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Sunday, March 17, 2013 | 12:25 AM
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PrintThe Indy track offered up good, tacky dirt in some sections but was also slippery in others. Things got really interesting when the ruts developed, though, especially in the whoops. That’s what gobbled up Rockstar Energy Racing's Blake Wharton and cost him an absolute sure win in the 250 class. Apparently Blake missed a whoop with his front wheel and that was all she wrote. We tried to track him down after the race but, not surprisingly, he was already outta there. Got to put this one behind him as soon as possible!
Oh, but Dean Wilson has to feel even worse. He crashed on the first lap of his heat race when he landed on a tuff block, and hit the deck hard. The Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider then was off to the hospital. No word on what the damage is, yet, but Wilson’s feelings are hurt he most—his title chances are most likely over.
But Red Bull KTM's Marvin Musquin is right in this, just nine points down on Wil Hahn. He and Hahn were laughing on the podium, amazed that they could be stuck in last and next to last and still make the podium. But Hahn feels like he let the race get away, he didn’t ride as aggressively as he would have liked in the first few laps. Musquin, meanwhile, was aggressive from the very first moments. He was up to 12th by the second lap! And he’s now down just nine points on Hahn.
It seemed, at first, like maybe it wouldn’t be Ryan Villopoto’s night. The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider was struggling a bit in practice lap times, although several riders commented that it was hard to get in a clean qualifying lap. But he came back to win his heat and then made things happen in the main event. He and Ryan Dungey were really pushing it, and Dungey even said, “I could tell, watching his riding style, that he was going all out, and then you could see the fatigue kicking in a little bit. And I was feeling it, too.”
Oh, Deano!
Wharton (13) had the win locked down until he tossed it away. In contrast, Kyle Peters (50) was in a happy off with AJ Catanzaro, who finished a career-best fourth. Privateer dudes had a field day on this crazy night!
Just not happening for Chad Reed right now.
Definitely some battling going on in Indy.
Cudby photos
Dungey was trying to set something up in the long rhythm lane, trying an outside line on the entrance, where Villopoto (and most riders) were hugging the inside. While Dungey’s line looked faster, Villopoto would pull away around the rest of the track so Dungey couldn’t get close enough to pass him. Villopoto also said by hugging the inside, he figured Dungey wouldn’t be able to pass him. In a season of crazy parity and depth, might it just all boil down to the two Ryans, again?
We’ll see. Davi Millsaps might not have the points lead anymore, but the Rockstar Energy Racing rider does have heart. He said his injured knee felt bad in practice but adrenaline made the pain go away in the heat and the main—and in the main, he fought hard with Villopoto and James Stewart early. Then it all caught up to him. “I got arm pump, I’ll admit it,” he said. Millsaps hasn’t been riding much lately because of the injury, but he feels good now and thinks he can get back to his regular program and build back up to where he was.
It looked like a showdown was looming in the main when James Stewart got the lead, and Villopoto, Millsaps and Dungey were all in position to challenge. Then Stewart tipped over in the rutted off-camber corner, and stalled his bike. That put him back in fifth, but he dug deep and closed back in on Millsaps late. When Millsaps crashed on the last lap, Stewart rolled past for a hard-earned third.
Not a good day or night for TwoTwo Motorsports Honda’s Chad Reed. The Aussie just never seemed to be in the fight in practice, his heat or the main.
Trey Canard seemed like he was set for a good night after fast practice times and a good run in his heat race, but it came undone, literally, when he came off the motorcycle while coming in close with his teammate Justin Barcia in mid air over the finish line jump. Barcia said they didn’t actually touch. Canard took a hard hit and said his shoulder hurt, but x-rays were negative, and we saw him back at the Muscle Milk Honda truck at the end of the night, bruised but not broken. Good thing—that one was scary.
Bobby Kiniry also had a rough one, crashing in the first turn of the main event (and, he made it into the main by besting his LCQ rival Weston Peick). Kiniry has a torn ACL and is struggling when he takes hard hits. The N-Fab TiLUBE Yamaha rider called it a night soon after.
