Off Road Accessory Review

16 year old Ken Roczen is a KTM factory 250 rider in the AMA Supercross Lites. Two weeks ago Roczen got an opportunity to race in the 450 class on the KTM factory 350SX. The outing was very successful. The German rider finished 7th on his first ride in the 450 class.

Roczen was assigned the duty of running a KTM experiment. Roczen usually has his motocross boots connected to a KTM 250SX in the 250 class. Roczen was asked to compare his ride on the 250 to the 350 in race conditions. Mike Alessi, and Andrew Short compete in the 450 class every week for KTM. These 2 riders have had to adapt their riding style to the under powered 350SX. Although no major horsepower complaints by the 2 riders have been highlighted, KTM’s Roger DeCoster wanted to see what Roczen would say about horsepower when going form the 250 to the 350.

After finishing 7th and beating Mike Alessi, I believe the German rider is ok with the horsepower. The magic of Roger DeCoster may bring KTM’s preformance to life in before the 2011 motocross season wraps up.

The NASCAR season is in full swing at the Daytona International Speedway. The Bud Shootout took place on Saturday Night and Pole Qualifying was Sunday afternoon. One of the biggest stories of the weekend has been speeds over 200 miles per hour in race conditions when cars hook up in two car trains!

The Bud Shootout gave the cars and drivers optimal conditions for top speeds. A cool track allowed some of the two car trains to reach 206 miles per hour during the race. Eventual winner Kurt Busch was being pushed by Jamie McMurray for many laps. Busch past leader Ryan Newman coming to the checkered flag. Denny Hamlin was DQed for trying to pass Newman below the yellow line. The race was filled with 2 car drafts that changed the way drivers run at Daytona.

Dale Earnhardt Jr took the pole on Sunday of the Daytona 500. The pole speed was just over 186 MPH. The pole speed is 20 MPH less than when 2 cars run together. Jeff Gordon is on the outside front row. All the remaining positions will be decided Thursday during the Gatorade Duels.

NASCAR is looking into rule changes to reduce the speeds and reduce the length of time in which 2 cars can stay hooked up in a train draft. NASCAR is looking to reduce engine cooling which would cause the second car in the 2 car train to over heat sooner. These changes would limit the amount of time one car could push another before over heating became and issue.

Past Motocross Champion Ricky Carmicheal has already had a top 5 this week by finishing 4th in the ARCA race on Saturday. No motocross boots in sight for Carmicheal but a strong start for his 2011 season.

Travis Pastrana’s successful debut in a K&N Pro Series car has excited most Pastrana fans. However, it will be a while before we see Pastrana in a stock car again. Although Pastrana will run some K&N Pro Series West races this spring, he will not run the Nationwide Series until July of 2011.

Pastrana has many commitments this year including the X Games, Nitro Circus, and Rally. Pastrana will wait to run his 7 Nationwide races for Pastrana/Waltrip Racing in the second half of the NASCAR season. The action sports superstar will race with the Nationwide Series this summer the same weekend as the X Games. Pastrana will strap on his motocross boots on July 28 and 29 to compete in X Games best trick and other 2 wheel events, then fly to Indianapolis to qualify and race in the Nationwide Series event on the 30th, then fly back to California on July 31 to participate in X Games Rally events.

This schedule presents a number of challenges. First of all, with the freestyle motocross events occurring on July 28 & 29, if Pastrana is injured, it may bring an end to all the remaining weekend plans. Travel from LA to Indiana will also be challenging by toying with the star’s ability to focus after long plane rides.

On the other hand, this could be a historic weekend for Pastrana. He could capture multiple X Games medals, and win a NASCAR race in the same weekend. A feat that would not likely be repeated by anyone else but Pastrana. Stay tuned as Pastrana transitions from action sports hero to legitimate NASCAR contender. Look out Ricky Carmichael!

