by Chase Stallo
Going for the W: East Meets West
Thursday, May 3, 2012 | 2:35 PM
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Since its inception in 1997 the Dave Coombs Sr. East/West Shootout has served as a measuring stick for the best Lites riders in the world. A stage where East meets West. A sanctuary for champions to stake their claim as best in the world.
The aptly named East/West Shootout didn’t mark the beginning of these showdowns (the final round of the season had hosted East vs. West races before, but there has been a much larger focus put on it in the Vegas Shootout era) but it has become a cornerstone of the series. But the race lost some luster last year.
Last year marked the first time in history that the West and East Region Lites Championship finales would also take place in Vegas, before the shootout. With championships hanging in the balance on both coasts, the typical exuberance reserved for the Shootout had become fixated on the run for the championship.
Tickle captured the West Region Lites title in Vegas last season, but it didn't come without controversy.
Simon Cudby photo
In the West, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasakis Broc Tickle held a slim two-point lead over GEICO Hondas rookie phoneme Eli Tomac. While on the right coast Tomac’s GEICO Honda teammate Justin Barcia held a sizeable lead over Tickle’s Pro Circuit counterpart Dean Wilson, but still needed to finish 15th or better to reap the benefits of his first Lites East title.
In Vegas, the hottest shows on the strip are usually reserved for the likes of Sinatra, Davis Jr. and Seinfeld, not Tickle, Tomac, Barcia and Wilson. But on an early May night in 2011 Monster Energy Supercross stole the show. Tickle and Tomac had, to this day, one the most hotly contested, highly controversial showdowns in supercross history. The early advantage belonged to Tomac, but he would run into a roadblock in the form of Tickle’s west coast teammate Josh Hansen—and later Cole Seely and Kyle Cunningham— allowing Tickle to slide by and grab the title. Before the pyrotechnics could go off the message boards were exploding.
Not to be left out, the East Region provided fireworks of its own. Justin Barcia would let what seemed to be a routine win almost turn catastrophic, when the points leader washed out in a corner putting the entire GEICO team on life support. Barcia would quickly recover and win the championship convincingly with a third place finish. But it didn’t come without drama.
Ryan Sipes' 2011 East/West Shootout win was overshadowed by the title chases.
Simon Cudby photo
There is no denying that the championship hunt took its toll on a number of riders once the Shootout took place. The fiery Barcia was out front early but would lose the front end giving way to Ryan Sipes—the eventual winner—while Tomac and Tickle, exhausted from their championship battle, simply cruised to sixth and tenth place finishes, respectfully. Sipes’ win marked the eighth time in history that a reigning Lites Champion didn’t win the Las Vegas finale—but his victory was so overlooked in the midst of Tickle and Barcia’s Championship runs, that, to this day, a lot of people don’t even remember that Sipes won the race at all! (And even further overlooked were the East and West final round wins by Blake Baggett and Ken Roczen).
Fast forward a year and order has been restored. GECIO Honda’s Tomac and Barcia have wrapped up the championship on their respective coasts. Title drama is gone. The Shootout has taken back the spotlight. No longer straddled with a championship hanging in the balance the top contenders will come out with guns a blazing in Sin City.
With a full arsenal of contenders ready to take center stage on the Vegas strip the Shootout has regained its position as the top show in town. For the first time in 2012 we will see the likes of Justin Barcia, Eli Tomac, Dean Wilson, Blake Baggett, Ken Roczen, Blake Wharton, Ryan Sipes, Justin Bogle, Malcolm Stewart, Darryn Durham, Jake Canada, Marvin Musquin, Jason Anderson, Martin Davalos, Kyle Cunningham, Matt Lemoine, Alex Martin… the list goes on, lining the gate. Get your popcorn ready, its Showtime!
Tomac and the rest of the west coast boys are ready to challange the east in Vegas.
Simon Cudby photo
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I think they (we) need to formulate a program that makes the E/W shootout the premeire 250F SX race of the year, and reward the winner accordingly.
I have always enjoyed the Vegas shootout. Fun to see the East versus West Lite riders and determine which guy gets bragging rights. The weather is pretty consistently good and it closes out the SX season. Also really like the track layout and the faster speeds.
Last year was a badass night of racing. Looking forward to this...
Go PC, and if not then go Eli
as incentive to keep the racers going when the SX series is concluding, maybe they could double points (bad idea to someone worried about pointing out), or double payout (NEVER a bad idea).
I don't think they envisioned the E/W shootout being as "ho-hum" as it has become whether by design or happenstance.
Either way, I want to see the NATIONS best 250F racers going 100% (or 200% if they are Canard disciples) for the win, not just winding down the SX season and trying to stay healthy for MX.
Out of curiosity, I wonder what's D.C's position on his Dad's namesake race?
Does he want the best 250F SX race ever no matter what or does he want a full field to represent his promotion company's best interest in the MX campaign?
