AMA rules, if a Lites rider scores 100 points for three-straight years, he is automatically bumped into the SX class for the next season (see Austin Stroupe for reference). Right now Wharton stands at 89 points, and if he does have to miss races due to shoulder trouble, it could end up saving his career. Sometimes a year can get so bad, it actually turns out good!
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IF he has a ride...
Loved Blake in the amatuer races. I was the guy who stood up for him when the keyboard racers were saying "he'll never win, he rides with his shoulders drooped, he doesn't attack the track at all etc"... I told them he had the speed to win, was a huge fan, now i just wanna strangle this kid. Last week he played so many games w/ deano, BS block passes, running him high, stand him up here, cut him off there. By the time dean passed him barcia was ga ga ga gone. and where was wharton??? on the dirt DNF. This week he pulls that BS move on sipes, knowing he's not even gonna finish the season. I can only lmagine that he did it because he knew sipes and wilson will smoke brady barcia. To add insult, He took out sipes like that trying to ruin his season knowing that he's gonna have shoulder surgery. Because surely blake needs another year in the lites/250 class
agree, i used to really like blake but lately he has been playing these stupid games and its very annoying. And the thing with Sipes......be the bigger man i dont think his move in Houston was as nearly intentional as Blakes this weekend.
ya, bummed on that incident with sipes, only because the race was set up to be epic and that move ended that. Hope to see wharton get fixed and come out real strong at Hangtown, that would be best for him.
Sipes now is confident, so I look for him to win again here in the next rounds and it should be good racing if the top 4 guys get the starts.
Being an experienced writer, it's telling to read the slants in the article by Weigandt.
Sipes "got into him" (more of a t-bone slam, past the corner at the base of a triple), while Blake "slammed" Sipes (stuffed maybe, side by side, in apex of corner).....really Jason?
While not a particular fan of Blake, what is nice seeing is riders trying to pass riders back immediately.
Why the heck would they race if rider X is faster in practice so your supposed to let him go when he passes you. Stewart would of had how many titles by that mentality?
Race the main, and fight for your position!
He better have the surgery. He has zero chance of getting a decent ride or result in the SX class. Lucky for him the rules are what they are.
Jason, in a 9 race series it is 135 points to count towards the 3 year before bumping to 450 class. Not 100.
Is Mike Larocco (geico team owner) telling blake to make these rediculous moves??? I think the PC kawi guys need to start paying bonuses blake baggett to take out justin barcia. Do some Sirhan Sirhan stuff, "okay blake, when you see the #17, take him out and make sure he's hurt, than pop the clutch hold the front brake and spin that tire right over the guy... If Mitch offered 20k for a barcia takeout/DNF,,, There would be riders fighting to be that guy to take him out. I guess thats where racing's coming to. Sipes has been trying so hard for so long. He's had some adversity in his career. Idiot wharton wont even let him pass even tho he's 2 seconds a lap faster. was a fan, not anymore Blake. Go get surgery so you can stay in the little bike class forever Pu$$y. Wish my Pitbull Stroupie was there still. He'd have all these guys in check, especially blake
oh great.... So we're gonna have to see this Jonas brother on a lites bike for another 3 seasons? I hope he loses his ride. Once a privateer he'll never be anything but a stick in the mud. His crashes are good for the highlight reel. but he's still a dirty rider
Or....could be a terrible move, he could go in for surgery come back, and not a have a ride. Happened to Tim Ferry, and he was one of the few who fought back and was able to get a factory ride again.
Wharton just copied the other dude who is in love with himself, Chad Reed...You cant beat them, take them down....I think his hair slows him down and after watching the Inside the Moto series last week, he is in love with himself or gay....I dunno...kind of a kook
organdoner.... mike larocco is not the team owner.
Well look what he did to his own teamate (canard) last yr. Trey had a great shot at getting that sx lites west title and BAMMM! His own teamate takes him out b/c BW knew TC was gonna blow by him for another win!
Wharton is in it to protect Barcia. Thats what they are paying him for. Sipes was faster than both Wharton and Barcia but Wharton took him out. Last week Wharton took out Wilson.
