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| SX Season Recap - Houston |
| Jason Weigandt |
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The headline leaving
Anaheim 3 was the same as the rest of the races in Angel Stadium: James Stewart
wins. But the road it took to get there was different. Chad Reed gave James a
real race for the win there, and fans were hoping a rejuvenated and healthy Reedy
could be speedy enough to fight Stewart again as the series headed to Houston,
Texas.
Unfortunately, the same Reed that raced in Anaheim didn't come to Texas. For whatever
reason, Reed never found the aggression he had the week before, which begat the
weekly game of which Chad Reed would show up each week. There would be times throughout
the season when Reed seemed ready to run with Stewart, and there were times when
he had no chance. Houston was the latter.
Not to say this one wasn't a good one, though. Houston has existed as a stadium
stop on the Amp'd Mobile Supercross tour for longer than any other race on the
schedule (only Daytona, which is far different from a regular stadium supercross,
has been around longer). Maybe it was fitting that this year's Houston event showed
a little old-school flair, even though the racing took place at the gigantic Reliant
stadium instead of the mythical old Astrodome.
First we had the Lites main event. Ryan Villopoto had been tearing the series
up on his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki, but Boost Mobile/Yamaha of Troy's
Jason Lawrence had been repeating over and over that he could run with RV51 if
he could just get a start. He only got one at one race, and then that event was
red-flagged and re-started about a minute later. At Houston, Villopoto got the
jump, but Lawrence was right with him. True to his word, the New Jerseyite turned
Californian turned up the heat on Villopoto and was ready to challenge him. Shockingly,
he jumped up next to him over the finish-line jump and set up a big block pass
in the next corner. Ricky Carmichael was in the TV announcer's booth for this
one, and he immediately yelled "Here comes the dirty move!" as Lawrence
dove underneath Villopoto and hit him so hard that it actually lifted Villopoto's
tires off of the dirt. It was a hard pass, but it was a pass nonetheless-the first
one anyone had executed on Villopoto all year.
Villopoto was fired up after that. He went after Lawrence hard and made a pass
in the sand section, and he made sure to throw some extra mustard on that pass
as a pay back. But it wasn't over. A lapped rider crashed in front of RV, and
he couldn't avoid hitting the downed rider's bike and crashing himself. Lawrence
assumed the lead and a probable upset win, except he just didn't ride with the
same aggression once he was out in front. A flat Lawrence got caught by a charging
Villopoto, who was back to his old ways of absolutely attacking the track with
abandon. He made the pass much easier this time and checked out-chalk up another
RV win. Then the two exchanged words after the event regarding all of those rough
passes. Two young stars riding dirty and having words after the race-it was like
supercross 15 years ago!
Then came the Supercross main event, which was also a throw back. Stewart got
a bad start and Reed was a little further up front. But neither attacked early,
instead leaving Tim Ferry and Kevin Windham to battle up front. This was like
one of your 1980's supercrosses, when riders would actually pace themselves, pick
their spots and take their time. Stewart was methodically working his way up,
while Ferry led his first race since what probably seemed like the 1980s.
Reed had a golden opportunity to take advantage of all of this, but he never got
going. He got roosted with sand and said the intake of it made him sick, and he
never rode like he did at Anaheim or San Francisco. Stewart blitzed past him in
the whoops, and then passed Windham and Ferry on his way to another win. Reed
managed second after digging deep in the final laps, with Ferry, Windham and Travis
Preston rounding out the top five.
After this, no one was sure which Chad Reed would show up at each supercross,
and no one was sure which Stewart would, either. Rough days in the 450 division
had taught Stewart to ride smart at times, and Houston was one of those nights
when the rider that used his head instead of landing on it would win.
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