jtuscano@observer-reporter.com
For one glorious weekend, the sleepy little town of Mt. Morris will be engulfed in a solid wall of sound, cameras, microphones and finish line celebrations.
Oh, and expectations are that an intimate gathering of about 20,000 will show up to drink in the atmosphere, along with a few cold ones when the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship circuit arrives at High Point Raceway this weekend.
This tournament is the first in the sport's Triple Crown. The other two will be held at Buchanan, Mich., July 4 and Mechanicsville, Md., Aug. 22.
Motocross has penciled in an event at the Mt. Morris raceway for decades, but this event will be special because it will mark the first live broadcast by a national television station, in this case NBC.
"This is the first time it's ever happened and we are excited about it," said Brandon Short, media manager of the event. "We've had NBC here before but it's always been on a tape-delayed basis. We expect the event to be viewed by 400,000 world-wide."
NBC begins its coverage at 4:30 p.m., Saturday but some of the smaller events begin today.
The network will air three races and three others are scheduled for the Speed network. For those who follow motocross, plenty of storylines punctuate this event.
The 450 class, the premiere level in the sport, is led by Mike Alessi, who will not be competing. Alessi broke his kneecap in the last race and is out for the season.
Top rookie in the 450 class, Ryan Villopoto, also will be absent. Villopoto, who never lost a title race in the 250 class, has a torn ACL and is also out for the season.
"He won two of the last three (Super X) but tore his ACL." Short said. "He tried to race with but crashed in the next race and he decided that was the end."
Chad Reed, who was second in the points race, is the favorite to take the 450 class. Ryan Dungey has three first-place finishes in the 250 class and is favored at Mt. Morris. He was third there last season.
In the women's division, 18-year-old Ashley Siolek has been a wonderful story. Siolek is deaf but the native of St. Augustine, Fla., is the points leader in the WMX class. Short said she also is the first woman to be signed to a manufacturer's sponsorship.
"She has taken the women's side by storm," Short said. "She never received a lot of attention before (when she competed in the amateur ranks) but she has certainly pushed the demographic."
Tickets for the event are on sale at the gate and three-day passes are available.