2009 Supercross season (SPOILERS)

What. No props to Jason Lawrence?
He rode an amazing race. 1st time on the 450's on the toughest track of the year.
I don't know if it was the track he was comfortable with or was it the bigger bike.
My Tivo cut off when Reed crossed the stripe so I missed the post race interview.
Was he his normal "I'm the best rider in the world" attitude or did he finally show some humility?
I gotta credit Reed as well. He's been practically flawless this year. That dude does not make a mistake. Way to reel in Lawrence who had all but checked out.
I'm not sure if you can pin Stewarts crash on a mistake by him. That was a narrow start/finish stretch. It looked like too many bikes vying for the same space. I wouldn't say he beat himself
again. The only thing I can say is he should have gotten a better start so he wouldn't been inside the pack.

You know, I have it Tvod too, but I stopped recording after the race winner crossed the line. So I would be interested to know what Lookatmelawrence said too.

Congrats to Reed, again, he can't help but say good to him for not making any mistakes. He understand that he is the second fastest guy in the series, so it looks like he has reluctantly accepted this and approached the season on consistency. And he's accomplishing it. Its not like read is slow; he's just not as fast as James. I still think Bubba will win, but its his to lose, and if he keeps making mistakes, well he will lose it. The last two times Reed has won the title, I one that said, well it was by default, no Ricky then no Bubba. But this time is different. Reed knows that if James does NOT make a mistake he will win. So Reeds game plan is be 2nd all the time, and win when James makes a mistake. Well so far it’s working. One more mistake by James and it may be too much. If Reed accomplishes this, then he will have won the title fair and square. We all know James is the fastest, but you gotta keep it on two wheels.

Ok, Lawrence, he's a jerk off. But he is fast. I was impressed with him, though I find myself rooting for Reed (who I usually do NOT root for) because having a win by Lawrence was unthinkable to me. That all this ....... needs, a win at Daytona to make his head larger than the Pacific Rim.

Other notables: Villapoto will win a race some day. Also, sucks for Josh Grant. I think he is the 4th fastest guy out there. Oh, and Brock, stop crashing already. Alessi, he starts off fast then fades, is it conditioning or his head is still screwed up?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jumkie @ Mar 11 2009, 01:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Other notables: Villapoto will win a race some day. Also, sucks for Josh Grant. I think he is the 4th fastest guy out there. Oh, and Brock, stop crashing already. Alessi, he starts off fast then fades, is it conditioning or his head is still screwed up?
Villopoto will make some noise in the outdoor series I think. I'm really looking foward to the outdoor season to kick off.
I think Alessi's problem is all in his head. He will be looking foward to the outdoor season as well, and should battle with Villopoto. Those two always have some good racing battles.

On JLaw, if I remember correctly I watched his post race interview and thought he was a little smug at first, but backed it down a notch to say he was just glad to finish as well as he did. Like you Jumkie I was rooting for Reed to catch him, I didn't want to see a Lites guy with a huge ego win at Daytona.

yes as L8 sez larwrence actually showed a little humility. as a confessed reed fan he seemed to have no issue with giving props to reed... but you could see the ...... in him bubbling to the top.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (frosty58 @ Mar 11 2009, 01:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>but you could see the ...... in him bubbling to the top.
Hot air just likes to rise I guess, eh.

Not much to say about the New Orleans race other than Kevin Windham had a really cool helmet.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (JohnnyKnockdown @ Mar 17 2009, 10:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Not much to say about the New Orleans race other than Kevin Windham had a really cool helmet.
Yea after the first two laps it was a snoozer. Bubba is just too fast, even when the dude made a mistake he still cleared the triple, just awesome to watch. As we say in BMX "East Coast Pull!" There must be something in the Florida water.

Stewart is too fast for his own good. I have been a detractor of Reed, stooping to say his titles were gifted because James and Ricky were hurt, but now I'm seeing the error of my ways. Reed's post race interview from St. Louis went a long way for gaining my respect (besides his great victory). Reed said you have to ride your race and he conceded that "the fastest guy doesn't always win." Wow, now that takes guts to concede. He admits James is faster, but also makes the point that finishing in first is more important. Kudos to him.

