2004 Supercross News

Round 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

05.01.04 : Las Vegas: Round 16

Yet another perfect night for Kevin Windham. After playing around for two laps with Travis in his heat race, Kevin got down to business and checked out. He easily won his heat race to transfer directly to the main event. In the main, Kevin started well and was leading by the end of the first lap. He easily left the field behind. Chad Reed tried to hang with Kevin but could not match his pace. Windham had close to a 20 second lead by the end of the race. He finished a close second in the final SX standings. Congratulations to Kevin and a great 2004 SX season!

All Heath Voss had to do to win the 2004 World SX Championship was qualify for the main event. He took care of that by winning his semi and in-turn, clinched the title. In the main event he rode hard and finished a strong 7th. He also finished 7th in the 2004 US SX series. Congratulations to Heath and his family on his World SX Title!

Tyler Evans qualified out of his semi to transfer to the main event. In the main he was running strong until his main seal went and the bike locked up. Unfortunately, he DNF'd and wound up 18th. One of his goals was to finish in the top ten for the year...and he did just that by finishing 10th. Congratulations! Tyler also finished 3rd in the World SX Championship.

Davi Millsaps: in the 125 East qualifier, Davi and Bubba went at it. Davi got the start and gave Bubba the biggest challenge yet this season. Bubba won the heat race with Davi a very close second. In the main event Davi started well and finished a strong 5th. Look for some great results from Davi in the outdoor nationals.

Jay Marmontdecided to stay over and ride the East / West 125 shootout. He finished 15th in the main and is now on his way back to Australia for the outdoor nationals.

04.24.04 : Salt Lake City: Round 15

On Friday it was announced that Chad Reed had 25 points deducted for illegal fuel. This has tightened up the points race between him and the rest of the field. Chad was found to have non-compliant fuel at Dallas and his win along with the 25 points he gained were deducted from his season total.

It was a perfect night for #14 Kevin Windham. He won his heat race easily...by an unbelievable 27 seconds. In the main event he was fifth in the first turn and in the lead by the fifth corner. He set a pace that could not be touched and rode to an easy win. This was Kevin's fourth win this year and has moved him within 12 points of Reed in the overall championship.

Heath Voss - took the long way to the final. He qualified out of the last chance. In the main event he got a great start and rode to a seventh place finish. More importantly, he increased his lead in the World SX Championship to 21 points. With one round remaining, Heath is in a great position to take home the title.

Tyler Evans - rode great in his heat race to transfer directly to the main event. In the main, he rode a consistent race to finish 14th. He sits tied for 10th in the SX standings. In the World SX Championship points, he is in third.

Jacob Martin - after making the main last week, Jacob came so close this week to making it again. He finished 3rd in the last chance, but they took only two. He is riding great and improving every week.

Ezra Lusk - had a terrible fall at the start of the main event and was injured. He broke both bones in his lower leg and two ribs. Ezra had a rod put in his leg and will be out for a couple of months. Best wishes go out to Ezra for a speedy recovery.

After a 4th place finish last week in Dallas, Jay Marmont was looking forward to Salt Lake. The Australian SX Champion is over here for Rounds 14 & 15 before his outdoor series starts in Australia. This weekend Jay struggled a little and finished 17th in the main event. Good luck to him in the outdoor nationals down in Australia.

In his second race back this year, Evan Laughridge again transferred directly to the main from his heat race. In the main he finished 15th.

04.17.04 : Dallas: Round 14

#14 Kevin Windham - easily won his heat race and transfered directly to the main event. He usually likes the Dallas track and won the last time he was here in 2000. He was looking forward to repeating that feat again this year. Kevin got the holeshot in the main event and with Chad Reed close behind in second, the race was on. Chad made a pass on Kevin on the third lap and they battled all the way to the finish with Chad coming out on top by just a few seconds. The two were on such a blistering pace that third place was 45 seconds behind them.

#11 Ezra Lusk - In only his second race back from his hand injury, Ezra keeps getting stronger each week. He transfered directly from his heat race to the main event. In the main event he started well and stayed up front for the whole race to finish 6th. Ezra continues to get stronger each week and is striving for a podium finish in the last two SX races this year.

