Covert update: Loretta's

Pssst. We're announcing sun up to sun down here at Loretta Lynn's, and I don't have time to blog. I just snuck in to Rita's motorhome here at 2 a.m. to get internet access. Please check out the usual www.live.motocross.com site for our daily MX SportsCenter shows from the Ranch. They're hosted by myself and Kevin Kelly of DMXS Radio, and they're basically just like a daily edition of the Racer X Motocross Show.

Oh no! The boss lady is coming. I'm out!

Washougal

We're almost ready to go on the air here in Washington. We had some rain this morning just to remind everyone that we're in the Pacific Northwest, and it subsided just in time for the second practice sessions, probably made the track better, in fact. Yesterday the track was even showing dust in a few spots late in the day, but now it looks perfect, and apparently, rides that way. The WMA just finished their second moto and Tarah Geiger said the track is "bad ass." We'll see. I talked to some of the AMA guys and they said this track doesn't get dug up as deep as some of the others on the tour so it doesn't always get as rough, but of course, there's always mixed judgement on if rough tracks are better or not. Yes, rough stuff seperates the "men from the boys" or even in the WMA's case, the Women from the girls. But smoother tracks, supposedly, create better racing because the gap is closer between everyone. This is one of those questions we'll never find the real answer to. Also, the AMA boys said this track develops different lines because most of the turns are big sweepers, and the track doesn't have a lot of straight sections. A track like Budds Creek, for example, runs straights and turns, straights and turns, whereas this one just runs big turns. When you have simple 18o degree corners it's easy to develop 5 ruts in those turns and hence, 5 lines. It doesn't quite work out that way when the track has big sweepers like this.

Does any of this matter? Aren't Stewart and Villopoto going to kill it anyway? Probably, so let's dig deeper.

A real battle this weekend may shape up between Jeff Alessi and Jimmy Albertson, who are both in the running for a factory Honda ride at Millville. Yesterday they both told me they were faster than each other when the tested with Honda on Wedesday. Yes, both faster than each other. Also, both said the factory bike is way better. Who will beat who this weekend? This is a question factory Honda and fantasy motocross team owners out there are wondering about. Albertson is taking no chances, though. He bought a sweet 1980's era exercise bike at a garage sale on the way to the track yesterday and set it up outside of the Moto XXX rig, which is transporting his bike. So now he's all warmed up and in fact going really fast in practice.

It's funny that both Jeff and Jimmy ended up riding under the same tent this weekend, by the way.

For my fantasy team, the question is who should I pick? Albertson, Alessi or Antonio Balbi or some combination of all of them? I think this is the battle to watch today.

Okay I'm back.

The Real Red Riders

I'm bracing for the biggest trip of the year--Washougal to Loretta's--so I don't have much to write here. So I'm going to share the raw, undeveloped notes I typed in at Unadilla.

Mud, privateers Jacob Morrison, Marsack, Carpenter, Balbi crossed in 4^th and pointed to the sky

JS in PC: “That ground had hit me so many times I felt like I had to kick it back”

Josh Hill bad luck both motos. Crash moto one in 3rd, looked like brake troubles in moto 2.

Townley on the show had to leave to cheer Cooper, said the #9 and the #101 had nothing for him in pre season

Cooper had mud tires on for second moto, helped get start. Stewart admitted hard pack

Like I thought, the soil wasn't different. All that sand got pushed off, may have had something to do with expecting rain, you can’t disc as deep, may have to ask. Yamaha manager Jim Perry said it was "a little different."

Davalos bike trouble in first moto, third in moto two for third straight race.

Awesome Lites moto 1 battle for third. Georke crashed out of third.

Canard stopped for goggles in moto 2

Short second moto troubles in mud (hates mud)

Hahn had holeshot and was third in lites moto two when they red flagged. He lost the most

Summey hurt, Jeff Alessi was battling with Albertson

Cunningham awesome 1^st moto

That's what I have.

