The last US Open of Supercross was held in October of 2009, and since that event, there has been a void left in the MX/SX off-season waiting to be filled. Rumors have been circulating almost since the checkered flag flew on the final night at the final US Open, but nothing had come to fruition until recently. At the Las Vegas Supercross finale at Sam Boyd's Silver Bowl in Las Vegas, Nevada, in early May, Feld Motorsports and Monster Energy announced a new event to take place in October at Sam Boyd entitled the "Monster Energy Cup."

It's not a replacement for the US Open, but rather an entirely new event just filling a convenient off-season spot for a one-off race, and the format is going to be entirely different from anything the sport has ever seen in the USA.

"Our goal with creating the Monster Energy Cup is really not to have an 18th Supercross; this is a unique mega-event that was created with Feld Motorsports and our title sponsor, Monster Energy, to create an environment that is different from a standard Supercross," says Feld Motorsports' Todd Jendro. "This event will have the best riders in the world. We're reaching out to a lot of international riders as well to attend. We're working with two of the sport's icons - Ricky Carmichael and Jeremy McGrath - to help develop this unique track in a stadium environment that will have a tremendous motocross-style influence to it, and also have some Supercross obstacles as well."

The "motocross-style influence" will include a long track that runs much farther outside the stadium than the AMA Supercross round hosted at the same venue. It's important to make note that it's not a full-blown supercross track for many reasons, including the fact that the racers are just coming off of a long outdoor-motocross season, and also that a big hope of the event is to pull in many of the GP-series regulars, such as MX1 World Champion Antonio Cairoli. If it's full-blown supercross, many of these racers would be unwilling to take part.



"It will be a hybrid track," Jendro says. "The track itself will help level the playing field for certain riders that excel in those different disciplines, between motocross, Supercross, and even for international riders. It should be really exciting."

To put an exclamation point on the event, it's possible for one racer to walk away from the race a full one million dollars richer than he came in.

"There will be a quarter-million-dollar purse," Jendro says. "It's a one-night event, but there will be three main events. It will be three stages where riders will compete in their heat races, semis and LCQ to get to a main event. These three main events will run and riders in the first main event will transfer to the second main event based on their finishing order, so nobody gets eliminated but everybody moves on to these three stages of these main events. And they're lined up in order of how they finish in the previous main event. But a rider that sweeps all three main events will earn one million dollars."

A seven-figure purse is enough to even cause the GOAT, Ricky Carmichael, to tease on Twitter that he needs to dust off his boots and give it a run, although there's no indication that he actually will.

"That is gigantic," Jendro says. "A payday like that has never been done in the history of the sport. And we're really excited."

And this event should be a true "open" event as well.

"The other fun, unique thing that we're talking about is that because this is a unique one-off event that we are talking about altering the rules with the AMA to allow a lot of flexibility with the rules and being able to test new things and pretty much having it open," Jendro says. "Other than fuel and sound we're pretty much talking about opening up the rules to you can run anything you want. It allows the American distributors and the OEMs to be able to pull out some of their stuff that they've been testing and putting it into a real-world environment. That will be kind of fun and interesting."

It's also important that if it's a true "open" event, bikes of all sizes should be competitive with one another.

"Obviously, the Open Class format is something that we want to talk about," Jendro says. "We're developing and designing the track for a 250 four-stroke to be able to compete against a 450 on the same level playing field and developing a short start straight, developing corners that don't necessarily have something to jump out of them so that these guys that have these 250 four-strokes can compete against the 450 in the environment of a stadium. That's going to be exciting."

And the final kicker is that Feld is hoping to bring in the top 85cc racers and the top 250 A racers from Loretta Lynn's Amateur Motocross Nationals to compete on the biggest stage in off-road motorcycle racing.

"What we're seeing is as we invite the 85cc they're like the future superstars of the sport," Jendro says. "You know, James Stewart, [Mike] Alessi, [Chris] Pourcel; all those guys have gone through that class. We've seen them race at a young age before they've become the superstars that they are. And we're also bringing in the 250 A Class, which is the immediate kids graduating out of that class and turning pro. So, we're kind of getting a glimpse into the future with these guys."

