October 05, 2006

Chris Martin

Rather than the usual stream of consciousness weekend wrap/rambling, TMCC will instead salute the season with our semi-annual Thursday Morning Crew Chief Awards -- the Teeyemcicies… or something like that.

With all the credibility of the Golden Globes (do some research people), let me assure you the prestige rating is off the charts on these babies. So as soon as I get this bowtie put on over my tee, we’ll get this show underway.

Rider of the Year

Ben Spies – 2006 AMA Superbike Champion

Ben Spies’ ascension was considered a virtual lock by those in the know, but the speed with which it occurred was simply shocking. While everyone felt that he would eventually become the man, virtually no one, Ben Spies included, expected it would happen in 2006. Even looking to 2007 seemed a bit presumptuous.

After all, as the common man’s poet laureate, Ric Flair, has said on many occasions, in order to ‘be the man, you gotta beat the man.’ And the man standing in Spies’ way, casting a shadow over the AMA Superbike series for the better part of the past decade with the magnitude of a total solar eclipse, was one Mat Mladin.

Armed with equal machinery, lacking in comparative experience, and at a tremendous psychological disadvantage, you would have been hard pressed to find many pundits that foresaw Spies toppling Mladin in a straight fight in 2006.

And yet, that’s exactly what he did, and in fairly convincing fashion. The transition from a Mladin-dominated to a Spies-dominated AMA Superbike world took place somewhere between that ‘you’ve still got a lot to learn, kid’ near-miss at Daytona and Spies’ Barber Motorsports Park double that opened up the floodgates.

I guarantee you that if Mladin had won the ’06 championship and Spies had finished runner-up with four or five ‘no excuses’ wins over the Australian legend, the 22-year-old Texan would have been ecstatic with the progress he made following his ’05 rookie campaign, in which he finished second in the points race but only won once, when Mladin was hindered by a mechanical problem.

But instead Spies shot right past his season’s goal and found himself accomplishing career-level aspirations in just his second year in the premier class.

A true student of the game, Spies has put to good use his vast natural talents while also displaying the mental strength to not only survive the psychological warfare that comes along with challenging Mladin, but to thrive while under the assault.

You could make a very strong argument that Spies’ title run was considerably more impressive than that of the only other rider to have beaten Mladin in the last eight years, Nicky Hayden, who caught a 750cc-equipped Mladin in a down year.

And staying true to his long-stated claim that he was in no hurry to bolt from the American scene, Spies has re-upped for at least two more years in the AMA Superbike Championship, setting the stage for a most exciting era (more on that later).

Honorable Mention:

Jamie Hacking – 2006 AMA Supersport and Superstock Champion

It took a landscape-altering season from Spies in the premier class to edge Jamie Hacking for the 2006 ROTY ‘Teeyemciciey’. Completing his career-rebirth that really started with his ’03 AMA Supersport title, Jamie Hacking put together a near perfect season in 2006.

Formally an unpredictable racer of the highest order, Hacking had a heart-to-heart with wife Rachel prior to the 2003 season that completely changed his approach to the sport.

Few riders in their 30s can transform into completely different riders, but Hacking successfully pulled it off, shifting from perhaps the paddock’s extreme example of win-or-bin to its current model of consistency.

While injuries resulting from training and testing mishaps masked his stellar form in ’04 and ’05, Hacking cleaned up in 2006, flat-out destroying the competition in both Pro Honda Oils Supersport and Repsol Superstock.

Just consider the numbers: Thirteen wins and six runner-ups in 21 races, never finishing outside the top two until both title races were already decided, with a combined 122-point advantage over his nearest ‘challengers.’

TMCC has teased Hacking’s 2006 campaign as one of the single greatest support class seasons in AMA history a number of times in this space. I even had you submit alternative entries. I heard some strong cases but I’m still not convinced anyone has ever done it better.

And don’t forget, this one-sided domination took place while pit up against the likes of Aaron Yates, Eric Bostrom, Josh Hayes, Roger Hayden, Jason DiSalvo, Aaron Gobert, Geoff May, etc. This wasn’t a blowout over the Green Bay Packers (or Titans or Browns), this was more like crushing the Seattle Seahawks in primetime.

So what’s next for Hacking who has absolutely nothing left to prove on the undercard? Why, a much-deserved second shot at the Superbike class, although he had to make the difficult decision to leave Yamaha and sign up at Kawasaki in order to get it.

