by Andy Bowyer
One Industries Thursday Rev Up: Texas
Thursday, May 26, 2011 | 10:15 AM
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Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Rev Up. Before I get into the upcoming race in Texas, I want to send my thoughts and sympathy to the folks of Joplin, Missouri. What’s happened and still happening there is terrifying. I grew up about 150 miles from Joplin and have seen dozens of tornadoes. They are simply the most humbling power of nature there is. You can get away from the ocean; we know hurricanes are coming, and even earthquakes pale in comparison. Any tornado is bad. But, that one was the deadliest in recorded history. It was a half of a mile wide. I never like to write about bad things, but this tragedy struck home. The weather and the storms are getting worse with each passing year. There are tornadoes on the ground as I write this...
Now, onto round two in Texas.
Reed used his "old-man strength" to outlast Dungey at Hangtown.
Photo: Simon Cudby
First off, my jaw dropped when I saw how rough and nasty the Hangtown track was. That was one mean son of a bitch right there. None of those guys could have been truly prepared for that immaculate buffet of chop, ruts, and gnarl. It was heavy duty status, for sure. That said, I wasn’t surprised to see Reedy step up and win the O/A. Motocross is a lot like other athletic genres in that it takes years and years to gain strength beyond strength. You can weigh your food, train like a wild animal and bust 30’s for months and never find the salt that Reed’s ten-plus years have. The Thunder even said as much that he was basically still hung over from Vegas, and he still outlasted Ryan Dungey. That’s old-man strength, and it’s stronger than a garlic milkshake.
Transversely, it’s traditionally the youth gone wild that wins the opener in the tiddler class. Blake Baggett has a season under his belt, but his career becoming was when he threw a leg over the Monster Energy PC destroyer. Blake got left in the cold behind Barcia and Tomac and you just know he was prepared to display a vulgar display of power. I was happy to see him offer sandblasted skin to the competition.
Now Texas. Last year we had the boys seeing Indians on the side of the track transforming into hawks and flying into the crimson sun. It was stupid hot and hallucination didn’t quite cover it. Brink of death was more like it. It’s pretty gnarly how hard those guys push themselves and how far they’ll pound the track with a primal concrete sledge until giving up. The problem is, they won’t. The weatherman is saying she is going to be 96 degrees this Saturday afternoon. Not quite as nasty as last year, but damn hot.
After being passed over last year, Baggett is proving his doubters wrong.
Photo: Simon Cudby
It will be almost twice as hot as Hangtown was, and Freestone is far from a cakewalk. Those sand whoops are straight evil, and when you’re twenty minutes deep into a moto flapping off the back of your bike you have a strong chance to get far beyond driven. The track as a whole is “Texas style” all the way. The Texas tracks I used to race on were super fast, rough, and had everything from a little hard pan to washed out sand sections. Like most of the outdoor national tracks, Freestone will change a ton throughout the day, but the looser than typical soil means each corner can be different with each grueling lap. The nice little notch you spent three laps barking in on the inside could be blown out the lap you go to make your pass. The lip on the face of a jump could have gotten cupped out to the point of bucking you, just within a lap.
As awesome as Hangtown was, we haven’t seen anything yet. What we will see is two different winners this weekend. The outdoor championship canvas is relatively dry until after High Point in my opinion. The opening few rounds are pivotal, though. You have to score points and survive. Easier said than done. But the cannons have fired. The art of shredding has begun, and the game is afoot.
Texas was scorching last year.
Photo: Simon Cudby
In closing, my favorite three things about Texas are in order:
#1. The women. NFM.
#2. The fans. Texas fans are an animal of their own. If you want to party, well, they’re ready.
#3. Pantera. Obviously. (wink)
Round two is here. She’ll be different this time around. Let’s get ready to see the show!
Thanks for reading, see you next week.
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Hollyshot... I did it
Love the Pantera song references throughout! Love Pantera more though! Cant wait to watch the race! Good read Andy!
Nice one Bowyer......I was catching the Pantera vibe while reading the Rev......nice vulgar display of penman ship.........
Walk on home boy.
That was a good Rev-Up...Let the heat rain down! Dungey, Deano, and the buREEDo all thrive on the hot stuff!
Nice, cant go wrong with PANTERA, ever !!! --- Hence my name " Trend Killer". one of Dimebags guitars from The Great Souther Trend Kill .....now my turn...
