Chatting with RC at His Last National

The weekend that fans of national MX wish would never come is here. Tomorrow is RC's last AMA national motocross. It's been an amazing ten years and it sometimes seems like a blur, but this is it.

RC's new car career is where is heart is right now, but he's fulfilling his obligations and ready to see of this race will be his 150th career win.


RC took a few minutes Saturday after practice to chat with media about what's on his mind.

On his career and how he's feeling right now-
It's been an amazing experience, and this is a little surreal actually. The craziest thing of all is I am not going to be able to race James in my last race. We want to have a good racetrack. We want to enjoy it.

On does this feel like the last day of school-
It never feels like the last day of school because there are always things that I need to do and can do. I want to get out of here healthy and bring home win #150.

On still developing his bike and setup, even for his last race-
We have a different setup this weekend.That is where my time and experience come in and I want to still help Suzuki. I feel like we put some credibility in this team and I want to keep it there. It's nice to know the bike is going to be the best bike out there.

On the X Games-
I would like to do some different disciplines next year. Its a huge event for you, but at the same time there is no pressure. They have it down. ESPN has the TV time ad that is what everyone wants. They have a rule that they go by and athletes are #1.

On what made RC RC, luck or is there a secret to this?
We drew the good straw, there is no secret.

Millville Saturday

Mud. The sky was clear but mud was on the ground. It's expected to be clear tomorrow, but still might be slick. The weather was hot in the area and fortunately it was overcast and made the weather a bit more mild.


New Hire: Roger Decoster watches new hire Nico Izzi get ready.

Other new guys just coming out of the amateur ranks, Kyle Keylon, riding for BBMX, and Trey Canard, for Sobe/Samsung/No Fear. Stroupe isn't doing Millville and Tyler Wharton is starting at round 11 in Texas on a 450. Will Hahn will be on Star Racing next year and was on hand but he's not racing this weekend.


Miss Motocross Leticia Cline is just back from a Maxim magazine photo shoot in New Orleans.

Millsaps out this weekend: Honda's Davi Millsaps has been struggling with dizziness during motos and has undergone testing to determine the cause. There is a suspected problem near his inner ear that is being evaluated. He pulled out of the national this weekend at Millville and its not certain if it issomething that will be corrected by Steel City.


RV warming up with a PSP...


Second Generation - Kenny Keylon, Yamaha's 1981 "Rookie of the Year" and a veteran of the Millville national from 1984, is here with his son Kyle, who is making his pro debut tomorrow. Kyle chose the 450 class to make his debut, just like Wharton will in Texas.


Rite of Passage: Trey Canard, new hire for Sobe/Samsung/No Fear, gets his sag set on his race bike for the first time as a pro. Nice!


Silly Season update -

- Metcalf is staying at Pro Circuit.
- Suzuki used its right of refusal to keep Byrne, but it's not sure what they are going to do for him. This kept him for taking an offer from Gibbs (so far anyway).
- Jeff Alessi doesn't have a team deal yet, and might organize his own deal.
- Laninovich was already reported to be going to MDK/KTM next year.
- Justin Sipes just moved over to MDK to finish out the summer, 450s.


DV showing Big E how to goon ride a bicycle.

The Whoop Monster, more self promotion than even TFS!


Will this guy be the series leader after this weekend?

Stewart Out for Millville - Surgery Not Confirmed but Likely

The biggest news of the Millville weekend so far was Kawasaki's press release confirming that Stewart is out this weekend due to his knee injury from Washougal.

There was not much detail and it ended this way "Since 100 percent of our efforts were to try to make it to this round our plan for the future has yet to be decided."

The Status:

The following is a combination of secrets, lies, rumors and facts:

He tried to ride Friday and the result was "no way." He stayed on crutches most of the time since Washougal. The injury is a ligament, not sure which one. When he hurt his knee at Washougal he was in alot of pain, so right then it was a bad sign.

He is going to need surgery, and it may even be next week. That would be to get the healing started as soon as possible for SX. If all that happens, then that's it for the nationals this summer, the MXoN and the US Open in October. This is all unconfirmed and won't be official until Kawi says in a PR.

The Impact:

That leaves Ferry with a possible series lead after Millville, and a motivated Andrew Short that wants it too.

As far as the MXoN team choice, Ferry is the obvious choice since he is totally on the gas right now, and Monster Kawasaki already did their prep for the event, so it just makes sense. Ferry was on Team USA in 2003 when he, RC, and Ryan Hughes raced in Zolder and got second to Belgium.

Washougal Sunday

Over 26,000 people gathered to watch round 8 in an overcast but comfortable day at Washougal.

The track got some re-design. New sections made the track better by uncovering some "new" dirt. The track is still slippery, but they took out some faster sections (like the downhill Pastrana wadded on a few years ago and had a concussion) and made a track the riders spoke well of.