#28 Heath Voss - rode great all night. He finished second in his heat race behind Kevin to transfer directly to the main event. Heath has one goal for the remaining two SX races: Win the World SX Title and the $100,000.00 that comes with it. He moved a lot closer to that objective this weekend. He finished 5th in the main event and pulled away from second place in the world standings by nine points...they came in to the event tied.

#58 Tyler Evans - the promoters and fans love Tyler Evans and his style. He stands out from the rest of the riders with his bad attitude image, but he's been backing up that image with great race results. Tyler transfered to the main event by winning his semi. He finished 10th in the main event and is third in the World SX standings.

Jay Marmont - the Australian SX champion made the trip over to ride two rounds of the US SX to get a feel for what its like. He signed to race with KTM USA for the 2005 and 2006 seasons. Jay usually rides a 250 in his homeland of Australia and he has not been on a 125 for quite some time. It didn't show tonight though, as his pace was right on speed with the leaders. He finished fourth in the main event.

Team ECC - Rodrig Thain and Evan Laughridge both transfered directly to the 125 main event. In the final, Rodrig rode to a very respectable 8th. He is just coming back from an injury. Evan is coming back from a series of wrist injuries suffered last season and in his first SX this year he qualified easily and finished 15th in the final. We look for some great finishes from Evan as he gets back on track.

Congratulations to Jacob Martin who qualified from the semi to make the 250 final. He finished 19th in the main event.

04.03.04 : Pontiac: Round 13

#14 Kevin Windham - won his heat race easily. Then in the final event, after getting a bad start, he came back from 10th pace to finish in 4th. It was not an easy track to pass on. Kevin currently sits in 2nd for the 2004 SX championship.

#11 Ezra Lusk - made his return after being out two months with a hand injury suffered in San Francisco. Ezra qualified 4th in his heat race--good enough to go directly to the final. In the final Ezra was up in the top 4 until half-way when the rust started to show from being off for two months. He eventually finished a respectable 9th. With some more time on the bike, he has the speed to get back on the podium.

#28 Heath Voss - qualified directly from his heat race to the final. He is focused on winning the World SX Championship and moved one step closer to that goal tonight. He came into the race in 2nd place in points and left tied for 1st. Heath charged from the back to catch Damon Huffman, who actually got the holeshot. Heath made a last lap pass on Damon to move into 7th and a tie for the World SX Championship. Three rounds remain, and heath is looking strong.

#58 Tyler Evans - won the semi-final to transfer into the main event. A crash in the main event knocked him out of the race and he ended up finishing 19th. He is 3rd in points for the World SX Championship.

#188 Davi Millsaps - transfered from his heat race after coming back from a poor start. In the main event he got another poor start, but Davi did not slow down. He worked from the back to finish a strong 3rd. He finished 9th in the 125 East Coast SX Championship. Not bad for not even being old enough to race the first event of the year.

03.20.04 : Indianapolis: Round 12

Instead of the standard report by rider’s name and what he accomplished this past weekend, here’s a quick summary, in whole, of how our riders did. For the lack of enthusiasm on our part I’ve included some additional photos. Enjoy.

Kevin Windham - had an off night, having to race the semi to qualify for the final. In the final he got a bad start and had to work his way up to second place. Heath Voss, too, was forced to race the semi to earn his spot in the final. Another seventh place finish for Heath has him sitting comfortably in…that’s right, the seventh place position in the standings. More importantly, Heath gained valuable points on the World Supercross points leader putting himself now 3 points within that leader. Have I mentioned that the overall World Supercross Champion gets $100,000.00? In Heath’s world that buys a lot of cattle. Little Rookie-man Davi Millsaps crashed pretty bad in his heat race and had to qualify out of the LCQ (last chance qualifier). The crash shook him up a little as he crashed again in the final and finished up in nineteenth place. Tyler Evans rounded out or athletes there in Indy placing tenth in the final. It wasn’t that easy all night for Tyler as had to race the LCQ to qualify.

03.13.04 : St. Louis: Round 11

Other than the dirty city feeling and a high crime rate, the St. Louis round of the Supercross series felt the same as rounds past. We’re still waiting for Ezra Lusk to make his return to the series, and when he does, here’s to hoping he’s up on the podium where he belongs.

