It's a LONG ways to Atlanta

The trucks of supercross are dashing across America right now. Here's the LM Racing semi driven by "Big L" just now, approaching Ft Worth.

Another view:















L&M Racing's semi through a fisheye lens as it passes on I20 at 70mph.

Leatt Race Report 1 - Windham

Sobe/Samsung/No Fear's Kevin Windham was quick to accept the Leatt brace and the first to make a supercross podium with one! After the fizzy business at San Diego, Weekend Window asked Kevin for his reaction after one night of racing in a Leatt Brace at podium speed.

Q: Kevin, how was your race with that Leatt Brace?

A: The race was great. It didn’t bother me at all. It builds a little confidence too. As many neck injuries as we have had, you can’t help but think about it a little bit. It’s a dangerous game. For me, taking any possible risk out by wearing a brace gives me more confidence. That’s good. I have been riding a lot better and it just so happens that everything came together tonight.
I think it’s just been a combination of things, the hard work.

Q: So it was an easy decision for you to wear this brace?

A: Oh yeah. It’s simple. I rode with it for one day. I realized within 2 laps on the track that this is something that it not going to bother me and it is something I am going to ride with. I feel good about wearing it and I feel good about the safety that it provides. It was an easy decision. Now that I am wearing it, I have to make sure I have enough for west coast/east coast practice and everything. I don’t intend to ride any without it.

Q: So with some more confidence tonight you had a good race?

A: In the last 2 weeks actually. I was gunning for the podium in Houston. I didn’t have the best pace tonight. I was struggling a little bit with some of my corners. But I kept my pace. It feels good.

Q: A year from now, will everyone will be wearing one of those braces?

A: Yeah, I think well over 50 percent by the end of the year probably even. It’s hard to say. We know a neck injury is something you can’t come back from. We don’t worry about bones. We know what we face week in and week out. I have had some great doctors putting me back together.

The technology for the neck is not there yet. I think everyone thinks about it. If you think about it, why don’t you do the best you can to eliminate that problem?

Reed Wins San Diego, Gains 9 Points

The tenacious and confident Chad Reed moved up 9 points on Stewart due to one mistake Stewart made, and he closed the points gap to 12. Ryan Villopoto won his first Lites regional supercross championship a weekend early.













Villopoto got a great surprise bonus for winning the championship, a new Toyota FJ Cruiser from Toyota of Escondito, which he gave to his mom Kris!

Reed was having a crowd-pleasing race with Stewart in the main and took the lead when Stewart slid out approaching the finish double and contacted a Tuff Blox cover, slowing him enough hit the finish double wrong and go flying off, arms flying, just like at Seattle that time. It was gnarly.

Just one mistake cost James Stewart 9 points and a win, and a chance to win more SX mains in a year than anyone ever has. MC won 14 in 2006, RC won 14 in 2001. To win 15, Stewart would have to win every main but one. RC already won San Francisco so that's one record that can wait for another season.

Ferry was totally on the gas again, this time taking second, and Windham was third.

This was a great race for the Leatt watchers, with KW leading the way, and Josh Grant racing in one too. The others using one in the night show were Joe Oehlhof, Mike Sleeter, and Brandon Butler. The thing is really picking up steam in the pro ranks, but not as fast as on the internet, which is always on fast forward anyway.





James Marshall, who suffered a career-ending injury here last year, was on hand and in a very positive mood. He's making some progress at "Project Walk," and he's motivated and working hard.

Ok there is is, Leatt on Podium at San Diego.

The amazing story of the spread of the Leatt brace was taken to the podium at San Diego by Kevin Windham, with a solid ride in the main after battling arm pump early in the season.

Kevin is all about the Leatt Brace now and intends to use them all the time, every time. Interviews out in the morning. Josh Grant really liked his too.

James Marshall was on hand and had a happy look in his eye. He's come a long way and is actually showing some progress in his rehab.

How Fast Can the Leatt Brace Spread?

Acceptance of the Leatt Brace is happening so fast, the reps at San Diego are working as fast as they can to fit riders. The number trying them in practice was about a dozen at least.

Here a chest protector is modified a little with a Dremel to make the brace fit.

Pre-race update: Kevin Windham and Josh Grant are very positive about the Leatt Brace and are racing with them tonight in San Diego.

Some of the riders say they can hardly tell it's there, the others find it stops them from twisting their heads this way or that and they aren't used to it, but it's nothing that keeps them from using it.

Track Walk, Saturday

Sorby, Stewart and Brian (Stewart coach driver) at the track walk this morning.

Practice just started. The weather is perfect!

A few notes: Millsaps and Tommy Hahn back next weekend. Wey is out with a dislocated thumb, he may be ready for Atlanta. DV is feeling good. Villopoto is very likely to clinch the west regional Lites title tonight. RC is hangin with the Ricky Bobbys at the Daytona 500.

