And so it goes, another season of AMA Supercross racing is underway and boy, did it start off with a bang or what? The opener at Angel Stadium in Anaheim is often more exciting prior to the gate dropping, what with all of the silly season changes, new gear, graphics, bikes, etc. thrown into the mix. This time around, however, that simply wasn't the case. Of course there was plenty to talk about in the pre-season, but this time the racing itself was the show, which is how it should be, right?

To begin this What Really Happened episode with a re-hash of A) the pre-season or B) the actual racing that went down for Round 1 would be redundant: If you're reading this, chances are good you're all caught up on both of those topics. What we do here each week for WRH is to pull together what we saw, heard, felt, smelled and sensed while at the races every weekend - the stuff you don't get on TV or the message boards. There is so much to talk about this week that we'll just dive right in with no particular order.

Random Thought: How about Tuf Blox with integrated graphics without covers?

The first subject has to be how many breakthrough rides were put in by so many questionable front-runners and, just as important, how many top guys looked just plain miserable out there (or who's luck ran out). In fact, there are so many noteworthy performances, whether they be good or bad, we'll limit it to 5 in each category, because the stories to tell from Round 1 are almost endless.

1. Josh Grant - Obviously.
2. Chris Blose - Wow.
3. Chad Reed - Contender.
4. Jake Weimer - Perfect.
5. Ryan Morais - Surprise!

1. James Stewart - Ouch.
2. Josh Hill - WTF.
3. Davi Millsaps - WTF, x2.
4. Josh Hansen - More?
5. Kevin Windham - Bubba.

Let's grab a couple out of that list and expand a bit, shall we?

Josh Grant was fast all day. Top 4 in lap times behind Stewart, RV, and Reed, and only a little over a second behind, Josh also showed great promise in his Heat against Stewart. There, he was able to more or less stay on #7's wheel for at least a few laps, and that's more than just about anyone currently racing is able to say. Nobody was surprised that after The Big Crash occurred, it was Grant who was able to capitalize on it. Upon pulling up to the podium after the race, the rookie was in tears he was so happy - no doubt cause both by the unbelievable accomplishment as by the sheer stress of riding the last couple of laps with a tufblok cover stuck in his rear wheel. It was an absolutely epic situation, no doubt about that.

Chad Reed really "opened some eyes" and "turned some heads" as they say, and any questions about his fitness, dedication or preparation were put to rest with his ride in the Main Event. He looked faster and more aggressive than he had all day as he chased Stewart around for those first couple of laps before putting the move on him and... dropping him! It was only due to a few banzai maneuvers on Stewart's part that he was able to close the gap back up and force his way past Reed and into the lead again. That's when The Big Crash happened, and who's fault it was/what actually happened will be a debate which shall live in infamy. This crash, ladies and gentlemen, was the result of intense racing between two of the fastest Supercross racers in the history of the sport battling hard in the biggest race of the season. The reasons as to why it occurred are embedded in that very statement. The bottom line is: That's racing. Did the Yama-bog bite Stewart? Only he knows for sure. Did he miss a shift? That's what he says. Does it really matter? Heck no. Reed got up first, and now he's loving the 20 point cushion he has over James. The fun part now is which #7 will show up at Round 2? Will it be the Bubba of old, who will be out looking for vengeance and to make a statement by running away? Or, will it be the new James Stewart - The Racer Formerly Known as Bubba - who will come in, ride smart and try not to ring his Bell (sorry, bad joke referring to his new helmet) two weeks in a row? Our money is on Bubba showing up, but only time will tell.

Since we're making predictions, let's make another one: Ryan Villopoto will be on the podium in Phoenix. Adding to that, he won't finish 3rd. RV2 looked phenomenal all day, trading fastest laps with Stewart and Reed throughout both qualifying sessions. In his Heat, he was untouchable - granted; Reed was on the ground for part of that, but RV was just plain GONE and not looking back. Perhaps most importantly, he looks different on that 450 than his 250F. He rides it more precisely and gives that big FI-Kawi the respect it deserves, despite the fact that he fell a couple of times throughout the day and night. We're going to chalk that up to nerves, in Phoenix, he'll be out to show that he belongs on the podium, and there's only two guys standing in his way.