A brewing story right now is a possible opening on the Honda Red Bull Racing team since the #118, #9 and #101 bikes are all parked. The boards are saying Jimmy Albertson may get a shot. And Jeff Alessi hinted on the webcast last week that something big was going to happen this weekend, but Matthes told me nothing is supposed to change as far as the Moto XXX team is concerned (Jeff was riding under the Moto XXX tent anyway, but he's not a full-fledged member of the team because he has a clothing deal with Alpinestars). I honestly don't expect Jeff or Jimmy Alberston to be full-on Honda Red Bull factory guys, but maybe they will get some support. When you combine Honda and Red Bull in one team, I don't think you have a team that just throws deals around so quickly.

And how about Cody Cooper? That dude is tearing it up, but Suzuki had Alessi going strong early in the season and now Byrner is on it, so they're not as desperate for results as they could be. I think Cody has a good thing going and shouldn't mess with it. Plus, I don't think Cooper cares...about anything, really. Matthes actually told me an awesome story, where a bunch of fans went by Cooper's pit at Budd's Creek and said "yeah, doing it for the privateer. Keep it up Cody!" So Cody says thanks and stuff, and then turns to his buddy and said "So, what's a privateer anyway?"

Two Chicks Going At It!

Here's a clip of Danica Patrick getting in Milka Duno's face at the Indy race over the weekend. The argument seems...so perfect. Danica even makes sure to say "What the hell?" to ensure no cussing.

450 Words

And I also wrote 450 Words this week. Check it out here.

250 Words

Here's the 250 Words column I put together for Racer X Online today.

Unadilla Saturday

Well, the more you change the more it stays the same. I know they dumped a lot of sand onto the track here at Unadilla, but at the end of the day, it seemed like a lot of that sand had ended up off the side of the track, and the surface wasn't a whole lot different than the past. Yamaha Team Manager Jim Perry told me it was "a little different" but in reality I don't think anyone thought it was drastically different than the past. But the layout was different in a few areas, and the riders all seemed to like the new sections.

But hey, it's Unadilla, and even all-time New York veteran Jammin' Jimmy Weinert told me he never really liked this track. "It was hard, it was Unadilla! No one looked forward to the hardest track the most."

I then made fun of Jimmy because the old-school guys are supposed to say they walked up hill to school both ways and liked it. But Jimmy said he's beyond old-school now.

The track still gets rough here, though. Ryan Villopoto had the fastest lap of anyone today but that came in the first session, and he was a whopping four seconds slower in session two. That's how much rougher the track has gotten.

I was on DMXSRadio.com on Wednesday talking about watching the races on TV, and seeing where riders make up time. David Izer and I discussed watching videos of the races and seeing where speed can be made up. So this week Trey Canard is on a rampage, telling me non-stop "Oh yeah I watched more video so now I'll just win. It's that easy right?" Canard and his gang are one funny group, actually, and it was cool bantering with them. Now if he just watches more video maybe he'll win tomorrow!

Evading

On the way to Unadilla tonight, driving the 5.7L V8 w/ 401 lb.ft of torque Toyota Tundra on I-90 East, I went past a cop doing 80 in a 65 zone. He flicked his lights on and I knew I was done. But lo and behold I looked up and saw an exit coming up. I've always wondered "What if you just got off the highway and they couldn't find you?"

So I exited. And lo and behold the lights kept on running straight! I did it! I got away with it!

Then later I got back on the highway and the cop had nabbed someone else. Yeehaw!

Special thanks to Toyota for the getaway vehicle.

Back

Whoa, the whole wedding thing almost got the best of us, but now the invitations are done and in the mail. So each and every one of you loyal Blogandters can expect to see an invite soon. I've illegally wire tapped all of you to get your address, and for those that I couldn't get, I just Googled ya'.

By the way, the misses came up with an awesome idea to make invitations. She designed the things and then saved the design as a photo, and then we just ran the file down to Wal-Mart and got the photos developed. So now we have high-end glossy color invites for way cheap. As you know, though, it can never be that easy when you're dealing with Wal-Mart. When I went to pick up the developed photos, the worker guy just started searching every drawer they had until his finally admitted "Man, I know we developed them, but I just can't find them. Can you just come back in an hour? I'll run them again."

So an hour later he had a new batch of photos. But they never found the originals, which can only mean one thing. Someone else has them!

So, uh, we'll see how many people show up to this wedding.