If you listen to the post race press conferences on line, don't wait up this time. They have been discontinued.

San Diego is the last west SX until the series returns for Seattle.

Doc Bodnar on the Leatt Brace and Safety Equipment

The Asterisk Mobile Medical Center's lead emergency physician is Dr John Bodnar, who's "day job" is ER in the San Diego area. He's been following the Leatt Brace issue of course, even showing them at rider's meetings as he often does with other safety issues.

As the responsible physician assigned to professional supercross and motocross, it's up to Bodnar to take the lead on health and safety issues and keep the AMA and teams informed on what they need to know. Bodnar took the time to get the "Hats Off" device put in the rules as mandatory. (This is a ballon under the helmet foam that can be inflated to remove a helmet from an injured rider instead of pulling on the helmet.)

This looked like a time to ask Bodnar what is going on with Leatt and get the story on how it's seen officially, and of course some comments on other safety equipment too.

Q: I know you are following the Leatt Brace issue as close as the fans, well maybe, where do we start?

A: The word should be cautious optimism. It's a new product. They have done their homework. The data and crash test information seems very legit and valid. Now it is just a matter of getting them out there and have people try them, like any other safety device, to see if you have any problems with it, problems that you only find with long term testing.

Q: How fast should an established series like supercross move? It seems like NASCAR moved very quickly with their neck protection after Earnhardt.

A: The problem with this thing is that it is so brand new, there is nothing else like it out there. Just that alone, and in medicine in general, you have to be sure you are not jumping too soon into something that may have other problems. Just out of the box, it looks very good. That is why we are suggesting it at this point. As far as making it mandatory, we need more time.

Q: Not to take anything away from Bailey and his appeal to use them, as the lead doctor for the Asterisk rig, isn't this thing your responsibility, in other words, you are the go-to guy on safety issues for this sport, the guy that must be pro-active and take the lead on things like this? True or false?

A: Pretty true. The week before this I showed the Leatt at a rider's meeting and the week before that I was chastising people for not using chest protection. I would like if anyone has a medical issue that they would come to me. We take this really seriously. We want to do things that are going to make people safer and healthier in the long run, make sure we do everything, but do no harm first.

Q: This year we sure had a lot of people with chest issues, ribs, lungs, Reed's sternum, people are getting banged up. Is there a better way to make chest protectors to address this impacts?

A: There are several different designs out there, and US standards are different from European standards, they don't allow the hard plastic ones. They are worried about injuries with the plastic. I talked about this 2 weeks ago. Protect your investment. You worked hard to get where you are. Don't throw it away for some injury that could have been avoided.

Q: Do these things run in groups or something?

A: Even in ER, I will get three heart attacks in a night, then I don't get one for a couple of months. A few years ago, Sorby and a few other guys all got thumped in the chest pretty hard at the same race. I don't see it as a trend. It is just a spike. Next week it my be something else.

Q: Is it OK to add helmets to this topic? Isn't the foam like a really old idea? Isn't there something better for this sport specifically?

A: The biggest problem with, and I am working with a group doing autopsies on crashed helmets, and impact studies. We are seeing a difference in the type of injuries we get in the dirt vs injuries on the street. The problems with the Snell and the other standards is they are based on hard impact on pavement, not dirt impacts.

Q: Like hitting the wall at 80mph, that sort of thing?

A: What we are finding is guys are getting knocked out at much lower speeds. Our bottom line feeling is the helmets are too stiff. They are made for huge off-the-wall, from-the-ceiling impacts, but I have seen guys barely fall over in the dirt and get a concussion.

Q: Is that data you can take action with? Helmets are not going to be easy to touch at this point.

A: I have given the study group helmets every week and a rundown of what the injury was, how bad a concussion was and what does the helmet look like afterwards.

Q: As fans read this stuff and feel motivated to act or comment, how do they follow this? What's the process?

A: The biggest hurdle is Asterisk has only been here like 5-6 years as the official medical group for motocross and supercross. Just to get the Hats-Off device mandatory took three years of prodding because there was no established committee for safety. Now we are getting the ball rolling to show we can do things.

Q: So Hats-Off was like a test case?

A:Yeah, that was to show we can do it. This has established a procedure so for the next thing we know our steps. It makes it easier to step through a process.

Q: Why does something like Hats-Off seeming not need the same caution as a Leatt, or does it?

A: There were several options out there that looked similar, but the others didn't work as well. It's like how many Hans devices can you have? We picked this one. If others meet our standard, they can be used as well. It was a three year battle in the beginning.

Q: So as far as making a Leatt Brace mandatory, do you anticipate acceptance on some timeline?

A: Like I said, what I have seen so far is that it will be an excellent device. It's going to save a lot of people injuries that could have received without it. It's going to take a year or two of looking at it to make sure there is no downsides that show up. If we start seeing no one that uses one gets injured and the guys not using them are, then you will see us pushing to make in mandatory in a year or two.