Freestyle Motocross


Saturday - 7:30 PM


DEEEEEETROIT FREESTYLE!!! FMX invaded the home of the Pistons this week and tore the roof of the place. From opening ceremonies to the encore the crowd was going wild. Things got off to a great start during qualifying with Doug Cossey laying down a solid 83.4. But with the vibe running thru the crowd it was obvious it was going to take more than that to make our finals at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Next up was Scott Hanlon and he went big, throwin' out a superman seat grab Indy air in his bid to get to the next level. Our third rider, Ryan Logan, did his best to make the finals posting an 86.5. James Carter came in behind him with an 86.0. Ben Venya narrowly missed our finals with his 87.4. Slade Waltman brought out his Universal, Acerbis, FMX East Yamaha and set the bar for the finals with a 90 even. Cardiac Chris Taylor was our third place qualifier with a 91.4. The final two competitors, Thomas "T-Money" Alves and Jack Rowe both went inverted to easily qualify for the Monster Energy Finals with a 92.8 and 93.3 respectively.

Our trials rider, Keith Wineland, thrilled the crowd with a spectacular display of balance and athleticism during his showcase. And reminded us why he finished 5th in the trials championships. Jennifer Schneider thrilled the crowd with a massive cannon shot that had the entire venue on their feet cheering. She made her final shot of the year on the FMX and memorable one.

In our game of FMX P.I.G. it took three full rounds before we were able to knock out a rider, then they started dropping like flies. It looked like Alves and Rowe were going to battle it out until Chris Taylor threw in a Kiss of Death which Alves doesn't have in his bag of tricks. So Mr. Right, Jason Rowe made short work of Cardiac Chris with a back flip combo and took the win.

In our Finals Mr. Nasty, Slade Waltman went right to work but his stay in the Monster Energy Hot Seat was short lived when Chris Taylor brought the heat with a 92.5. Thomas Alves stepped up his game with a series of back flips to post a 94.7. It looked like Jack Rowe was not going to be able to answer the bell because of a mechanical failure but some fast work on the spanners by Rockin' Rob got Mr. Right back on the bike just in time. With no prep time Rowe went out and lit it up, back flippin' his way to a 95.8 and the win.

It was great to be back home here in Detroit and the crowd was electric. Next week we head to Lexington, KY for our next stop. Get your tickets now for the FMX at Rupp Arena, and check out my column, Wide Open on Arenacross.com for all the behind the scenes action!
David Knisley