I hope to see RV come to Freestone with a NEW LEVEL of confidence and power......The speed and stamina that we know he posesses could leave the pack SLAUGHTERED..... RV can WALK away from these guys and we will see DOMINATION matching that of Carmichael and Stewart from years before. Dungey will not accept " I'M BROKEN " as described in other articles and he would probably like 5 MINUTES ALONE with anyone who thinks otherwise...Reed rode well at Hangtown, but will he survive the ART OF SHREDDING that will be handed to him by RV??
got carried away there......PANTERA...... RV....HOT CHICKS..... TEXAS
RIP DIMEBAG DARREL!!!!!!!!!
I'm clueless. What's NFM?
Still hung over from Vegas??? Reed obviously doens't party like Pantera!!!......
I think Reeds lack of testing, being ready to race and all that jazz is being a little overplayed ..... He had just as much time as any of the other guys and his Factory HONDA was pretty much dialed before he even swung his leg over the thing. With all the experience Reed has, he shouldnt have much trouble making the transition to MX... I saw pleanty of footage of all these guys riding during the 2 week break, excluding Poto, so not sure what the big deal is.....Reed wanted to make sure he felt good on the bike before committing to the series and he felt good right from the get go...Reed likes to try and beat his competition with mind games and some of these " i wasnt even ready, or i was still hung over " statements are examples of him trying to get into other riders heads while he tried to act modest......A great ride for Chad dont get me wrong, but lets take the " Chad didnt even clip his fingernails this week " and still won factor out of it.....
Trendkiller, man all RV needs is he normal stamina, watching him the first 5-6 laps at hangtown he has confidence, I look for him to be much better at freestone and 100% by highpoint, GO RV !!!!!!!!!!
Tell the people in northeast Japan, Haiti or New Zealand that earthquakes pale in comparison. What happened in Joplin was terrible, but really?
Gotta go with DISTURBED!!
Chad dint even clip his fingernail this week and still won. Teh other guyz are in series trubble
I think that Reed will prove that he was the one ready last week and that it wasn't a fluke. I think that RV and RD will be just as fast as him and they will realize that Reed is in it for the duration. I also think that all three will realize that K-Dub is ALWAYS a threat for the win.
It will be a great summer1
Reed is always ready, he is a vetran of the series. And I agree with having years of riding making him stronger, its why I dont like the older vets coming from the GP's and staying in the 250 class for years. There are guys in the 250 class older than RV and Dungey, its horrible. Give those riders to some young kids who deserve it.
@mrb186, I do like Disturbed, but if I have to choose, Pantera way over them. But I am going to Rockstar Mayhem Fest in Cincy, to see Disturbed with Megadeth, and Godsmack as headliners. With a ton of smaller name bands also like Machinehead(awesome) and Straight line Stitch.
And a band with connections to Pantera in case some guys dont know is HELLYEAH!!, if you havent heard them take a listen they are awesome. The drummer is Panteras drummer. singer is from Mudvayne, and guitar players from Nothingface and Mudvayne. They Rock!!
Nice wright up, thanks. The F5 in Joplin was about a mile wide and went through town about 6 miles, so with a population of 75,000, 25,000 lost their homes and jobs/businesses. There's about 3000 still unaccounted for. The contributions are going great from areas all around like here in Springfield. My wife saw people filling up shopping carts and rolling them right out to the Convoy of Hope trucks. From the tv shots it looks like the whole town is leveled as far as you can see, just amazing.
Anyway, I can't wait until sat at 1pm, should be a great show! No news about JS racing yet(always a spectacle)?
Hellyeah on the HELLYEAH!!!! Vinnie Paul and the Mudvayne boyz can hold their own!
Bugers, dogs,and cold ones? Check! Is the 'QUE" ready to go? Check! Plenty of hot babes? Check! Dirt on the patio to simulate race grounds? Check! Lap top and wi fi ready to go? Check! How about you Allisports? Are you ready to go this Saturday on time?????????? Then lets get it on! Top picks for the day Dunegy and Rattray.
Sorry "A-Boy", but I dont see 2 different winners this weekend.
I like that TrendKiller Pantera is one of my all time favorites for sure!!!
My thoughts and prayers go out to EVERYBODY feeling Ma Natures wrath right now. Catastrophies like all of these can't be compared they are all horrible!!
Freestone picks: #2, #22, #14 250 class #19, #57, #17 WMX #67, #1, #50
SoCaolRacing, I'm with you on the prayers to everyone. We have had several tornados hitting around here, less than a week ago one went by within 8 miles of my home. And another just went through the northern suburbs of Cincy, its terrible around here. But not like Joplin, or in the South in Alabama, my heart goes out to those people. I have to disagree on some of your picks. My guess would be 450---#2--#5, then #22, I dont think K-Bud willl hang the whole 30 minutes. The 250 class-- Barcia (he stays up this time) Bagget-- And Tomac. But my wild card would be Musquin, but with the heat, I just dont think he is in shape yet.