By the way, don't underestimate Wal-Mart when shopping for wedding stuff. All you have to do is look at the workers and clientele there and you will never, ever, want to go back into the dating pool. Your future husband/wife will never look as hot as they do when set against the backdrop of Wal-Mart. And as such, maybe you'll spend a few extra bucks to make sure they stick with you.

Budd's Creek

Man, it's hot here. Big difference between holding this race in July instead of June. Track is run in reverse, too, which I believe will make for a more fair start. Last year's 180 degree left hand first turn gave the advantage to anyone with an inside gate pick. This year the pack makes a 90 degree left before heading up hill. Also, the track is in much better shape than it was for the National last year, and race promoter John Beasley is in better condition as well. Last year he had flipped his quad a month or so before the race and was in no condition whatsoever for the national. Note now that the track is better.

But Beasley decided to throw small bark chips down to soften the soil, instead of using sand like it seems every other track does. I talked to a few people, and they say that while the wood chips make the track look like it would have good traction, it doesn't actually doesn't. We'll see.

Honestly, it doesn't matter what the track is like, you're not gonna' stop James and Ryan. Enjoy the build up!

Brilliant

Spotted this news flash when I signed on to AOL IM yesterday:

Mini-Me's sex-tape co-star is responsible for its release, claims TMZ. Verne Troyer's ex, aspiring model Ranae Shrider, now admits to leaking the teaser footage, and plans to shop the whole shebang around town. And you thought your ex was bad ... (July 3)

Man what a great move by this aspiring model! She obviously wants to get attention to help boost her career. And if she's an aspiring model, she must be decently hot. So, you work over Mini-Me for a few weeks, video tape it, and then sell it because let's be honest, a video of some hot chick running Mini-Me might be enough to make the internet explode. She'll make big bucks and get big attention. Folks, here we are fighting a down economy and in desperate need for technological breakthroughs on energy efficiency. But just when you think we've run out of smart people in the world, someone comes up with this!

Wait! Google has led me to more info on the girl right here.

Just Let This Press Release Speak for Itself

Monster Energy Supercross Champ Reed to Throw out First Pitch at Angels Game

AURORA, Ill. (July 9, 2008) – To commemorate Chad Reed’s 2008 Monster Energy® AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, and to help kick off the ticket on-sale of 2009 Monster Energy® Supercross season, Chad Reed will throw out the honorary first pitch before the Angels and Indians game at Angel Stadium July 22.

“Angel Stadium is a special place for me; it’s where I won my first supercross race, so I am really looking forward to this,” said Reed. “I have never been to a baseball game before. Baseball is not very popular in Australia; we play cricket. I’m hoping I can make the throw all of the way to the catcher without throwing out my shoulder!”

On the pressure of making the pitch to home plate, Reed said, “I am not even going to practice. I like the pressure.”

Reed, 26, of Tampa Fla., captured the second AMA Supercross class title of his career earlier this year at Las Vegas’ Sam Boyd Stadium. En route to winning the championship, Reed captured nine wins and earned an additional four podium appearances. Reed became one of two riders to sweep all three race wins at Angel Stadium. A native of Australia, Reed came to the U.S. in 2002 and enjoyed success immediately winning the Eastern Regional AMA Supercross Lites championship. Reed is now third in the all-time AMA Supercross class win list with 35.

Motorcycles are fun, heavy

Just when I think the quality of my posts should be in question, I catch this randomn blog post from the Sporting News website. Click here and then try to figure out if this guy is trying to make a point, or if he just really wanted a reason to show the Alessi clip.

One Phase in the Comeback

We had a short discussion at Red Bud about Jason Lawrence's career prospects. At one point, a few of us thought he may have trouble getting a team to hire him, but then we realized that talent and speed and a SX number-one plate are the hottest commodities in this business. He will be back on the track somewhere down the road, and he will have good support doing it.

A few votes went out for a crazy team of Chad Reed and Jason on all-black Hondas, maybe backed by Carey Hart or even the Metal Mulisha. They'd both be sporting number-one plates, and if you're looking for buzz, well, Reed's contract status and Lawrence's 'issues' are the hottest topics this summer. And now neither of them are even racing!

