I don’t know what it is about Chase Field but I have always enjoyed going there and even when I was racing I always had a great time racing there. That place always produces good races and a lot of excitement and it lived up to its past this weekend. I got in on Friday afternoon in time for our Speed TV production meeting. With the racing as good as it’s been it’s our job to help put on a great show for all the fans watching at home and I really enjoy being a part of the show. After I had a great dinner with Fro and Travis (one of the guys from my video game company 2XL Games).

I really didn’t know what to expect coming in to this weekend other than just speculating off of what I had seen during round one, I just basically wanted to see what kind of reaction the guys would have for the winners of Anaheim. It’s hard for me to predict the weekend’s outcomes early in the season because I don’t feel that everyone is in their groove and are still trying to find their zone and are just too inconsistent for me to make a solid pick.

It was cool to walk in to the stadium and see how good the dirt was and what looked to be like a good track design for good racing. As practice got under way and everyone got settled it was the usual guys in both classes that were up front on the timing and scoring block. I would say that the biggest surprise during practice was that Stewart not coming out for the last session. I guess he was under the weather just a bit and wanted to save his energy.

The heat races were wild in the Supercross class. Villopoto had a mistake that set him back and so did Reed in the first heat, falling down in a turn, while chasing Stewart for the lead. It’s obvious that starts are very important and when you do not have a great heat race it doesn’t leave you with the best gate pick for the main. In the Lites class Tomac had a spectacular heat race turning one of the fastest times on the track compared to everyone which was pretty impressive that he was on a Lites bike.

I definitely think both the Lites and Supercross mains had some exciting parts and I believe the best way to describe them would be bizarre. There wasn’t really a battle for the lead in either class but there was so much drama in both races. Multiple riders had a great shot to win and just didn’t get the starts that they needed to have good track position and stay out of trouble early.

After it was all said and done, and I have had a chance to reflect, I think there were a few surprises to me. The first one being that Stewart would be 17 points out of the championship points lead after only two rounds, I never really saw that coming. I am really impressed with what I have seen form Villopoto so far. It seemed to me that when he was coming from behind that he was riding with so much aggression and you could tell that he knew that he had to pass as many guys as possible to gain as many points as he could. I think he looks much better this year. I expected a bit more from Reedy, he rode really well in practice and had great speed in his heat but really didn’t seem to carry that in to the main for some reason. And where on nights like Saturday when all the main guys were having their issues, he should have capitalized on their mistakes like he usually does. As for the race winner Dungey, I think he did a great job in the main, especially after his heat race performance. He put himself in a great position on the gate, got a good jump and off he went. I also think the track conditions suited the steel chassis really well. He rode 20 good laps with not much pressure and turned out to be a great points day. Hats off to Weimer, he was solid all night and earned his finish. Windham put in a great ride as well and I was pumped to see that.

As they move to next week I think it will be interesting to see how Stewart does, I get the feeling that everyone is waiting on that. I think Villopoto will be just as strong as he has been and wanting to prove to everyone that he is the fastest man out there. I believe it is very important for Dungey to come out strong next week to show everyone that he means business.

Can’t wait till next week at Dodgers Stadium to see how everything unfolds.

Let me know what you think about this post, your thoughts on this week’s race or anything else on the season and I will be checking back and respond to your questions.