November 2001 -- It used to be that fall was the worst time of the year for motocross fans in America. After the Nationals ended in September, there was never any racing to watch until Supercross started back up in January. A lot of the riders did a few races over in Europe, but they were never televised over here. Four years ago, an event was put together that would not only give fans something to cheer about in the off-season, but would also give the riders some serious money to chase. It would pay $100,000.00 to the winner and invite the best Supercross and Motocross riders in the world to compete. It was and is the richest motorcycle race in the world; the U.S. Open of Supercross.

The first three years of the Open saw mixed results. The first year saw all of the big name riders show up and the fans came as well. Damon Huffman was the surprise winner of that inaugural race. The second year saw Jeff Emig, fresh off of a marijuana possession arrest and dismissal from the Factory Kawasaki squad, pull off one of the great underdog performances of all time and win on a privateer YZ250. Last year, Ricky Carmichael came in and slapped his competition around in what was the prelude to one of the best years any rider has ever had.

RC hoists his $100,000 expense account.

The one thing that riders and fans complained about in those first three years was the track and more specifically, the lack of passing opportunities. Basically, if you didn't get a good start, you were finished. This year the promoters set out to improve the track design and fill the seats back up like they were the first year. They succeeded on both fronts.

The pre-race hype got going right after the Steel City National and snowballed all the way up to the opening ceremonies. When the American team of Carmichael, Brown and Windham opted out of the MX des Nations after the September 11 attacks, even more importance was put on the Open. Then Jeremy McGrath announced that he would ride the event for the first time since the inaugural race. After Ricky Carmichael made his switch to Honda official, he stated that he wouldn't race again until Anaheim in January. The week of the event, though, RC changed his mind and the stage was set for a huge battle. Fans from around the globe flocked to Sin City to see how RC and MC would fair in their first showdown since May. Add to all of that a 4-stroke class packed with talent and a new 125cc Support class featuring the best amateurs in the country and it looked like a can't-miss event.

"The Thunder"

As mentioned above, the 4-stroke class featured an unprecedented level of talent. Names like Kelly Smith, Blair Morgan, Kyle Lewis, John Dowd, Keith Johnson (both of them) and Greg Schnell made the class a sure thing. Along with the 125cc and 85cc classes, the thumpers would run a four-moto format. Conventional wisdom said that consistency would be the key to success. Of course, total domination always works as well.

The first race was a sign of how things would go all weekend. The start was very short and the first turn was extremely sharp and narrow. Last year's class champion, Kelly Smith got an outside gate pick and was shoved off of the track in the first turn. Craig Decker grabbed the early lead and was followed by Blackfoot Honda's Blair Morgan and John Dowd on the big KTM. On the first lap, Morgan passed Decker going under the bridge jump and pretty much checked out from there. The Canadian rider, who happens to be a 7-time Snowcross champion, was definitely one of the fastest riders on the track, especially through the nightmarish whoops. John Dowd tangled with a tuf block and fell back to ninth place. Kyle Lewis' YZ426 appeared to stall and he was never able to relight it. He suffered a disappointing DNF as a result. Greg Schnell was a no-show after he hurt his foot in practice.

Jeremy McGrath held in their for a second overall, finishing fourth in Friday's main event and second in Saturday's.

In the second race, Blair Morgan got the holeshot and as far as first place was concerned, the race was already over. Morgan rode incredibly smooth and was never seriously challenged for the lead. Keith (East Coast) Johnson and Marco Dube started right behind Morgan. Kyle Lewis survived the start this time and mounted a charge from back in fifth place. Once he moved into fourth, Lewis moved his Moto XXX Yamaha past Dube in the outdoor section of the track. Then he made block pass on Keith Johnson for second. From there he started making up time on Morgan, but a late crash ended his chances. There were several times when Lewis was easily the fastest rider on the track, but inconsistency killed him. Kelly Smith got a horrible start again, but made a valiant effort to ride all the way back to fourth place.

