Redux: Second Half
Wednesday, March 6, 2013 | 9:30 AM
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Lots of talk this week about flags (have you noticed?) but one set that went less detected were the cross flags at the finish line indicating the halfway mark of the St. Louis main event. In a 17-race season, the halfway mark of round 9 is the halfway mark of the year. And the very first inch of that second half presented as much action as any through the entire first half. James Stewart led the troops through the midway mark of St. Louis, but Ryan Villopoto was right on him, and Justin Barcia, Chad Reed, Ryan Dungey were right there, too. You had Stewart versus Villopoto, pinned, in a duel for the lead with the brash rookie behind them. That’s the kind of stuff we sign up for—and it should be in store for much of the rest of the season.
It’s hard to believe it when the smoke clears at Vegas, but quite often the really crazy, never-to-be-forgotten parts of a championship season all take place down the stretch. Emotions just aren’t raw enough in the beginning of the season, and to witness, even Stewart and Reed started much of their feud seasons in a pretty good place with each other, only to have the weekly competition drag them back into the fire. Their 2009 season ended in an epic war of trash talk and heat and shots, but that year actually started with both riders taking the high road, avoiding disrespectful actions until they couldn’t be contained any longer.
The 2008 season appeared to be a Reed runaway (walkabout?) until he went flipping over the bars late in the year, opening the door for Kevin Windham to make a title run. At one point Reed was taking an ambulance ride to the hospital in Detroit, but later came back to race and make the main via the old provisional rule. Just like this past Saturday in St. Louis, there was much finger pointing over what was legal and what wasn’t. By the end of it, things were very heated between the two. So much so that at the U.S. Open, months later, Windham quipped, “I’ve only seen the other guy here for five minutes and it’s already made my blood boil.” Windham has walked away from this sport proudly, but that ’08 season still sticks in his craw a bit.
RV and Stewart kicked off the second half with a bang!
Simon Cudby photo
In 2010, Stewart and Reed were banished with injuries, leaving the Ryans to duel. And they kept quiet the whole way until, you guessed it, St. Louis, where Villopoto used missile lock to (not really) complete a block pass and send both riders to the ground. Surely, the final laps of that race and the remaining ones on the schedule were set to be 11s on a 1-10 scale, until Villopoto went crashing out just minutes later.
Then 2011, the greatest season ever? Much like this one, it was stacked with talent the whole way, but tensions didn’t rise until another Reed/Stewart dustup in Atlanta, and then the roof blew off completely in Jacksonville, where Villopoto missed the main and Stewart crashed out in the first turn. As for last year, no one knows what was in store. The opening rounds are usually a little cool, and then things begin to heat up. But last year, Villopoto’s competition crashed out before things could get nasty.
And that’s what sets the stage for this season’s furious finish. The riders are healthy—a lot of them. Coming into the year, your best wishes would have been to see former champs Villopoto, Dungey, Reed, Stewart up front. Barcia proved a quick learner. It was a bonus in finding Trey Canard recovered and recouped enough to be in the mix. Then, for good measure, Davi Millsaps is starring as often-dreamed-for-but-rarely-happens “Guy who stepped up his game.” In an ordinary year, you merely hope that a rider like Millsaps suddenly finds his groove and joins the fray. This isn’t hope; it’s reality, because that guy is leading the points.
Yet, all of those players haven’t brought the most exciting plays, yet. So many races had turned into no passing zones (oh man, did I drag that term back up again?) that it was almost beginning to look like there were too many contenders in the mix. Blowing by a lead group so stocked with titles and speed and experience isn’t easy. Save for Villopoto’s Anaheim 2 victory, where he went from sixth to first, no one had really been able to come through. Passing was virtually null. For all of this competition and closeness, we hadn’t really seen a battle yet.
Points leader Davi Millsaps suddenly has a title fight on his hands.
Cudby photo
Oh, but the good stuff started the moment the second half began on Saturday night. There was a certain emotion starting to build during that race. The dirt helped, because riders could set each other up for block passes and finally toe the line between aggressive and dirty. The intensity helped, as points are becoming more and more of a premium. And, that flag squabble certainly has some people fired up.
It goes back to something I’ve learned going in and out of these team trucks for the last few years. For outsiders like us, Anaheim 1 is the race that brings the hype and anticipation, but on the inside, teams and riders are doing all they can to avoid that stuff. Over the long haul, there will be races much more pivotal than the first race of the season. Drama will be found and emotions will spill over real passes and crashes. That’s why the season-opening press conference is always such a disappointment. Fans and press are looking for raw stuff, trash talk and reaction. But the riders aren’t going to waste energy stressing on imaginary scenarious at the opener—they’ll need nerves in reserve when the real stuff comes. And that’s right about now. In the second half.
