Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

I~nd.le. CA • Mar-ch 1 1 I 2CXX) TheEdgeSports.com FreeRide Moto-X Championship Round 1 : Irwindale Speedway Mike Metzger make. hi. entrance on hi. way to a dominant performance at Irwindale Speedwa,. By STEVE Cox PHOTOS BY MARKUS PAULSON/ F AMILIE STOCK efore the night's program began, Mike Metzger - the Godfather of Freestyle Motocross - was asked what he thought his chances of winning were. "I don't know," he replied, "but I'll tell you one thing: I'm gonna have more fun tonight than anyone else!" As TheEdgeSports.com FreeRide Moto-X Championship kicked off, it was fun to the nth degree. The show was great. Irwindale Speedway is a half mile, asphalt oval race track normally used for NASCAR-sanctioned racing events such as the SuperTruck Series that Jeremy McGrath tried on for size at this very race track last year. A tarp was laid down, covering about three-quarters of an acre of track, and a jump course was built on top of it. Some of the better riders complained that the jumps weren't B 34 MARCH 29, 2000' cue I • long enough (the longest was about 70 feet), and they needed more time in the air to pull off some of the harder tricks. However, all the riders were dealt the same cards, and the Godfather came up with a royal flush in front of the 7500 ticket holders (in the 6500-seat stadium) that included 125cc Western Supercross contender Casey Johnson, multi-time National and World Champion four-stroke racer Mike Young, and local hero Marshall Marion. Mike Jones was the second of the riders to take to the track in the final. He started with a cliffhanger and an upside-down whip that was one of the sickest of the night. He followed with a huge Superman and a mix of suicide no-handers, front-fender grabs and heel clickers, all with no-handerlandings, ending his two minutes in the spotlight by jumping off of the invert that had been created for the step-up competition and ghosting his n eVIl's Kawasaki about 15 feet up in the air. He left the arena with a tattered KX250, and the crowd screaming for more. Next up was the Metal Mulisha's Brian Deegan, who started his run strong with a suicide no-hander-to-ano-hander lander and continued on to perform tricks such as the Supermanseat-grab, the lazyboy, the Hart Attack, and some really sick whips. About a minute and a half into the run, the Mulisha's Jeremy "Twitch" Stenberg and Larry Linkogle (in street clothes) joined Deegan and began about a three-minute jump exhibition, followMike Jone. pull. a ing each other like a huge .upennan In practice for the flying freight train that night'. program. was eventually joined He placed third. by Metzger. The four of them put on a show for smaller percentage the fans that wouldn't of those present count toward points for than you might the night for any of imagine). them, Deegan included. Brian Deegan launches into a .uperman-aeat"1lrab. He placed "I finally did it - I Deegan did pay the fourth. finally won an LXD price when the scores [the promoters of were handed down, but the event] contest," Metz said. "I he didn't really seem to care about missed all of these last year because winning anyway. of injuries. I felt great tonight, and the Tommy Clowers scored high crowd was great, and I'm pumped to points by mixing up his run with a win this event. My year is off to a good variety of tricks, including great start!" surfer-airs, no-footed can-cans, heel Metzger took home $4750 for the clickers and Indian airs. But the ride efforts ($4000 in the freeride and , of the night was yet to come. $750 in the sickest whip contest), Mike Metzger had the distinction of while Clowers took home $4250 being the last rider of the night, and ($3250 in the FreeRide and $1000 in it's good that he was, because no one the step-up contest). Jones pocketed could have followed him with any $4250 as well ($2750 for the freeride success. Metzger started his run with and $1500 in the step-up contest), a rodeo-air (originated by Travis Pasand Deegan acquired $2000 for his trana) and went into a series of perefforts. I:I1II fect cliffhangers, Supermans, whipped nac-nacs, a McMetz, a penlrwiDule S'II~••J Irw......, CaIihmia dulum, and a cornucopia of other IlesuIts: MardI 11 , ZUlU lIDllIId 1) tricks, finally ending his run by STEP-up: I. Mike Jones (Kow): 2. Tommy Clowers launching off of the step-up jump and (Hon): 3. Shown H;ghlond (Sox). SICKEST WHIP: 1. Robert Distler (Yom): 2. Mike getting completely inverted before he Metzger (Yam): 3. Dan (Hon). FREERIDE FINAL: I. Mike Metzger (Yom); 2. was forced to bail out about 20 feet Tommy Clowers (Hon): 3. Mike Jones (Kow); 4. Brion off the ground. That's when the celeDeegen (Hon); 5. Carey Hart (Hon); 6. John Distler (Yom); 7. Clifford AdoplOnte (Sox); 8. Don Pastor (Hon). bration began. First he threw his goggles over the catch fencing, and then he threw his Troy Lee Designspainted helmet to the crowd. It landed - after about a 20-foot drop - on the concrete floor of the stadium. He knew he had won it, and so did every sane person in attendance (which Care, Hart enjo,* the ladles during opening ceremonle•. The was actually a Las Vegas native faltered In the final and placed fifth. P._

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