Kevin Windham - He battled for his heat race win with former teammate Travis Pastrana. That’s 10 heat race wins with 1 second. In the main event, Kevin closed the gap to inside one second of the leader and held that pace until lap 10, where a couple of mistakes (forcing him to become a little tight) dropped him off the pace and into a steady second place finish…again. Still second in the points standings, Kevin has begun his focus on the outdoor series.

Heath Voss - After a sixth place finish in heat race #2, Heath bounced back to win semi #2, almost 5 seconds over second place finisher Mike Larocco. In the main event, Heath scraped up an eighth place sending a message out to the current leader in the World Supercross standings that the gap between first and second isn’t that big anymore (5 small points).

Davi Millsaps - Davi’s results keep getting better and better with every round he races. From a 14th and a DNF to the 2nd place he earned in Daytona, Davi’s Supercross experience is growing. A 5th in St. Louis is proof that Davi is over his rookie gitters and should now be on his way to finishing where his potential lays…on the podium.

Tyler Evans - Although Tyler’s results have been up and down throughout this year’s Supercross season, what he’s doing at the support level he has is pretty amazing. When speaking to the owner of MX No Fear about Tyler and what I should write about him in this report, he came back to me with something that blew me away…so I cut it from his e-mail as there is no way I could have said it better:

"I agree that his results have been up and down, but I WANT people to know we sponsor him. He is in the best class against the best in the world as a privateer. That alone is no small feat.”

Again, I don’t think it could have been said better. Until next time…

03.06.04 : Daytona: Round 10

Daytona under the lights

Daytona under the lights, love it or hate it, the nighttime scheduling of the event this year gave it that little extra “oomph” it needed. The riders expect the rough track, the hot temperatures and the buffet of different soils linking the track together. What they didn’t expect was the star power they received by the Daytona crowd. The riders were treated very well for their maiden voyage to Daytona under the lights.

Here’s how our guys did:

Kevin Windham - Kevin had both good and a bad night…depending on whether or not it’s him you’re asking. There were two dull spots to Kevin’s night:

• A mistake in his heat race causing him to break his streak of heat race wins, placing second in heat race #1.
• A 9th place start in the main event forcing him to play catch up.

The bright spots of Kevin’s Friday night adventure were holding some of the fastest lap times of the day, and passing his way through the main event eventually ending up in 2nd place. Again, to all of us, a second place on the toughest “Supercross” track of the year is something to be proud of. To him, it’s still second place and not the first place he trains day in and day out for. In the 250cc standings, Kevin remains in the #2 position 29 points down from 1st place and 24 points above the 3rd ranked rider.

Davi Millsaps - We’ve been waiting years for this kid to turn pro and show what he’s got. His first two outings proved that nerves and rookie jitters could overcome the talents of even the best racers in the world. Then comes Daytona, the “Outdoor inspired Supercross track”…which is where Davi apparently feels more comfortable. With a small bobble in the heat race, Davi transferred to the main event placing 6th in heat race #1, some 12 seconds off of the 1st place qualifier. Thankfully, the main event was a different story and Davi passed for 2nd place early on in the race never to be threatened for the remainder of the main event. Team Suzuki was proud, and so were we.

Heath Voss - Another top ten finish for Heath in 04’…his fourth to be exact. With Heath’s consistency rolling around, it appears that he still has a shot at the SXGP title… which will pay the winner $100,000.00. In Daytona, Heath had to race the semi-qualifying round to transfer to the main event, to where he would finish up in 8th place…ironically moving him into 8th place in the 250cc standings.

02.28.04 : Atlanta: Round 9

Although I didn’t make it to see round #9 of the Supercross season in person, with the help of ESPN showing next day coverage of the race and a couple of good friends in the stands at every event, I felt as though I attended the Atlanta race myself. Here’s what happened:

Kevin Windham - He won his heat race again making him undefeated as far as heat race wins goes. In the main event, Kevin was in second heading into the first turn only to get a little “love-tap” by the series point leader. From there he charged back from seventh to an eventual second place finish. Next week is Daytona, a more “Outdoor-ish” style track. Here’s to hoping Kevin can give a few little love-taps of his own.