Both the immediate future, and the not-so-immediate future, but chances are good that if you hear their names at the Monster Energy Cup, take note, because you'll hear them again.

Pro racers planning to take part right now include defending AMA 450 Supercross and Motocross champ Ryan Villopoto, multi-time world champ Ben Townley, Kevin Windham, reigning Lites West champ Broc Tickle, reigning Lites East champ Justin Barcia, multi-time world champ Marvin Musquin, AMA Arenacross Champ Tyler Bowers, multi-time X Games gold medalist Josh Hansen, former MX and SX champ Ivan Tedesco, Brett Metcalfe, Kevin Windham, and 2010 Lites West champ Jake Weimer who recently said he is planning on taking that million dollars home to Murrieta, California. Ryan Dungey will be a last-minute addition to the field if he chooses to take part with his new KTM team, but it depends on how far he comes along on his new bike in the next two weeks. And multi-time indoor/outdoor champ Chad Reed officially bowed out of the competition yesterday.

Most of the What Really Happened columns this outdoor season have focused on the 450 class, and there are plenty of reasons for that. However, what really happened in Colorado is that we learned that Blake Baggett is flat-out the fastest racer in the 250 class right now. Period.

Prior to this weekend, I'd have said his winning pattern was inconsistent, but it's actually pretty consistent now. Blake Baggett wins every other weekend. He won round one, crashed out of the lead in the opening moto at round two in Texas, won round three at High Point, had another terrible day at Budds Creek, and then won Colorado.

And here's the thing: Every win has been absolutely dominant. Now, sure, at Hangtown, he didn't even win the first moto, but what he did do was come from way, way behind for second, then come from behind to win the second moto. At Texas, he had a massive lead after only two laps and then hit a hole and went over the bars, ruining his entire day. Then he was so dominant at High Point that he came from behind to win the first moto, then crashed out of the lead in moto two with a spectacular highside, got up, and then chased down former world champ Tyla Rattray, passed him, and pulled away for the win.

Then, at Budds Creek, Baggett looked like a different person. He struggled to seventh in the first moto, then came from basically dead last to grab another seventh place in the second moto. While the second moto was impressive, it still wasn't the Blake Baggett we had seen at the two nationals he had won up to that date.
Blake Baggett has won three of the five AMA Nationals run so far, but still sits third in points due to his finishes at the other two... (Photo: CoxMX.com)

Texas is easy to understand because of the big crash he had, but Budds is harder to explain away. Still, Baggett said after the race in Colorado that he just doesn't like Budds Creek, and remember Budds is where his season ended last year after he went down and badly broke his arm in the same spot that claimed Davi Millsaps for the year that same day.

But in Colorado, Baggett was unstoppable again. He came from behind to pass his way through the top racers in the sport, including Justin Barcia and teammate Dean Wilson, to take the lead and take off for the win in the first moto, then he got the holeshot in moto two and never looked back.

When Baggett is on, it seems like he's untouchable. It's only through luck (so far) that he has only been "on" every other weekend. Will we see him falter yet again at RedBud this weekend? If the pattern holds true, we will, but it seems Baggett is set on breaking that pattern. If he does, his competition is going to have to step it up a notch.

