by Chase Stallo
The Moment: Wharton Throws One Away
Tuesday, March 19, 2013 | 5:00 PM
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PrintA collective gasp passed through a brimming Lucas Oil Stadium Saturday night as Blake Wharton was left picking up the pieces of a lost season. Six turns were all that separated the Rockstar Energy Racing-mounted rider from his first win of 2013. The charismatic five-year 250SX veteran had preached about consistency prior to the season. And for all intents and purposes, Wharton had succeeded, with two podiums in four rounds and four top-fives. With a return to the site of one of his two career wins, the chips were beginning to stack in his favor.
Wharton’s smooth, relaxed style was a perfect fit for the very technical Indianapolis layout—one that broke the will of many throughout the night. As Wharton marched toward his first win of 2013, title contenders Wil Hahn and Marvin Musquin were just trying to trudge through the field after getting stuck on Tuff Blox in the first turn—while Dean Wilson was in the hospital, reeling from a crash earlier in the night. Hahn and Musquin eventually funneled their way into podium positions, and Wharton was primed to pull within nine points of series leader Hahn. But all those chips Wharton had stacked in his corner came crashing down in the whoops. Now Wharton is in a 24-point hole with only four races remaining.
Blake Wharton lost in heartbreaking fashion Saturday night.
Andrew Fredrickson photo
Salt was thrown into the open wound when, after the race, the AMA readjusted his position from fifth to ninth. The explanation on the matter is pretty clear: When Wharton remounted and cut a section of the track, he had actually re-passed four riders who had previously passed him while he was down.
Wharton has stayed pretty even-keeled throughout the series, not getting too high or too low, but this heartbreaking moment will be a test of his mental toughness. While he may be out of championship contention, pride is still on the line. Can he avenge it all and battle for the win again?
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I'm a big Wharton fan. Good kid. Good rider. I'd love to see him win before the season is over. But the reality here is that he got a GREAT start, and his competition started at the back of the pack (not to mention Wilson who was out of the race entirely). The stars aligned, and unfortunately he made a mistake. I don't see the stars aligning again for a win, but I hope I'm wrong.
I feel for him- seems like a really good kid. But it's not the first or only time ... I really felt for Metcalfe at Southwick when he was leading Dungey and ran out of gas (on the last lap, right?).
Man, what a heartbreaker for Wharton and his growing fan base. A great guy and super good rider. I'd LOVE to seem him get vengence and pull off a win or two. I think he's a podium guy in the class for sure.
Get 'em Blake!
Wharton, you've been in the class too long to be making stupid mistakes like that. Get it together, unless you want to become another Davalos.
Being the class act that he is, Blake will put this painful experience behind him, learn from it and continue to work hard towards his goals!!! Head up full steam ahead!!! Good Luck Blake!!!
Hey blake might not have taken the#1 trophy and money, but all the other riders know u had that in the bag, On to the next one and rip off another holeshot, sure will get in there heads
Blake - I know that this new Zach Bell kid is really fast, but don't copy ALL his moves. Just sayin'.
Geez...BUMMER. That sucks!!! Been rooting for him all series. I guess I will have to go look around, but what's Wilson's injury. I saw the crash, but.....what's dinged up????
Well, I answered my own question^^^^^. Daaaaaaamn!!! Broken ribs, shoulder, back and collapsed lung.....YIKES....OUCH!!!
Where are all the Stewtards saying Wharton is a cheater for cutting the track and passing four riders? Oh yeah, I guess Stewart didn't get smoked in the process of Wharton cutting the track, so they don't need to create a mile-long excuse list for the felonious Floridian like they do in the 450s.
Maybe this is God's way of telling Wharton to lose the insane hairstyle and become a professional. He looks like a brunette Bozo the Clown with that hair sticking out both sides. I mean, compare this http://www.allisports.com/sites/default/files/images/athlete/blake-wharton-2013-rockstar-suzuki-headshot.jpg to this http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qJT2UIP57fg/UEisLW19pjI/AAAAAAAAAA8/Q7I_ivXLl3I/s1600/bozo_the_clown.jpg and you tell me who he resembles.