Heath Voss - The quiet, well-mannered cowboy once again popped out a top ten finishing, this time, in sixth. Placing sixth in his heat race, Heath was forced to ride the semi-final to qualify for the main event…which almost turned out terrible itself. On the last lap Heath had to pass two riders to make the top five cut or else he would be forced to ride the last chance qualifier. He made the necessary passes, qualified for the main-event and, like I said above, place sixth. Heath is currently ranked in the number eight position in the 2004 Supercross standings.

Tyler Evans - After, what seems like, the longest string of bad luck any rider could ever have to deal with, Tyler Evans has re-grouped and began his charge back up to the top ten in the points standings. Finishing ninth this weekend in Atlanta isn’t what Tyler thinks he’s capable of, but after a 20th place finish that was bookend-ed with 17th and 18th place finishes, a ninth is a great step in the right direction. Tyler is currently ranked eleventh in the series just six points out of the tenth position…where he wants to be.

Davi Millsaps - The 2004 phenom with a bad case of the jitters. Davi qualified from his heat race with no problems at all finishing in a comfortable fourth. In the main event, Davi, again with a terrible start, had to fight his way to the front from 10 place. Five laps into the race he took a dive and was unable to complete the race. Thankfully Davi was un-injured and will be riding next weekend in Daytona.

02.21.04 : Minneapolis: Round 8

Three makes it minus twenty-three.

Kevin Windham - After last weekends distant second place finish for Kevin Windham, some of the press claimed that Kevin had taken a step back from the pursuit of the 04’ Supercross Championship. It was unanimously agreed that Kevin didn’t put up the fight or late race charge that he’s done a few times this season in the main event in Houston. Who cares?…he still placed second and kept the fight alive. This past weekend in Minneapolis (round 8), Kevin again chopped away at the gap between first and second place in the 250 points standings and stood on top of the podium by the time the night was over. Less important notes would have Kevin winning his heat race, posting some of the fastest lap times and bribing our race gear support guy to do his ever popular funny-flex poses for the groups of people surrounding Kevin. Kevin is now 23 points down from the series leader.

Heath Voss - Another good ride for the new Texan. Heath transferred to the main event directly from heat race #2 (where he placed third). In the main event, a bad start struck Heath and had him working through the back of the back to finish as best as he could, eventually ending up 11th.

Tyler Evans - The working man was a bit more “gothic” looking this weekend with the choice of wearing black and white gear, a black helmet and black boots. He may have liked the look, but I don’t think it helped him out as he was the hardest working rider this weekend. In the practice on Friday, Tyler made a small mistake on a simple single jump and nose-wheelied into the face of the following berm. At that point Tyler decided to take a good ol’ fashioned dirt nap. He soon after woke up from his peaceful little snooze and decided to start all over on Saturday. Things looked better but a bobble in the whoops gave Tyler another little present this time in the form of a Charlie-horse to the thigh. Combine the above with having to race every possible qualifier on Saturday night (Heat race, Semi final, and Last chance qualifier) and we were all glad he (safely) placed 13th in the main event.

Davi Millsaps - To say that Davi was a bundle of nerves would be a gross understatement. With the media constantly surrounding this kid and claiming that he’s got all the makings of the “next big thing” in Supercross and the fact that Minneapolis was his first professional race, it’s no wonder he, his mother and Team Suzuki were all nervous. Having to qualify for the night show, Davi made it around the track, almost mistake free, to qualify 4th. Next came the heat race where, again, Davi make it through and transferred to the main event in 3rd. In the main event, Davi got a bad start and had to deal with traffic forcing him to play it safe on the track. All in all it was a good weekend for Davi as he showed flashes of brilliance and making it through his first pro race injury free. There will be more to come from this kid.

The injured: Team ECC Suzuki’s Rodrig Thain was not able to race this weekend due to the injured thumb he sustained in last weekends heat race crash. Robbie Reynard suffered a nasty crash in his heat race in Minneapolis and broke both of the bones in his left leg below the knee. Ezra Lusk is still out with a broken knuckle from San Francisco but should be back for Daytona.

