It was going to be a good idea. Key word being 'was'. It was going to be a good idea!
My idea was to show you what the truck racing series that I promote and race in is like. It's like Supercross, only on four wheels!
So, my plan was simple - I'd invite my good friend Lex out to the finale of the Traxxis TORC series in Las Vegas, we'd mount a camera on the hood of my race truck, and I'd show you just how rough the racing is. It would be me (a former 2 time AMA Supercross Champion) and Jeremy McGrath (best Supercross rider in history!) showing you supercross - on four wheels!
It is rough. Very rough. We bump, grind, rub, and run into each other. It's 'no-holds-barred' racing. Trucks get abused & trashed. Not only that, but the roost of dirt, mud, rocks, and @#$% that comes up in your face following another 900 horsepower truck is ... ballistic.
OK, ... the key word was "was". Lex was confident the camera he put on the hood of my truck would stay on the hood, and we'd have some great video action from practice to show you just how cool TORC is (The Off Road Championship - website http://www.torcseries.com - that's where you can see all the results from the series and more info).
I asked him again. "Are you sure that camera is going to stay mounted?" And his very confident reply was "Yeah, ... uhhhhh .... well .... I think so. Uhhh ..... I hung it up on the door of my office and hung from it. It stayed mounted there. But .... uhhhhh ..... yeah, I think it will stay mounted."
Yeah, right! It didn't stay mounted.
Last time I saw Lex, he was walking around the track looking for his camera. For about 2 hours. In the mud.
One thing I know for sure ... that camera is now part of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Dirt Track.
So, guess what you get to see instead of that cool footage? You get to see a few photos, and a quick video of the race from Friday night. I'm number 48 in the Red Bull truck, and Jeremy is number 2 in the Monster truck. See more below. And come out to a TORC event next year! You'll have a great time!
RJ

Here is the grand experiment - camera is mounted on my truck's hood. Ready to go. But not for long!

Jeremy McGrath inside his truck. Ready to go out and roost!

That's me in practice. If you look closely, you'll see the camera is actually still on the hood! Racing these trucks is very much like supercross, except we have an extra 2 wheels, and an extra 850 horsepower.

Jeremy getting some air over one of the jumps

Jeremy leading me in Friday night's main event.

Jeremy McGrath

That's me getting a little air over one of the jumps on the course
In this video is this corner where the mud on top was incredibly slick. So we couldn't accelerate like we wanted to, or we'd slide right into the wall. I'm number 48 in the Red Bull truck and Jeremy is number 2 in the Monster truck.
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MX2 Main Event Results from Montreal.
1. 27 Kaven Benoit
2. 5 Tyler Medaglia
3. 10 Tim Tremblay
4. 19 Brock Hoyer
5. 16 Kyle Beaton
6. 17 Jeremy Medaglia
Supercross will undergo a 'Pink' transformation this weekend in Anaheim to show their support and help promote Breast Cancer Awareness, including contributions to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Orange County.
Expect to see a lot of masculine Supercross guys wearing pink riding gear, or somehow sporting the color to show their support for this great cause. Also it is a Valentines weekend, so many of the guys are getting all kinds of lady love ... Press day is always fun and this week I decided to get a different view from some of the top Supercross guys. Ryan Villopoto, Nick Wey, Justin Brayton, Broc Tickle, Max Anstie, and Eric McCrummen all took a few minutes with me to do the video interviews you see below. (Right now I just have Justin's interview in the video portion.) First interview - the guy in third place right now in the Supercross Class, Ryan Villopoto. I had to chat with RV about his current race status, the competition, and that win from San Francisco. Ryan V: Things are good, I am 10 points down and before San Fran it was 20 so in the last two races I have made up 10 points and we are not even half way yet so I think it is going to be a good series, the rest of it. Ten points is nothing and with just a couple of good finishes, it is racing and anything can still happen. I plan on staying consistent and get good starts and try to get some more wins. Dungey did race with James at Anaheim 1, and now that James and Chad are out they think there is not a lot of racing to show now but that is not true. Dungey is a tough guy, but I know I can race Ryan, I am right there to battle him, my lap times are right there and even better sometimes. We have yet to go head to head but I am looking forward to it and we should have some good racing when that happens.San Fran was good. It was a confidence booster and it is always fun winning. That is what we do this for, to win races and in the long run to win a championship. The team is working hard, I am working hard, and the bike is good so we are just going to keep plugging away and try to get some more of those wins and close that points gap.
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Next up: The Supercross Rookie from England, Max Anstie. He is currently riding the West Coast Lites on the DNA Shred Stix Star Racing Yamaha team and in seventh place. I asked him how he felt about his first Supercross season, that almost near second at San Diego and what his plans after Anaheim 3 with the eight week racing delay.
Ange

Justin Brayton

Eric M's nice looking bike!
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What is Wings for Life? To put it simply - The way is in sight and the goal is clearly defined: A life without wheelchair. Wings for Life has dedicated itself to this future.
In the video below, Amanda talked briefly with Heinz Kinigardner, the main principal behind Wings for Life. Wings for Life is a foundation dedicated to finding results to spinal cord injuries, and ultimately, a cure. And then, she talked briefly to Pit Beirer, KTM's Off-Road Sports Manager about KTM's upcoming plans.
More info about Wings for Life:
With an average age of injury of 33 years and nearly normal life expectancy, there is a steady increase in the number of people affected, and it is estimated that around 2.8 million people live with a Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) by now.
Each year, approximately 130.000 people survive a traumatic spinal cord injury.Spinal cord injury primarily affects young adults with a ratio of four to one male to female.Zooom Productions GmbH
And you can support too at http://www.wingsforlife.com
Pit, Amanda, Heinz