Welcome back Toyota AMA Arenacross fans! I am sure Santa filled your stockings with all the goodies you were hoping for this year. Maybe you even got that new ‘08 you put on your wish list. If you were naughty and found coal, don’t worry about it, the racing season is in full effect and it is going to be a wild ride that is sure to put a smile on your face.
 
The new year started off quickly with a double event weekend. Grand Rapids and Kansas City rocked out loud. GR is my home town so Jayme had me hang out Friday night and work with the Legendary Tim Cotter and Miss Arenacross Ashley. This was my first opportunity to work with Tim and now I know why he they call him one of the best in the business. I knew pretty early on I wasn’t going to make it as a racer and those of you that know me, know my real talent is non-stop yammering. So my heroes were the ones calling the action. TC spends as much as 40 weeks a year announcing races, and he is the engine that drives MX Sports, aka the Loretta Lynn’s AMA Amateur National Championships. And if you need someone to trouble shoot your furnace over the phone then Tim’s your man. (J/K Tim, I hope the heat was on when you got back home.) One of the great things about working with someone who is so well known is the people that come around to talk to him. One of the peeps that came calling was 1989 East Coast SX champion Todd Dehoop. Todd just strolled down and causally said hello. Of course I knew who he was right away and had my pen out for an autograph, but alas, he breezed on by and went to be interviewed by Tim. What’s sweet about that little story is that by the end of the night Tim, who had to fly in Friday morning at 4 a.m. was a little tired so I got to entertain the big shots at the post race “debrief“. Not only was Dehoop there, but former factory KTM rider Josh Woods from GPF was in the house as well as Todd’s brother, Chad, who was a great rider in his own right. Also hangin’ with us was: Bob Smutz from Flyin’ Kolors graphics, and Mark Powers who is a local promoter and rep in the Midwest. It was sweet hearing these guys talk about all the current and past riders and bench racing on the eve of Anaheim 1! One of the highlights of the night was talking to Todd’s lovely wife Robin who was a big part of Supercross during what I like to call the “Golden Age”, circa 1988 to 1999. She told me a great story about Jeremy McGrath and how Todd stole her away from the King of Supercross. It was hilarious! Unfortunately I had to call it an early night because I had to catch a 7 a.m. flight to KC.
 
WOW 5 a.m. comes EARLY! I made the flight and when I got to Kansas City I went straight to Kemper Arena for sound check. Yep, same deal, everyone making fun of silly ole’ me. I finally got to work with our sound guy for the rest of the season S. No that is not a typo, his real name is “S”. We all call him Buck, but his drivers license and passport say simply S. ’Nuff said! Saturday was wicked as Teddy Maier ran the gauntlet and his TiLube, MotoXXX team drove down from the Grand Rapids show to race in KC. Check the results at Arenacross.com to find out how the 10 hour drive worked out for him. I was glad they came because it gave me a chance to talk to Tony Wenks. Tony is the MAN at team TiLube, MotoXXX and also the big cheese behind Pit Pass Radio. He invited me, yes ME, to come on the show and flap my gums. NICE! I am sure I will say something stupid that will be immortalized in the archives forever, but hey, they say there is no such thing as bad press, right? I don’t want you to think all we do is talk motocross but everyone was watching the weather to in SoCal. Anaheim 1 looked like it was going to be very soggy. I know that is someone else’s column but let me just say this, we were praying for them. Being the sports junkies we are there were a ton of people that wanted to keep an eye on the NFL playoffs back in the pits. Well, apparently it helps to be young, blonde and good looking, because the lovely and talented Amy managed to get the Kemper Arena staff to hook up a TV in her office so we could get updates on the game. She is from Pittsburgh and was rooting for the Steelers. Big thanks to Ryan for wrestling with 100+ feet of cable to make it happen. Obviously, after the race everyone looked for a place to watch the SPEED TV broadcast of A1. That made me a little home sick because I knew “Pretty Boy” John Folkert was throwing a HUGE Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM Championship, party at his house. I was with them in spirit though, I hope they felt the love.
 
It was a great weekend and I am looking forward to the Dallas AX and not just because it is a lot warmer than Michigan! I talked to Chris Tracy on Sunday and the DirtBikeMike.com guys are going to make the trip down to the Reunion Center for the next stop on the Toyota AMA Arenacross Series. Guys you bring the Monster Energy and I’ll bring the appetite. Let’s get wild in Big D.

David Knisley
Mxannouncer@hotmail.com