Kyle Chisholm is building up steam heading into San Diego. 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.
After one final stop in Anaheim, Monster Energy Supercross, an FIM World Championship, has finally set it sights on a location further down south in California: San Diego. This weekend is the final weekend before a break for the Western Regional 250SX riders, as next week we look forward to the Eastern Regional 250SX Championship to begin down in Arlington, Texas.
As we head to Petco Park in the heart of downtown San Diego, we have a few questions in mind for the contenders in both classes and for the dark horses. For Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Tyler Bowers, this season has been highlighted by podiums and a feud with former friend and rival Star Racing/Yamalube/Yamaha’s Cooper Webb. Heading into the sixth of the nine round series, though, Bowers has not won a race yet. It seems he is the front-runner for the Pro Circuit rig to get them a race win, putting the most Pro Circuit, the most dominant 250 team in history, back on top in the Western Regional 250SX Championship every year. As Bowers looks to get his second career main event win, could we see a first-ever career win for the star rookies Yamalube/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Aaron Plessinger or GEICO Honda’s Matt Bisceglia? In 5 rounds this year, we have seen 3 new winners; the possibility for a fourth could be on the horizon.
In the 450SX class, the question remains if Discount Tire Racing’s/TwoTwo Motorsports Chad Reed can continue to reign as the king of San Diego Supercross and grab his first win of the 2015 season as the race moves from Qualcomm Stadium to Petco Park. Chad’s last win in San Diego was in 2011, tallying up his total to six wins at the venue throughout his career. At one time, Chad Reed even won three San Diego SX’s in a row, spanning from 2003 to 2005. Hopefully this year, we will see a seventh from the veteran as he continues to show poise and keeps improving throughout the season.
As for this week’s Dark Horses, in the 250SX class, Clil and Co./Pistonbones/FMF’s Blake Lilly looks to continue his drive from the Anaheim 3 SX straight into San Diego. Blake had finally gotten into the main event this year last week and really turned it up once the gate dropped. After qualifying 29th in practice with a 1:05.3 lap time, he showed that this wasn’t all he had in the tank. Lilly took an early lead in the LCQ and nearly turned a lap time two seconds faster with a 1:03.4 which eventually gave him a 3rd place transfer to the main event. In the main event, Lilly may have not been the fastest in the lap-time department, but he still turned laps a second or so faster than his practice times. This just shows that regardless of practice times, Lilly really can turn up the tempo when he needs to, and with just a little bit of success, it can be a huge boost of confidence heading into this weekend.
For the premier 450SX class, it has been a rough effort to get into the night show this season. With a class that is considered to be the deepest in talent in it’s history, all of these competitors have a great of deal talent. For Kawasaki/Fox’s Kyle Chisholm, it’s all about getting back on the horse. After gathering two back-to-back 13th overalls, it seems as if Chisholm is back in the rhythm. Last week, Chisholm qualified yet again and managed a 14th. The lap times may not be up to par for a top 10 so far, but I think the drive and rhythm may put some confidence back in Chisholm and get him a good start toward a top 10 finish.
All in all, hopefully these two dark horses can drive themselves into the main event and we can see the Kawasaki/Fox rider Kyle Chisholm improve his best finish of the season with something better than a 13th. Clil and Co./Pistonbones/FMF’s Blake Lilly hopefully can ride the momentum train as well and turn it up in the night show to qualify again. These guys truly do have the talent.
