DAVIDBAILEYMX.COM

FEATURE STORY

SUPERCROSS 2004
With another Supercross season in the record book, I thought I would share my thoughts since I have received so many emails lately on the subject. First off, I want to congratulate Chad Reed on his first 250 SX title. Having spent some time around him when I was going to the track with Vuillemin, I got to see things that really impressed me and also indicate that he will be around for a while and winning regardless of who his competition is. I think we can all agree that Lance Armstrong is pretty amazing in many ways and Chad reminds me of Lance more and more with the way he goes about his business. Of course Jeff Spencer who also has spent a lot of time around Lance has downloaded some great lessons advice. Now I’m very interested to see how he does outdoors. It seems from my perspective like Chad wants the outdoor title this year as much or more than the supercross title and has been ramping up for it since the 1st of the year. Watching RC get emotional at the awards banquet for the last few years and then Chad - after listening to a recorded message from his parents - makes you realize how hard it is to win a title these days much it means to these guys.

I also want to say how impressed I am with Kevin Windham’s season. I was pretty outspoken after the whole Phoenix thing which I deeply regret, but I still remain a big Windham fan and am glad to see him buckle down and win races all season long. Just when I thought Chad had him covered he would come back and win another one. Plus, since I was a smooth rider I can relate to how beautiful Kevin rides. Now that he has proven himself against RC outdoors and Chad indoors he’s looking good heading in to Hangtown where he ended Carmichael’s streak last year. Good Luck Kevin.

The guy that surprised me this year was Mike Larocco. The first time I saw him race was on a 125 Yamaha back in the late 80’s at my national in Virginia. He’s still at it and he still wins! I knew he would be in there because he puts in the work and rides hard when it matters, but I didn’t think he would be this strong. Now he gets to rest and hang out with his family and ride mini bikes with Ryder for the summer. Pretty cool set up – Plus his team got “Team of the Year”

Next on my brain is Heath Voss. There was a time when I thought he wasn’t the coldest beer in the fridge and I talked to him about it once, but he is actually very intelligent and a great person. I’m glad to see him step it up and get rewarded for it. When you get up on stage and your smashing sister is there to help present the trophy that is pretty cool too. Congratulations to Heath.

Huffman has been around a while too and has battled through some tough injuries yet still gets it done against the best. He had some great rides this season, and to hear he got a truck and a trailer and a big check shows that this sport is finally big enough to show some love a little bit farther down the list. Back when I was at a crossroad trying to figure out if I was going to completely go for it or figure out what else I was going to do with my life it was a bit riskier. You couldn’t earn a living unless you were one of the better factory riders. Today riders seem to be doing pretty good and there are plenty of rides available for the hard workers looking for a break.

Shifting over to the 125’s, Tedesco really showed what I have been expecting out of him. I have been watching him for a few years thinking he should be doing a lot better and this year with the support of a strong team he graduated to the next level. I didn’t go to Vegas to know why he wasn’t battling with Stewart instead of Roncada, but it’s probably going to turn out to be a good thing. Now he’s probably ticked off and working even harder for Hangtown.

Stewart…. what can I say? I think the best thing to do is to just watch and enjoy his speed and talent rather than to try and explain any of it. Every time I get to see him ride I consider it a privilege. I got to see Michael Jordan play several times and he blew my mind each time in a different way. James is the same. One more thing before I move on, big props to FOX and James for following through on a cool idea to bring back some old school gear for their 30th anniversary season – and I hear more is on the way. James is good kid to still be running 259 for his friend Tony and to wear Damon’s outfit and matching helmet. Last year he wore some special gear and had a tough night that ended up costing him an outdoor title, so I thought he might be a little sensitive to wearing special stuff, but he pulled it off and stood there on the podium with Damon out of respect.

Plenty of other riders showed some game this year like Nathan Ramsey, Josh Hansen and Davi Milsaps to name a few. The sport is on a roll and the riders are rolling with it. It’s an exciting time right now. With rumors flying around about what Reed and Stewart are going to do next year and the money involved… it’s official. Supercross and Motocross are the hottest ticket right now and it’s only going to get hotter.

The photo is of the belt buckle I got for winning the SX title in 1983. Yep…a belt buckle.

db