What Really Happened: Las Vegas

James Stewart took "riding a cool, calculated race" to a new level. In fact, he did it so well that it almost didn't look like he had planned to do it. James made a lot of mistakes in the main event, both when Villopoto was chasing him and when Reed was running him down. Plus, he was just plain timid when Reedy came in for his infamous block on that back sweeper. It's that last bit of un-Stewart-like riding that leads us to believe that it was all part of a script. He even mentioned afterwards that he pushed Villopoto a bit once he got around to make sure he scared him off and put an insurmountable gap on Reed that proved helpful for the rest of the race. Heck, one need look no further for proof that James was in title-saving mode than the gap at which he lost - when's the last time Reed put 20 seconds on Stewart in a race, not to mention that RV was 28 seconds ahead by the end! Maybe, just maybe, Stewart made those "mistakes" on purpose so he wouldn't have to be pushed so hard into making actual mistakes later in the race when it counted most. hmm....

The Suzuki City guys busted out some killer graphics and plastics for their lone team rider in Vegas - Matt Goerke. Matt's teammate Steven Clarke, who's been having a great rookie year, is out with a knee injury. Unfortunately Matt was sick as a dog all week leading up to the event, and despite coming from 19th to 6th in his heat race, he could barely stand up after that and was forced to sit out the main event. Matt should be solid for the upcoming Nationals, and the bikes are said to be quite good.

On the podium following the main event, Reed made his way over to Villopoto to share a few words. While in the photo above it appears this may have been a standoff similar to what Reed and Stewie shared in Jacksonville, what was being said here was more along the lines of Reed telling RV 'man, you seriously looked great out there. I don't know what you did to kick it up so high, but whatever you did - it worked!'. RV's reaction to that seemed a very humble 'thanks man, i appreciate that'. That's all guesswork on our part, but since our proximity to the conversation was about 5 feet away, we'll stick with that guess.

This is the guy - Team Manager Larry Brooks - who was at the root of a lot of the intrigue and controversy all season. Well known for doing what he's gotta do to get his guy up front, his successes can't be undermined. This guy has helped get McGrath, Reed and now Stewart onto the top step of the most prestigious championship podium in the world, and that's how he should be measured in terms of success. Yes, he could do it in a more PC way, but who are we to criticize a guy with that kind of credentials?