02.14.04 : Houston: Round 7

With many thanks to my boss, I won’t be having to attend every supercross of the year, but to end my 7 week traveling spree (on my boss’s dime I might add) at the Houston Reliant Stadium, I have to say that it couldn’t have ended in a more spectacular stadium.

The fine racers who represent MX No Fear did well. How well you ask? Just zip on down below and check it out for yourself. Have a good one.

The Windstorm - Kevin Windham rode a great race. He won his heat race (again) and had a great pace going in the main. But his 6th place start and playing catch up to the leader took it out of him for the last quarter of the race. Chalk up another 2nd for Kevin and an even more secure 2nd place position in the standings.

Beefcake - Heath Voss is known in the Supercross world as a quiet and gentle man. He’s very gracious, well mannered and comes from, what I think is, the coldest state in the Nation…Minnesota. Now residing in the little cow town just outside of San Antonio Texas, Mico, he and his lovely wife Sarah, their young cow Brownie, and little cat Tiger all plug along in life on their plot of land that seems to be no smaller than a gazillion acres. With test tracks galore, a private race shop and a gym that could stress out any World’s Strongest Man competitor, Heath has been putting all of those resources to good work and it’s seems to be paying off. With a 16th place start in the main event, Heath dug deep and picked off riders one by one. The end result was his best placing finish thus far in the year…a 5th. For all of you math wizards out there, that’s 11 people he passed in a 20 lap main event or just over 1 person every two laps! Wow.

The Possible Sleeper - Robbie Reynard. The Oklahoman. He once had the Factory ride, the first class airfare and the championship bonus that could buy a small island...but all that’s gone and now want’s it back. He’s currently ranked in 17th position in the standings and brought home a 16th place this past weekend in Houston. At some point he’ll find the speed and fitness that he has in the qualifying rounds and apply it to the main events. When that happens, I’m sure we’ll see a top 5 out of him.

TAFKAOP (The artist formerly known as One Punch)- Tyler Evans is trying to regain his momentum. After a spectacular fist few rounds in the Supercross series, things have gone a bit downhill for the happy dad. Crashes in practice and racing have hindered his results and this weekend was no exception. Running in the 7th place position and looking ahead to bettering his all time high 6th place finish, Tyler went down with a fellow Suzuki rider. It’ll all come around for Tyler, it has to…He won’t allow anything else and I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to tell him any different.

02.07.04 : San Francisco: Round 6

Kevin Windham - won heat race #1, which turned out to be the fastest overall heat race. In the main event Kevin was passing for 4th place on his way up to the front of the pack when he crashed in a whoop section. After picking himself up, and in dead last (20th), Kevin came back to finish an impressive 5th.

Heath Voss - was running second to Kevin in heat race #1 before making a mistake on a jump-on section of the track and crashed. Heath turned it around and placed 3rd in his semi-qualifying round to finish 9th in the final.

Ezra Lusk - was making his way through the pack in heat #2 running in the 3rd position before crashing in the tricky whoop section (the same section that took down Windham...). The final result was Ezra having to sit out the rest of the night (and the next three race weekends) with a broken knuckle. He should be back at Daytona.

With San Francisco being Tyler Evans' hometown race, he had a special one-off 49’ers paint job on his helmet. Tyler, again, qualified directly to the main event from heat #2, but finished up 18th.

Eric Nye - rode another great race. After a group of riders tangled with him on the last lap of his heat race, Eric was pushed back to 12th. With the 125cc class qualifying the top 9 from the heats directly into the final, Eric made a couple of crazy passes (over the largest triple jump none the less) to qualify 7th. In the final, Eric finished 11th. He will now take a (much needed) 7 week west coast break while the East Coast series runs it’s course and will be returning to action in Dallas on April 17th.

Robbie Reynard - had his best race of the season with qualifying 2nd in his heat race and running in the top four for most of the main event. Burning lungs eventually set in and put Robbie back to a 16th place finish in the main.

01.31.04 : Anaheim III: Round 5

Round 5, A3,KW14= Victory #2

Round 5, or A3 for all the southern California locals, proved to be a game of Cat and Mouse. Our two guys in the 125cc class did the best they have ever done…our 250cc guys didn’t do all that badly either.

