Can Barcia turn his home field advantage into a win? Photo by: Hoppenworld
The Dark Horse is a weekly column by MotoXAddicts contributor Nolan MacDonald that elaborates on the riders who can surprise you and emerge to prominence when you least expect it. Some may be well known while others have never been heard of. To be recognized as a dark horse, a rider doesn’t have to win but rather perform above expectations.
Entering the second to last round of the Monster Energy Supercross Series, an FIM World Championship, we head right back to the East Coast. With the West Coast Championship wrapping up in Las Vegas, the Eastern Regional points chase has one more to stop to make before sin city, and that is MetLife Stadium. With this being the first race in the greater New York area since 1974, it surely appears to be an explosive round of action and a stop on the tour we will want to continue to see.
As we take a time capsule back to our last stop in Seattle two weeks ago, we saw one of the final rounds in the Western Regional Championship chase. Seattle is known to be one of the more scenic sites on the tour, and it may be one of the last times we visit, so this writer wanted to go out with a bang in Seattle by picking some spot-on choices. Bam Pro’s Racing’s Chris Howell was first on my list as he has been improving all season and appears to be consistently making the main events. This writer chose Chris for a 15th or better, and Chris did just that—achieving a 15th place and showing the Pacific Northwest that he is representing them well. For the 450’s, I personally thought Team Honda/Muscle Milk’s Trey Canard had it in him to capture a win, even with only a few rounds under his belt, but evidently, it became a round of chasing the current champion, Ryan Villopoto while Canard finished in 6th place. It still was a great finish considering Canard has not had an entire season.
Looking back to MetLife Stadium, we have a fresh set of faces in the 250 class. With Martin Davalos in the points lead, we would normally expect to see him running up front, but early this week, word came out that the Pro Circuit/Monster Energy/Kawasaki rider had dislocated his foot and shattered his scaphoid and will be out for the remainder of the Championship. They also announced that Blake Baggett would miss the remainder of the series due to an eye injury. That makes three Pro Circuit guys—the first being Adam Cianciarulo—that have led the Championship and were forced out due to injury, leaving the #1 plate to GEICO Honda’s Justin Bogle. It has been a crazy year but one that we all can tell stories about in 10 years. In the 450 class, Ryan Villopoto only needs to finish in 17th place or better to clinch his fourth-straight championship. That being said, we most likely will see a 4-peat for the second time in the history of our sport, the first time being accomplished by Jeremy McGrath.
For our Dark Horses this week, I want to blitz right into the 250’s and say that Gannon Audette put on one great ride at St. Louis the last time we saw our East Coast riders. Gannon, a Florida native riding for The Legends and Heroes Group, earned himself a solid 10th place in Houston. This is the first time we really have seen any promise from the young rider since his Munn KTM days, and it appears he is back to full form. Gannon may have taken the whole season to get right where he needs to be, but it truly is never too late. Now, heading into what could be the best attended round of the year, I hope Gannon can get himself right back in the top ten and get some exposure as he deserves. Look for Gannon to be right back where he was in St. Louis, a top 10, in New Jersey.
Back to the premiere class, the 450’s. This is the first time we have come off a break in 15-straight weeks of racing, and now we get to experience what a little bit of rest can do for these guys. I am going to go ahead this week and choose another straight up winner, this time based on the hometown leverage. Team Honda/Muscle Milk rider Justin Barcia, also known as “Bam Bam,” was born just 20 minutes north of MetLife Stadium in Paterson, New Jersey. This weekend, Justin looks to put a win under his belt for the first time in over a year. There’s no better time than now for Justin to get back on top of the podium and score hie first win of the season.
New Jersey looks to hold a great race this weekend with potential Championship-clinching, first-time winners and a packed house of fans. Since this is the first race in the area since 1974, old and young will all show up to watch their favorite racers as possible first-time supercross attendees. This weekend looks to have a lot of promise for first-time events, and it will definitely not be the last.