I think that might be one of those proverbial forks in the road...............
No real reason, other than "Vegas Luck": Tomac wins West, Barcia takes East, and Malcolm in the final because he cleans the holeshot and wins while everybody else fights over 2nd thru 10th. Please, dont't kill the messenger.
The problem or dilemma with all of this everyone will line up and go WFO till the first turn,then and only then will the filtering process start. You will have the little voices and all the demons pulling at you lap after lap is this really worth getting all jacked up over and ruining my whole summer. The great potential of being a couch potato over maybe a spot or two in the name of maybe getting a little extra money or ride it out & chalk it up to that's Supercross. I thing the ladder. We now have started the testing and gearing up for the grind of summer known as The Outdoor Motocross Nationals . The season is way to long to many Los Angeles rounds, and there should be a break between both end of Supercross and the start of the outdoors. The 250 class looks good but the 450?
I think anyone that ran north of the border I.e..Canadian Nationals as far back as 3 years ago should retreat back south for the series. It could be yours for the taking. Hell I think JS. Roy and Damon Huffman would be top 5 at this point.. Good Luck folks..... I'm off to the Derby this Saturday & to Quail Hollow Sunday PGA event it will be more bang for the buck.. Better wine, women,song. I will get to see my old friend { Faceman} from the A. TEAM. Now that was a group that beat to there own drum. A way simpler time back then even in Motocross..
Chow ;) Mr_Mx
Going for the W: I'm going with ....
http://www.kentuckyderby.com/contenders/dullahan
East wins
Way too late to get the backing for this, but how about the Monster Half Million. Win the regional main and the shootout, and get a briefcase with 500K USD.
@ Carlsbad and Mr_Mx for the 2 best posts so far.. May the best Man win! Lets see a safe start and Barcia and Tomac show what they have? Winner takes all!!!
@Chase that was a good writeup, gave me goosbumps. keep up the good work!
Man, this lites class is really stacked with talent! It's going to be interesting to see how much of an impact they can make on the 450 class once they move up. I can't wait either because the premier class has gotten a little boring to watch and these guys should really liven things up.
I miss going to Vegas for the finals, it was always lots of fun. Vegas always seems to bring out some new surprises. But how often does the East or West Champion ever win Vegas? This is also the last chance for a lot of riders to prove themselves on the Supercross season before going outdoors. So these guys will be going for it. Looking for a win from Milsaps and hope everyone stays safe.
Tomac vs. Tickle in 2011....Wow!! I stood up the entire race....in my living room. That was amazing, that was high drama.
@czmark: This should help answer your question. "Sipes’ win marked the eighth time in history that a reigning Lites Champion didn’t win the Las Vegas finale"
Thanks Chase!
I'd say keep it the same for one more year and see how it works. If it doesnt have the effect you wanted go back to having the lites titles decided before vegas and keep the Davey Coombs race they way it was. Its a great race that I think the riders really want to win. Whatever you do, do not get rid of the two coast champonships
With both titles wrapped up what's the point? Sorry, I may sound like Dr. killjoy but no way I'm putting one of my riders on that line with the outdoor nationals getting ready to start. Especially with the massive rash of injuries over the past few months.
Yea, great racing and fun to watch but why run the risk of injuring one of your riders and for what? East/West shootout title, big deal.
Should be a $80k 1st, $40k 2nd, $20K 3rd, $10k 4th and so on so everyone get some cash and the podium is worth it. Feld needs to share a bit of that TV and gate money around. Don't think Feld should make $1million a year and 9th place in points walks home.
@Welker…. We do not know each other. You are probably thinking of yzsean. He was such goof ball the way he had a bromance for Dungey. My user-name "yzfsean", is a parody of his. It is easy to remember so I continue to use it. Remember when he posted he would always end with “Dungey Rules!!!” I started to end my posts with “Dungey Rules!!! Except when Villopoto, Stewart, Reed or Canard are racing.” I guess it is time for Dungey to rule again.
Matt Lemoine's a threat for the win? Really?
Might be a really good shootout though! I'm betting my money on:
1: Barcia
2: Tomac
3: Roczen
Great article as always Chase.
I think the Daytona round should be open to both the East and West riders. A very different track, and arguably the highest profile event of the SX series. If the east coast riders can make a trek to Las Vegas, the west coast riders can hit Daytona. The only drawback would be the west coasters would have half a dozen races under their belts, and the east guys are just getting going, but it'd still be a great show.
actually just 3 years ago Pourcel (1W) beat Ryan Dungey (1E) in the shootout.....so that fact of 8 years is INCORRECT!!!
they finished 1 & 2........
@ TonyC693, I think you misread the statement.
"Sipes’ win marked the eighth time in history that a reigning Lites Champion didn’t win the Las Vegas finale"
Meaning, it has happened eight times, not in the last eight years.
Good memory though........
On with the outdoors