Well, I left Phoenix at about 11:00 AM in 85 degree weather, only to find myself landing in 30 degree weather. Welcome to Indianapolis, Indiana. I was told all about the new airport and how it had just been built. I couldn't wait to check it out! Okay, to me all these airports are starting to look the same. This one however, was a lot more colorful than most. I want to say thank you to Tanner and the other MDK Muscle Milk guys for giving me a lift to my hotel. I always seem to find myself either stranded or lost in airports. These guys where there to save my day.
While aimlessly driving around trying to find my hotel, I didn't mind being lost. It gave me the chance to see what kind of city I was really in. At first, it seemed small, but everything was just stacked on top of each other. Indiana is the furthest northeast that I have ever been in my life. Then I noticed the new Lucas Oil Stadium. It was a gorgeous building. I got the vibe that Indy was ready for the outcome of Saturday night. I finally got to my hotel. Right when I walked in Isaw the big group of fans just hanging out in the lobby and it put a smile on my face. They actually recognized me! I was so excited I sat around and chatted with them a little, but after that it was off to bed for me.
Saturday morning it was about 20 degrees outside. Being from Arizona, It was crazy to see small flakes of snow falling from the sky! My question was, how will the pits work in this kind of condition? Come to find out, each rider had their own station for their bikes and tools in a huge room, next to the tunnel. It was so small I couldn't believe all the riders fit in there! Ashley Phillaps ( co- announcer for Supercross and former Miss Arenacross) told me that it reminded her of the AMA Arenacross Series, because that's how small their pits were.What about the 62,000 fans that showed up to Lucas? There was no way they could all fit in pits. Sadly, only 200 lucky fans were able to meet 20 of the chosen riders. While waiting for some of the riders to show up, I finally met Josh Grant! I talked to him for a little bit, and what a cool guy! I then got put in an elevator with Nico Izzi, Austin Stroupe, Kevin Windham and Christophe Pourcel, just to name a few. I was so excited. I could not believe I was so close to all these champions. We arrived to the signing level and the lines for the riders began.
I got the chance to meet most of the 200 fans. Everyone was so upbeat and excited. That cold weather definitely did not have an affect on them one bit. I was more than happy to be apart of this experience. I personally wanted to hop in line and get some autographs for myself!
Race time! The crowd was in for quite the race thanks to Mike Larocco and his technical, yet awesome, track design. In Heat 1 of the lites class, the riders were going down like crazy! The whoops just seemed to be eating up some of those bikes. Good job to Will Hahn who greeted me on the podium for his first time ever with a heat race win. In the Lites main event, the gates dropped and straight out of the holeshot more than half the field went down, which led to a red flag. This means that the race was going to be restarted. After the restart, Austin Stroupe rode to his first win of the season. Following Stroupe was Christophe Pourcel, who was not far behind, and ending the podium was Nico Izzi with a 3rd place finish. Good job guys! Great race!
Where do I begin in the Supercross Class Main Event!? This race had me jumping up and down the entire time. I must say I have always been a fan for both James Stewart and Chad Reed. This race, I did not care who won. It was the best racing I had ever seen. James went down twice teetering with Chad. Stewart had some of the most phenomenal saves ever. He was flying through the track trying to catch Reed. Chad Reed took the victory ! Stewart came in second, breaking his 7 race winning streak. In third place, we had a new podium winner. Chad's teammate Mike Alessi. It was his first time on the podium ever! I must say, it was well deserved. I can't wait to see what is in store for Daytona. I see some foreshadowing for some even better racing.
Well, that is my story for this week. I sadly will not be in Daytona, but hope to see you in St. Louis! :)
