Detroit 2

Normally I post something here Saturday night. But normally I don't turn 30 on Saturday night. It all turned into a blur at the Greektown Casino, and when I woke up this morning, I had a bad headache and memories of a crazy night of racing in Detroit. It made me question everything I remembered from the race. It seems unbelievable that Chad Reed would crash in practice, get a ride to the hospital in an ambulance, then return to walk, not ride, onto the track in opening ceremonies and do his interview while still having his emergency room bracelet on. Only Stone Cold Steve Austin has bounced back from an Ambulance ride to perform again so well later that night.

By race time, rumors and speculation had reached a fever pitch, and the wrestling analogy started to fit. Everything was in play--provisional starts in the main, out for the season, or even planting fake injury reports to psyche out his competition. We heard Reed had a broken shoulder blade. But then we heard that could have just been a fake story just to throw people off. Hey, it's not out of the question to try that--Reed's dealing with Kevin Windham and Jeff Spencer here, and he knows how their mind works. After the race, Windham said he was struggling to stay calm through the emotional roller coaster he was riding all day....

So even when Reed came out for opening ceremonies after all, no one was sure what he really had (although by looking at his eyes on the big screen, it was clear that, at least, he had some good pain killers). The heat race and LCQ went terribly, but could that have possibly been part of the plan, too? I think I was buying a little too much into the WWF hype and rumors surrounding the building. On the 200 percent Trey Canard scale, 100 percent of me expected Reed to whip his San Manuel Yamaha coat off like James Brown, hop on a bike and start nailing triples. The other 100 percent of me expected Windham to hit him in the ribs with a steel folding chair. The whole scenario was bizzare and totally unprecedented.

Before we even knew what was really going to happen, Trey Canard dropped the Ice Trey moniker as soon as he tried to pass Ryan Villopoto on the first lap of the main. He went for it in the whoops and very, very nearly crashed. Canard wisely slowed down and saved it, and then I think the following scenario ran though his mind "I don't have to beat Ryan here to win this championship."

And just like that, Canard was finally thinking about the championship. And the the pressure came.

Once Canard couldn't shake Nico Izzi, it was obvious that he wasn't the same guy who said "what championship?" in Minneapolis. He was making huge mistakes, and finally he crashed. If ever you wanted an example of "don't slow down because you'll start riding different" this was it. Now Villopoto just needs to win once more in St. Louis and he'll complete the worst to first comeback just like Townley did last year.

Then the 450s rolled up. In the end, everything was much more real than any rumors could be. Honestly, if Chad could have raced hard he would have done it in the heat race, because he was screwed with a bad gate pick for the main. Reed was hurt, he was probably numbed up pretty good, and beyond that he had guts and determination and most importantly, the classic unwavering Reed confidence. In his post race interview with us, Reed explained that he knew he would be in the back of the pack, but he knew what that competition is like, he knew they weren't as strong as him, and indeed while Reed didn't go very fast, the riders around him got tired and crashed and handed him one spot after another. On the last lap, Nick Wey and Paul Carpenter crashed, and Reed slithered from 14th to 12th. Crazy.

Reed isn't just tough physically. He's tough mentally. After the race he told us he had wanted to get a good start. I don't think ANYONE else in that situation would have wanted to get a good start. Dive into the first turn at the front of the supercross pack right into a ridiculously rutted set of whoops when you have no idea if you can even ride a bike at speed at all? You're liable to get run right over and end the season right there. Reed has no fear.

Lucky for him he crashed in the first turn instead, so he was able to safely pick his way around downed riders and get his 12th. Windham, meanwhile, could only get third, as he just didn't have anything for Ferry or Millsaps. Depending on how this season turns out, K-Dub can look to his thirds at Minneapolis and Detroit as the major gaffes to his title drive.

Then we had more controversy after the main when Windham had words with Reed. Reed ran him wide in a turn when he was about to get lapped. More mind games? More psyche jobs? Just reality? The line right now is fuzzier than my mind last night.