Amanda - Blog

Amanda's moto overview of ESPN's X Games 15

Amanda - Amanda - Blog

Written by Amanda Wednesday, 05 August 2009 11:22

The Supercross.com team headed to Los Angeles for the phenomenon that is ESPN’s X Games 15 this past week. I'm lucky, in that I have the freedom to run around and try to cover whatever I deem most important for Supercross.com's fans. Was I able to cover everything? No - it's just about impossible! It's that big of an event! And it's held at two different venues - The Home Depot Center, and The Staples Center - sometimes with events going on simultaneously!

Here is the the 'track' before the Freestyle Motocross at The Home Depot Center

Let me tell you - the X Games literally took over LA! It was amazing to see how many people this phenomenal media & entertainment adventure, along with all the competition & athletes, brings into the city!

Read more: Amanda's moto overview of ESPN's X Games 15

Supercross and Motocross are not a sport for everyone

Amanda - Amanda - Blog

Written by Amanda Thursday, 09 July 2009 14:06

"If it were easy to race motocross and supercross, everyone would do it."

"You gotta' be tough to race dirt bikes."

"Chicks dig scars ... and I got a ton of them."

"That race was like going 12 rounds with Lennox Lewis."

Read more: Supercross and Motocross are not a sport for everyone

My Trip to Joe Gibbs Racing!

Amanda - Amanda - Blog

Written by Amanda Wednesday, 01 July 2009 14:08

Lucky me, I got to go visit the Joe Gibbs Racing facility in North Carolina. As you probably know, Joe Gibbs is an incredibly well-respected man in America, because of his success in so many areas of life and sport and business. He's coached NFL Superbowl winning teams, started successful NASCAR teams, has tremendous relationships in business .... and two seasons ago, along with son Coy, started his foray into the world of supercross and motocross.

Their race shop is known in motorcycling. Known for being the biggest and the best!

I was lucky enough to be invited for a visit, and, it also coincided with top supercross / motocross rider Josh Grant's birthday!

Here we go!



Denny Hamlin's race car being worked on in the Joe Gibbs race shop.




Coy Gibbs shows us how to fix a NASCAR frame after a little race rubbing!




Think this shop can be any cleaner? It is immaculate!
Oh .. wait ...  I think a see some a speck of dust! Somebody get a broom! : )




I'd love to walk into this race shop everyday! And ..... mmmmmmm .... M & Ms!




FMF was kind enough to send JG (Josh Grant) this awesome Happy Birthday Banner as a surprise!
Josh was so pumped & his step dad almost cried when we opened it up. (I actually saw a tear!)
FMF - you rock!




Josh tries to re-enact his Anahiem 1 Supercross win pose!
Behind him was the limo that took all of us to Red Rock, a very popular restaurant in the NASCAR / JGR MX town!




I wonder what this bad boy cost!?!?!




The Life (and house) of a NASCAR Driver! So many houses in this area are incedibly beautiful!




Josh was shocked at all the birthday plans his friends came up with! He was thumbs up all night!
From the left; Rico, JG and me




An inside peek of what the NASCAR drivers race in. Can't be claustrophobic in this sport!




Here is a shot of Kyle new car. All stripped down and ready for some mechanic lovin'!




Joey sits right here! Pretty cool!




Me & Cody Cooper. Can you tell I'm the one on the right? : )
Cody is team-mates with Josh on the Joe Gibbs racing team.
Cody celebrated Josh's birthday with us. Fun fact, not only are Josh and Cody team-mate, they are very close friends!




Wouldn't you love your accomplishments to be displayed like this?




Almost done with body work. Close to be brought to the track! NASCAR is very fascinating.




Ummm .... where are the wheels?!




Big enough?




FMF, Skull Candy, Ethika and Metel Mulisha sent Josh some fun Birthday presents!