Kevin Swindell solidified his place in motorsports early this month by achieving 2 unthinkable feats in the same night. Feat #1. He became the first driver in the 25 year history of the Chili Bowl event to win the race two years in a row. There have been a few multiple winners, but no one has won back to back. Feat #2. Swindell passed one of the greatest open wheel drivers on the planet on the last lap to win. Kevin Swindell passed his father Sammy to win the 25th Chili Bowl.

What happens now? Swindell like many other winners of the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals will have opportunities open up to him that were not there before. Swindell has already been racing stock cars in the K&N Pro Series East, and ARCA. At age 17 Swindell had already hooked up with Ray Evernham for a driver development program into Sprint Cup. Evernham Motorsports was sold to George Gillette and Swindell was not part of the sale. In 2011 Swindell will run more ARCA, K&N, and Nationwide races for various teams. As of now, there is no clear path.

After the win at Tulsa, some IRL officials talked about trying to get Swindell in an Indy Lites ride. Kevin Swindell has experience on pavement from karting that could fit well in this series. The IRL needs more names like Swindell in their series to keep its credibility in tact. What’s next for Swindell? Truth is, he could do anything he wants. Even if there are no Sprint Cup owners promising contracts now who cares? He is 21 years old and has the natural talent that so many wish they had. Swindell can drive anything and has a fan following to go with it. Enjoy the ride Mr. Swindell.

Checkout the updated probikehelmets.com site for all your dirt bike gear needs.

Travis Pastrana will make his NASCAR debut in less than 72 hours from now in the Toyota Allstar Challenge in Irwindale. Pastrana will be driving the car that won the K&N Pro Series Championship in 2009 and 2010 with Ryan Truex. So why would NASCAR fans bash Pastrana before he has even taken to the track?

Believe it or not, some NASCAR fans have never heard of Travis Pastrana! After reading many NASCAR blogs on the Pastrana topic, its obvious they don’t know. Its hard to imagine that anyone who enjoys motorsports would not know of Travis Pastrana. NASCAR fans have asked in a blog response “who is this Pastrana guy, and where did he come from?” Really? Another blog quote “how does flipping a bike upside down relate to driving a stock car?”

If you don’t know by now Pastrana has spent a lot of time driving rally cars. He’s actually a multiple time champion in rally. Before a NASCAR fan tells me that rally cars don’t race side-by-side so rally doesn’t prepare a driver for NASCAR, ya we know. All winning rally drivers have excellent feel for a car, and can give good feedback on what the vehicle needs to improve. Besides, how much worse than Danica could Travis be?

For all of us that want to see Travis Pastrana in a stock car find him this weekend. Friday night January 28 Pastrana will lose the motocross boots in order to attempt to qualify his number 99  Boost Mobile Toyota  for the 225 lap main event on Saturday the 29th in Irwindale California. Pastrana wont run a stock car again until this summer when he attempts to compete in the X Games in Cailfornia and race a stock in Indiana in the same weekend . Catch him while you can!

There have been some great racing in the month of January and we are not done yet. 3 more major events will take place this weekend.

The Toyota AllStar Showdown will begin Friday January 28 with qualifying and late model racing. The main event of the weekend will be on the 29th live on Speed. This short track showdown has really become the Daytona 500 for short track racing. This year Toyota Speedway will host both non-US based champions in NASCAR. German Quiroga, NASCAR Mexico Champion and D.J Kennigton, Canadian Tire Series Champion are locked into the 225 lap main, along with K&N Pro Series Champions and race winners from 2010. Freestyle motocross star Travis Pastrana will also try to race his way into the main event. 49 drivers have pre-entered the event but only 40 will compete in the main event.

January 29th is also the start of the Daytona 24. This event brings names from all over the world and from many different disciplines of racing. The Grand Am regulars will be joined by drivers from NASCAR, Indy Car, ALMS, and former Formula One drivers. This exciting event has become a sprint race rather than an endurance race over the last 5 years. Look for the best road racers in the world to put on a great show for the full 24 hours.

