What really happened at Budds Creek? It rained. A lot. And before the rains came, it was so hot and muggy that it may as well have been raining, because everyone was soaked in sweat with humidity hovering at or above 90% all day long. Coupled with temperatures in the lower 90's, the rain was actually welcomed by some, especially when the temps dropped about 20 degrees as the 2nd 250 moto concluded. It was an epic afternoon in Maryland, folks, and here's what we noticed while peeping through our snorkel mask.

The track was great, and when the track is great, then everything else always seems to fall in place. After a deluge of rain Friday night left standing water everywhere, there was some major concern about how well the track held up. The qualifying schedule was cut in half, with just one 20 minute session instead of the usual 20 then 15 minute deal. Once the riders got out on the track and put a few laps in, it became apparent that the track held up remarkably well. That may come as a bit of a surprise to many who have been to Budds before, since it could've easily turned out to be a greasy, slick mess of clay. But ever since the Motocross of Nations held there in 2007, the surface has been much better and more… loamy. A lot of organic matter and sand was added, and typically it's been disced pretty deep to allow more lines to form. This year, thanks to somebody in charge taking a good hard look at the weather radar, they decided not to disc or rip it at all, and it even appeared that they rolled a few sections to help it shed the rain that was imminent in the forecast. Well whatever they did, it worked like a charm and the track was primo, and when the first 450 moto hit the track, it turned into a technical, loam with hardpack, rough, multi-lined pro motocross track, and that's obviously what everyone's always looking for. Add to that the tricky off-camber stuff and the big jumps, and this turned out to be a beauty of a National.

So yeah, everything was great until about halfway through that 2nd 450 moto (the 450's raced first in the rotation this weekend due to the 2nd moto running live on NBC), when the skies started to slowly open up. Things got slick, but for the most part the track held together as things got a bit more complicated but it still wasn't exactly a 'mudder'. Then it came – as the 2nd 250 moto was lining up, it started really coming down. Just to make things more interesting, there was a huge snafu performed by the lovely young Monster Energy lady holding the 30 second board. She apparently mistook the 30 plastered on the front to mean "oh, about 8", and as she soaked in the rain for a few just long enough, she picked the board up, turned it sideways, and ran for the sidelines. It must've confused the gate guy too, because he went ahead and dropped it, despite the fact that many of the riders weren't even looking the right direction or, in Ryan Dungey's case, hadn't even put their bike in gear yet. It was comical. As 250 moto 2, take #2 took off, it was Weimer and Metcalfe who raced to the front trying to stay clean, and luckily they were helped by bucketfuls of rain coming down to wash them clean. While the mud did get a bit tacky and sticky for a while, that only lasted until the steady rain evolved into sheets and sheets of heavy rain with occasional strikes of lightning. The track deteriorated into flowing rivers of water that all went to one place – the drainage pond strategically placed in the center of the track. Long story short, they should've dug a deeper pond. As water flowed over the banks and into the bottom portion of the track at just about the 25 minute mark, the decision to red flag the race was an easy (and smart) one to make. Honestly? Somebody could've drowned out there, and everyone had been through enough – not to mention that 95% of the fans had already left.

Let's get to the fans, shall we? The crowd looked very thin, and the reasons for that can be endlessly debated. We'll blame it on the weather, because it was very sketchy and downright nasty all weekend, with just a short window of 'nice' for the first half of the day Saturday. It actually looked like there was maybe 20% of the crowd of the awesome number that was on hand for the MXoN a couple of years ago. No matter though, as there were probably 20x that amount sitting at home watching on NBC Live, or on the web and videocasts.

Many props can be handed out to a few riders this weekend, but let's start with the guy who wrapped up the 450 title: Chad Reed. The 2009 AMA 450cc National Motocross Champion was crowned at Budds, thanks to two great rides (2-1) and two not-so-hot ones by 2nd in points, Andrew Short. Reed's first moto was a fantastic ride, coming from 10th and, even after making a few big mistakes, catching up to Millsaps who had about a 20 second gap in the lead. It was a little less exciting in moto 2, as Reed started up front and ended there too, gaining 18 points on Andrew Short which put him 100 ahead with 4 motos to go, which of course meant that it was mathematically impossible for him to lose the title even if Short won all 4 of the remaining motos and Reed scored zero points.

Also of note was the ride that Millsaps put in during his time up front in moto 1, as he outpaced everyone enough to build a seemingly insurmountable gap. That's when he sort of hit the wall, as Reed reeled him in, but Davi managed to dig deep for the last two laps and keep Reed at bay while scoring his first moto win of the season. Unfortunately for Davi it looked like that really took its toll on him for the 2nd moto, as he didn't show the drive and fitness like he did in moto 1, although he did still end up with 2nd overall.

Matt Goerke's day didn't start out so hot, as he realized he was pants-less when he was getting ready for his motos. He managed to fit into a set of Josh Hill's THOR pants, though, and ran his typical Moose jersey while charging to an almost unbelievable 3rd place in the first 450 moto. The Yamaha guys were ecstatic to finally be a factor again, after both of their regular riders (Hill and Hepler) are still suffering through injury. Not sure what happened to Matt in moto 2 to end up with 27th, but that 3rd in moto 1 was even more impressive considering the hard get-together he had with Jake Moss that resulted in Moss' DNF.