All dressed up and ready to go! Happy 23rd birthday Josh Grant!
Left to right; Me, JG, Tyler (long time friend) Frobe (step dad) "Turtle", Rico




Ron From The Red Rock gifts a bottle of Crystal to every NASCAR driver after a win.
One of the perks of being on the Joe Gibbs Race Team: After winning the Anahiem 1 Supercross
Ron had a botlte waiting for JG. And he had it ready as we walked in!
Silly Supercross / Motocross racer didnt know what to do with it ... JG opened up the bottle,
shook it and sprayed it all over his friends and family! Great!
The staff at the restaurant wasn't quite sure what to do either : )




L - R: Alex (JGs best friend & mechanic) JG, "Turtle", Tyler, Frobe, me

All-in-all, my trip to North Carolina was an A+! I got to celebrate my friend's birthday ... do some sight seeing,
and take a tour of the world famous Joe Gibbs Race shop! Thank you to everyone who made my trip possible!

Now when can I come back and take a NASCAR rig out?!?


A




PS: I'd like to wish a very special Birthday to my dear friend Bonee T! Hope this year is the best one yet girl! I love you!

If you Twitter and like a little comedy ... follow BonBon at http://twitter.com/BoneeBelle79

Behind the Scenes with Travis Pastrana & Nitro Circus!

Amanda - Amanda - Blog

Written by Amanda Wednesday, 17 June 2009 00:00

Behind the scene's with Travis Pastrana's Nitro Circus

On Monday night I got a call from my friend Malcolm McCassy. He said "Hey I'm leaving around 4am tomorrow with my girlfriend and Rico to head to Lake Havasu. Nitrro Circus is filming and I need to hook everyone up with some Ethika Underwear. Wanna come?"

It took me a whole two seconds before I responded with a "HECK YEAH DUDE!!" I knew right away this trip was going to be fun. I mean what more can you ask for during the middle of the week for fun? Great friends, road trip, Havasu and NITRO CIRCUS! So I quickly packed up a couple outfits, grabbed some sun-block and a swimsuit .... slept for about 20 minutes, woke up at 3 am, then drove over to my friend Rico's house, dragged him out of bed, and said "Let's Go!"

We blasted the music as loud as we could, and we were on our way! With big smiles on our faces.

Those smiles didn't last long though - BOOM - we hit a big nail in the road at high speed and my tire went flat..... and my tire started going flat! OH MAN .... What do we do? I want to go to Havasu ... I want to see Nitro Circus!

Rico saved the day with a bottle of Fix a Flat! YESSsssssssssss! On the road again we go!!!!

We made it to Havasu in less then 4 hours. Rico was a speed racer! After arriving at the hotel and meeting up with Malcolm and his awesome girlfriend Christine we put on our swim suits and went on the hunt to find the Nitro Circus crew. We couldn't wait to see what crazy stunts they had in store for the show!

After what felt like an hour we finally walked upon the set of where the guys were filming! They were out on a boat and we were stuck on the beach! Hmmmmmmmmmmm ...... what do we do now? AH HA! I got it! I picked up the phone and called my friend Brandy Leach who works at Eliminator Boats. With in one hour Brandy 'Hooked a Sista'' up with a 29 Foot Deck Boat fully loaded! She even had her friend Ross there to drive us around. I couldn't help but think I needed to wake up from a dream. Nitro Circus, great friends, Havasu, and an amazing Eliminator DECK BOAT! SCORE. Of course after talking to Brandy I insisted she join us, ... how could she resist? She hoped in her car and began making the 4 hour drive asap! I couldn't wait to see her!

While waiting for Ross and our PIMP Daddy Eliminator Boat, we stepped into the Turtle to take a picture.

Malcolm had some time to get his Ethika Underwear out and pic out the best ones for each guy. Just in time too, 'cuz guess who showed up as we were hanging out? The whole Cast and Crew. It was lunch time!

After their lunch break we all hoped in the boats, and Travis Pastrana took a look at the Eliminator and was already thinking things up in his head that he could do with such a fast boat. I was scared to ask what he was planning!