Some notes:
-Stewart wasn't 100% from his injury at Unadilla.
-Villopoto was clearly the fan favorite, and his intensity on the track seemed to match the crowd's enthusiasm. When he was charging up from the back in moto 2, his lap times were like 3-4 seconds faster than the leader!
-Dungey got the starts in Lites - both holeshots.
-Langston is riding a 2008 YZ450, which he said steers much better for him.
-Gavin Gracyk made the trip afterall, with some help from MDK and his on-line supporters. Then he was in a moto 1 pileup right out of the gate. Byrne dropped him one spot in points so he is now 11th.
-Red Bull KTM was using the new Merge Adjustable Leak Jet on all the bikes. Last week Mike Alessi used it at Lakewood.
-Townley leads Villopoto by 2 points in Lites. Stewart leads Ferry by 7 points. The top two in each class are on Kawasakis.
-Mike Alessi's Suzuki deal should be wrapped up soon.
-Millsaps has some health issue that caused him to pull off in moto 2. (sinuses?)
-Tim Ferry, the overall MX winner, is 32 years old. He almost crashed just before the finish line.
-Langston's moto 2 win was his first in 450s.
-Windham said his mistaking the white flag for the checkered was a "bonehead" move.
-Darcy Lange was there watching. He started chemo for Hodgkins disease and won't worry about silly season stuff until that is done. He's confident he will get through it OK.
-"Blue Hair" Hepler crashed out of moto 2 while in third, about the time Villopoto caught him late in the race.
-Rides worth noting in Lites (besides the usual front-runners): Metcalf 5-5 for 5th, Davalos 7-6 for 6th, and Broc Tickle 8-11 for 7th. J-Law was 10-20 for 15th. Ouch.
-Rides worth noting in MX (besides the usual front-runners): Tedesco was more on the gas than his 10-5 indicates. Kyle Lewis, 9th. David Vuillemin 8-6 for 6th finshed ahead of a lot of money.
-WORCS star Ricky Dietrich finished 18-24 and scores points. Off-roader Destry Abbott broke ribs and bruised a lung Saturday and was still in the hospital Sunday.
-Stewart has been testing a Leatt Brace.
-Stewart's bike was smoking a little in moto 2.
-Kevin Rookstool, #745, has "My Parents" on his tank shrouds as a sponsor.

Watch Racerxill.com for updates on Stewart's knee early in the week. It hurt him a lot when he was pinned to the ground under his bike, but he al least was able to get up and stand.

Ferry Reacts to the News He Won!

The overall was so close at Washougal after Stewart crashed out that the rest of the top riders were not sure who had the overall.

With about a lap to go, Langston was in line for the overall with a 4th in moto 1 and the lead in moto 2. Ferry was second in moto 1, and was in 3rd behind Windham as the second moto was about over.

Windham got the laps wrong and wheelied through the whoops before the finish for the crowd, and let off past the finish, mistaking the white flag for a checkered. Ferry saw him rolling and wondered himself was the race over, but he kept going, then Windham took off again behind him.

That gave Ferry second, and the overall with a 2-2.

He wasn't sure if he won until he got to the podium and his team told him.

Stewart Update from Washougal

Monster Energy Kawasaki's James Stewart crashed out of moto 2 at Washougal when he hit a rock and tumbled in a slow turn. The bike fell on him and his left knee was painfully pinned under the bike until someone could help him get it off.

Stewart wasn't 100% from his whiplash injury from Unadilla, but visibly stronger compared to last weekend at Lakewood.

He won the first moto today, and was back in third as moto 2 started to wrap up. It didn't look like he was going to catch the leader Grant Langston or Kevin "One More Lap" Windham.

Stewart was going into a slow, easy left turn on the lowest part of the course (where the old start was) and he saw a rock rolling into his line. He looked at the rock, and then ended up tipping over with his left knee pinned and tweaked. It hurt a lot, but once they did get him up he was able to stand, and he rode back on the back of his bike instead of the Asterisk Mule.

Stewart wears CTi knee braces. Initial checks by the Asterisk crew at the track were positive.

He wasn't going to do the X Games next week, and has an extra week to get ready for Millville and his last chance to beat RC at a national.

He is going to get it checked out tomorrow. It is not for sure if he will be able to make Loretta's Tuesday for the MXoN team announcement.

Gracyk Gets Some Help...Just in Time

Privateer Gavin Gracyk has been turning heads this summer in 450s. His best finish was 6th overall at Southwick, and he's just outside the top ten in points.

He's been getting help from Cycra to get around to the races, along with Michael Willard, but his own travel money ran out - and just last night the word was out that he was skipping Washougal for the price of a plane ticket.

You read that right. Gracyk, 11th in points, was about to miss Washougal for the price of a plane ticket. His friend and series photohound Jeff Kardas posted something on line about it, and to make a story short, by the time practice was underway Sunday at Lakewood, MDK, (next year's KTM racing partner) offered him a ride for the rest of the summer in the MDK rig!

At least the message boards are worth it once in a while...