Joshua Kurt Hayes – AMA Formula Xtreme Champion

Always just on the outskirts of the spotlight, Josh Hayes has forever been cast in the role of the persistent underdog -- the everyman hero. But in ’06, Hayes proved himself a worthy leading man and one of the series’ very best riders, no qualifier needed.

Even after getting beat by Hayes in the FX season finale, rival Eric Bostrom heaped on the praise, remarking how refreshing it was to see Hayes -- who has always had the talent and the attitude to do big things if only he could catch a break -- succeed.

In reality, it was probably the grit and perspective Hayes had gained from his slow (and sometimes meandering) climb up through the ranks that allowed him to accomplish what appeared to be ‘Mission Impossible’ prior to the season.

With American Honda pulling out of the Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme championship, Yamaha was widely expected to take over as the new class owners, coming into the category all guns blazing with Bostrom and DiSalvo at the helm of their hot new R6.

The Erion guard Honda left in the class figured to be nothing more than a speed bump for the mighty blue team, but the scrappy Hayes and co. put up a good fight early on and then turned the tables with a late-season show of strength of their own.

Impressive stuff.

Mat Mladin – 2006 AMA Superbike Runner Up

Obviously, anything less than the title is a disappointment for the six-time champ, but Mladin did manage to score eight Superbike wins and show a remarkably healthy attitude even after his racing reality had been turned on its head. He’s far from finished folks.

Breakthrough Rider of the Year

Check Back Next Year

I thought long and hard about this category and ultimately decided to sadly pass in ’06. In all actuality, Spies is probably the most deserving, but he’s already been named ROTY.

We saw numerous flashes of brilliance from the next generation of stars (Geoff May, Danny Eslick, Josh Herrin, Michael Beck, Ryan Andrews, Matt Lynn, Jacob Holden, etc.) but not quite enough of that brilliance consistently to tab a rider BROTY.

May, who finished the season as runner-up in Supersport and fourth in Superstock, was closest to taking the award, but I see his real breakthrough coming in ’07 in the form of race wins and a serious title challenge. So we’re just going to sit on this award for now (watch on ebay later in the week).

Race of the Year

Daytona Superbike Final

The Daytona opener was an epic way to get the 2006 season underway. In a prototypical student vs. master showdown, Mladin took a cagey ‘Top Gun’ style last-lap win over Spies in a strategic masterpiece. It was also a deceptive start considering what was about to take place in the class.

Honorable Mention:

Both Miller Motorsports Park Superbike races

For the simple fact that they reminded us that multiple riders and brands can run up front (and win) in AMA Superbike.

Assortment of FX races

Say what you will, but the FX class has consistently provided the best racing in the series over the past few years. And it meant that much more in ’06 as those tight races up front actually featured more than one brand.

Bike of the Year

Suzuki GSX-R1000

There is no denying it.

Since 1000cc fours were allowed into the Superbike class in 2003, the GSX-R1000 has won every single AMA Superbike title. Sure, it helps to have the likes of Mladin and Spies at the controls (remind me again why no other manufacturer made a serious attempt at poaching either one of them when they had the chance?), but the GSX-R platform deserves its share of the credit as well.

In 2006 the GSX-R1000 won 18 of 19 AMA Superbike races, including an astonishing 16 1-2s.

2007 will bring about an updated GSX-R1000. Will that provide the best of the rest with an opportunity to make up ground or will it further the big Suzuki’s dominance? That’s a question for next year. The answer to what this year’s standout racebike was wasn’t exactly a brainbuster.

Honorable Mention:

Yamaha’s R-bikes

The Yamaha R1 and R6 combined to claim the Superstock and Supersport titles and came within just a handful of points of taking the FX championship as well. Now it’s time to prove its worthiness on the big stage.

Best New Racetrack

Miller Motorsports Park

Okay, so there was only one new racetrack, but if TMCC didn’t fell like MMP didn’t deserve some props, the category wouldn’t exist.

The riders loved the layout and appreciated the generally high safety standards. The mountainside locale didn’t make for bad television either.

MMP represents an overall trend towards better and safer racetrack that the series has been transitioning to over the past 10-15 years. Sure, there is still a ways to go on that front and the racers occasionally grow frustrated with what can seem like a lack of progress at times, but if you step back and compare the tracks we’re traveling to now with where things stood several years ago, the upgrade is quite stark.

