VOL. 50 ISSUE 42 OCTOBER 22, 2013
James Stewart
leads the way at
the start of the
second moto.
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEVE COX
I
n the late '90s, when Eric Peronnard and his partners created
the U.S. Open of Supercross, the goal was to bring something
different to the fans. The U.S. Open featured an 85cc class and
a "Sound of Thunder" four-stroke class (as this was before fourstrokes took over the sport) along with a "run-what-you-brung"
Open invitational class. Eventually, when that event was sold to
what is now Feld Motorsports – the promoters of the Monster Energy/AMA Supercross Series – it wasn't long before the unique
indoor event (held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas)
lost its uniqueness and became basically just another Supercross,
P41
Briefly...
Although this year's Monster Energy
Cup marked the second year in a
row for the Joker Lane, it's clear
that the racers still haven't figured
out the strategy for it. Last year,
GEICO Honda's Eli Tomac used it
early in the final main event, which
landed him the win in that main. This
year, though, it's obvious as an outside observer that Monster Energy
Kawasaki's Ryan Villopoto could've
possibly used the Joker Lane to his
advantage in the second main event,
but instead it quite literally led to his
downfall. With Villopoto making up
time on Yoshimura Suzuki's James
Stewart seemingly at will, but unable
to make a pass, Villopoto could've
taken the Joker Lane earlier in the
main event instead of losing a 10th of
a second here and a 10th of a second
there trying to get by Stewart. Then,
he could've spent the remainder of
the race trying to reel Stewart back
in, and if successful, he would've
simply inherited the lead when Stewart went into the Joker Lane on the
final lap. Villopoto's million-dollar
dream could've stayed alive.
The legend Ricky Carmichael, who
was inducted into the 2013 AMA Hall
of Fame earlier in the week, was also
mic'ed up live during opening ceremonies at the Monster Energy Cup to
talk the fans through a lap around the
course. He made some funny comments during his lap, like, "Through
this section, guys will go triple, triple,
triple, but I'm old, so I'll go double,
double, double..." Still, although not
nearly in racing shape, he was able
to throw some pretty amazing whips
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