It's round 6 of the 2011 AMA Pro Motocross National Championships. This week - Buchanan, Michigan at Red Bud MX.
In the ' Motocross ' class, the big three are Chad Reed, Ryan Dungey, and Supercross Champion Ryan Villopoto. Those three riders are dominating the series (as far as winnning motos and races) compared to anyone else in the class.
In the 250 MX Lites class, Dean Wilson is the series points leader as the series will conclude it's halfway point by Saturday night. Second in points is teammate Tyla Rattray. And their teammate Blake Baggett has shown incredible speed at many races. The Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki team has dominated this class.
And, back in action this weekend, the Women's class - WMX. At the top you have Ashley Fiolek and Jessica Patterson, who seem to turn almost every moto into their own personal battle.
Could Saturday's racing be affected by mud and rain? Don't know yet, but the day before it's been raining quite hard here, with lots of thunder and lightning. Tomorrow's weather forecast - 90 degrees, with afternoon thunderstorms. We'll see about that ... Supercross.com will have race coverage of both the men's and women's classes
The ESPYs nominate seven of the top X Games and Winter X Games athletes for Best Action Sports Athlete, including Kelly Clark who also received the honor of nomination in the Best Female Athlete category. Winter X Games Mono Skier X medalist Chris Devlin-Young also received a nod in the Best Male Athlete with a Disability category.
The ESPYs will be televised live Wednesday, July 13, at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPNHD from the Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE. The 2011 ESPYs is co-presented by Capital One and Castrol EDGE and hosted for the second time by Saturday Night Live’s Seth Meyers. The complete list of nominees for the 19th annual ESPYs can be found here.
BEST MALE ACTION SPORT ATHLETE NOMINEES
Tucker Hibbert, Snowmobiling
The most medaled snowmobile athlete in Winter X Games history, Tucker Hibbert easily earned his fifth straight Snowmobile SnoCross gold medal at Winter X Games 15, becoming the first Snowmobile athlete to five-peat. The youngest gold medalist in Winter X Games history, Hibbert has also dominated the National series, winning 11 of 16 National series contests last season and taking home the 2011 National series points title.
Travis Pastrana, Motocross
After sealing his reputation as the best Moto X Freestyle rider with the first double backflip in 2006, Travis Pastrana returned to the Freestyle and Speed & Style disciplines at X Games 16 to win double gold in Moto X disciplines for the first time since he did it in 2006. In 2011, Pastrana is also making his NASCAR debut, both as a driver and team owner under the Pastrana-Waltrip racing banner. With 12 Moto X medals and four Rally Car medals, Pastrana is one of the most successful crossover athletes in X Games history.
Kevin Rolland, Skiing
After winning the Ski SuperPipe at both Winter X Games 14 and the inaugural Winter X Games Europe in 2010, Kevin Rolland successfully defended both titles in 2011. After making history at Winter X Games 14 by becoming the first skier to throw three doubles in the same run, Rolland continued his dominance winning two of three Winter Dew Tour Superpipe competitions and the overall title for 2011. He finished out the year by earning the AFP Superpipe points title by an enormous margin.
Kelly Slater, Surfing
Winning his 10th ASP World Title in 2010, Kelly Slater earned himself the title of surfing legend. Winning his first ASP World Title at 20-years old, Slater is now both the youngest and oldest person in ASP history to win a World Title. Slater earned four ASP elite victories in 2010, bringing his total to 45 overall elite tour victories, the most of any surfer.
Shaun White, Skateboarding & Snowboarding
With the most gold medals and the most total medals in Winter X Games history, Shaun White earned the first Snowboard SuperPipe four-peat in Winter X Games history in 2011. In addition, White earned his fourth X Games medal at X Games 16 when he took home silver in Skateboard Vert. He finished out 2010 competing in two AST Dew Tour Vert competitions, which he won.
BEST FEMALE ACTION SPORT ATHLETE NOMINEES
Sarah Burke, Freestyle Skiing
Leading the charge to include Ski Halfpipe in the Winter Olympics, Sarah Burke is one of the most influential female skiers in history. With the most SuperPipe gold of any athlete male or female, Burke has won halfpipe titles at every major contest, including gold at Winter X Games 15 and Winter X Games Europe 2011.