Weimer and Morais are quite a duo for the Monster/Pro Circuit Kawi West Lites team, that much is for certain. While maybe a bit questionable in the pre-season, they both looked primed and ready to go throughout the entire day at Anaheim. These two were ALWAYS up front and charging every single lap on the track and they were impressive to see. What's going to be good is when Canard, Lawrence and Dungey can get into that inevitable mix with them, not to mention Sipes and Brayton. On the upper end of the scale the west region is stacked - but after the top 10, not so much.

Broc Hepler. It's hard not to love the guy, but man is he brittle. Fast as blue blazes, but brittle as an icicle on a sub-zero Christmas morning in Pennsylvania. This lack of consistently showing up for races seems to be taking its toll on him, as he's apparently lost the Red Bull sponsorship from last year and that may be just the beginning. Here's hoping Broc gets it together yet again and finds that inner-calling to put him right on the edge of his ability - except this time maybe pull it back just a notch!

Every cloud has its silver lining, and in this case the silver lining happens to be Sean Hamblin. Hambone is hopping on Hepler's vacant factory YZ450F beginning next weekend in Phoenix, and should be a sure bet for qualifying for the Main Event, at least. Sean always charges hard to the checkers, so look for him to snag a few spots toward the final few laps as other riders back off the pace.

It was wild to see a few of the big changes on the bikes, riders, etc. around the pits in Anaheim. The rider who's gone through the most changes is without a doubt James Stewart, and the Yamaha racing effort. The #7 rider has not only switched bike brands, teams, gear, boots, and helmet, but also handlebars, controls and grips.

Yamaha's racing efforts is now (newly) backed by TAG Metals, Factory Effex, AXIO, Mechanix Wear, G2 Ergonomics and Lightspeed. TAG Metals has stepped up as the official team sponsor in what must have been quite a pricey deal for the rejuvenated brand now under the leadership of former Renthal brand-manager Shawn Norfolk. Between Shawn and BigE on the 661/Sunline side of Valencia Sport Group, things are looking up.

The alleged conflict between Rockstar/Makita Suzuki's Ryan Dungey and Boost Mobile/AM-PM/Monster Energy's Jason Lawrence and how it's apparently been fueled by a particular sponsorship conflict was the talk of the pits. That sponsorship is: ONE Racewear. Dungey, who is/was the heavily hyped front-man for ONE's new racewear line is allegedly at odds with ONE's management because his arch-rival (Jason Lawrence) showed up in Anaheim wearing ONE's new gear also, along with a ONE helmet and graphics on his bike. If the pundits are to be believed, Dungey is none too happy about this, and plans to void his contract and step away to find a new gear sponsor. However, we're also hearing the reverse is true and that they aren't happy with him and how he's handling it, either. But something doesn't add up here. Take a look at Dungey's ONE gear - it's literally covered with their instantly recognizable logo, while it's literally difficult to find even a single instance of it on JLaw's gear. Coincidence? Not bloody likely. Why Lawrence's helmet and bike are plentifully plastered with it leads us to a possible conclusion: Jlaw had a helmet/graphics deal with ONE but, since losing what appeared to be a gear deal with Fox just prior to the season starting, he had to get gear from somewhere, so he tried ONE. Why ONE? That's where it gets fun: Was it to get under RD10's skin? Maybe. Was it because he already had a relationship with them from prior years and of this year's helmet deal? Surely. Was it because nobody else wanted him in their gear and/or couldn't find the money to do so? Possibly. Speculation from this writer's keyboard when the obvious facts are considered (and with absolutely nothing other than guesswork to back it up) is that Lawrence doesn't have a contract with One for gear, but wore it because he liked it, he could easily get it, and because he figured it might get under Ryan's skin. Look for Dungey to be in another brand by Phoenix. There we go, end of controversy - next subject.

STOP THE PRESSES: We just got a release from ONE indicating that they've terminated a 3 year contract with Dungey due to "the events that took place at Anaheim". There was no mention of whether Lawrence was hired, although Jason claimed he had been in an interview elsewhere today.