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer went down in turn one and took a pretty good hit. He was slow to get up and get back on the bike, and his bike was all twisted up. He was credited with 20th. Too bad, because Weimer was third fastest in practice and looked set for a bounce-back weekend.
This was by far Andrew Short’s best ride since jumping on the BTOSports.com KTM team. He had good starts and ran a strong pace en route to seventh. Dude isn’t even talking about the broken pinky, he’s tough like that.
On the other hand, his teammate Matt Goerke also had a good start in the main but he crashed and tweaked his wrist. He still finished eighth! No quit over there in the BTO rig!
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Another fun race to watch! Both 250 and 450. Dunge showin some speed finally, but just needs a 1/4 oz. more.
Mitch Payton I feel bad for him cuz Wilson went down on the first lap trying to pass Justin hill. If Wilson would of took a chill pill he easily could havepassed him laterthat lap . Hill looked good tho. Now he's hurt again. Im crazy but why do skinny lil riderswith past injuries to shoulder and collar bones not wear "chest protectors"
What an interestingly quirky night, in both classes. Beginning withe the 250's. I guess I am an unauthorized underdog rooter, it seems. And Marvin Musquin has been a prime candidate for the last couple years. After last week to see him lay it down at Daytona really made me pleased to finally see things go his way. Especially after telling Erin in the pre-race interview, that he just needed a good start. The one he got qualified him I'd say. And the one he (didn't) get last night, had me thinking that this was going to be just another reason for a sub-par performance. Man, did he prove me wrong, albeit at Wharton's expense. I never wish a get-off on anyone, especially in the waning laps, while leading no less. That just might qualify Blake for my next under-study.
With only a couple posters above, the woulda, coulda's haven't come out (yet), but it just makes me wonder if James inside groove incident cost him the race win entirely, or were, "The Ryan Twins" going to track him down, regardless.
Dungey, must be picking up his hate mail lately because he was take'n names last night and not take'n no doo-doo. Good for him!
Last but not least, and I (try) to stay positive on these boards, (but) did it not seem like the tuff-blocks took more than their fair share of prisoners at Indy. And, I cannot remember the last time I saw so many riders jumping/landing in-between the (extremely) narrow lanes of tuff-blocks. I realize DIRT WURX has a limited work space to perform their magic, as it truly is, but last nights race-space (or lack of) looked down right scary, from a riders safety perspective.
I hope Deano, Wharton and anyone else who bit-it last night are all OK.
And, The Ryan Express just keeps on a roll'n along...
Chad needs to go to conventional forks. I knew those USD things were just a fad way back in '81.
So in 3 races, RV has gained 31 points on Davi. If you go back 5 races, it's 36 points he's gained. Yeah it's Millsaps. But if you go back those same 5 races, he's gained 25 points on Dungey. Even I am having a hard time believing RV was 8 points behind Dungey 5 races ago and is now 17 up.
Pretty disappointed in Wilson. Why he is trying to win the race on the first lap of the HEAT race is beyond comprehension. He showed he had ridiculous speed in qualifying, and was right at the front. That was a move I would expect a guy to make who is a perennial LCQ guy who just found the best start he ever had. Being fast is only part of the equation, gotta use that peanut in yer skull sometimes as well.
The Ryan's rode great. James rode great. Davi did also, but he was just no where near the Ryan's or even James in speed.
I expected Barcia to be doing a lot better after his weekend in Daytona. Wonder what's going on with him? Trey also. It's like they lost all of their mojo from the early rounds this year. Not good.
Marvin is doing great. He's on a roll. But i still see Hahn playing safe and consistent to take the championship home.
Dean sure seems to not handle pressure well. He had issues when things started getting heated between him and Tomac last year also. Not a good year for PC.
When was the last time PC went a year without winning a championship indoor and out? Could this be the year?
Don't feel too bad for Mitch. He has about 234098432 championships. Maybe its somebody elses turn.. Like KTM
Speedshitter! serioulsy, dude, will you please give the racism a rest?? You're embarrassing all of us fans.