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RV will win.. Best rider for the last couple of years!
If villopoto catches Milsaps point lead and the 18 gets 2nd in series points again back to back seasons it will go from an amazing accomplishment last year to an amazing let down this year .. No matter what this is the year of Milsaps he has earned that respect.. Amazing career turn around
Yes Jason, now the racing will intensify! At the beginning of the year each rider sees himself as a contender, now reality starts to set in, every start carries more importance, as the reality of a rapidly closing door of opportunity, stares each rider in the face. As a riders championship aspirations begin to dissolve, pressure and frustration will be on the rise. The racers who are still in the title hunt, also begin to feel the pressure, not wanting to let their teams, sponsors, fans, family or themselves down. The pressure usually shows itself in one of two ways, causing mistakes or the rider to focus and upping his game. How the combatants handle the added pressure will be a deciding factor in the seasons outcome.
RV said in his podium interview at STL." It is crunch time and its coming down to the end "..... or is it the halfway mark??? I agree it maybe crunch time...but not after STL results now only down 12... A Little different tone than what he said at ATL on the podium.... Big fan of RV and I hope he pulls out the 3-peat....but sometimes his choice of words puzzle me... when he is being sarcastic in interviews and just being himself - I get that.... but the last couple interviews I have scratched my head...even on the flag issue with Alessi when he said " red cross means no passing on the entire straightaway obviously"...but then the Stewart thing happened (for the record AMA made the rule and Im cool)..oh well....Race on RV...go get it!! Watch out for 22 in Daytona - he is going to try and get back in this series anyway he can.....
I think 2nd last year was sort of blanketed by all the guys who dropped out....A great accomplishment, but if he gets 2nd again this year, it will be a let down no doubt but I think an even greater accomplishment compared to 2012....Never has DM18 been the points leader at all, let alone for more than half the series...2 wins, a boat load of podiums in the field containing three 2-time SX champs, Dungey Barcia etc....DM18 was not on anyones list for winning the title...thats a fact and he may still pull it off...if he doesnt, BY FAR this is his best year....losing would suck...but no shame man!!!
Was going up north to snowmobile but things are not looking so good so the good things is i can watch daytona live!! Just hope for clean starts for the top guys...and NO RED flags. I bet the AMA is going to talk to the flagers about when and where the red flag gets used. There was no need for the 2nd one anyway from what I saw and others have said.
KilloMoto i don't know there is a way for reed to get back into this thing outside of a LOT of guys getting hurt.
.I agree even if Sap's get 2nd in the end it would be his BEST year ever hands down. Like you said last year so many were out hurt this year would mean so much more to me to get 2nd.
@Bill C- The Red cross flag is put out by AMA Officials not the regular flagers at the race, so i guess they may talk with themselves on how to handle it. I want to say they pulled it out because of where and how bad Kiniry collided with Georke (Which we didnt get to see), and they probably weren't expecting him to get up especially since his bike was mangled.
Source - Listened to Mathes Podcast with Kiniry and the AMA Official.
As fans we all have our favorites and with our amazing insight, we each predict the out come of the series, before the first race is ran.. This year of the 17 races, I guessed RV would take 7, JS and Reed would grab 3 each, while Barcia and Dungey would each get 2, with the title going to Villopoto...As you can see, I too, missed out on giving last years #2 supercross rider, Milsaps, any victories, let alone a chance to repeat that position...
At this point in the season, I now hope Milsaps can take the title... I think, it would be great for the sport to have him come out of nowhere and be crowned champion! It would give hope to all non factory riders and show more parity in our sport, than if RV were to collect his 3rd championship in a row. In any sport, Predictably is boring, Surprises bring excitement and raise the interest level of all the fans, both causal and hardcore...
Just think of how exciting next season would be, 5 former champions, all hungry (especially RV) to battle the new talent that will join the class next year..The Sensational Seven will be joined by Baggett, Tomac, Wilson with maybe Roczen and others ready to have all of us sitting on the edge of our seats each Saturday night...Wow bring on 2014!!!
Anybody but RV
In that picture of Millsaps, doesn't it look like his left hand is not holding onto the grip, like he's adjusting the clutch? With riders all around him, even.
I'd end up with my one tear-off still on at the end of a race, because I could never find a good spot to take my hand off the bars. These guys adjust their gear, bikes, who knows what else, in mid-air.
BillC Iwent up to Maine last weekend conditions were Excellent. We went through
Bethel, Rumford, Andover. Time to get a sled upgrade the 05 Artic Cat is so out dated for the amount of motor it has. Maybe just sell it and rent next time I don't go that much, which would put me on a new machine, for the 2 times a year i go.
Have fun this weekend don't make excuses just go not much time left.
