What Really Happened: Monster Energy Cup

What really happened at the Monster Energy Cup? We saw a successful new event, but one not immune from needing a few tweeks.

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Ryan Villopoto gets his million-dollar payday Saturday night. (Photo: CoxMX.com)

Inaugural events are unique because it’s one thing to have an idea, or even to announce the idea and plan an event, but it’s not until the actual running of the event that you get a real understanding of the potential for success at the event, and what tweaks will be necessary in the future.

This applies not only to the event as a whole, but to the racers as well, who will learn from the event what is the most important and work on these things prior to next year’s race.

The truth is that the U.S. Open of Supercross, which ran from 1998 until 2009, had lost its luster. There were a lot of things about it that started out very promising in the early days, with an “Open” class (although it was invitation-only), an 80cc class, and, back in the two-stroke days, a four-stroke (Sound of Thunder) class. Eventually, though, the format changed, and the it turned into just another supercross, but in a different venue, for more money, and for no points. There was a Lites class and a big-bike class, etc.

I don’t know if the crowds began to dwindle, causing the format changes, or vice-versa, but eventually there were a lot less people going to the event, and for 2010, the event was canceled.

The idea came up last year, but just not quite in time to get the event off the ground. It was pushed to 2011, and for much of this year, Feld Entertainment and Monster Energy have been hyping the event as much as possible.

There were a few things that the Monster Energy Cup got perfect.

First, if you’re going to give a million dollars to someone who wins all three main events, you have to make it difficult to do. In a supercross atmosphere, what this means is to make the track as easy as possible so that passing is difficult, even for the best racers.

Vaughn Gitten Jr. entertained fans in the pits... (Photo: CoxMX.com)

This was a success. The track was spectacular (with big jumps for the “wow” factor) while also being very easy for the top racers, making passing very difficult. This meant that in order to win a million bucks in one night, a guy didn’t just have to be the fastest guy on the track, he very likely needed three very good starts. Getting three great starts in one night is not something normally asked of any top racer.

Second, the overall venue layout: Outside of just the race track, the Monster Energy Cup including a huge Monster hospitality area in the middle of the portion of the track that ran outside the stadium, as well as another hospitality at the end of the stadium where the track went into the grandstands. The pits were smartly laid out so that fans could easily find their favorite teams and racers, and the addition of the drifting pad (where Formula Drift driver Vaughn Gittin Jr. took people for sideways rides in his Monster Energy Ford Mustang) helped to keep people entertained throughout the day, and made the event feel like something special, instead of “just another supercross.”

And third, there was a lot of action inside the stadium once the show started. One thing the supercross series lacks today is, ironically, racing. With only two heats, two LCQs, and two main events, standard supercross events only have six races in a night. The Monster Energy Cup had two heats, two semis, an LCQ, and three main events just for the main class. That by itself is more racing than at standard supercrosses! Then, add in the SuperMini motos and the Amateur All Star races, and there were 12 races at the Monster Energy Cup. That’s double the normal number!

On top of that, this doesn’t even include the Best Trick contest!

Feld's Todd Jendro was frantic on the radio during the freestyle event, as the Monster Energy Cup was behind schedule. (Photo: CoxMX.com)

Now, at one point during the night, I saw Feld Motorsports’ Todd Jendro pacing during the freestyle event because the event was running behind schedule – a definite concern when you’re buying live-TV time, like Feld did for the Monster Energy Cup. So, it’s probable that Feld will address this next year somehow.

Unfortunately for Feld – the company that put up the million bucks for winning all three main events at the Monster Energy Cup – what seemed unlikely due to the easy track, short start straight, and very tricky, slick conditions still ended up happening. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto went out and won all three main events after nearly grabbing three holeshots (the first two, he got the holeshot, and the third one, he was beaten to the first turn only by Mike Alessi). He really had nearly a perfect night and honestly looked heads and shoulders better than everyone else on the race track.

Sure, Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey is still getting acquainted with his new bike, and he looked really good considering. And sure, Chad Reed and James Stewart were both no-shows. This all played into it, too, but it’s not that Villopoto won, it’s how. He dominated. If he continues on this path, getting along this well with his 2012 Kawasaki KX450F, it might be a long 2012 for all of the aforementioned racers.

Ryan Dungey was impressive in his debut Red Bull KTM ride, but no one - not even him - was close to Ryan Villopoto Saturday night. (Photo: CoxMX.com)

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