Kevin Windham - 5 races, 2 wins, 10 point deduction in Phoenix, 23 points out of first place in the series, 13 points down after Feb 11th? As it stands, Kevin is currently ranked in 2nd place, 23 points down from the leader. With team Windham’s appeal being brought to life on Feb 11th, that 23-point deficit could very well turn into a 13-point deficit. Again, we all have our own opinions on what action, if any at all, should have taken place after the controversial round 2 race in Phoenix. Whatever happens, as the second place rider in the series, Kevin Windham wants to stretch this series to the end...no runaway championships this year.

With a terrible start in his heat race, Kevin, with the help of others, fell twice and had to retire early from his heat race with a bent bike, and a sore mid-torso. An equally terrible start in his Semi-qualifying round saw Kevin again in mid pack. Carefully he picked off riders until he had a clear track to study the new lines that develop in the late stages of a supercross night. Rumor has it that all Kevin thought about from his Semi-qualifying round to the main event was the importance of a good start. With choosing the option of lining up on the right side of the, as Transworld MX calls it “the carnival-style split start”, Kevin got the great start he needed and came out in the top two. You’ve probably seen the ESPN telecast by now, and if not you’ve read this near same report on every other MX influenced website so I will spare you the details. What needs to be said is that Kevin rode a calculated race to the victory. As said above, he is currently 23 points down. With some luck, after Feb 11th, those 23 points will be at least half that amount.

Ezra Lusk - Finally showed his true potential and won a heat race…and he earned it. He came from mid-pack to catch the leaders, pass them, and pull out a small lead never to be threatened for the remainder of the race. Let it be known that a good start puts you in a situation to where you can create your own destiny. On the flip side, a bad start leaves you almost option-less forcing you to ride in a more crowded environment. Ezra kept it on two wheels and finished a respectable 7th in Anaheim.

Heath Voss - Heath was another one of our guys that showed more of his potential by qualifying 3rd out of his heat race. With an almost great start in the main (I say almost because he entered the first turn in 3rd place, but hit a tough-block and came out near dead last), Heath fought hard for an 11th place finish. Better news than his 11th place result is that he’s getting really comfortable on his YZ450f and is planning for some top five finishes in the remainder of the season.

Eric Nye - Eric is a little pip-squeak kid that resembles Eddie Munster in his better days. Up until this past weekend, Eric hasn’t filled the expectations he put on himself as a 125cc contender. I think he’s coming closer to meeting those expectations as he popped out an 8th place finish at A3 just ahead of Factory Honda rider, Nathan Ramsey.

Logan Darien - Part two of the 125cc duo I spoke of above. Battling injuries in the first 3 rounds, Logan finally put it all together, qualified directly to the main event out of the first heat race and placed 20th.

01.24.04 : San Diego : Round 4

The San Diego stadium, or "The Q" as the locals now call it has been around for quite some time. I remember seeing then Yamaha champions Mike Bell, Broc Glover, Rick Johnson and rookie Ron Lechien race around the former Jack Murphy stadium with their Yellow Yamaha’s and opened faced helmets. The bikes have changed, those past champions named above have since retired, but the stadium (for better or worse) is still the same...

This year proved to be a bit hectic with the threat of rain all day Saturday, the addition of the Crossover Challenge, and some sizable delays to the program. The saddest news of the day/night would be the passing of upcoming 125cc racer Jason Ciarletta who sustained fatal injuries during his daytime qualifying round. Our thoughts and prayers are with Jason’s family during this trying time.

We had a full roster of riders with the exception of Johnny Marley, who injured himself at last-weekends Anaheim Two round. I spoke with Johnny this morning, and the Oklahoman is in great spirits. He told me he attended the race in San Diego and couldn’t wait to race again. His healing time at this point is 6 weeks, but after he and his doctor reviewed the x-ray’s of his leg on Thursday, it could be less than that as the bone is together and is well into the process of healing itself. Johnny is planning on making his comeback for at the Motocross outdoor opener in Sacramento, Ca.

Kevin Windham- Yet another consistent evening for Kevin as he, again, won his heat race (his fourth straight), lead the main event for 16 laps, and finished up in second place. I wish I could tell you more, but I think I’ll just throw in more photo’s of Kevin in this week’s report to make up for it. Kevin is ranked 4th overall in the SX Series, 26 points under the series leader.

