What About Distractions?

Soon after I published my last post about Stewart possibly not racing outdoors, it was confirmed that he would indeed be taking to the motocross circuit this coming summer. This was great news for the fans, and industry as a whole.

I watched all of the press conference video coverage from today and one thing stuck out at me. James kept talking about all of the distractions that kept arising last season, and he was happy that would no longer be the case now that he was with JGR. He went on to mention that next week he would start testing for his possible NASCAR switch that will follow his dirt bike career. That is some exciting news for motorsports fans....



Wait a second... What about not having any more distractions? It seems to me like trying to win multiple championships on his bike while trying to shape into a NASCAR driver would hinder ones concentration of the task at hand.

I personally think the whole dirt bike to car racing deals are ridiculous. We don't see Tour de France riders transitioning into motocross or football players moving into tennis. These professionals hone their skills for years. It makes no sense for someone to get distracted with their current profession, to get a free pass into another. We will see how it all pans out.

James Stewart: Motocross or Not?

Well dirt bike fans, it’s finally happened, James Stewart made the move to the Joe Gibbs Racing squad. They made the official announcement this morning, and it was one that was basically known for the better part of a week. Racer X broke the news early last week that James would most likely be making the move to the JGR tent for 2012, and that’s exactly what happened.

Since JGR opened up their Supercross racing efforts in 2008, they have been making great strides towards success each season. After only three years under their belts, they landed the fastest man on the planet. It’s a good fit in my opinion. The JGR team went from zero to hero rather quickly in the NASCAR world, and they seem to be on the right track to do the same in the dirt bike racing world as well.

You may notice that I have referred to it as the “dirt bike” racing industry twice in this article, and with good reason. There are quite a few questions that are still going unanswered with this whole JGR/Stewart deal. The number one thing that myself, and many others are wondering is, is James going to ever race outdoors (motocross) again? Nowhere in this press release did they give the indication that he would or would not but they did talk heavily on surpassing Jeremy McGrath’s 72 supercross win record, and how they wanted to become one of the top teams in supercross… Maybe this is due to the fact that the supercross season is only a few months away but again, nothing said for sure what their plans were.



It’s going to be a major disappointment if we have to sit through another outdoor season without “The Fastest Man on the Planet” gracing us with his presence. I would be disappointed in JGR if they signed him to a deal that only included one aspect of dirt bike racing. What if they started signing their NASCAR drives to only part of the Nationwide Cup Series?

Marketing Suicide

As many of you may or may not know, along with owning my film company and being a marketing nut, I race BMX, and I am an avid motocross fan. I raced in the National Bicycle League until this season, when they closed their doors after a long, drug out fight against bankruptcy.
I have raced all over the country. I have been to the biggest events that the NBL has put on. Every event that I raced at, I would always notice how poorly the marketing scheme was laid out. Here is a sport that is 100% family oriented, it’s cheap and it allows every age demographic from 3 years old to 70 years young to partake. Did I mention that it made its Olympic debut in 2008? Why on earth would an organization such as this fold up? If you step back and take a look at two sports, BMX racing and professional /amateur motocross racing, motocross racing is hands down a bigger, more popular sport. Both are family friendly and both allow young children and old men/women to compete. Why would more people not be going to the NBL to race BMX? It is cheaper…



It all comes down to how the movers and shakers (or lack thereof) of the NBL played their “promotional” cards. This was a league that had the opportunity to grab up all of those parents that wanted their kids to be involved in a two wheeled sport but were terrified of the dangers that came along with motocross or simply couldn’t afford it.
At the biggest of big events that the National Bicycle League would host, never once would I see big sponsors such as car/truck manufactures or major energy drink producers involved with the event. This is a worldwide sport that is in the Olympic Games… Companies like this would not be hard to rope in with a little effort. At the Grand National Championships in Louisville Kentucky, dirty plastic tarps (used in case of rain) were thrown all over the infield between racing lanes. This may seem minute but what company is going to want place sponsor banners inside of a race course that looks like it doubles as a dump?
I just attended the professional motocross race at Steel City, Pa. last weekend, and to say the least, I was overly impressed with how Racer Productions’ Davi Coombs and MX Sports’ Tim Cotter promoted this event. As you walked into the track, you were immediately handed a FREE energy drink, which was provided by Rockstar Energy Drinks. As you made your way to the actual race course, the footpaths were lined with major industry vendors, Toyota Trucks displays, Makita Power Tools displays, food vendors and the list goes on. These are things that in 10 years of racing BMX, I never once saw.
It is a sad thing that the NBL had to close their doors. They tried pointing fingers at Mother Nature’s rain drenched spring for their collapse but in the end it was the simple fact that they lacked the skills needed in one of the most important departments of any company, the public relations department. Thankfully, all BMX racers can rest easy, thanks to another league that seems to be on the right path. The American Bicycle Association is now the lone BMX sanctioning body. Here’s to hoping that things go better in their hands.