Cav - Exactly....cant beat them, take them out...Im suprised lil' Prince had a ride after that BS move on Canard....But look at Canard now.....Wharton is going nowhere.....he got smoked in 3rd place....Sipes is the gentle giant in this story.
yeah i watched the 250 race again and wharton barely touches sipes at all...sipes had plenty of room he just kinda drifted over and hit a tuff block with his front wheel
Blake Wharton needs to cut his hair and clean his act up.e is just like all these posers..no titles..not in shape..but they think they are gods gift.There is a huge crop of really fast amateurs going pro soon so he will be lucky to keep a factory ride.Wait till the outdoors.Sipes is gonna destroy. If he is 2 seconds faster on a sx track ..he will carry that over to the outdoors.In case all you doubters were not paying attention ,Sipes was the fastest qualifier last season at Steel city of all riders and second fastest at pala ,right behind dungey. And sipes was riding production bikes.With the yamahas obviously running very well, and yamaha factory parts,he will be a title contender.And Sipes is in shape..he isnt out being a rockstar.
Blake should "get into" James Stewart.
Oops, wrong class ;-).
Maybe Blake could ride 450s once and try to get lapped. After that he could get his surgery done. Imagine that - changing history in two classes in the same year!
That race was great I was able to teach my son The Golden Rule !!
AT THE VERY LEAST Blake was nice enough to do it on the 2nd lap an not on the last lap like Sipes DID that was uncalled for....
Wharton is a goon, dont know what his deal is, seems to think that he needs to try and clean everyone out to prove a point before he drops back in the pack.
If Wharton's lucky, he'll get to hang back. There's no more money for 450 signings, probably for a couple more years. Sad, but true.
Didn't know we had the "Sipes Fan Club" on here. If you guys think Wharton's pass was even close to what Sipes did to him earlier in the series you are not actually watching the race. Blake didn't even really touch him, and he had every right to punt him into the cheap seats as payback. I'm really surprised that Sipes would be surprised by an aggressive pass coming from the guy he T-Boned off the podium in round 1.
Get healthy Blake!
yall are p-uss-ys... none of whartons moves were dirty, just aggresive the way they should be...good for him.
Keyboard racers saying Wharton's move was dirty, but did anyone see the move Sipes put on him in Houston? Get outta here, stop hatin' on the kid, he's out there trying just as hard as everyone else, but I'm sure all you keyboard racers could do much better right?
@Dave, what the hell does his hair have to do with anything. It wont make him different, just the same guy with short hair..
Wharton admitted to Sipes that he took him out on purpose. So you guys who think it wasnt a takeout, it shows how little you know..
stop saying whartons move was dirty...that was not even close to dirty...he ran him wide not even making much contact if any.... just cuz sipes fall looked dramatic the media is making it much more of a deal then it was... Sipes took out wharton serious contact there... wharton was gunnin for the lead and sipes in houston just lost his judgement for a sec.. ITS RACING
bd200 "Wharton admitted to Sipes that he took him out on purpose. So you guys who think it wasnt a takeout, it shows how little you know.." PERFECT!
And Skinny - I'm sure Wharton IS trying hard - he's just not delivering because he's not good enough! Duh! "but I'm sure all you keyboard racers could do much better right?" Well, if I wanted to make a living riding on a top team, I'd HAVE to do better if I wanted to keep my ride. And Skinny - I guess you're qualified to judge Sipes? Third fastest overall in practice, including the 450s? But you'd do better, right? I didn't see Wharton throw down like that.
I posted this same thing on Vurb. It ain't the first time and it surely ain't the last time. This is Supercross not Lawn Bowling. These guys "race" for a living and for the livelihood of their families. This is what I love about watching Supercross. This class is stacked and Blake is up there with the fast guys. Give the kid a break he is legit. Watch Sipes's interview after the race he was fine. These guys are bad asses and they've been slamming each other since they were 6 years old. Get over it!