James is def not on the same pace as the Ryans these days but no need to tar and feather him EVERY week. Sure he gets coverage but he is a superstar and brings in new fans. But you would probably claim its just the "liberal race media", You are as azz clown.
http://instagram.com/p/W94GwAtcYp/
UMMMMM DUUUUUUDEEEE AJ CANTANZARO A REAL PRIVATEER GOT 4TH!
Motomofo, while I don't see the need for Speedshifters rant nor do I necessarily agree with the point he is trying to make... what he said was not a racist remark. Also, please refrain from using my ass clown word. That is reserved for describing very special people.
Yeah, motomofo, why you all be stealin' all the time?
Sorry, didnt know azz clown was taken. :-)
And btw I appreciate the opinions and insight by all of you here and I do like a witty wise-crack now and then, speedshitter you are def good for that, Its just the JS beef is getting tired. We know you hate him by now so please pick on somebody else for a while. How about Bell?? That dude needs to figure some stuff out, like FINISHING!
I love James Stewart. He's my homeboy! Next door neighbors, actually. I'm black, so I figure I can call him some things "the other" can't, nomesane? Word.
Nah, forget I said that. I was just being an ass clown (731Chopper's phrase). If you're going to use his words, agive him credit.
give, not agive
SpeedShifter:. Have you been dragging your handlebars again? I may be a dumbass but I'm not that dumb. OK?
OK, if you insist, but you put a period right after a colon, which dramatically weakens your position.
Stewart did run down milsaps I was there, SAPS was going by the the mechanics when stew entered the rhthym section . That's a solid 100 yard lead and was within a few bike lengths when davi lost it
That instagram pic is not good for dean. That means hes out for nationals?
@Kawi656--I saw it too.. Millsaps washed out his front end, on lap 19--he probably hols 3rd place but Stewie did make up alot of time on him..
I was surprised Stewie finished in front of millsaps I would have let saps get third for the points if I was James. Since James is out of the hunt anyway. But more importantly
Reed is still done no matter what forks he uses or how much he gets paid he's over with. That makes me glad to see one of the least deserving but biggest crap talkin champions to fade back to wherever he came from.
That Instagram pic sucks!!! I hope Deano can recover for at least a few nationals! That's why I'm not a big fan of SX. People tend to get hurt more during SX than outdoors. It would be better if they ran Nationals first and then SX in fall or smth.
Congrats to Ryans on great races! Also, solid ride by Shorty. Marvin " the smooth" Musquin..... what a ride! Nice to see KTM's investment pay off. I really expect Marvin, if he finishes SX without any injuries, to battle with Blake Bagget and the rest for wins. He never had a chance to ride to his full potential cause he was injured prior or during the Nats.
I will say JS got a 3rd by not even really riding that well. I thought he looked off and I thought DM looked a little off his game too. Personally I think RD was the fastest guy out there, he just couldn't figure out how to get around the roadblock Villadodo. But a great race indeed! Musquin and Hahn were the real story of the night IMO. The 250 east series is brand new now with Wilson out. Wharton rode well, real well but threw it away so I expect to see him turn it up in the next 2 rounds. Speaking of Wilson being out I saw this posted on FB earlier:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=580922155254393&set=a.341370329209578.91130.317626678250610&type=1&theater;
It looks to me like the 450 title is going to come down to the two best riders of the class, Villadodo and Dungey. Sorry all of you Stewart fans and Reed fans, they are not in the top 2 of the 450 class any longer and haven't been for two years. Get used to it.
Too bad for Canard. I hope this does not spoil his confidence that he has been building on. If the guy can stay on the bike he may actually get another win in his career. I am a big TC fan but he is starting to look more and more like JS with all the dirt naps he takes.
Shorty looked great, maybe the best we've seen of him all year. As for Reed, well he needs a top 5 start to stay in the top 5. Barcia, well he is still going through the rookie motions but I still think he may get another win this year.
I will humbly admit that I did not think RV could win 3 in a row, I was wrong. Perhaps the only one to stop him now is RD. I don't think we are going to see Villadodo win 4 in a row. I do suspect that Dungey will be at least 2nd in points before Minneapolis.
