Congrats to Hayes.  He deserves it. 

I was so glad to see Cardenas win the DSB championship.  And Danny Eslick showed himself to be the dick that I thought he was.  Don't get me wrong . . . he's fun to watch.  But come on, dude.  There's rubbing and then there's punting people off the track and off their bike every lap.  I hope AMA tags him for taking out Herrin.   

yeah, that was not cool.

and congrats to josh, for sure.  for some reason i wanted tommy to get it tho.

and looks like hopkins may actually have a future on motorbikes again...

Yeah, I liked seeing the Hopper get a couple of podiums at the end. After a long ho-hum stint in 500GP/MotoGP and a forgetable WSBK journey it's nice to see him healed up and racing a bike anywhere.

All in all, I really enjoyed the AMA series this year.  Competitive racing and both "premiere" series went down to the last race. I was half rooting for Hayden but I am happy to see Hayes grab the title as well. 

DSB was a lot of fun to watch all season, Those guys were banging bars like it was motocross racing every lap of every race. Eslick is a complete a$$ on the track. Herrin got the short end on more than one occasion due to Eslick's lack of class over the course of the season.  Hopefully Josh toughens up a bit and comes back swinging next year.

There's an interesting debate (OK, argument) on the WERA forum about whether Eslick is a dangerous jerk, or a hardcore racer that makes DSB exciting.  Personally, I've seen strong arguments for both sides, and I'm not even sure what I think anymore.

Anyways, I was rooting for Cardenas all season, so it worked out OK for me

I vote for both!

Quote from: Cider on September 29, 2010, 06:48:12 AM
There's an interesting debate (OK, argument) on the WERA forum about whether Eslick is a dangerous jerk, or a hardcore racer that makes DSB exciting.  Personally, I've seen strong arguments for both sides, and I'm not even sure what I think anymore.

Anyways, I was rooting for Cardenas all season, so it worked out OK for me

He is a hardcore racer.  But he's a dangerous jerk.  They're not mutually exclusive.   The part that's a problem is that he is dangerous.  What if Herrin had been really hurt in that crash and not just slid out?  What if it had ended Herrin's career or even his life?  You think people would still be talking about how much fun it is to watch Eslick ride after he killed someone on the track? 

Look, occasional incidental contact happens on the racetrack, but that was just ridiculous.  And the pass that took Herrin out wasn't even close.  Not even close.  AMA needs to take some serious action before Eslick really hurts someone.

he's an asshat, always has been.  it's just sorta overlooked because he's a fast asshat.

Quote from: Spidey on September 29, 2010, 07:06:06 AM
He is a hardcore racer.  But he's a dangerous jerk.  They're not mutually exclusive.   The part that's a problem is that he is dangerous.  What if Herrin had been really hurt in that crash and not just slid out?  What if it had ended Herrin's career or even his life?  You think people would still be talking about how much fun it is to watch Eslick ride after he killed someone on the track?  

Look, occasional incidental contact happens on the racetrack, but that was just ridiculous.  And the pass that took Herrin out wasn't even close.  Not even close.  AMA needs to take some serious action before Eslick really hurts someone.

Ok, what about Herrin punting West @ VIR?  Or Rossi punting Stoner/Gibernau/his rival-du-jour?  Hard racing or reckless endangerment?

Personally, I thought Eslick crossed the line at Baber, but I recognize that the distinction between exciting bar-bashing and unsportsman-like conduct is a subjective one.

Quote from: Cider on September 29, 2010, 08:22:31 AM
Ok, what about Herrin punting West @ VIR?  Or Rossi punting Stoner/Gibernau/his rival-du-jour?  Hard racing or reckless endangerment?

I don't remember the Herrin/West one.  Was that the Turn 1 nightmare where he came in WAAAAAAYY too hot on hte inside and blew through the pack?  My thought at the time was that it was a stupid move, but a mistake. 

I've always been torn on the Rossi/Gibernau thing.  It looked just wrong when he did it, but everyone else seemed to think it was 'just racing.' 

Yeah, it's subjective.  But Eslick clearly crossed a line in my book.  It wasn't even close.  At times, it looked like he was trying to hit Herrin.  WTF? 

Quote from: Spidey on September 29, 2010, 08:27:57 AM
At times, it looked like he was trying to hit Herrin.  WTF? 

i think he was.  prolly pissed he doesn't have 2x the displacement this year that he can motor away with at will.