To cap off an already busy weekend in motorsports the AMA Supercross Series will be in Oakland California for its fourth round. So far the season has been everything it was said to be. Ryan Villopoto, James Stewart, Ryan Dungey, and Trey Canard have had the best performances so far. Points leader Villopoto, will look for win number 3 on the season while Chad Reed and Dungey will look for a jump start to their season. The dirt bike gear, and fire suits will get a work out this weekend. Look for Speed Channel to be the center of all the motorsports action this coming weekend.

Fans and drivers of every racing division have a connection with Dale Earnhardt. After the death of the NASCAR icon, safety innovation in motorsports became a top priority. The industry was shocked by the loss of a man we thought would never die.

Dale Earnhardt Sr. is best know for his 7 Championships in NASCAR. He and Richard Petty are tied for the most NASCAR Championships in the sport’s history. Earnhardt was also known for being the common man’s racer. He was a high school dropout who became the most recognizable character in motorsports. His abilities in business and marketing rivaled those of college educated professionals. Most of us remember him for his grit and determination through his career. Earnhardt did what he had to do to be successful in NASCAR. Whether he had to crash someone to win the race, or plain out drive them, Dale would do it. There are so many great races that he can be remembered for like  Bristol, Daytona, Talladega, and Sears Point to name a few.

Above all, followers of Earnhardt’s career know that this man was the toughest most determined human behind the wheel of a race car. He seemed invincible, immortal, and unique. When the motorsports public learned that the immortal could die in a racing accident, the industry woke up. Today race drivers are protected by head and neck restraints, carbon fiber shelled seats, and impact absorbing material built into the race cars and into the tracks. Drivers now walk away from accidents that would have killed a driver before the death of Earnhardt. Every driver that walks away from a terrible crash today knows that they owe their life to the awakening caused by that terrible day in 2001.

Safety gear and dirt bike gear has improved greatly in the last 10 years. Let us remember how we got here this February 18th, on the 10 year anniversary of the death of a hero.

Extreme sports athlete, star of Nitro Circus, multiple time X Games Medalist, and 2 time Rally America Champion Travis Pastrana will make his NASCAR debut January 28 at the Irwindale Speedway in Southern California. Pastrana will try to race his way into the Toyota All Star Showdown in a Red Bull sponsored Toyota.

The All Star Showdown is the Super Bowl of short track racing in which regional racers try to make their mark on a live TV broadcast. Many drivers are already locked into the main event because of their performances during the regular season. Race winners and series champions will have a guaranteed spot while drivers like Pastrana will have to race their way in through qualifying, heat races, and the last chance qualifier.

This event has been one of the most exciting race of the year due to the large audience for this regional event. Racers in NASCAR regional series rarely have an oppurtunity to be the main attraction for a televised event. Great racing and amazing finishes are common in this race due to the high stakes for these “semi-pro,” racers.

Travis Pastrana will unveil his new ride for the 2011 NASCAR season at the Staples Center in Los Angeles this Friday from 6pm to 9pm. Pastrana will also have his dirt bike at the event. Pastrana’s progressive entry into the ranks of NASCAR will allow him to stay involved with the Nitro Circus and events like the X Games. Pastrana will always keep his motocross boots near by during his NASCAR transition. Good luck to Pastrana and everyone on his team.

The 2011 edition of the Dakar Rally played out its final stage today in Argentina. Although Carlos Sainz won his 7th stage of this years rally, it was Nasser Al-Attiyah who took the over all. Sainz won many stages and held the over all lead for most of the rally but it was Al-Attiyah who stayed within striking distance of lead Sainz throughout. When Sainz had a bad stage, Al-Attiyah was right there to take advantage. 

Marc Coma came into control of the rally early on. He was able to stabilize a comfortable lead with minimal mistakes. Cyril Despress stayed in touch but could never capitalize. Portuguese rider Helder Rodrigues takes third. The motocross boots can take a rest from the dunes of Argentina until next year.

Vladimir Chagin wins the trucks by 30 minutes. The Tsar of the Dakar had to battle to win this year’s rally but in the end Chagin asserts his talents again. Chagin wins his 7th Dakar trophy.

We will have a complete Dakar wrap up after all the finishers arrive at their destination. Completing the Dakar is a win in itself.