Welcome to the Shift Number Cruncher. I wanted to throw a different spin on the Number Cruncher this time around. Round five of the 2008 AMA Toyota Motocross Championships is heading our way at Thunder Valley, in Lakewood, Colorado. I recall the 2007 event being some what of a numbers debacle. James Stewart was riding injured and took the overall win with a 4-2 moto tally. It was the first and only time that Stewart has won an overall without winning a moto. My eye brows are still raised as I look at the inconsistency of the rest of the top ten in that class from last year. This week, we’re going to crunch some numbers on the top 10 finishers in the Motocross class as we head towards the first night-time outdoor national since 1973.

10th - Grant Langston

Grant Langston struggled to painful 10-9 moto tally to come in tenth overall. The championship was probably the last thing on his mind as he left Colorado and headed towards Washougal. My, how things changed that next weekend. The 2007 AMA Outdoor national champion has been sorely missed. May the Zulu Warrior return soon.

9th - Kevin Windham

Again, Kevin Windham’s performance matched Langston’s in the stinky category. KW went 5-11, which was ironic in the fact that his amateur number was always 511, but unfortunate in the fact that had he finished in the top five both motos he may have had a better shot at what would have been his only title in the premier class.

8th - Gavin Gracyk

One year ago, Gavin Gracyk was driving to the races as a pure privateer. His 6-10 moto scores were good enough to beat two racers making hundreds of thousands more than him. His efforts rewarded him with arguably the most sought after ride in the pro pits. Here’s to hoping Gavin can heal up enough to let his true potential shine.

7th - Josh Summey

It’s also Ironic that these two finish 7th and 8th, then end up in the Joe Gibbs/Toyota/Spike Energy Hauler shoulder to shoulder. Like Gavin, it has been a tumultuous season thus far. I think Josh Summey has some good motos sitting in the tank for the rest of the summer.

6th - David Vuillemin

What happened? It appeared that “Le Cobra” was going to close out his impressive career producing podiums on a factory team. It’s too bad he didn’t have better luck with Makita Suzuki and we didn’t get to see David Vuillemin leave on top.

5th - Tim Ferry

11-1 moto finishes have been the story of Red Dog’s career. He was so close to the title last year, but painful first moto bad starts were his demise.

4th - Davi Millsaps

The 2007 Lakewood National should have been the first outdoor win of his career. He had a great quote from “The Formula” when he said, “It sure was cool to pass Bubba. I mean, he was only at 60 percent or so, but passing Bubba is passing Bubba.” Unfortunately passing Bubba took too much wind out of Davi Millsaps's sails as he was barely able to keep his tongue out of the spokes in moto two. 1-8 doesn’t get it done.

3rd - Andrew Short

Andrew Short tried his best to win in front of his hometown crowd. His 2-4 moto scores put him in a three way tie for the win, but his 4th place in moto two left him a little, ahem, short of victory. Andrew needs to find some more speed in 2008.

2nd - Mike Alessi

Mike Alessi was so close to victory he could taste it. His 3-3 moto scores of 2007 have become 2-2's in 2008. If James stumbles, #800 is ready to strike – like lightning.

1st - James Stewart

Last year James Stewart limped to the starting line and had to be carried off his bike after the motos. He had gotten knocked out in practice at Unadilla for the second consecutive year, and the championship was slipping out of his clutches. But Stewart is tough. Really tough. He swallowed his pride and gutted out 4-2 moto scores for the win. Let’s just say he is riding into this weekend with a little more juice than he had last year.

Is it too early to start saying perfect season? I don’t think so.

Thanks for reading. We’ll be back with a number that arises from the results of this weekend’s national.