Some thoughts on the Supercross race at Dodger Stadium

Since it looks like most of the newspapers in Los Angeles weren't able to publish the results of the AMA Monster Energy Supercross race at Dodger Stadium on Saturday night, Ryan Villopoto won.
Here are some other observations, obvious or otherwise, from Round 3 of the AMA Supercross series.
James Bubba Stewart finished second. More to the point, he didn't win. He was taken out in the heat race and rallied from the back of the field to qualify for the main event. Stewart actually had the lead in the main, but Villopoto took advantage of a rare Stewart mistake and took the lead late in the race.
“It was really slippery out there,” said Villopoto. “The start of my race didn’t go as planned, but I was able to make up some time early on and things went my way.”
Reigning Supercross series champ Ryan Dungey was third and looked to struggle in the second half of the race. Repeating as champ is going to be a real challenge for him, it looks like.
Trey Canard has the most impressive races of the night. He crashed in the heat race. The front wheel on his bike hit awkwardly and Canard flipped head first off his bike. The bike then flipped in the air and ran over his back.
It looked horrific, but Canard recovered, raced his way into the main through the last chance qualifier and finished fourth in the main.
The high-finishing rider from California was Brett Metcalfe from Lake Elsinore. He was eighth.
At least a Californian won the first Supercross Lites race at Dodger Stadium. Cole Seeley, a graduate of Newbury Park High School who lives in Corona, won the Lites race, the first of his career.
“This week I worked hard on starts and it paid off,” said Seeley. “That makes a big difference in the way the race unfolds when you are out front. This is the first win of my career and it feels great.”
Rumor around Dodger Stadium was that the area around the pitcher's mound was not supposed to be tampered with. An orange pylon was placed on top of the mound and the area was sectioned off. But before the heat races started, someone moved the cone. Bulldozers, albeit small ones, rolled over and spread dirt around the mound.
This might be the first clue for when people start asking what happened to the Dodger pitching staff in 2011.

Geared for racing» Ventura County Star

Billy Payne Jr. and Cole Seeley are trying to make their marks in AMA Supercross.
For Payne, this might be his last chance. For Seeley, his potential is limitless. Both riders will be in action at Angel Stadium on Saturday night for the third race of the AMA Supercross season.
Payne has had a rough start to his season. The 28-year-old from Simi Valley is racing in the top division of AMA Supercross against James Stewart, Chad Reed and the stars of the sport. He has yet to make the main event of the first two races, but he is determined to return to the form that made him a rising star more than a decade ago.
Seeley, a 19-year-old from Newbury Park, has put together a pair of nice races to start the AMA Supercross Lites-West season. He is coming off a sixth-place finish at Chase Field in Phoenix and a 14th-place effort at Angel Stadium in Anaheim to start the season.
Both riders have their work cut out for them as they prepare for the next race in Anaheim.

Photo: Billy Payne Jr. of Simi Valley has had to overcome wrist and knee injuries. (Racer X Illustrated)

Geared for racing» Ventura County Star