We take off and begin to head to the location where they are shooting. And once the boat hit about 50 mph TP looks at me then gets up and JUMPS OUT! Yup! Right off the side!!! I looked at Ross, who was driving the boat, and he didn't know what to think! He probably thought "Who are these kids? They are nuts!"

LOL ... after picking up our MAN OVERBOARD we were back in action, headed to see what kind of shanegins these guys were up to. I would have never guessed what i saw next! The biggest Slip 'n Slide u can imagine covered in soap and KY jelly. At the end of the Slip 'n Slid was a ramp that would launch them into the water!

They suited up with helmets and funny outfits, grabbed a floaty of some sort and got in line and ready to hit the Slip 'n Slide.

You may be thinking "Slip 'n Slide? That's not so crazy!" I certainly thought all these guys were pretty much crazh, and I thought "this was NITRO CIRCUS!?!"

But please forgive me, ... I failed to mention a small detail, Each Cast member had to lay down at the beginning of the slide, Grap onto a bungy cord ... and hold on for deal life - because a big ol' boat would now be launching them into the Lake. (Ha ha ha!)

Watching them was so much fun. And the tricks and outfits they wore were very funny as well. You are going to have to watch Nitro Circus all of next season, because I'm not sure when the Havasu episode will air.

After a long day of shooting, and a hard day of watching them as I worked on my tan and photography skills, I called over X Games Front flip tryer-outer and Downhill Pro Mountain Biker Jim DeChamp to the boat and asked for a Sea Doo ride! I put a life jacket on, jumped on the the back and held on for dear life. I had no idea what would come next!

As the three boats already out on the lake that were filled with Nitro Circus Cast & Crew were heading back to home base, Jim and I sped up. To try and keep up! Getting right up next to the boats we started jumping the wakes, and we were getting some good air!

Now what I thought was a little dangerous yet extremely fun, Jim probably thought was boring. He is after all a cast member to the Craziest stunt show on TV! Almost like clockwork he tells me to hold on tight as we pin it up to the other boats, which are side by side, and going fast. We speed up past them, flip a U turn and head straight towards them - like a game of chicken! I screamed and tried to not close my eyes! WTF was he doing!???! Just as I thought I made the worst decision even in my life by jumping on the back of that Sea Doo (and starting saying my prayers), we squeeze right in-between the two on-coming boats and jump the biggest wake of the day! We GOT SOOOOO HIGH!

I wanted to smack Jim in the head for not warning me we were playing Chicken, .... but I didn't. Instead, I thanked him and wanted to do it again!!!! The whole cast were cheering us on and clapping, saying "OMG, that was big!" I hope they got a good shot of it on camera!

I got back to home base (The Turtle) just in time to meet up with Brandy, and gave her a big hug to thank her and her company for bringing out an Elimnator Boat for us!

The next day, the stunts for the Nitro Circus show with Travis Pastrana and crew got even bigger and better. (Although Im not allowed to tell you about them, but the pictures might give you a little clue. Maybe!)

I'd like to thank Nitro Circus for letting us come hang out .... Eliminator Boats for the awesome ride and for pulling around the Nitro guys all week ..... Ethika Underwear, ..... and Malcolm and Rico for talking me into coming along. What a great mid-week adventure!


A

Memorial Day weekend in sunny So Cal: Bowl, MX, BBQ

Amanda - Amanda - Blog

Written by Amanda Tuesday, 26 May 2009 19:47

Memorial Day weekend in sunny So Cal

Thursday night was the annual Motobowl! What a fun event that is! It is also held for a great cause - to raise monies! I'll let the exact words directly from them tell you about it:

The Women's Motocross and Supercross Foundation (WMXF) is a non-profit organization 501(c)(3) founded in 2003 to enhance the motocross/supercross racing community. WMXF's mission is four-fold. First, to support to any racer or crew member who suffers injury as a result of participation in or preparation for a professional motocross/supercross event. Second, the foundation provides support to those in the motocross / supercross community who suffer serious misfortune not directly related to competition. Third, WMXF provides financial support to benevolent organizations that support the sport of motocross / supercross. Finally, the foundation serves as a group of women who contribute to the well-being of families in the professional motocross/supercross community. WMXF will promote fellowship among the teams and represent supercross, the outdoor nationals and the entire sport in a beneficial way.