Whartons days are winding down. He looks like a dirty homeless person, rides like a goon cause he knows he can't hold those guys off for long, and is in his last year with a good ride. No one is going to sign him with his riding the way it is, and his appearance. There are way too many professional-looking amateurs coming up, and when lorettas is over this year, wharton's ride will be over as well.
Sipes should have just let off and not ran into Blake. Geez figure it out.
that was a fair block pass.Blake left him room (between him and tuff blocks)
Ryan just lost his wheel in the loose stuff.
THIS IS THE LAST BLAKE'S SEASON ON A GEICO JUSTIN BOGLE IS GONNA TAKE HIS SPOT FOR 2012
Wow the little keyboard racing meanies are all over this one,been watching moto since the 70's this kind of racing been going on since then,and I'm sure before(hell watch the girls race and they do the same thing).Why don't you complain about the old dude in the class,Sipes,why is'nt he racing with boys his own age(that's a rule that should be changed).Every one of these riders could ride circles around you and me for that matter,so sit back and enjoy the show and stop being babies.
From the guys you mentioned he's the slowest, I hope he takes some time off to heal his shoulder, because in reality nobody will miss him on the gate.
i like...turtles? not so much wharton,moto jesus my a$$..im thinkin long haired panzyyyyy with vag-initis,,lol...id love to see baggett smear barcia off the face of a triple..howa bout daniel blair..why does that guy race? hes been around for a hundred years,not hearing about him,has he ever...ever...made a podium finish? and like...dean wilson,id love to see him smack a brick wall pinned wide open,lol...too harsh? and chad reed....broken femur,i wish the "hurt list" had a few more riders "WE" picked..
I don't think Sipes' move in Houston was dirty, he was racing for a podium with 2 laps to go on a track that was terrible for passing. Wharton had the same option as Sipes had this weekend, which was to let off. My biggest complaint about Wharton is that Sipes was the closest to catching Barcia for the title, clearly faster than everybody in Toronto, and now Sipes goes from 17 pts back(potentially 12 if he had won Toronto) to 23pts down in one race. All because of a guy who isn't even going to race the rest of the year? Come on man.
"Didn't know we had the "Sipes Fan Club" on here. If you guys think Wharton's pass was even close to what Sipes did to him earlier in the series you are not actually watching the race. Blake didn't even really touch him, and he had every right to punt him into the cheap seats as payback. I'm really surprised that Sipes would be surprised by an aggressive pass coming from the guy he T-Boned off the podium in round 1."
Agreed! My buddy calls last night whining about Wharton's pass. Please! Wharton barely touched him. If you cant take the heat, get out of the kitchen!
I will never really understand the problems with people complaining about passing/punting someone gee wizz in the 70's it was a form of art in the 125's no Im not talking about the beginners here. Heck I remember haveing ramfests then off the track after we cooled down its all ok till we get on the track again. At least now days the riders dont have to worry about that snowfence, that kinda hurt .
always somebody complanining about dirty passing. this is a contact sport like it or not. if you tbone somebody its dirty. every thing elese goes. yes i get aggrevated when somebody takes my guy out but the bottom line is that rider is responsible to protect himself from a block pass. this is how the racing will stay competitive. bubba is the fasest guy out there. if there aint no rubbin allowed why bother racing just give the trophy to bubba
Wharton has his likeness on the tail of every Alaskan airlines jet, and he really did good at Millville when he first started, so I would say he has done pretty good for himself.
I know what your going through on that shoulder injury. I fractured the top of my humorous, dislocated my shoulder, and tore my rotator cuff in a crash at the RC Amateur SX. I have to get another X-Ray Friday to decide between surgery or a 10 week healing process!!
i think its funny,the only guy riding clean is bam bam.maybe because of the wrist or because all he has to do is stay up and finsh in the top three for the rest of the season.as far as the top five they have all at one time or another have taken there shots.if i said it once ill say it again,this is racing .these guys are racing for there lifes and futures.
The riders will sort themselves out. I like the hands off policy. Let racers race. The only opinion that matters is theirs.
All riders that can make a main in SX should all be millionaires. Look at NAP-CAR. 43rd driver flies in on his private jet. That is what's wrong with our sport. Not enough money to go around.