It's me again; just got done on Racer X online about the TLD/Honda 250 West Coast SX team. My first question is why aren't they going outdoors? A lot of teams are doing it nowadays, and well...it's really discouraging. I know that money is a big consideration and they get better exposure for their sponsors in the stadiums but this is a horrible trend. Guys like Roger DeCoster, Bob Hannah, Marty Smith, Jim Pomeroy didn't get their starts in A1, they did it in the great outdoors (no pun to the great videos of the same name). I love SX racing and to watch it live or on TV is great, but we cannot forget where everything began. That is the history of our sport and we're pushing it aside for the slick-ass, fast food mentality that we have developed nowadays, big lights, big sponsors, big $$$, big flash. Look at RC and James Stewart, they have done well in both disciplines and JS has most of his AMA titles outdoors. They are incredible riders indoors and out, but yet JS is on a SX-only team now, well, it really sucks. Hopefully between now and May something can be worked out so he can race all of the Nationals and defend his title that he did work so hard for, despite the appearances of a 24-0 season.
The outdoor nationals are the backbone of our sport not only here in America, but everywhere worldwide. That is our history and heritage and it shouldn't be forgotten. I'll end it with this: if you were to go to a AMA supercross and ask some 15-25 year old person who John Dowd, Jo Jo Keller, Gary Jones, Pierre Karsmakers, Tommy Croft, Marty Tripes, John Desoto or Steve Stackable were, do you think you would get any kind of answer? Take care and be good all.