Welcome to another edition of Racerhead. Might as well start with the mail. This one went directly to our publisher, Scott Wallenberg:

Mr. Wallenberg,
I like your website, racerxill.com, but could you PLEASE remove that Racer X Brand Clothing Line cheesecake ad on the right hand side that constantly rotates pictures of sweet young thing posing in different shirts ‘n stuff. That’s so distracting I can hardly concentrate on reading. I like beautiful women as much as the next guy, but I’m not married and don’t have a girlfriend to buy shirts for ... and that ad is a pain in the, uh, neck. I tried to click on it to shut it off or something – is there some secret?
Addicted to purity,
Mark Yontz. Newark, Ohio

Ali Sonoma is a welcome distraction for Fubar’s T-shirt business! photo: Simon Cudby

Dear Mark: We know what you mean—nothing’s getting done around here, though we are selling a lot T-shirts!

Hello,
I’m sorry if this is to the wrong person, but I was wondering if you could help me with any further information on something. Next week, MTV is hosting a tribute show for Evil Knievel in Oklahoma City. There are rumors about Pastrana trying a triple back-flip, Ronnie Renner trying a front flip. Have you heard any of this information yet? I have been reading about it for a couple weeks and I’m just curious to know if it’s all true information. Thanks for your help,
Steve Barcklow

Ronnie Renner’s response:
“Dude, I love rumors! Here’s the story: I mentioned to Travis that I have what I think is a theory on a good technique for trying the front flip in the foam pit, and that I would experiment with it. My thoughts were that I would screw around with it for a few months, and if I was getting close I would try to pin it down in my foam pit for the Summer X Big Air. No claiming or anything like that. Well, I asked Travis’ wizard buddy Frog to build me some special pegs so my feet don’t fly off and a week later I get a forwarded email from Travis that he sent to some Jackass (the show) producers mentioning that I may want to go for it. I was quick to shut that idea down and said that I would try to make it out to goof off if I could. I have since did approximately ONE day of testing on my stock 110 and realized I have to get a more realistic bike to get this to even come close to working.”

Renner is thinking front-flip…. Oh brother. photo: Carl Stone

Dear Racer X,
I was wondering if you guys could post something on the site for me? I just wanted to tell all the guys at Cernic’s Kawasaki thank you for everything they have done for me and letting me fill in for Dusty Klatt while he was injured. I only had a six-race deal with them, so after San Diego I’ll be on my own again, but with the help of Cernic’s, they will be taking my bike to all the races so I don’t have to drive. But I just wanted to thank everyone over there: Billy, Derek, Glenn, Josh, the truck driver Kelly, and Jeff Cernic. Everyone is really cool there, so I have to give it up to all those guys and all of their sponsors.
Kyle Mace #68

Kyle Mace is thanking Cernic’s Kawasaki for all their help in 2008 photo: Steve Cox

Okay, be sure to tune in to CBS on Sunday, February 10, at Noon EST for the Monster Energy Supercross from San Diego, CA. And if you can listen to the live coverage on www.supercrossonline.com beginning at 7 p.m. California time, tomorrow night.

As Weege was rushing out the door to catch a plane, I tried to remind him that Chad Reed had a chance to make some real history this weekend. The runaway Monster Energy AMA Supercross points leader is one win away from becoming the first rider to sweep all five California rounds in a single season. I went into it a little further in yesterday’s Bench Racing Ammo but the San Manuel/Fusion Energy Yamaha rider has swept the Anaheim races, plus the muddy San Francisco race, which means he only needs to add San Diego this weekend to do something that James Stewart didn’t do last year, and Ricky Carmichael and Jeremy McGrath couldn’t do going back to 2001, when they first started having three Anaheims. Reed could become the “King of California!”

And that to another letter, this one from someone named Stephen:

“’2005: Windham took the opener in the mud, then Carmichael swept the rest of the California races…’ Reed block passed RC on the last lap in San Diego in 2005.”

You’re right, Stephen,my bad!

Chad Reed could go undefeated in California for SX ‘08. photo: Simon Cudby

Anaheim 3 was brutal on some of the guys. Britney Spears probably had a better weekend than Team Yamaha, which lost Broc Hepler to a broken thumb in practice, then watched as Grant Langston had to pull out due to blurred vision. That led to—you guessed it—another letter, and this one could be helpful. It’s from longtime contributing photographer Andy Trecki:

“I just got done reading the Langston update and wanted to chime in because I was just diagnosed with the condition, Central Serous Retinopathy, this past Wednesday and will bet that is what Grant probably has. Same symptoms happened to me this past week where my vision got weird for a couple days and then I decided I should go get it checked out. My doctor didn’t mention anything about head trauma but did say that CSR can be caused by stress. Being that I haven’t taken a blow to the head in a long time I know stress is the reason in my case. Like Ping, and my doctor mentioned, laser surgery is the only way to help get rid of the liquid built up behind the retina. The only other thing to do is wait it out, which can take up to six months for normal vision to come back. I go back in six weeks to have my eye dilated and tested again. Until then, I will be living in a blurry world, which makes driving, watching or reading anything, a little difficult. Kind of like my photos in the past couple years! Not this year though. I’m feeling good about this year’s outdoor nationals.”

