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Supercross & Motocross
SHEHEEN: No Free Pass In SX
Ralph Sheheen writes that whoever ultimately wins the 2011 Monster Energy Supercross Championship will have truly earned that honor.
Monster Energy Supercross championship leader didn't catch any breaks in Jacksonville (Photo: Hoppenworld.com)
No 'Champions Provisional'. No 'Lucky Dog'. No 'Promoters Option'. No 'Push to Pass' button either. In Monster Energy Supercross you have to earn everything you get.
This became painfully obvious to some of the championship's biggest names this past weekend in Jacksonville. It also shocked some race fans who have become accustomed to sanctioning bodies leaving plenty of doors open to make sure their stars have numerous chances to win races and titles.
But on Saturday night points leader Ryan Villopoto crashed in his heat race. That meant he had to go to the Last Chance Qualifier. He crashed in that one too and missed the main event altogether, despite coming into the weekend on the strength of three consecutive victories.
That gave second place points man James Stewart a golden opportunity to close the gap to a single marker between him and Villopoto. Incredibly, James crashed in the first corner of the main event. Instead of pulling nearly even in the title race and gaining a tremendous amount of steam, Stewart fell to fourth, 23 points out of first.
There was no saving either one of them. However, if you race Monster Energy Supercross you're used to working without a net. These racers spend a lot of time flying high -- at altitudes over 50 feet in the air with nothing pillow soft to land on if they become separated from their machine.
All of the momentum went to Trey Canard and Chad Reed. Rookie Canard earned his second win of 2011 and is now fifth in the standings 27 points out. Reed finished second and jumped to second behind Villopoto. Chad is just a slim seven markers back from title leader Villopoto.
This became painfully obvious to some of the championship's biggest names this past weekend in Jacksonville. It also shocked some race fans who have become accustomed to sanctioning bodies leaving plenty of doors open to make sure their stars have numerous chances to win races and titles.
But on Saturday night points leader Ryan Villopoto crashed in his heat race. That meant he had to go to the Last Chance Qualifier. He crashed in that one too and missed the main event altogether, despite coming into the weekend on the strength of three consecutive victories.
That gave second place points man James Stewart a golden opportunity to close the gap to a single marker between him and Villopoto. Incredibly, James crashed in the first corner of the main event. Instead of pulling nearly even in the title race and gaining a tremendous amount of steam, Stewart fell to fourth, 23 points out of first.
There was no saving either one of them. However, if you race Monster Energy Supercross you're used to working without a net. These racers spend a lot of time flying high -- at altitudes over 50 feet in the air with nothing pillow soft to land on if they become separated from their machine.
All of the momentum went to Trey Canard and Chad Reed. Rookie Canard earned his second win of 2011 and is now fifth in the standings 27 points out. Reed finished second and jumped to second behind Villopoto. Chad is just a slim seven markers back from title leader Villopoto.
SX Seattle
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