It would be great to see Davi get the title this year, but after last weekend, alot of points were lost to Ryan. I would never doubt Ryan for a mintue when it comes to winning this thing, even though it looked real shaky at first. So no matter what Davi does from here on out, he has my vote for a great season and a job well done.
He is adjusting the clutch in mid-air. I either try to pull the tear off mid-air and only get it halfway, leaving it hanging on one pin and looking stylish, or pull the tear off at the opportune moment as I bounce through the breaking bumps in into a turn, almost crashing and getting passed back by the guy I just passed. Reasons I'm not a pro, just an old fart.
Millsaps is going down.
Hard pack throttle control tracks are fewer in the second half.
I believe DM18 does not have the core strength base that RV2-RD5 or JS7 have, and has already peaked. He will continue to get sick and break down (physically) in the second half.
@andymx47 - That sounds pretty close to my tear-off experiences. That's why most of them ended up in the track exit lane, rather than the track.
Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't kiniry crash on his own goerke collided with Chisholm to cause the first red flag I thought
As much as I would like to see RV threepeat, I don't care who wins the title. As long as they're all healthy for outdoors! That's when real racing starts.
I just looked at the 450 start pic from St. Loius wallpapers and everyone has black wheels except stewart who has the gold. Just an interesting observation I thought. ...now, back to keyboard racing!
@jeramy - CBS didn't cover it, but Kiniry said Monday night on the pulpmx show that he and Goerke got into the same line on the triple, saved it, and ended up going down on the jump after the triple (Matt was a lap down at the time), so Goerke was involved in both incidents, definately a rough night for him.
@all - still too early to be giving anyone the title. 200 points up for grabs, anything can happen, the top 3 are all within a race and are all in the hunt. RV has gone from 16th to 2nd in the standings and JW has gone from 5th to 13th.
RV or milsaps for the the title is fine by me out of all the guys they have shown the most fight this year either one deserves it both make a good story.....3pete or Cinderella story
@meankx I couldn't agree more SX is okay to pass the time but the real mean go 30+2 twice in whatever conditions Mother Nature throws at them
@ motodog thanks for clearing that up I didn't catch the show
its a lot better with js in there no one has fought back and passed rv back
I get so sick of hearing about how RV climbed through the pack when it is hardly ever mentioned about some of the other riders bigger charges. Hey Jason, why not do an article about some of the other charges through the pack? Like Dungey and Canard at Oakland (12th-3rd and 16th-4th respectively). And what about CRs 13th to 5th at A3? Not to mention Dungey's win coming in from the LCQ. It seems that everybody wants another dominant McGrath, RC, or even a JS type of rider again but sorry to inform you that it will not be RV. Those 3 guys are in a class by themselves. Villadodo is 11 points behind Milsaps (yup, RV is BEHIND Milsaps but with all the attention the red head gets you would think this is a perfect season for him) but Dungey is only 11 points behind RV. Wait a minute, who is 11 points behind RV? Oh yeah, that Dungey guy on a KTM, you know, the one who everybody thought made a stupid move by going to a KTM?
@jw - I agree RV gets a bunch of attention but there is no denying that he is the Alpha dog indoors and out. 4 wins and 6 podiums this year, including riding from 6th to a win twice. No one else has done that this season. Riding back from a crash to 5th, 4th or 3rd is impressive, but wins are wins. Plenty of RD fans, if he would have made the move to a KTM 350 or if Decoster wasn't already there it would have been questionable, but stating that everyone thought the KTM was a stupid move is stretching it. It's all good in the SX hood man.
Hope all of the riders stay healthy for outdoors and on......
IIt would be nice to see RV 3peat. You gotta dmit if he does he fought for the thing the whole way. Davi is pretty consistent, will be interesting to see how it all works out.
Can' wait to see RV and RD on the line at Hangtown!!!! I'am ready for some nats!!!
Mean KX, Jeramey, Persona, I am in a 100% Agreement!!! When "The Show" is over, a healthy gate at the start of The Great Outdoors, featuring the "Ten Soldiers": Alessi, Barcia, Canard, Dungey, Milsaps, Reed, Stewart, Tomac, Villopoto and Wilson will be when the real racing begins!!!
With all the typical entitlement mentality and hell-raising over a totally legal pass, believe me when I tell you that there will be hell to pay when the tables are turned. The entitlement crowd will feel their own medicine.
COME ON DAVEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I totally don't care about a good show now...I want Davey to win. The reality is, the closer he comes to winning this thing, the better the show will have to be!! I really hope that Stewart, Reed and Co, do everything to take points away from RV. Agree totally with BD25..Milsaps winning would only do the sport a ton of good!