But the reality is this: no matter what team Lawrence ends up on, you will see a press release about it saying two things:

A) He's using this as a positive.

B) He's in the best shape of his life.

And now that the apology is out we already have A) taken care of. Look for the best shape of his life PR in a few months.

Propers out to The Crown AMG marketing group who emailed out the apology today. They really tried to make it sound like Lawrence wrote that.

(Update 7/8/08: I have now heard from good sources that Lawrence did indeed write that letter, and now even the AMA has released an official press release on the matter. I stand corrected.)

That group has always done a good job of promoting what they have. J-Law's agent Scott Sepkovic, for example, has never done anything but compliment us on the stuff we write/say about J-Law. The man knows that to promote J-Law properly, bad press is good press.

Although it might be so bad right now, they'll have to try to turn it into a positive.

And Here It Is

J-Law issues an apology.

Things You Hear in the Night

At about 3 am on the drive home from Red Bud last night, I'm doing everything I can to stay sharp.The combination of Monster, Monster Java, and a grande Starbucks pitch in to help, but the true mind stimulation comes courtesy of XM Radio. I have CNN on, and they're playing a superb episode of Nancy Grace. They're talking about the recent story where a husband takes his wife on a honeymoon in Australia and then kills her while they're scuba diving.

These shows are always reaching to fill time. They run the same stock footage over and over, they bring in analysts who have never met the people involved, and they generally run on rampant speculation. So that's what led to this horrible analysis, which, in my highly focused state, I could not miss.

I found the clip on YouTube, just scroll to minute 4:50



So, to review, in just 11 days of marriage, this wife grew a backbone and some self esteem, and the husband realized this and probably had an affair (which "may" come out later) and then had to get revenge by killing her. In 11 days! I've got two months to go before I'm married. If this much can happen in 11 days, it's going to be one crazy summer!

The Real Action

Does anyone else want to weigh in on Jason Lawrence? At this point the J-Law scenario has been discussed to death. Every pundit has said their piece, from rival racers, to retired racers, to fans, to industry types, everyone has said what they wanted to say about Jason. We just keep throwing more logs on the fire, and everyone basically says the same thing: "He's such a talented racer/love him or hate him he brings something unique to the sport/who are the people surrounding him? etc etc etc"

There's a reason everything he does is getting discussed to death, a reason everything keeps getting rehashed. The racing is boring this year. And for that, I kind of feel bad for the guy. In a normal year, the J-Law drama wouldn't get as much attention as it is getting right now, but this is no normal year. No one is battling, and hence, we've all turned to the off track stuff to find some drama.

The top topics getting buzz in this sport right now are J-Law and silly season contracts. And why not? Not only are Stewart and Villopoto destroying people, but we're really not seeing much racing even behind that. Over the last two weeks, the only real battling up front came in the second Lites moto, and this weekend that battle was a race for second. What's more, we could all be banking this year as a warm up for Stewart v. Villopoto 2009, but for whatever reason, that's not bringing the hype like 2004, which was a warm up for Carmichael v. Stewart 2005.

After watching the pre-show we put together on Saturday, I realized what we are up against. Lawrence became the main topic of the show, because there are no other topics to choose from. If this were last year, when Carmichael and Stewart were still battling, and Villopoto was squaring off with Ben Townley in the Lites class, the Lawrence thing may not have led off the show. Yes, Jason Lawrence created his own destiny, but unfortunately for him, no one else has created anything else to help shadow it.

No Longer Above the (J) Law

Happy 4th of July from Blogandt! Me and the Mrs. had a nice drive to Red Bud here yesterday to celebrate......

HOLY CRAP JASON LAWRENCE GOT ARRESTED YESTERDAY!!!!!

That's the word from the track here on Saturday morning. Now he's out on bail, but the word is that the AMA isn't going to let him race, and he may be done with Yamaha of Troy as well.

We've all heard rumors like this before, so we'll see if the gate drops tomorrow without him.

Anyway, ironically, happy Independence Day!

The Fad

Check out this Newsweek article in found from 2000--on freestyle motocross at the X Games.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/98412

Buffed Out

http://kdka.com/video/?id=38201@kdka.dayport.com