@greenflyer: it's possible that AB was referring to tragedies that have happened in our own country so calm youself. You know we do have our own shit going on here and this most recent hurricane was relentless. Very sad for the families in these areas.
I wonder if outside counties put together relief funds as much as we donate to theirs. Would be nice if they could offer support to us as well...
Meant Tornado, not hurricane in my previuos post. By the way great write-up.
bd200 I know you like Barcia but he faded last week in moto 1, and how about Wilson??
Pantera? please. i remember them when they were spandex wearing hair band.
Danzig, suicidal tendecies and metallica(before they went soft) in Syracuse at the fairgrounds was the best show I ever been to.
Totally shocked by the disasters in Joplin, Missouri, deepest sympathies for all the tornado victims. sorry for my bad English.
HELL YEAH!! (Not the band)........KTM475 - the spandex was just a warm up faze man ....kind of like when pink gear and flashy helmet paint jobs with flames and fire and all that shiit...... PANTERA are the true kings of metal and should be the soundtrack to moto!!! Hate hearing rap and gay shiiiit at SX during opening ceremonies.....PLAY SOME METAL!!!! PANTERA or SLAYER...pick a sin...any sin.... GO VILLOMETAL!!!!!!
RV is still not feelling very good!
Rick Melon wears cut off jean shorts and netted half tees to the races. Throw up your horns metal fans! Lame...
I want to hear some Steel Pulse during the ceremonies. lol
Used to be a Bubba Fan -- what a big peace of S&^t can't even acknowledge the fan base that got him all the money that supports his compound. Dousche bag --- get your happy ass in shape or get a new ride, but quit acting like you are something -- no title in a couple years equals has been in my books -- fastest qualifying lap times or not
If Dungey is the rider who trains the hardest, it should give him the edge in Texas.
Andy, pro-pain a few weeks ago and now pantera? You are working my playlist, dude. Clutch, smashing pumpkins, and prong. Who else??
Sorry to change the subject- Type-O-Negative / Bloody Kisses- my personal fave-very loud.
WFO_UFO,
UFO Light Out - Too Hot To Handle!
Andy,
Old man strength could = PED's. Let's not be scared to throw it out there. Let's test and make sure everyone is playing fair.
You can tune a piano but you can't tuna fish.
Pantera!!! Nice!!! Nice memories!!! Was also a fan of Sepultura, Testament & Cathedral! Help me get through college! Ha,ha!
Hotter! Hotter! Hotter! Let's see who's ready for the Summer series..........wal-mart is going to sell out of plastic kiddie pools for the track.........and camelbacks.
Tigolebitties, thank you for saying it. I'm over-limit on editorializing.
Andrew Short is at his home race, it's as flat as it's gonna get and he's past his traditional slow start. Show us something!!!!! Are you a TexiCAN or TexiCAN'T???
Good read Bowyer, pretty innovative with the band tie-ins. Now try some BIEBER!!!!
Here they come reach for ya guns ..............
@Billc, Wilson looked great obviuosly, until he fell over the hay bale. But I want to see Barcia hang in there. But if he isnt in shape, the Texas heat will bury him. Bagget looked to be the strongest late in the race, and Rattray too. I want to see someone else except the Pro Circut guys, mybe Sipes will have some better luck.
Great read Andy ty. Ok......sounds like its gonna be "stick yer head in the ice chest hot"... I love when all the elements come together to actually test a feller. Red Bud memorial weekend 1978,- ....104 degrees, 347% humidity...... "sip dont gulp""" LMAO....stuck my head in the ice chest.
I have to add, that was the best day of my life ,(we all have "best day memorys" right??? @@ and I'm 48 yrs old been everywhere, even over seas... had alotta fun, harley trips ect, but nothin tops red bud 1978 for me, and that wasnt a win..
15 yrs old 250 b....5th......who cares about details though right??
Greenflyer great point, Andy has a way of typing before thinking, much like when he trashed Vegas and all the people who live here in the finals rev up, Idiot. Go Windham and Reedy
DOES anybody know if ( james the crash master stewart ) is going to ride this weekend in TEXAS ! I wonder how he will do on the YELLOW bike,,,
R,V,,,,,,REED,,,,RYAN D and K - DUB all kick ACE !! seen them last weekend out in cali,,,THY ALL LOOK WAY FAST !!!!!
Down is far superior to Pantera. It is hot and horrid. These guys are animals. Poor Japan. Reeds new bike has the Rising Sun on it. Corporate. Compassion.