Oh yeah..to agree with everyone else...a healthy gate for the start of the outdoors as well!!!!!
One thing we can now say and that is everyone saying last year that RV winning was due to everyone else getting hurt. None of them are happy to see everyone else healthy and RV still winning now. People laughed at anyone saying he would win 8 or 9 races but what is he on pace to do?
Imagine someone saying "I don't care about a good show now".... and just wanting Davi to win the title in any way possible (ie bad luck for others). Most could care less who wins the title and just want good racing. Shows ya where some people's heads are at.
Instead of saying Millsaps as champ would be "good for the sport" explain why. It would be good that someone else has a chance to win, but what would it do for the sport? Would we suddenly have all live telecasts? Would attendance increase? Would rider salaries or number of teams or purses increase? I don't see what it would do for the sport other than be a feel good scenario for all those who can't stand RV.
@B-KR . Yip, I was wondering exactly the same thing myself. Had a good laugh at your reply though. Thanks.
I too don't get how Sap's winning would be good for the sport.
.History has shown the sport grows when we have an alpha dog because it get more press. MC and RC made SX/MX more main stream. Not saying a Sap's win will hurt but don't see how it will help either.
Go Davi - great guy and he has a good mental outlook on the series. Glad to see majority of riders still healthy and that the 450 class is stacked this year. Hate to see a rider injured and out of the series.
Am also impressed with Josh Hill not giving up and still giving it his best.
Always like to watch Daytonna - outdoor track on the infield is a nice change from all the similar stadium tracks.
B-KR- BillC In rebutle; You both know I am not an RV hater, I have the nothing but respect for his speed and talent! He is a class act and great champion, who will go down in our sports history as such. Always ready to give it up to him when he lays it down..
Just my opinion, but Davi winning would show others you don't have to be on a factory team to win a major title. Perhaps that might inspire other non factory riders and show advertisers that they have a chance to receive a big bang for their buck. It also shows that the sport is full of talent and parity. The predictability of one guy winning, to me, is not as exciting as knowing, every round may hold surprises and new winners and that has to be good for our sport...
I think it was McGrath's personality that brought in fans, winning just got him on camera, where his persona could shine through..same with RJ. While both were great riders, their personalities transcended the sport and was what fan related too..
As for the alpha dog theory, yes some people only want to root for a winner. RC did draw fans that way, his style of destroying the competition, appealed to many. It only goes to show there is room in our sport for many different kind of fans, and just because you want some one else to win doesn't mean your hating on the other...
I agree BD25--It would be awesome if Millsaps wins.. Dont try to explain anything to BillC, about Millsaps.. I have been a Millsaps fan for a long time.. and anytime I wrote about him having a good race BillC jumped on me for it.. Dont say you didnt BILLC, you did.. I remember one time Bill said he shouldnt even have a ride, he was taking a ride from someone who would work harder, and Millsaps was coming off him broken neck, and I'm sure didnt get to train because he was recovering.. Millsaps winning on this non-factory ride would be very cool..
Milsaps broke his neck bd200?? when was that?
. and I have told you MANY times I stand by what I said at the time and I was right thats why Honda caned Saps!! He was not getting the job done. I never said he did not have talent he was just not getting the job done. You at one time even finaly said you may be right billc after one of his classic fade jobs. and likeing a guy if fine, I NEVER disliked Saps at all he seems like a cool and goofy guy, I was only talking about how he was doing. Yes you always liked him but you NEVER said he would be wining bd200 so don't try to sound like you saw this comming!! No one DID!!
.Now I don't want to turn this into a pissing match cuz we have been getting along good the last month or so. Cool my Brotha!! LOL
OK bd25 when you break it down I see your point, Internally yes it will be GREAT. But I thought you ment good for the groth of the sport whitch I don't agree with. But yes it may inspire a guys like Tickle or others to see a non factory bike/guy winning for sure.
@BILLC--when did I ever say I saw this coming?? Never, so dont put words in my mouth.. And NO you wasnt right about Millsaps.. Because if you was and it was up to you, he wouldnt even have a ride.... I always said he deserved his ride..
I think DM doing so well is AWESOME and is great for us that are fans already (internal) because it adds the unknown and unexpected to one of the best seasons ever. I'm glad for him and it only makes it better for us all as we have one more elite racer than we thought and for now he's beating everyone.
As for growth of the sport I can't see it hurting at all, and think it would lend excitement to new fans not knowing who will win each weekend.
I think tacky soil and more passing opportunities will grow the sport as much as anything, as "follow the leader" races are boring.
I really don't think I ever said he does not deserve a ride, He was not doing the job of a Factory rider thats for sure thats way he got the boot though. Also I did not say you said you saw this comming but you are starting to sound like it. and again i ask when did he break his neck?/