Ezra Lusk - I don’t know what to say. He looked great in practice, had great lap times, great lines on the track but his starts just weren’t where they needed to be. After a terrible start in his heat race, Ezra quickly moved up to third place and came within striking distance of second, but the 8 laps just weren’t enough. A carbon copy start in the main saw Ezra trying to move through the pack until disaster struck and threw him on the ground with fellow No Fear Mx rider, Tyler Evans. Ezra’s bike was damaged the most with a bent sub-frame and bent bars. Ezra had no other option than to end the race early and look forward to Anaheim 3.

Heath Voss - Beefcake was No Fear MX’s second rider across the checkers. Although his 13th place doesn’t sound like much, Heath overcame leaps and bounds to get there. In his heat race, a malfunctioned clutch forced him bump start his bike off the BMX style starting line and ride straight back into the pits with no racing at all. A third place in the semi-final showed some signs that his night was going to get better with time, but a terrible start in the main event had Heath working in the back of the pack for most of the night only allowing him to reach 13th. Let’s hope for better results from the Beefcake here in the immediate future.

Our other guys - Robbie Reynard transferred out of heat race #2 with a 4th. That’s the third time Robbie has transferred directly from the heat race to the final. Robbie was not able hold that pace for the entire main event and finished up in 15th place. Team ECC Suzuki’s Stephane DeMartis crashed in the main event passing another rider in the whoop section and sustained a bruised/strained right shoulder. No word yet on if he will be racing at A3. Team ECC Suzuki’s fill in #2, Rodrig Thain, raced his first ever 250cc Supercross and missed qualifying by one spot, crashing in the last chance qualifier on the last lap, in qualifying position. Bummer. Tyler Evans had his best heat race experience to date transferring to the main event in 4th place. In the final, Tyler and fellow No Fear MX, Ezra Lusk came together and hit the ground hard. Tyler picked himself up and finished 17th.

01.17.04 : Anaheim II : Round 3

Kevin Windham - Some say he was robbed of earning all 25 points from his Phoenix win, and others say that fining him a dollar amount instead of the points taken would be like taking a gallon of water from the Pacific ocean...it appears that the 10 point deduction that the AMA ruled is standing, but for some strange reason, I have a feeling that discussion is not over.

Kevin won his third straight heat race and lead 11 of the 20 laps in the main event. He was then passed by a blue guy, unable to jump the triple after the whoop-section consistently and settled into second place where he was never threatened for the rest of the race. Kevin, after the ten-point deduction, now sits in 4th place in the 250cc SX standings.

Ezra Lusk - Ezra had a night, I assume, he will soon want to forget. Running a strong second in his heat race, Ezra made a small mistake and crashed on a jump mid-way through the heat race. Feeling dazed, Ezra decided to sit out the rest of the heat race to come back and win the semi, which he did transferring him into the main event. Bad luck again struck Ezra as a poor start and a crash ended his night early. Let’s hope that all of Ezra’s misfortunes are behind him so he can make a run for some glory in the next few weeks.

Tyler Evans - Still leading the World Supercross standings by three points, Tyler had his worst finish thus far in the season fishing 16th ,but still managed to hold onto the top privateer award point lead.

Robbie Reynard - A2 looked great for Robbie as he had another fantastic heat race finish placing 2nd behind Kevin Windham. A good start in the main had Robbie running in the top six with his final result ending in 10th place. Robbie is currently ranked 16th in the THQ Supercross series.

Johnny Marley - Johnny started off great with another strong 3rd place heat race finish…then disaster struck. In the main, Johnny got a bad start and began working his way through the pack. At the halfway point in the main event, Johnny was passing another rider when they both collided at the take off of the largest jump on the track forcing Johnny to eject himself from his bike. The outcome, although bad, is not as bad as it could have been with Johnny breaking both of his lower legs (two bones in the left, and one in the right). Word on the street had Johnny watching the next day ESPN coverage of the race and him talking about being really excited on his comeback to the outdoor season. Before the accident, Johnny was ranked 10th in the West Coast 125cc Supercross standings.

