VOL. 54 ISSUE 42 OCTOBER 24, 2017 P41
in Atlanta on March 3 and U.S.
Bank Stadium in Minneapolis
on April 14, where both the
250SX and 450SX classes will
compete in three main events.
Qualifying races will reduce the
field to the top 22 riders in each
class, and the 250SX class will
compete in 6-, 10- and 12-minute
main events, while the 450SX
class will compete in 8-, 12-
and 15-minute main events. An
Olympic-style scoring method
will be used to determine an
overall winner in each class from
all three main events where the
lowest combined score at the
end will be awarded the overall
win.
Additionally, two 250SX East/
West Showdowns will take place
in Indianapolis and Las Vegas,
giving fans the opportunity to
see 20 of the fastest riders from
each coast (Eastern Regional
250SX Championship and West-
ern Regional 250SX Champion-
ship) battling each other for vic-
tory. The main event will be the
first and only time throughout the
night where the top 250SX-class
stars will line up on the gate for
a 15-minute plus one lap main
event where winner takes all.
There will be four Supercross
Amateur racing events: one at
Angel Stadium, one at University
of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale
on January 27, one at Raymond
James Stadium in Tampa on
February 24 and the last one in
Atlanta, which will give amateur
athletes in 27 classes their only
chance to compete in the same
venue on the same weekend as
all of the stars of Supercross.
Along with format changes,
every track in 2018 will have a
distinct personality that tells the
story of each city's Supercross
history dating back over 43
years.
"I think it's great," said former
Supercross Champ Ricky Car-
michael who, along with racers
Joey Savatgy and Cooper Webb,
attended the press conference.
"It's time for change; in the
long run, it's going to be bet-
ter for all of the race fans. The
amateur racing is going to be
fantastic. It will give the amateurs
a chance to get accustomed
to supercross—it will be a great
opportunity. And the points is
going to be good; we all want to
see the championship go down
to the last round—if a guy has a
bad night, it won't hurt as bad
with the new point structure. The
new points structure is designed
to keep the points a little closer
and that's what we all need."
Webb likes the idea of a Triple
Crown. "I think it's cool. We race
17 rounds so to have something
new, something to look forward
to, I think will be awesome. It'll
give us three chances to do the
best we can. I think it will be bet-
ter for the fans."
"I think the Triple Crown will
be [good]; to see the best guys
in the world race three main
events is really special," said
Carmichael.
Feld's Dave Prater said that if
the Triple Crown is a hit, per-
haps more races will go to a
three-main format in the future.
"If this works really well, maybe
we'll increase it to four or five,"
said Prater. "[Having the Triple
Crown] will keep things fresh.
"We try to innovate all the
time," added Prater, "trying to
make the experience better
for the fans. I think with these
changes, we've given the fans
more time to see the top riders
out on the track." CN
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
ROB
KOY
