May 31st, 2009 · Racing
Over at Motocross Action Magazine Jody Wiesel is again raising the spectre of a 1-Moto format for the MX Nationals. In typical Wiesel style, Jody fires a shotgun blast in the general direction of something that has made him angry and answers some purported questions from a reader regarding the Glen Helen National. Here’s the relevant excerpt:
(3) Why did the [Glen Helen] race last into the evening? If I was a conspiracy theorist I’d say that the sanctioning body, which really wants to go to a one-moto format, was sabotaging the race program to make it look like the only way they could get through the day was if they went to one moto. However, not being a conspiracy theorist, I don’t believe that this is what they are doing. They have just bit off more than they can chew. The schedule needs to be streamlined. Everyone knew that it was too long and too prone to delays — almost everyone that is. I’d estimate that by the start of the second round of motos that half the crowd headed for the gates. That is not a rousing approval rating of your entertainment package or race schedule.
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Is this a prelude to putting the 2-stroke back into the MX Nationals in 2010? The announcement at Racer X is the latest in a string of small things that all add up to growing momentum for a 2-stroke resurgence on the Pro scene.
It’s just my speculation at this point, but MX Sports has announced the 2-Stroke Invitational to run at select rounds of the 2009 National series, including:
- July 4 RedBud Buchanan, Mich.
- July 18 Spring Creek Millville, Minn.
- Aug. 15 Unadilla New Berlin, N.Y.
- Aug. 22 Budds Creek Mechanicsville, Md.
There is a lot of speculation about whether or not we will see 2-strokes put back on an equal footing for professional racing in 2010. The renaming of the racing classes to 250 and 450, various favorable comments by MX Sports and AMA Nationals guy Davey Coombs, the resurgence of 2-stroke events in Europe, and now a 2-stroke exhibition class at select MX Nationals. Can this be a way to gauge fan and rider interest and build a case for going against the wishes of the Big Four in 2010? We’ll see…
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May 29th, 2009 · Events
The new site is live. I tried to keep it simple and make it easier to use:
- No longer need to create an account to post a comment
- When you post a comment you can subscribe to it (and nothing else) via email, so you can see when someone responds
- URLs that show the post title. Old links will still work. We’ve put redirects in place to make sure the old URLs don’t get 404 messages.
- Type that should be easier on the eyes for folks like me whose eyesight doesn’t like the small fonts so much.
- More “what’s new” summary stuff in the sidebar. (This might just matter to me, but I like to see it on other sites.)
My webmaster and I have been working for a while on getting everything ready. Moving a site to a new platform and a new host without breaking things is tough, but I think we’ve managed it.
Try it out. Post a comment here and let me know what else you’d like to see or if you find any glitches. We’ll be cleaning things up for a few days yet.
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May 12th, 2009 · Racing
There is some fantastic news out yesterday — Jason Weigandt and David Bailey will be 2/3 of the broadcast team for SPEED TV coverage of the outdoor MX Nationals!
I have been wondering if we were going to have to suffer through another season of Ralph “Monster Truck” Sheheen — bless his heart. I know he tries, and maybe he’s a good choice for Supercross. Maybe the average viewer for SX doesn’t know a whoop from tailwhip and needs the sort of hyperbole and overdramatization that Sheheen is so good at. But it just rubs me the wrong way. I can’t help it.
Bailey is the best MX color man ever, hands down. Despain/Bailey may have been the best on-air team ever. Emig is good, and has gotten better with experience. But Bailey is Numero Uno and it’s terrific to see him get another shot at a full-time TV gig.
Weigandt? The kid is terrific. He loves this stuff. He knows it inside and out. He knows when there is real drama on the track, and when there isn’t. He doesn’t have to make it up. It’s like having the world’s biggest fan doing the play-by-play. And that is a good thing. Plus, he’s a helluva play-by-play guy. His SX webcasts are first rate. He’s real talent and I am so happy to see him get a shot at big network (well, bigger than Versus) TV. It will make everything about the broadcasts better.
I am “super pumped” about the Nationals. DC, MX Sports — you guys are the best. Way to go!
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Received word today that Richie Vallandingham of Missouri passed away yesterday due to heart failure. Richie was out riding at a local track with his son.
I met Richie face-to-face on several occasions and chatted with him frequently via vintage racing message boards. He was one of those rare people that you just know right away is a really good guy and you like him.
Richie had a history of heart problems, but he insisted on living life to the fullest. He was an example for all of us, and I will miss him. My condolences to his son Garret and wife Teresa. Godspeed Richie.
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Posts are a little slow of late. MuddyWatersMX.net is undergoing transition to a new technology platform and I’m working on a few other things. Converting all the articles and posts is a bit of a job so until I get them all done I’ll be limiting the new material. But stay tuned. The new site will eliminate the need for you to create an account to post comments, give you more flexibility in using the site, and be better for search engines so you can find things easier.
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If you’re an MX fan, real MX — 2-minute laps, turns that not 180-degrees, off-cambers, uphills, downhills, simple things like that — you owe it to yourself to check out the freecaster.tv live coverage of the MX GPs. It’s really teriffic — great technical quality, nice user interface, and solid overall experience. SPEED TV, are you watching???
Oh, they have archives too, if you can’t catch the race live. But watching it live is very good.
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John “Light Brown” Lancione has passed away. Light Brown was the first official AMA Referee for motocross and was instrumental in the growth of motocross in the U.S. Godspeed.
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A couple of months ago I was interviewed by Associations Now magazine for an article on AMA CEO Rob Dingman. The author did a good job. The article is on the challenges and problems Dingman has faced, and is facing, remaking the U.S.’ largest motorcycle rider association.
I want to thank the author, Kim Fernandez, for quoting me correctly and in context. That’s increasingly rare in this age of sensationalism and spin.
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The US House of Representatives unceremoniously approved H.R. 146: Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Battlefield Protection Act last week. The eco-Nazi’s are ecstatic at all the new places they can put up “Do Not Enter” and “Keep Out” signs on 2.1 million acres of American public land.
Preserved for their use and their use only — the arrogant, self-anointed elitists and their faux moral superiority. All of them sit around in their electrically-heated homes — watching their TVs and playing on their computers — using all the things that hard-working American engineers and thinkers and businessmen designed and developed and produced.
They enjoy all this while complaining and carping and crying about it like like whining children. They do painfully stupid, meaningless things like turning their lights out for an hour and then parade around as if they’ve made a statement for mankind. Give me a break. It’s the same kind of do-nothing do-goodery that let’s people puff up over a “click this link and someone, somewhere will donate a penny to a starving child in Africa” campaigns.
It’s quite sad that we have all sat on our asses for so long and let these self-serving fools get in charge. If you want my respect live on a farm. Grow your own damn food. Weave your own cotton. Get off the grid and stop sucking electricity from coal-fired power plants. Ride a fucking horse and stop parading around in your battery-powered hybrid that has a lower overall energy efficiency rating that a well-maintained internal combustion engine you useless, hypocritical piece of human refuse.
But do not run around here claiming you’re saving the planet. Some poor, nearsighted sportsman who’s forced to hunt near residential areas now may mistake you for a nice, fat doe…
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