Congrats to Reed for a great victory. If he wins this championship, he will have BEAT James fair and square and straight up!


Bummer about Pastrana. (I don't want to talk about it, but did you see his face, is he aging twice as fast as the rest of the human specie?)

Yea, Bubba rubber side down is impossible to beat, when he's crashing, it's anybody's game. If Reed takes the title this year, I agree that he's earned it.
Jumkie, Pastrana looked a lot hevier than I've seen him in the past, I'm thinking that has a lot to do with his look. Dude hasn't excactly lived the quiet life either.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jumkie @ Mar 24 2009, 02:28 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Stewart is too fast for his own good. I have been a detractor of Reed, stooping to say his titles were gifted because James and Ricky were hurt, but now I'm seeing the error of my ways. Reed's post race interview from St. Louis went a long way for gaining my respect (besides his great victory). Reed said you have to ride your race and he conceded that "the fastest guy doesn't always win." Wow, now that takes guts to concede. He admits James is faster, but also makes the point that finishing in first is more important. Kudos to him.

Congrats to Reed for a great victory. If he wins this championship, he will have BEAT James fair and square and straight up!


Bummer about Pastrana. (I don't want to talk about it, but did you see his face, is he aging twice as fast as the rest of the human specie?)

That's because his flame is burning so much brighter than the rest of us..
Guys like him are a wonder of mankind. I just hope he's able to grow old with the rest of us.

Your right about Reed. He's learned that RC never really had to beat Stewart 1 on 1. You just have to outlast him. If Reed wins the championship this year I will be very happy for him. He's riding a virtually flawless season.I've been laughing at him in the past when he comes in 2nd and is pissed off.
Why should he be pissed off when he knows that he is 2nd best.
Now I see it's that will and determination that he still believes that he can beat Stewart that might just bring home a championship.

They didn't say .... about Villopoto so I found online that he didn't race because of a viral infection.
He was sick a few weeks ago as well so I wonder if somethings wrong with him or he's just gotten sick twice.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (JohnnyKnockdown @ Mar 24 2009, 11:01 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>They didn't say .... about Villopoto so I found online that he didn't race because of a viral infection.
He was sick a few weeks ago as well so I wonder if somethings wrong with him or he's just gotten sick twice.
Seems like riders get sick a lot during the SX season. They train no matter the weather during the season, some racing venues are inside, others outside, so a SX riders body not only goes thru physical abuse during a season, his immune system gets a work out as well.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (JohnnyKnockdown @ Mar 24 2009, 08:01 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>That's because his flame is burning so much brighter than the rest of us..
Guys like him are a wonder of mankind. I just hope he's able to grow old with the rest of us.

Your right about Reed. He's learned that RC never really had to beat Stewart 1 on 1. You just have to outlast him. If Reed wins the championship this year I will be very happy for him. He's riding a virtually flawless season.I've been laughing at him in the past when he comes in 2nd and is pissed off.
Why should he be pissed off when he knows that he is 2nd best.
Now I see it's that will and determination that he still believes that he can beat Stewart that might just bring home a championship.
Outstanding post.

I have a question. Does the points structure in SX not reward a win enough? Almost in every other motorcycling discipline I can think of, the winner get 5 points on the 2nd place finish. In SX its 3 lousy points. James has won his all time best in a season so far and is still 9 points behind. I get that he had a dnf in round one, but based on this structure, one dnf and your season is over! Just think about this for a moment. James has won all but three races where Chad finished second, and he is still 9 points behind. In other words, if you have a rider with one dnf, that means his season is OVER because nobody is going to win as many as James has and yet still be behind!

Its possible for James has to win the next three races just so they can go into the final tied. And then he has to win the last race just for him to win the title by 3 Fing points. This is another reason why Reed has won his titles, because you just have to be second best and wait for the top guy to have only ONE dnf, and the title is yours.