Dungey rides a Suzuki, which makes him one of the few in the pro ranks (other than factory riders) today. A probable reason for that is because the 2009 contingency program is still up in the air. For a pro rider, and particularly privateers, this puts a huge question mark over whether racing a Suzuki this season makes any sense. Contingency is the life-blood for many a struggling privateer, and for those who bought the bikes themselves, it's how they'll get back out of debt at the end of the season. Contingency matters to these riders - big-time - and not knowing whether they'll be getting any AFTER they've already made the commitment of buying the bikes is a complete disaster. We've tried to reach officials at Suzuki to get a comment on this but have received nothing. Tough times for privateers in Supercross just keep getting tougher.

Just ask Chris Gosselaar. Parked waaaaay out in the back-40 of the privateer pits, the former Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider was, quite literally, racing out of a pickup truck along with his buddy and former Y.O.T. Australian import Troy Carroll. L'il Goose, who reportedly bought his own bikes, gear and most everything else, put HIS bike into 10th place in the Lites West Main event. That is an unbelievable accomplishment! He plans to hit every round. Right on, Chris! (And let's not forget: he won $1,500 in Kawasaki contingency for that tenth place.)

There was quite a strong international contingent of riders at this year's opener, keeping with traditions set in previous years. Many European and southern hemisphere riders have found a home in Southern California and Arizona to work on their off-season testing, and often find their way to A1 to make a run at it. This year, there's a whole group of Frenchies that plan to run the entire regional series, and a couple of them are quite solid Supercrossers. The list includes names that only the most fevered U.S.-based fan will recognize, but that will probably change real quick. Cedric Soubeyras made the Lites Main Event on his Yamaha, and finished 16th after showing speed that was actually much better than his result. Cyril Coulon is another rider who's had many solid rides on the European Supercross circuit, only here he's on a Suzuki. Lesser known Hugo Dagod is a youngster just coming out of the junior ranks in France, but is known to go fast on the tacky, damp dirt in Euro stadium racing. Add to that mix Mickael Musquin, older brother of Marvin Musquin, both of whom have a lot of potential to do some damage here in the U.S.

Then, of course, there is Ben Coisy, who needs little introduction. Coisy is sort of the McGrath of European Supercross racing, completely dominating the last few years indoors while not doing much (if anything) outdoors. Coisy filled in for Ben Townley in last year's Lites East series on the Factory Red Bull Honda CRF250R with modest success, but at A1 this year managed a 9th place on a semi-privateer CRF450R. That was one heck of a ride, no doubt about it. Look for him to do better as the season progresses - this guy is for real.

While the riders put on an unbelievable show doing what they do best - racing - the same probably can't be said for the overall vibe of the evening. The opening ceremonies were essentially the same as they've been in recent memory, with fireworks, a couple of mildly entertaining video clips for rider intros, and the riders coming out of the crowd to stand on a podium to be interviewed. Yawn. The halftime show has now switched from the KTM Junior SX Challenge of the previous 10 years to a combination Freestyle demo/pseudo-sumo foot race, where a few guys dress up in puffy costumes and try to knock each other over much to the delight of the captive audience.

(pause)

NOT!

Speaking of the captive audience, it was down from previous years. The reasons? Well, how about the "current economic climate" or even more likely, the current weather climate that's been stalled over the region for the past month or so. It drizzled throughout the day Saturday, plus it was chilly (highs in the 50's, low's in the 40's), so that MAY have effected the turnout too. Otherwise, we can't find an explanation, and can only hope that things improve as the series heads east. Unfortunately, and with the notable exception of Atlanta, that's never proven to be the case. Fingers crossed.

So, as the series heads slightly east for next weekend to Chase Field in downtown Phoenix, Arizona, James Stewart is at a 20 point deficit to Chad Reed, and freshman Josh Grant leads the title chase. The Lites class is absolutely on fire with controversy and excitement, and there's so much chatter around the pits about so much different stuff that there will be endless things for us to talk about in next week's What Really Happened, Phoenix edition. Be sure to check here all week for updates, including a Race Report with photos on Sunday, followed by huge, gorgeous wallpaper images of the riders in action, and the mid-week What Really Happened. See you in Phoenix!