30 http://www.racerxonline.com
A
few years ago, I wrote an on-
line column about the “chang-
ing of the guard” at the top of
our sport—a generational turn-
over where the top stars all seemed to be
reaching the end of their time up front. It
seemed like James Stewart, Chad Reed,
and Kevin Windham were all nearing the
point where it might be time to take their
bows. They had all enjoyed long and fruit-
ful careers, and besides, the Ryans—Vil-
lopoto and Dungey—had already usurpedthem at the very top of the fi nal rankings in
practically every championship.
While the article didn’t seem like any-
thing controversial, the blowback was im-
mediate and unexpected. No one wanted
to hear that the time for cheering on their
favorite riders might be running out. And
then Reed went out and started winning the
occasional race again, leading me to vow
never to count out the Australian battler
again. Still, I don’t think Chad ever got over
that, which is understandable—he’s one ofthe fi ercest competitors our sport has ever
seen, with rabid, global fans to match.
Not long afterward, things started hap-
pening that would shake up the hierarchy of
the sport, especially in Monster Energy AMA
Supercross. Windham, a pro contender
since practically the moment he turned 16
in the mid-nineties, pulled the plug on his
career, deciding literally between practices
at the second Anaheim SX of 2013 that he’d
had enough. He retired later that night dur-
ing opening ceremonies.
Stewart’s once-dominant career took
a bizarre and unexpected turn when he
tested positive for a banned substance
(Adderall) at the ’14 Seattle SX, leadingto a 16-month suspension; he still hasn’t
quite found his way back to the racetrack.
Once (and rightly) dubbed the fastest man
on the planet, he’s become the biggest
mystery in motorsports, living in quiet ex-
ile in central Florida. His FIM suspension
long over, James has been waiting for the
right opportunity to return at full speed,
even as the months and years go by.
Once prolifi c on social media, he seem-
ingly vanished from that realm the night
the 2017 season started without him.Chad Reed is still around, of course, and
he posted some decent rides with his old
friends at Yamaha during this year’s SX tour,
fi nishing ninth overall despite never looking
his normal comfortable (and cutthroat) self.
His Yamaha deal may or may not extend into
2018, but I’m never going to make the mis-
take of counting him out again until he tells
us to. In the meantime, I expect him to add to
his record for all-time supercross podiums.
If it feels like our sport has reached
another moment of generational change,
it has—but not because of these guys.
The riders who were actually younger
than K-Dub, Reedy, and Bubba—the ones
who took over for them—have already de-
parted the paddock. Villopoto quit SX fol-
lowing a fourth straight title in 2014, and
despite a brief misadventure in Europe the
following spring, he’s happy and healthy
as a legend who got out early, healthy, and
wealthy. Same goes for his rival Dungey,
who in May took three straight SX titles
and a bunch of MX titles to the bank as an
early retirement gift to himself.
And just as we were going to press,
Trey Canard—just a pup in 2008 and ’09
when Reed and Stewart were battling for
the AMA Supercross Championships—
mercifully pulled the plug on his own suc-
cessful but injury-plagued career. Canard
didn’t get the healthy years that the Ryans
did, but he did leave a legacy of integ-
rity, determination, and pure talent—not to
mention an army of faithful fans.
Ours is a tough sport that often eats its
young and wants to take on (and take out)
the old. When our heroes feel like they’re
starting to get old or slow down, the last
thing they should do is look back, because
the pack is coming after them. The guard
will always change. That’s why we should
enjoy watching them while we can, be-
cause nothing lasts forever.
Well, except maybe Chad Reed.REASON FOR BEING
BY DAVEY COOMBSOurs is a tough
sport that often
eats its young
and wants to
take on (and take
out) the old.
SHEPHERD