Monster Energy Supercross Amazes In Arlington

The old saying goes that everything is bigger in Texas. Nowhere is that more evident than the home of the Dallas Cowboys – AT&T Stadium.  With one of sports’ most impressive sound and TV systems and a seating capacity typically of around 100,000 on any given Sunday, the venue is huge. But on Saturday night, it paled in comparison to the huge action during Monster Energy AMA Supercross.

For many of the riders, it was their fourth time at the new venue, which helps them rely on a sense of familiarity with not only the dry dirt but also with the home town fans.  And in just a few years, it’s become among the favorites for some of the riders – whether it’s because of the massive jumbotron or the retractable roof, which allows for optimal weather conditions.

“To be able to race here in Texas is cool, but in 2010 when we first came here, it was brand new and I was kind of shocked they let us come into this place with all that dirt but the venue is amazing obviously, with the whole stadium and the state of the art equipment – the whole nine yards,” Ryan Dungey, who has one career victory at Arlington, said before Saturday’s action.

Dungey, 26, spent much of his time growing up in Texas, simply because it gets too cold in his home state of Minnesota.  That familiarity, mixed in with the intensity of the crowd, could certainly be an advantage for the No. 5 rider, who finished second on the podium this weekend.

Finishing right behind Dungey was 21-year-old Justin Barcia, who finished strong.

“This is definitely one of the nicer stadiums we’ve raced in so far, especially this year,” Barcia admitted.  “This is awesome – it doesn’t get much better!”

But the biggest storyline was once again James Stewart, who raced to his second straight AMA Supercross victory, finishing well ahead of the competition.  There must be something in the water at Arlington for Stewart, as the 28-year-old now has three career victories at the Cowboys’ home.  The No. 7 Yoshimura Suzuki rider has 47 career 450SX victories – one behind Ricky Carmichael.

“I thought we needed to be better for the main event and we were,” Stewart admitted.  “We just need to keep riding like we are.  If we do that, then we’ll be good.”

Other notable finishes were three-time defending champion Ryan Villopoto finishing fourth, while German youngster Ken Roczen finished in sixth place.  Villopoto now leads the standings by 12 points after seven races, with Roczen in second and Stewart moved into third place, 14 points back.

Here’s a look at some of the action over the weekend:

Ed Miller is a contributor for CraveOnline Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @PhillyEdMiller or “like” CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.