Like we mentioned in the race report, Kyle Regal continues to do almost unbelievably well. Not only is he now somewhat of a regular in the top 5, but he's doing so after a bunch of guys have returned to the track – guys he 'should' be finishing behind. Not only is he beating them, but he's passing them aggressively and sticking in wheels all over the place in his efforts to get by. Suffice to say, everyone is talking about Kyle Regal in the pits and those results will not go unrewarded. Great job, Kyle.

There were a couple more newbies out there this weekend too, plus a couple of nice rides by some freshmen that are worth going on about. Blake Baggett looked great from his first practice on, ending up THIRD (!) in timed qualifying in the insanely stacked 250 class. Blake lined up between Ryan Dungey and Chris Pourcel for the start of his very first pro national (imagine what he was thinking at that point), but unfortunately got tangled up with Brett Metcalfe before the two even reached the first turn, and ended up getting rolling in about last place. Blake worked his way back up to quite a commendable 12th by the end of the moto, so it's safe to say he's got the speed he needs to nail top-10's with some consistency.

Honda support rider Taylor Futrell came over from North Carolina to make his much-anticipated debut as well. Futrell's been hyped a fair bit over the past year or so, and rightfully so – he looked fast and confident all day, even nailing down a top-10 in the mud moto. Taylor should be another guy mixing it up in the top-10 the next two weekends, as everyone's trying to jockey for the few 250 class rides that will be open for next season.

Otherwise worth noting was the return of a few riders, most significantly Daniel Reardon, Ryan (and Justin) Sipes, Josh Grant and Kevin Windham in the 450 class. First things first, and that goes for the shortest return to racing in history: Dan Reardon. Reardo's comeback lasted exactly the length of the start straightaway and half of the first turn, as he crashed in front of the entire field (he was a sure bet to cross the holeshot line first) and took out or slowed up every single other southern hemisphere rider in the field. Reed, Byrne and Cooper were all caught behind the Aussie's little faux pas, and he never came back. He didn't show up for moto 2, either.

Josh Grant's return was somewhat more impressive as he was able to run top-5 after coming back probably way too early after his horrific crash at the X Games a couple of weeks back. With a bruised heel and broken ankle, one would expect a rider to be out for at least 6 weeks, but not so for Grant, as he took about half that much time and apparently paid the price. A small wash-out in moto 1 lead to a DNF, and a DNS in moto 2 thanks to just too much pain to deal with.

Significantly less impressive was Kevin Windham's return to the 450 class. It was actually a little bit sad to see Kdub being passed like he was standing still, even after getting a reasonably good start for that first moto. When Kevin didn't show up for moto 2, inquiring minds asked new Geico Honda team manager Mike LaRocco (oops, did we say that out loud?) what the deal was, to which Mike replied something to the effect of 'he wasn't ready to come back yet'. It must've been a last moment decision, as the #14 Honda was pushed down to the line by his mechanic, but Kdub was a no-show.

Ryan Sipes was awesome in moto 1, and had he not slid out in one of the many hardpacked off-camber sections, he seemed to be able to hold his own well within the top 5. Justin's big brother was a solid 3rd for the first couple of laps in the company of Weimer, Pourcel and later Dungey as those three tore away from the rest of the field. Not sure how his 2nd moto went (due to the mud), but he did end up 9th which was good enough for 8th overall after his 11th in moto 1.

Tyla Rattray came back too, and it's always nice to have a current MX GP World Champ in the mix. Styla looked to be right back up to speed, as he was typically toward the front and seemed comfortable. He ended up the first moto in 6th after several tough battles, and came through the mud in moto 2 for an 11th. Look for Tyla to be a real factor at next weekend's Southwick national.

So, going into Southwick there's only one championship left to settle. Pourcel has proven to be the man down the stretch to the finale, that's for certain, as he's won 4 of the last 5 motos while Dungey hasn't won a single moto since Washougal. There's now a 13 point gap between the two, but don't let that fool ya – another mudder like this, and anything can happen. A win by Dungey with a late moto fall by Pourcel and everything's tied back up. Dungey should of course by solid at Southwick, since his home state of Minnesota is quite sandy in spots, but its safe to say that Pourcel will be blazing fast there as well. It was clear, though, that Ryan is feeling the pressure now and for the first time this season almost looked 'beat' in the press conference and on the podium following the 2nd moto. The other battle in the 250 class will be for 3rd between Metcalfe and Weimer, where Jake trails by only 10 points. In the 450's, the battle is between Honda Red Bull Racing teammates Andrew Short and Ivan Tedesco. With only 8 points now separating the two, it's clear that Tedesco has been more on a roll, but honestly they're both in a bit of a slump (again) at this point. Shorty looked to be feeling better at Unadilla, but his results at Budds were dismal (7-10), and you can bet that IT9 smells blood in the water. How much more is 2nd worth than 3rd in season bonus payouts, anyway? Probably a lot. Keep an eye on these guys to see just how good of friends and/or teammates they are as these final four motos are played out.

On a brighter note, Willy Browning's bike has been recovered. We've just received report that the Conneticut state police have the bike in their custody and that he's on his way to pick it up now.

That about does it for our Budds Creek reporting. This weekend the moto circus heads up the coast about 10 hours to Southwick, Massachusetts and the revered Motocross 338. We'll be there with bells on, delivering practice photo updates, race reporting and the follow-up mid-week report. Stay tuned, this thing isn't over yet!