No offense. Nothing personal. Don't get me wrong, he lost a race and I know it hurts. First race win in a long time, slips from his grasp, either bad luck or he folded like an American citizen's wallet after four years of Obamanomics. If he really wanted to give it his all, he would realize he's not Barcia, the hair isn't working, and he needs to accept his role as a professional motocrosser and not some 1972 washout looking like Horshack on Welcome Back, Kotter.
I was at Indy and Wharton was lucky he was on his last lap. One more lap and Musquin would of blown by him like he would have been standing still. Musquin came from dead last and almost caught and passed Wharton. In fact, I'm sure him getting as close as he did to Wharton put extra presssure on Wharton causing him to throw it away.
Gee, looks like SPEEDSHIFTER wants to discuss hair?????? What a goon! I wonder what kind of "professionsal look" he is looking for? No, actually I don't since I don't watch SX to check out racers' hair.
@Allthetruth--I very seriously doubt Musquin being almost 4 seconds behind him had anything to do with Whartons crash.. Musquin rode great, but was not going to make up almost 4 seconds in one lap.. I'm sure Whartons mechanic let him know where he was also.. Wharton just made a mistake, it happens to all of them, Whartons just happened to be on the last lap.. I wa at the race too.. Musquin rode awesome, but he wasnt going to catch Blake, and he and his mechanic knew where they were..
He seems like a great person with all the charities he does. That inconsitency I mentioned before reared its head again, bummer. Hope he rebounds next week. With that said, there's something about his voice this year that Im picking up on that I didnt last year. Havnt seen the guy smile at all in any of the interviews on tv and the heat race win I didnt see any sense of being stoked at all, like its a crappy job feeling. I dont know, just something I noticed not trying to start rumors or bag on the guy. Tuff break for him.
Blake - Don't listen to anybody. Don't sulk about it. Don't give anyone the pleasure of seeing it get you down.
Instead, get mad. Get damn mad at yourself for letting it happen, then move on, rip the biggest hole-shot at each of the last rounds and use this incident to plow through anyone, or anything in your way to another win, (just don't hurt anyone).
Grant Langston did it years ago when he fell on the last lap waving to the crowd, then promptly broke down and cryed about it, (he did go on to win his first race a few rounds later).
But screw all that! No time to sulk! Use this to get out there, get mad, but have fun and win Goddammit!!
You can do it!!
Besides,....it'll be fun for us to see you join the crowd at the front!!
I said it somewhere else, but I'll repeat it. Karma is a beetch. Warton pulled some really crappy moves on two riders on the night, one in the heat and on Peters in the final. The douchbag got what he deserved.
Ride clean and respect your competition and maybe, just maybe, life won't bite you in the butt.
Wharton struggled through the whoops section on lap 14 as well. He must have tensed-up even more on lap 15. Anyone who's ever ridden has been bitten by the whoops. Bad deal for Wharton. He seems like family oreintated good guy. I'll bet that he will boucne back and ride strong here on out. Sometimes a rider needs that chip to make them realize their full potential. On a related note, I would pay triple the ticket price to see Blake on one of the Pro Circuit bikes. He's a much better rider than Davalos.
@pippidekok we were at the Indy supercross and that was exactly what my daughter said " That is Karma for you" after colliding with Friese and Peters earlier.
Too funny and I also think Marvin would have needed at least one more lap to catch Blake. Great show and great races, can't wait for real motocross to start. REDBUD!
At pippidekok and cidkid635: You guys are the idiots! Blake's a great guy and what happened was heartbreaking! Accidents can happen to anyone! Doesn't mean he's inconsistent or a bad rider or anything! Lay off! I believe in him and that he can come back even stronger from this!
Totally deserved that Musquin took that one. I mean, how can it be heartbreaking if a guy is 3 seconds a lap faster and you can't even stay upright? Do you really deserve the win then?
karma for blocking or hitting Friese should be a race win, not a crash. Blake is a great dude in life and deserves nothing but good karma.