Two of these three factory bikes did not make it to the night show. photo: Simon Cudby

It wasn’t all bad for Yamaha at A3. Weege pointed out that Yamaha’s Josh Hill was struggling big-time at Anaheim 3, but it turns out he had a sore throat and a head cold. “In fact, it didn’t even sound like the same guy when we interviewed him on Saturday,” explained the co-host of the Supercross Live! webcast. Josh had taken the week off from riding and was able to grind out a 12th-place finish.

Ryno told me that this week this Hill was feeling much better, and he expects #40 to get back up there somewhat. “He needs to get it in his head that he belongs up there,” offered Hughes.

And of course Jason Lawrence won his second AMA supercross in a row in the Lites class, which landed him on the cover of Cycle News for the first time. CN is still the weekly bible of American motocross, and getting a shot on their cover is a rite of passage in our sport. Lawrence is now tied with my big brother Tim, legendary 1988 Blackwater 100 winner, with one Cycle News cover apiece.

Jason Lawrence on the cover of our Rolling Stone!

Honda Red Bull Racing lost Ivan Tedesco in practice too. He did not break his wrist, but he did break three bones in his hand. According to Fox Racing’s Scott Taylor, he had surgery yesterday and could be out for at least two months. He’s got two screws and one pin,

Scott also told us that Ricky Carmichael is racing tonight, though not on a motorcycle. He’s got his car out at New Smyrna Speedway, right below Daytona. Actually, he will actually race nine out of the next ten nights down in Florida! It’s called the World Series of Asphalt, and if you’re in the neighborhood and want to see Ricky’s new ride, here’s where to get the info: www.newsmyrnaspeedway.org.

David Vuillemin has a future as a journalist, online and otherwise. Sure, he’s a Racer X columnist and all, but this week he broke the story on his personal website that Benjamin Coisy, the very fast Frenchman who opened some eyes at the Paris-Bercy Supercross, was getting a tryout at the Honda Supercross track. How did DV12 know? Either because he speaks French (albeit with a Corona accent now) or because the Honda track is right below the Suzuki track! That made filming convenient, which someone from DV12 did, then posted it on www.dv12.com!

Who will ride Ben’s bike? photo: Simon Cudby

We had heard that Honda Red Bull Racing was contemplating having someone ride the #101 Honda CRF250R, and Coisy was one of the names being bounced around. He is a multi-time French National SX Champion, but he does appear more suited for a 450—that’s why he didn’t try out as well as Branden Jesseman did for the open Monster Energy/Pro Circuit ride last month.

So that leads to this question: With Tedesco out too, would Honda consider him for a 450 slot, and still maybe bring in someone else for Townley’s ride in the east? Stay tuned…to DV12.com!

One more thing: As of noon today, Coisy had not pre-entered any Monster Energy AMA Supercross races, nor has he applied for an AMA Pro license. He does have an FIM license, of course, which will make getting an AMA one easy, if he in fact needs one by, say, next week.

By now it’s obvious to all that Townley was more injured than everyone thought when he cracked his heel. He should still be ready for outdoors, where I have him penciled in as an early title favorite, above Mike Alessi, old Tim Ferry, Honda riders Tedesco (if he’s heeled), Davi Millsaps and Andrew Short, and we will have to wait and see what happens with Langston’s vision. Otherwise, he’s still my favorite.

Wonder what Windham is doing this summer? photo: Simon Cudby

If I were Torco Racing Fuels Honda—or even TEAM Honda—I would be talking to Windham about riding the whole outdoor series after all.

Tedesco had his operation at UPMC in Pittsburgh, which is also where Broc Hepler got his thumb operated on. That speaks volumes for one of the world’s most renowned hospitals—the doctors there “get” motocross and help the riders anyway they can. By now, they probably know all about the Racer X Cover Curse too.

To read more about what happened at Anaheim 3, check out Steve Matthes’ Observations and also don’t miss his podcast featuring DV12.

Check out this week's track.

AMA Racing has announced its schedule for the 2008 AMA Supermoto Championship. The big news here is that two events coincide with ESPN events. Th