I look forward to it every year! Think about it - your friends and family can all come out and bowl with their favorite Motocross and Supercross stars, and personalities of the sport. I wouldn't consider myself a star or celebrity in any way, but this is my second year of being invited. Sweet! : )



Which way do I throw this ball? You better watch out! : )




A couple of friends bid to bowl with me, so hey, I helped raise some money! Thank you Clint and Shannon! Also on my team were two members from Cycle News, and one of the top Women's Motocross racers, Elizabeth Bash. She was the best on the team! And Elizabeth even brought her own ball and shoes! I will so be doing that next year! Maybe I can actually get good score! (Hahaha)

The team that took home the victory on the night and the Trophy was in the lane next to us. Winning the event two years in a row was, Denny Stephenson, Josh Grant and Todd Potter. (Although Todd was a social butterfly and gave a lot of his turns away as he socialized!) I bet many of you didn't know that Josh Grant can bowl! And yup, he brought his own ball. Remind me to try and be on that team next year! I want one of those Trophies! It's a neat bowling pin!



That's my Dad!




"Oh yes it's Ladies Night ... "




That's my Mom!


My favorite part of the night was that my family came out, and I learned that I get my amazing bowling skills from my Dad! Thanks Dad! All in all, it was a great way to kick off the big AMA Motocross weekend we had ahead of us!

Friday early morning I made my way down to Glen Helen Raceway for the first round of the AMA Lucas Oil Motocross series! I parked, and got in line to pick up my credential, and then headed into the pits to say hello to some familiar faces. Next I worked on getting as many predictions from as many people as I could for the National Motocross Series - you can read everyone's predictions that I got here ... and you can make your own predictions too! At 2pm Friday there was an opening press conference, and then practice got going. You can see the photos of the men here, and the photos of the women are here.

Saturday (race day!) just couldn't come fast enough! So many people are excited about this AMA Motocross Season! Why? Saturday's racing in both classes tell the story - there was some great action!

In the 250 class, there are a lot of new faces that are top contenders, just to name a couple Max Anstie, Tommy Searle on Factory KTM from the UK, and Tyla Rattray (The 2008 FIM World Motocross Champion) riding on the Pro Circuit Kawasaki team. And how about rookie Justin Barcia, number 151? He was impressive! The competition is going to be so much fun to watch this season! The results from the 250 and 450 classes are here with the men's photos too.



Tommy Searle in practice


I noticed that both Tyla and Tommy were the only riders I saw to add extra plastic onto their visors to extend them in the second moto to protect their eyes from when they were looking directly into the sun going up some of the steep hills late in the afternoon. Both those guys are quite seasoned from racing the Grand Prix series - they ain't no rookies!

The 450s were great to watch to! Josh Grant had the lead in the first moto for over half the race, ... and ended up with a third overall on the day. It's the fist podium I believe in AMA Motocross for the JGR team.



Chad Reed airborne and one-handing it at the Glen Helen Motocross


Chad Reed didn't make the podium, but ended up with a 4th overall. He was looking stronger as the day went on, and I think as the track got even rougher he was one of the few guys able to maintain and maybe even quicken his pace. One other note on Chad - his team did only make the decision to race outdoors a couple weeks ago. He's had almost no time testing or riding with an outdoor set-up. We will see if Chad will be able to step it up and do something about team-mate Mike Alessi's holeshots, and Ryan Villopoto's insane talent on outdoor tracks!

What did I do Sunday after all that? Pool party!!!!



Can you hand me my Water Wings? Please? : )



And what did I do Monday for Memorial Day? BBQ and more pool action!

How was your Memorial Day Weekend? Mine rocked!


A