Photo by: Hoppenworld
Round seven this past weekend marked the opener of the East rounds for the 2014 Monster Energy Supercross, an FIM World Championship series and the beginning of the Eastern Regional 250SX Championship. Needless to say, we had a tasteful night of exciting racing with new faces. There were a few things that were definitely something to take note of for the upcoming weeks of the championship chase:
Adam Cianciarulo Wins First Ever Supercross Race
Ernesto Fonseca, Trey Canard and Ryan Dungey were the only three in Supercross history to have won the very first races they entered, and now, the rookie for Pro Circuit/Monster Energy/Kawasaki has put himself on top of the podium. He’s been raised for this his entire life, so now all he has to do is hold off his two teammates Blake Baggett and Martin Davalos—who also were on the podium in Dallas.
Pro Circuit Sweeps 250 Class Podium
After the opening round of the Eastern Regional Championship at Dallas, it appears that Mitch Payton and his team are back to their ways of domination. With a year of disappointment in 2013, Payton looked to push his riders to their breaking points this year and reestablish their dominance as the greatest 250 class team in motocross history. With Adam Cianciarulo winning, Blake Baggett close behind and Davalos grabbing third even after two falls, it looks like we will be seeing a lot of green for the next eight East Coast rounds.
James Stewart Wins Two Straight
James Stewart continued his winning ways Saturday night at AT&T Stadium and definitely showed that he is ready to be back on top. Fresh off signing his contract extension with Suzuki, the Yoshimura/Suzuki rider established that he is ready to compete for the Championship in 2014. Stewart had good starts all night, and after getting a second place start in the main event, James passed Red Bull/KTM’s Ryan Dungey and pulled out to a 3.5-second lead at one point, showing in these past two rounds that he is the man to beat.
Chad Reed Forced to Sit Due To Injury
With high hopes and positive vibes all week, it appeared that Discount Tire Racing’s Chad Reed was going to give it a go in Dallas regardless of the amount of pain he was in from his crash in San Diego. Reed had suffered a broken collarbone, scapula and T1 vertebrae and still attempted to qualify for the night show. Unfortunately, the pain was just too much. Reed pulled out of second practice and will have to heal up soon.
The Championship Chase Tightens Up
While the three-time and reigning champion, Ryan Villopoto, is leading the points, the Championship is surely tightening up and looking to be a battle to the finish. As Stewart won in Dallas, Villopoto salvaged a fourth and Ken Roczen finished sixth giving the points chase an interesting twist. Villopoto (144) is just 12 points ahead of the rookie Ken Roczen (132) and 14 ahead of Stewart (130). Even though Stewart crashed out of A1 and Ken Roczen has not been in the top five every race, it appears that this year is a year of establishing consistency rather than dominance because of the amount of talent in the field. The Championship is going to be close and definitely exciting to watch week to week this year.
Dallas Supercross in 2014 will not only be remembered for it’s giant television screens, but also for the tasteful events that occurred on Saturday night. The rookie leads the 250 points chase, the man formerly known as “The Fastest Man on The Planet” is reestablishing his winning ways, and the reigning champion continues to lead the points chase. We are not even halfway through the series yet and every week seems to be as exciting and dramatic as a mid-afternoon soap opera.