The Battle of the Ryans
Ryan Villopoto (left) and Ryan Dungey (right), as represented by these fans, were also battling on the track all day. (Photo: CoxMX.com)
Ryan Villopoto went 1-2 on the day for second overall. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Ryan Dungey went 2-1 for first overall. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Chad Reed, here in practice, went 3-3 for third overall but still holds the points lead going into RedBud next weekend. (Photo: CoxMX.com)The first 450 moto gets going (Photo: Sheryl Crawford/CoxMX.com)Tommy Hahn (12) was down in the first turn in the first 450 moto, but came from way, way back for 11th place in the moto. (Photo: Sheryl Crawford/CoxMX.com)
Hahn returned in moto two for his best moto finish of the season with fifth place and grabbed sixth overall. Here, in practice, he throws a whip for bonus points in front of his Motoconcepts Yamaha hauler. (Photo: CoxMX.com)After a stint filling in at the JGR/Toyota/Muscle Milk Yamaha team, Les Smith signed on with the Rockstar Energy Suzuki team. Going from a 450 to a 250F at altitude must've been quite an adjustment. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Jimmy Albertson returned to action at Lakewood and went 12-12 for 12th overall. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Christian Craig (144) led the first 450 moto for a while before falling back to sixth. He went down on the start in moto two with Jake Weimer and still caught back up to 15th. He finished eighth overall and is currently 10th in the points standings. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Josh Grant (right), in his second race back for Honda, ended up injuring his formerly healthy knee at Lakewood. An MRI is upcoming, but it's possible he may be out injured again. (Photo: CoxMX.com)The second 450 start saw Chad Reed (22) grab the holeshot. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Craig (144) and Jake Weimer (32) were down in turn one but came back to 15th (Craig) and 16th (Weimer) in the moto. (Photo: CoxMX.com)It was a very tough day for Weimer. Here, in the first moto, he gets up from his second fall in the opening two laps, where he lost his balance in a very long, very deep rut. The crash took about 50 yards from first bobble to fall. He likes RedBud, though... (Photo: CoxMX.com)A lot of the teams are running tanks that run over stock capacity. Here, Chad Reed's bike sports a carbon-fiber tank with an increased capacity. Ryan Dungey's bike also has about a liter more fuel capacity than it did when the outdoor season started. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Erin Bates jokes with Lars in the TwoTwo Motorsports pits. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Hello. Is your phone number "30"? (Photo: CoxMX.com)Kevin Windham was supposed to be in his final race for Honda at Colorado, but if Josh Grant is hurt too bad to race RedBud, we could see Windham keep going. He went 4-4 for fourth overall. He's very competitive at 33. (Photo: CoxMX.com)A Muscle Milk-sponsored racer won the Muscle Milk Recovery Award, as Davi Millsaps was down a lap early in the first 450 moto and finished 24th, but was sixth in moto two. (Photo: CoxMX.com)The 450 podium. It's a common trio. (Photo: CoxMX.com)In the 250 class, most of the battles out front were between these two: Blake Baggett (57) and Dean Wilson (15). (Photo: CoxMX.com)Baggett went 1-1 on the day for yet another win. He has won three nationals of the five run so far. He's dangerous. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Tyla Rattray lost the points lead to Dean Wilson in Colorado after going 5-5 to Wilson's 2-2. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Eli Tomac laying it flat in the second 250 moto. Tomac went 3-3 for third overall. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Baggett celebrates his second-moto win. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Baggett's second-moto victory was helped significantly by grabbing the holeshot. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Kyle Cunningham was up front in the first 250 moto before his bike suffered a mechanical. And because he finished 40th due to the failure, he got the last gate pick for moto two. Still, he pulled off an eighth place in the second moto. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Lance Vincent, a fill-in rider for the GEICO Honda team, was having the moto of his life in the second 250 moto, running second and falling back to fourth five laps in when his bike reportedly gave up the ghost, which is very rare for that team. (Photo: CoxMX.com)The 250 podium. (Photo: CoxMX.com)The podium was slanted at Lakewood. The girls are standing upright - or at least attempting to. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Darryn Durham was impressive at Lakewood on his way to 4-6 moto finishes for fourth overall. He's a hot commodity in silly season now, with rumors putting him at Rockstar Energy Suzuki, although other rumors have him going to the GEICO Honda team as well. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Blake Baggett celebrates his 1-1 performance at altitude. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Eli Tomac and Dean Wilson do battle on the podium. (Photo: CoxMX.com)She's going to have funny tan lines. (Photo: CoxMX.com)

Fathers Day has a different significance to everyone, but when you're a motocross racer, it's usually about thanking your dad for doing what he did to get you to the point you are as a racer. But in modern years, there is an increasing number of motocross racers who are themselves fathers, so Fathers Day becomes less about their own dads, and more about being one.
Chad Reed celebrates his third win of the year with his son Tate on his shoulders on the day before Fathers Day. (Photo: CoxMX.com)

This year, Fathers Day fell on the day after the Budds Creek AMA National, and although the perception in the past has been that becoming a father while you were still racing made racers soft, what really happened at Budds Creek is that we learned that's not the case, in either class.