James needs to have a perfect rest of the season if he is to win the title, otherwise its Reeds. That seems rather crazy considering how many times James has won already + 4 more.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jumkie @ Apr 2 2009, 05:38 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Outstanding post.

I have a question. Does the points structure in SX not reward a win enough? Almost in every other motorcycling discipline I can think of, the winner get 5 points on the 2nd place finish. In SX its 3 lousy points. James has won his all time best in a season so far and is still 9 points behind. I get that he had a dnf in round one, but based on this structure, one dnf and your season is over! Just think about this for a moment. James has won all but three races where Chad finished second, and he is still 9 points behind. In other words, if you have a rider with one dnf, that means his season is OVER because nobody is going to win as many as James has and yet still be behind!

Its possible for James has to win the next three races just so they can go into the final tied. And then he has to win the last race just for him to win the title by 3 Fing points. This is another reason why Reed has won his titles, because you just have to be second best and wait for the top guy to have only ONE dnf, and the title is yours.

James needs to have a perfect rest of the season if he is to win the title, otherwise its Reeds. That seems rather crazy considering how many times James has won already + 4 more.
I haven't followed supercross for long, but I agree the points structure is poor and absolutely imo does not fairly reflect performance particularly since stewart's wins have been by such big margins; the scoring system rather would seem designed to keep the championship race open. Whilst I approve of close competition like anyone else, I have always believed if someone is good enough to be dominant as long as there is no unfair advantage then so be it. Perhaps I started following motorsport before there was so strong a commercial element though, and I guess most high level motorsport is now so highly geared financially that a championship decided early will impinge on TV ratings, crowds etc and hence current and future revenues.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (michaelm @ Apr 2 2009, 12:23 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>the scoring system rather would seem designed to keep the championship race open.
Well what it does is it allows the 2nd place finisher to be complacent and NOT challenge for the win. I wouldn't either if I knew that a 2nd place finish was NOT worth the risk of going faster because the pay off is so good. James can ride his ass off all day long but he only gets 3 points over the 2nd place finisher for the risk of a win. Not worth it! Think of it like this. James should ride behind Reed the entire race and then just pass him the last lap. This way he wouldn't risk crashing when he is thrilling the fans by showing what no mortal can do on a motocross bike. We get cheated from the thrill sure, but James would game the system by using the ...... scoring structure to notch a title. Basically this is what Reed is doing, though he really doesn't have a choice in the matter since he really can't beat James in speed. If Reed had to RISK a win because the points were more attractive, then we might see him make mistakes too because a win would only be achieved by risking a fast on the edge performance.

Next time I make it out to the track I'm gonna tell James this very thing. 'Look man, you don't need lead every lap and risk crashing, which is the ONLY way the other guy gets a win...EVER! Just sit behind him, don't risk being fast, then pass him up at will, which we all know you can do. Save it for the last lap so that you don't risk crashing over a few laps of fast riding.' What do you think?


Fing James has won 9 of 13! And for him to win the title he needs to win 13 of 17! Geez, that is just for him to barely squeak by three points. Imagine that, he will have won more than 3/4 (76%) of the entire full season and he will need to do it just to win by 3 lousy points! That is ....... outrageous!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jumkie @ Apr 2 2009, 12:10 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>James should ride behind Reed the entire race and then just pass him the last lap.

Save it for the last lap so that you don't risk crashing over a few laps of fast riding.' What do you think?
yeap... you only need to lead the last lap... this strategy would be brilliant especially for the fans!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jumkie @ Apr 2 2009, 12:10 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Fing James has won 9 of 13! And for him to win the title he needs to win 13 of 17! Geez, that is just for him to barely squeak by three points. Imagine that, he will have won more than 3/4 (76%) of the entire full season and he will need to do it just to win by 3 lousy points! That is ....... outrageous!
the point system needs revising for sure. should be at least a five point spread between 1st & 2nd imho.

jacksonville was a corker!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (frosty58 @ Apr 6 2009, 09:17 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>jacksonville was a corker!
Shh, I haven't seen it. Gotta get home to DVR. I knew I was risking lurking in this thread. Leaving now.