The addition of Barber, VIR, and MMP, while simultaneously dropping the bullrings that were so present on the calendar a handful of years ago has been a major positive for the sport.

That’s not a suggestion that we should be satisfied, but rather a source of motivation knowing that improvement and change are in fact possible.

Top Rivalry

Spies/Mladin

The rivalry between Superbike’s top dogs is fascinating for a number of reasons. First you have the whole teammates thing, as well as the old guard vs. the new breed aspect. But the reason it’s so interesting is the fact that we only occasionally get a glimpse of its true nature.

Spies routinely speaks extremely highly of Mladin -- one of his original racing heroes and the man Spies and his crew patterned his racing approach after. Mladin has been highly complimentary in return, openly acknowledging Spies’ ability and the fact that he’s been pushed to even higher standards due to his young teammates’ ascension.

But just under the surface, it’s not always so chummy. You’ll get a comment from an angry crew member here, an eye-raising comment from Ben’s mother/manager Mary directed towards Mat in a local newspaper there, and then a return of the favor from Mat in another newspaper piece to round things out.

But never has the rivalry’s intensity fully been on display. Yet another reason ’07 should be something special (again, more on that later).

Honorable Mention: 

Keep an Eye on Hayden and Hacking vs. Former Teams in '07

Best New Technology

Traction Control

Dunlop’s ‘New Technology’ tires would seem a natural here, but it seems Dunlop has decided they can’t call them ‘New Technology’ forever, as they’ve started to refer to them as ‘N-Technology’ tires. I guess that takes them out of the running.

Call TMCC a blasphemer if you wish, but traction control gets the nod here.

Oh, I fully understand the failure of race fans to readily embrace the technology. My original racing hero was Kenny Roberts. Later I rooted for Kevin Schwantz, and was just as fascinated as anyone else when Aaron Yates introduced the radically sideways riding style (he’s now long since abandoned) more than a decade ago. See a trend here?

Effective traction control is at odds with the style of riding that helped draw me to the sport in the first place, but, as I went into some depth about last time in this very space, that genie is out of the bottle. There’s no going back. Now it only makes sense to accept the shift and bask in its potential positives.

Okay, so the single-rider spectacle is decreased. It’s time to move on. The multi-rider spectacle stands to improve markedly, however, as more riders and machinery prove capable of approaching their limits on a consistent basis.

And as outstanding as the AMA Superbike series is in a great many ways, its been seriously lacking in terms of multi-rider, multi-brand dogfights for the checkered flag in recent years. TC might just prove to be the cure.

While there are long-term fears that all the fancy-schmancy electronics might result in a Formula 1-style reality where the rider makes little difference, that’s still a long, long ways off in TMCC’s eyes. We’ll worry about that later.
 
Best News for Racing Websites

Slow Moving Silly Season

Even with the season wrapped up, the hits shouldn’t take too much of a, uh, hit. Where is Aaron Yates going? Neil Hodgson? Ben Bostrom? Is Yamaha racing Superbike?

You’ll just have to keep checking your favorite sites to find out.

Best Grand Prix

Pontiac

You thought I was going with the USGP here, right? Yeah, it was great to see Nicky win in front of the home crowd again, but I have to give it up to my trusty Pontiac Grand Prix that is now pushing the 200k mile mark as it has jumped from racetrack to racetrack without ever leaving me stranded.

But now it’s time to move on. Farewell old friend. Maybe.

Best News, Misc. Category

Chicago Bears: 4-0

You might not care, but TMCC and Rog do, so it gets a mention.

Best Racetrack-Adjacent Grub

Golden Rule, Birmingham, AL

As much for the ambiance as anything. For King of the Hill fans: think Sugarfoot’s only slightly more cartoonish.

Best Season… Ever?

2007- The Rematch

Okay, so we don’t know how 2007 is going to play out, but TMCC has very high hopes already. The Spies/Mladin showdown in ’06 never really took place. Mladin was expected to walk away again and Spies’ coup took place, seemingly overnight. Spies took a big lead before Mladin could react and spent the latter part of the year playing catch-up while Spies sat on his advantage.

The real duel will take place next season. Both men will be fully prepared for the other’s all-out assault and both expect to come out on top in the end. Following the final race of the season, Mladin and Spies were already talking in-depth about the highly anticipated rematch.

Plus, throw in a full offseason of traction control testing, and maybe, just maybe, we’ll be treated to more than a two-man fight.