To start with, we had Chad Reed. Reed has already been on a tear this summer, winning two of the three nationals coming into Budds, although the second of those two - Texas - was sort of handed to him when Ryan Dungey's bike died with less than two laps to go. But it wasn't a long shot for him to take the win at Budds Creek, even though rival Ryan Villopoto had recently caught fire at High Point the previous weekend.
Reed still has the same points lead as he had prior to Budds Creek, 15 points over Ryan Villopoto. (Photo: CoxMX.com)

Reed's wife Ellie and son Tate were on hand at Budds, as they were last week at High Point. But at High Point, Reed lost to Villopoto. At Budds, Reed had an "off" first moto, but then turned it around to work his way forward and win moto two, just as he had done at High Point the previous weekend. This time, though, he got to celebrate on the podium with his son, on the weekend of Fathers Day, giving Tate his first taste of what it's like to be a winner in the sport his dad has chosen.

And then in the 250 class, we had Tyla Rattray. Rattray is also a new dad - newer than Reed - and he has never been better since he came to the USA. Since he became a dad, his racing has improved. You may even be able to say his focus has improved. He says it has, and he says it's in part because he's not just racing for himself, he's racing for his daughter, and for his wife. For some people, that is a much bigger motivator than just racing for your own selfish glory, and Rattray is one of those people.
Tyla Rattray won his second race of the year, and leads the 250 points, and he's also a dad. It was a daddy sweep on Fathers Day weekend at Budds Creek. (Photo: CoxMX.com)

Rattray couldn't quite chase down teammate and title rival Dean Wilson in the first 250 moto, but in moto two he stayed strong, holding off teenager Justin Barcia for the entire moto to win the moto and overall, extending his points lead over Wilson by a couple of points in the process.

Because Rattray's child isn't quite old enough yet, she couldn't be at the race to celebrate with dad, but you can bet that she did plenty of celebrating with her pops the moment he walked in the door on Fathers Day.
Rattray (28) leads Justin Barcia (17) in the second moto. (Photo: CoxMX.com)

Budds Creek marked Kevin Windham's last scheduled race of the 2011 AMA Nationals.
But Windham made it count, going 4-4 for fourth overall.
She's purdy.

Chad Reed (22) got the first 450 holeshot, but Mike Alessi (800) came around the outside to take the lead.
With Alessi 800 out front, Reed ended up getting frustrated and both Ryans (Dungey and Villopoto) passed both him and Alessi.
The second-moto holeshot showed Alessi going a bit out of bounds while he went up to steal the lead from Windham.
Then Alessi cut across both Windham and Dungey to secure the lead, even if only for a short period of time.
Tommy Hahn was running in the top five in the first 450 moto at Budds until a tipover left him ailing and he dropped out of the race.
Ryan Villopoto took the lead in the first 450 moto and led to the checkered flag.
Villopoto taking the moto-one checkered flag.
Tyla Rattray recorded his second overall win of the season and extended his points lead from two to four points.
Rattray making the fans pay.
Dean Wilson won moto one but could only muster a third place in moto two.
Broc Tickle (20) fought to hold off Darryn Durham (37) in the first 250 moto. Eventually, Durham fell, but he was fast all day.
Justin Barcia turns his head as he tries to avoid roost, while wide-open. Barcia grabbed third overall.
Chad Reed (22) led Ryan Dungey (1) to the checkered flag in moto two.
Mike Brown was impressive on his way to 12-13 finishes on a KTM 450 SX/F.
Brett Metcalfe is quietly fifth in points and has been a consistent contender throughout the young season.
Josh Grant returned to action at Budds Creek, going 8-10 for 10th overall.
Chad Reed celebrates his moto and overall victory.
Gareth Swanepoel was a contender again in the second moto at Budds.
Blake Baggett was near the front in the second 250 moto but went down on the first lap and got up basically last. He still caught up to an impressive seventh.
She thought it was a good idea to wear a leather bustier...
Dean Wilson is interviewed while being outclassed by the Rockstar girl to his right.
Chad Reed (center) celebrated on the podium with his son Tate.
Ryan Dungey gave a signed jersey to his fan Dawn in honor of some work she has done for helping injured troops.