I disagree or some people watched a different race. RV was in no way a road block. RD did get almost close enough to strike a few times and then RV would put a second gap on him. They played yo-yo for a while and they were both flying...but road block,nah.
@Joel347---That comment about Reed is pretty uncool.. Reed deserves everything he has ever gotten, he has earned every win and every title.. And had more fans in his autograph line than anyone at the track.. I was there I saw it.. He is a fast guy and a great champion.. He earned and deserves every title he has gotten.. Nobody gives nothing away in these races..
@jw621557---Rv had way more fast laps in the main than Dungey.. Dungey rode great, would catch up some in one section, the RV would pull away in another.. Dungey was real fast, but he wasnt faster than RV.. I know you arent an RV fan, but he was faster than anyone that night.. All 20 lap times are available for viewing on the supercross.com site.. He turned more fast laps than anyone.. But Tickle kind of cheated us out of an awesome last 2 laps, when he knocked the tuff block out onto the track in front of Dungey.. The broadcast missed that one, but it happened when they were leaving the sand on lap 18 right before the finish line jump.. Dungey was right on RV's rear fender until that..
@bd200~It is not that I am not an RV fan. I love watching him race because he is the epitome of smooth on the track. I just lost all kinds of respect for him when he wouldn't ride all three motos in Vegas last year and then the whole video thing made about him and his "hard" life, I have no sympathy for a millionaire. His fans waited for a year to watch him ride last year and he did not deliver. Dungey goes out there with a broken shift lever and still rides because he knows his fans want to see him. That is professionalism. Do I want to see RV win the title? No! I like seeing people with class win. Unfortunately it just doesn't always turn out that way... in any sport.
But I still think if Dungey could have gotten around Villadodo he would have gapped him. Nonetheless a great race from the two champs and I enjoyed their sportsmanship after the race. I said this last week in a post and I think RV confirmed it in his interview with Jim Holley. I don't think Villadodo is concerned about Milsaps as much as he is about Dungey. One of those two is going to have a bad race and that is what will decide whose title it is.
@jw--You lost respect for a guy coming off a major injury and surgery racing a race that has no bearing on a championship, who just crashed hard and had concussion symptoms, so he didnt run the other motos, and you lost respect, like you think he owes you something???
And you compare that to Dungey who had a small mechanical in one moto?? Really???
So you call a guy Vollo"dodo" because he busted his tail and earned alot of money.. And you think he "owed" you to ride a couple of meaningless motos after crashing hard and hit his head?? You sound a little self-righteous and sanctimonious to me.. I dont think RV himself produced the show about him either..I dont think he needs or wants anyones sympathy--he didnt create or produce the show..or try to make anyone feel badly for him... He is just a racer, period..
@ bd200 .... Spot on. @jw5668268756465 Not so much. RV became who he is in the face of a broken home and bankruptcy (not the only guy, I know) and shows plenty of class if you ask me. Definitely earned everything he's ever achieved and is a good role model.
Ya gotta love guys with the mental capacity of a walnut who could cut themselves on anything sharper than a bowling ball. Comparing knocking your head to a malfunctioning shift lever? I like Dungey. but I seriously doubt he would have sat out any of the races and told them "Yeah, my shift lever was kinda funky so I shut it down". It's ok if you dislike RV, I spent the better part of a decade disliking MC for no other reason than he was so good...and rooting for someone to beat him. Comical to call RV a road block though.
Biggest Dungey fan right here, ok. I've followed him since he came out of the Lorreta's. I get sick to my stomach each week when he loses. Wear my #5 shirt every Saturday night. I actually study the segment times like I can actually help him figure out where he's losing time! That said: PLEASE don't disrespect RV with the cute names people! RV a "road block"? After reading comments like that, I can't take anything else you say serious. What RV is doing this year solidifies him as AT LEAST top 3 SX riders of all time. I actually think the only rider who could do any better the the Dunge and beat RV (now in his prime) for more championships would have been the GOAT (in his prime). Imagine, if possible, the battles that would be...
I do think RD5 has a chance to turn this season and rivalry around still though.
F E A R the D U N G E!!!