Mud in Your Eye

Chad Reed succumbed to injury at the Phoenix round and James Stewart pulled out after Anaheim 2. Since then we’ve seen the stadium racing series blossom into a four-way battle for the title. Ryan Dungey has watched his once-17-point advantage evaporate by missing the podium. While he suffers the pressure of leading the world’s top SX series, Josh Hill has been slugging away on his San Manuel Yamaha with a string of four second-place finishes. Now the two are tied at 123 points with Ryan Villopoto, who is building steam with his second victory, just three points behind. Even though he’s at 98 points, we’ll include Davi Millsaps in this title battle because of the notable inconsistency of these riders and Millsaps’ proven abilities with a win at San Diego.

Meteoric superstars like James, Chad and Ricky Carmichael before them do wonders. Every sport needs a hero. But at the same time, the racing gets pretty boring when you can virtually guarantee the winner. It’s a topic we’ve all heard before.

No Stewart. Four race winners (though JS was one of them). No Reed. Four-way title fight.

Now, I’m not sayin’. I’m just sayin’…