Great Race.
Stewart needs to get some holeshot advice from Alessi. That kid grabs it every week.

I wonder why Reed just seemed to drop off after Stewart passed him. Stewart
was having trouble staying with Reed and after he passed him it was if Reed
just quit trying to stay with him.
I think Jumkie's point about the points system came into play here.
Reed's strategy must be to ride all out and hope Stewart crashes trying to keep up
and if he doesn't than play it safe and hope he crashes next week.
Reed and Stewart seemed to have some heat towards each other this week as well.
Who's trying to psyche out who? I wish they could have put a mike on that chat they were
having after the race.

I think I'm the only one that cares but I'm a fanboy so humor me here. No Villopoto
this week. The docs are supposedly clearing him to race for the next round.
After having so much time off and having a viral infection he's going to be badly out of
race shape.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jumkie @ Apr 2 2009, 10:10 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Next time I make it out to the track I'm gonna tell James this very thing. 'Look man, you don't need lead every lap and risk crashing, which is the ONLY way the other guy gets a win...EVER! Just sit behind him, don't risk being fast, then pass him up at will, which we all know you can do. Save it for the last lap so that you don't risk crashing over a few laps of fast riding.' What do you think?

Did I call it or what!!!

No way did James have trouble sitting behind Reed. If anything, it was hard to run at that pace since it looked like James almost ran into the back of Reed a few times. No way was Reed faster than James. If you listen to Ricky Carmichael, you even hear him say this after James passes Chad. He says, "James is waiting for him." He says, "James is trying to stand Chad up." Haha, it was sooo obvious. Reed has nothing in terms of speed on Stewart.

Seriously, I think James took my advice and just ran behind Chad and let him make a run. Did you see Chad make mistakes? Yes, because he thought he was gonna get the victory and had no reference point for his speed, just like what James does when he leads. Then after a few comfortable laps, James passed him, made it fun for the fans, then left him in the dust. Chad didn't give up, his lap times remained the same, he just had not choice in the matter, James made a statement. That's why they had words after word. Check out their body language, Reed was saying, "yo man, I know you're faster, but don't show me up like that.'

Sucks for James that he MUST win every race to win the title. Well if he continues following my advice, he will.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (JohnnyKnockdown @ Apr 7 2009, 05:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I wonder why Reed just seemed to drop off after Stewart passed him. Stewart
was having trouble staying with Reed and after he passed him it was if Reed
just quit trying to stay with him.

Stewart had no trouble passing him, he was toying with Chad! I think this is what the words were about. Chad didn't give up, his lap times didn't drop off, James is just faster.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <div class='quotemain'>Reed's strategy must be to ride all out and hope Stewart crashes trying to keep up
and if he doesn't than play it safe and hope he crashes next week.

Yes, he cant beat James straight up. James made that abundantly clear during this race, if it wasn't clear enough before. Sucks though, Reed just has to come in second, which is how he riders, shouldn't be a problem. Reed doesn't push like James! I'm now convinced that James crashes because he pushes the limit and thrills us all with that speed. Reed is not willing to do that and this is why he has won two titles, this might be his third if James doesn't continue this strategy.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <div class='quotemain'>Reed and Stewart seemed to have some heat towards each other this week as well.
Who's trying to psyche out who? I wish they could have put a mike on that chat they were
having after the race.

Ah man, I would have paid to hear their conversation. But really, I can imagine what they said.

Reed: Yo man, WTF, I know your faster, was it necessary for you to embarrass me?
Stewart: Well if you pushed it like me you might be able to keep up, so stop being a pansy.
Reed: I'm trying to win a championship here.
Stewart: Well then start beating me, not sitting behind me waiting for me to make a mistake because I'm willing to risk it to win every race!