Going into Saturday night, Morgan held a ten-point advantage over Keith Johnson. In the first heat of the night, Kelly Smith got his first holeshot of the weekend on his KTM, but Morgan and Kyle Lewis were right behind him. Lewis stalled on the first lap again and took quite a while to get going again. When the lead duo approached the whoops for the first time, Morgan again had the best timing and passed Smith for the lead. Smith stayed right on him, though and passed him back under the bridge jump. Keith Johnson had settled himself into third place and was able to fight off a challenge from Craig Decker. In one of the final laps, Morgan made a pass on Smith in the outdoor section and held on for the win. At that point, he held a commanding lead in the class.

In the final 4-stroke race of the weekend, Craig Decker got the holeshot and was followed by Kelly Smith and Blair Morgan. Smith made a quick pass into the lead while Morgan was obviously more complacent than in the first three races. John Dowd came up from a mid-pack start and was a factor for the first time all weekend. He quickly moved past Keith (West Coast) Johnson and then blocked Craig Decker to take over second. From there he began to put pressure on Smith and passed him in a rhythm section. The crowd went nuts as the two KTMs battled. Smith came back and made a pass in the same spot and was able to hold the "Junkyard Dog" off the rest of the way. For Smith, winning that final moto was a nice way to end his tenure with KTM. He will be riding for Planet Yamaha next year. Dowd and Decker rounded out the podium in that race. Taking the cautious route was Morgan who finished fifth, but still had plenty to win the overall in the class and the $10,000.00 that went with it. Kelly Smith's gutsy rides from the back of the pack earned him second overall and Craig Decker got third via great consistency. When all was said and done, the thumper class featured some great racing and allowed American fans a chance to see just how fast ex-Canadian National Champ Blair Morgan is. Now if we could just get him off of those snowmobiles and into the Supercross series?.

"The Screaming"

New to the U.S. Open this year was the Engine Ice 125cc Support Class. The top amateur riders from around the country were on hand to add a little spice to the event and get themselves in front of some major sponsors.

From the drop of the gate in the first heat for these guys, it was evident that physical racing would be the theme of the weekend. Kawasaki-mounted Ryan Spies got the holeshot and was followed by Josh Hansen and Gavin Gracyk. Suzuki's Shane Bess moved into third for a time as did Daton Beavers. These guys were out there hammering each other and there was some nasty passing going on. Spies and Hansen continued to battle for the lead. Right at the finish line, Hansen (the son of former National Champ Donnie Hansen) gained the advantage and won the race. Gracyk managed to get his original position back and finish third.

McGrath attempts to hitch a ride with the Rock, ultimately going down but still finishing second overall for the weekend.

Ryan Spies again got the best start in the second race, but fellow Team Green member, Gavin Gracyk, quickly passed him. Ryan Mills and Daton Beavers weren't far back either. Shane Bess got a mediocre start on his Suzuki, but quickly began to move forward. He moved past Beavers into fourth. Then Spies and Mills went down and he had second locked up. A bobble in the whoops was almost costly, but he had enough of a gap on Beavers to hold his position. Gracyk won pretty easily while Josh Hansen had to fight hard to get fourth.

Gracyk held a two-point advantage over Hansen going into Saturday's two races. Hansen got the holeshot in the evening's first heat, but Michael Blose and Shane Bess were right on him. Bess made quick move to get into second and then took the lead from Hansen in the whoops. Hansen retaliated with a block pass to regain the lead, but Bess took it back when they headed outside the arena. By that time, Gavin Gracyk had moved into third and was giving Hansen fits. He made a pass, but crashed soon after. Bess cruised to the win while Hansen and Beavers completed the podium. It was a good ride for Bess who will join the Factory Suzuki effort in January.

The final race was a little less dramatic than the first three. Josh Hansen got the advantage on the start and never looked back. Ryan Mills and Shane Bess took position in second and third. The biggest excitement came when Gracyk came out of nowhere to pass Bess for third place. Not content to just let it go, Bess stayed right on Gracyk and pressured him into a mistake. Gracyk went over the bars in the whoops and was done. Bess reoccupied third while Michael Blose moved into fourth.

Hansen's win got him the points he needed to win the class overall. Still a year from turning pro, Hansen looks like he has the goods to be a national level contender in just a few years. Bess sewed up the second spot while Ryan Mills took third for the weekend. This class was a great addition to the weekend and the quality of the racing showed the fans in attendance that there is plenty of talent coming up through the amateur ranks to keep our sport going for a long time to come.

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