Kelly Clark, Snowboarding
The most decorated female Snowboard SuperPipe athlete, Kelly Clark has won eight total medals in her 12 Winter X Games appearances. With an Olympic gold in 2002 and bronze from 2010 already under her belt, Clark had a banner season in 2010/2011 where she won nearly every contest she entered, including Winter X Games 15 and Winter X Games Europe Snowboard SuperPipe. At Winter X Games 15, Clark wrote herself into the history books as she became the first female athlete to land a 1080 in SuperPipe competition.
Ashley Fiolek, Motocross
At just 20-years old, Ashley Fiolek has blazed a trail for women’s motocross by earning the first-ever female factory Honda Red Bull Racing sponsorship. In her first three seasons, Fiolek claimed the 2008 and 2009 AMA/WMX Championships and became the youngest champion ever. Though she finished in second for the overall title in 2010, she is back on track and leading the points standings for the 2011 season. Fiolek is the two-time defending X Games Moto X Racing Women’s gold medalist.
Stephanie Gilmore, Surfing
One of the most talented female surfers on the ASP Tour, Stephanie Gilmore won four of the eight surfing events on the 2010 ASP World Tour en route to her fourth straight ASP World Title. In 2011, Gilmore is currently in fourth place in the Women’s World Title rankings.
Fans will determine the winners in all categories (except the Arthur Ashe Courage Award and other special awards) by voting online at www.ESPN.com/espys, www.facebook.com/ESPN, as well as on ESPN Mobile Web at http://espn.mobi from June 24 – July 9. A limited number of ESPYs tickets are available for public purchase beginning May 9 through www.ticketmaster.com.
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Who dat?
This week I caught up with Kevin Windham. In the video below, Kevin Windham talks about the Superbowl Champions, the NFL's New Orleans Saints, his family, his future plans for racing and beyond.
The Superbowl XLIV champions, the New Orleans Saints, have many fans - among them is none other than the number 14 in Supercross, Kevin Windham. While the NFL season started when Supercross was in its off season, Kevin was able to take part in season tickets to his favorite NFL team - da' Saints. Eventually the 2010 Supercross season got underway in January, which meant Kevin was flying off after those Saturday night Main Events back East to watch the New Orleans Saints Playoff games.
On February 7, 2010 the New Orleans Saints headed to the Superbowl in Miami, Florida and Kevin Windham and his wife Dottie made arrangements to attend this momentous occasion. First, however Kevin had to finish up a Supercross race in San Diego the night before.
I haven't hit the track much in 2010, but knowing that the 4th Annual Motocross Ride for the Cure Event was coming, I dusted off the KTM, dropped it off at Malcolm Motorsports for some fine tuning, hit Milestone Motocross Track for a handful of warm ups and I was ready to enjoy the funnest event of the year hosted by motocross enthusiast herself, Laurie Carey, who is constantly raising the bar for fundraising, support, education and interaction for Breast Cancer Awareness!

The morning started off amazing, perfect day to moto! The sky's were bright blue and littered with dark fluffy rain clouds! Dropping rain in perfect track watering patterns, the day was in full swing and the pits were packed! Tons of Factory support lined up for the event, they even had a never ending Freestyle show in the works! Mike Metzger, the God Father of FMX was doing his thing and dozens of other talented riders busting out tricks for the fans.

I pretty much settled into a pack rat of MXGirls, WMA Pro Rider Elizabeth Bash, Race Techs Michelle Marshall, and Mission Motorsports Brooklyn McClendon. We had a blast mixing it up on the main and vet tracks, sporting our decorated "Ride for the Cure" Bra's and having a blast spinning laps, saving boobies!
In the end I was amazed at the growth this event has accumulated over the years, by far the most impressive outcome I've seen. I'm looking forward to next year's event, but more importantly, it's touching to see all the work Laurie Carey puts into the Support and Awareness of Breast Cancer.
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Jonathan Barragan Andrea Bartolini Willy Bauer Jean Michel Bayle