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01.10.04 : Phoenix : Round 2

Kevin Windham - Kevin won, and unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past two days, you are very aware that there’s some controversy surrounding his win…or rather the manner in which he took over the first place spot. Stories have been circulating on what actually happened, what should be done, and what the future holds. We each have our own opinion on what happened and what should be done about it but regardless of all that nonsense, Kevin checked out in the main and held a near 10 second lead over the second place rider. Kevin did slow it down at the end of the race for a nice comfortable cruise to the win. As of today, 1-14-04, there is talk of fining Kevin 10 points for his aggressive pass on the leader in the main event. No official word from the AMA has been released. Either way, congratulations Kevin and welcome back! Kevin is 3rd in the point standings.

Ezra Lusk - Coming off of a big scare from last weekends wrist injuring crash in Anaheim, Erza was given great news the Wednesday before Phoenix with his wrist just sore and not broken as earlier expected. In Phoenix, Ezra’s practice lap times were in the top five of the front runners which put him in a great position to grab the win as he did at this same race last year. A bad start in the main forced Ezra to work hard for the 4th place finish he earned. Ezra is currently 6th in the points standings.

Tyler Evans - As the top ranking privateer from Anaheim, Tyler continued his streak of great finishes with a 9th in Phoenix. That finish, again, placed Tyler as the top privateer and spread his lead in the World Supercross standings to a 13 point lead over the second place rider.

Heath Voss - Feeling more comfortable on the big four-stroke Yamaha, Heath expected better out of himself in Phoenix. Heath had his fair share of problems before the main event, needing to change his motor settings and a nasty crash in the heat race. In the main, Heath finished 13th which was good enough to stay ranked 4th overall in the World Supercross GP standings.

Robbie Reynard - Another smooth and consistent finish for the rider from Oklahoma. It would be hard to argue that Robbie is not one of the smoothest, most calculated riders on the circuit. With getting over his latest (and hopefully last) of many injuries, Robbie is on the comeback trail. With a bit more fitness, Robbie can hold down a top ten placing in the Supercross standings and make it look effortless. Chalk him up for a 16th in Phoenix.

Johnny Marley - Back onto the racing scene after a year long hiatus, Johnny seems to be back in full swing in the 125cc class with his aggressive riding style and will to succeed. A 10th place in Phoenix proves that he indeed wants to regain the success that the amateur ranks brought him only two short years ago.

01.03.04 : Anaheim : Round 1

Kevin Windham - Struggled in practice making the, then necessary, changes to the bike for the daytime qualifying rounds. Winning heat race #2 by a large margin, Kevin could only munster up a 9th in the final. Kevin struggled with his suspension set up all day. After not riding Supercross for almost two years, it appears he has some bugs to work out in order to be a front runner. Kevin claims that Phoenix will be a completely different story.

Ezra Lusk - Now on the Mach 1 Yamaha team, Ezra qualified 4th in his heat race transferring him directly into the final. In the final Ezra moved into 2nd place ahead of Factory Yamaha’s Tim Ferry and David Vuillemin. Bad news struck when Ezra’s front wheel dropped in the first of two whoop sections causing him to get a bit sideways and crash, ending his chance of a podium finish. Great news came this morning with Ezra committing to racing the Phoenix round with only an injured wrist and not a broken wrist that was earlier reported. Ezra finished 8th in the final.

Heath Voss - Part two of Team Mach 1 Yamaha, Heath is riding the YZ450f as Yamaha’s only factory pilot on the bigger 4-stroke. Still finding a feel for the bike, Heath qualified 3rd out of the semi and finished 12th in the final.

Tyler Evans - MXNF’s highest placing rider…who also happened to be the only privateer in the top 10, placed 6th in the stacked 250cc main event. Tyler committed himself to an off season full of pain as he hired a trainer, lost the extra weight he needed to, gathered up a new group of sponsors and toned down his bad-boy Mulisha image. Everything seems to be working well for Tyler as his 6th place finish in the final has him sitting in 1st place in the World standings and the highest-ranked privateer.

Robbie Reynard - Coming back from a list of injuries that would have retired even the strongest of athletes; Robbie is back on the Supercross circuit with backing from Planet Honda, Reynard modifications and MXNF. Robbie qualified 3rd in heat #1 and placed 19th in the final after encountering some mechanical problems.