Monday Kickstart – Anaheim I SX 2012

The Jeff Ward Racing team uses Power Lift bike stands, which are battery powered and lift and lower the bike with the push of a button. Here, Josh Grant tried to figure the contraption out.

Nick Wey is back for his second stint with the Motosport TiLube Kawasaki team. NYK started the season with the team back in 2010, but was drafted up to the Monster Energy Kawasaki squad to fill in for injured riders. Sadly, Wey failed to qualify for the Anaheim 1 main event.

Dodge Motorsports/Sycuan Casino/Hart and Huntington rider Josh Hill was a site for sore eyes at Anaheim 1, and fans were glad to see him return to racing after spending the past year-and-a-half struggling with injuries. Unfortunately, Hill banged his left ankle up in a first-turn crash in his heat, and failed to qualify for the main. You can read all about Hill's return to racing in the February issue!

KTM Red Bull rider Kenny Roczen broke his wrist in a practice crash the day after Christmas, and had surgery to repair the damage in time to make the February 18 Dallas SX East Coast kickoff. "I'm bummed because I wanted to race Anaheim and I was ready, but it's ok, East will be fun, too," said Roczen, who brought his new dog, Rocky, to the races with him.

Toyota of Escondido has long been involved in motocross, as they currently back 250 National Champion Dean Wilson, and have sponsored riders like Jake Weimer, Jeremy Stenberg, James Stewart, Marrtin Davalos, and Davi Millaps in the past. Now, its sister dealership, Scion of Escondido, is getting involved, too, and have signed on to support the new Jeff Ward Racing team. Hmmm...wonder if a bumper rack could be outfifted to the back of that XB?

Malcolm Stewart was on hand to support his JDR KTM teammates at Anaheim 1. Though this "team transporter," supplied by J-Star Motors, wasn't Mookie's personal ride, he joked that once the race wins start rolling in, big brother James wouldn't be the only Stewart ballin'.'

The Bell Moto 9 helmets worn by JDR KTM teammates Matt Moss and Ryan Marmont were bad ass! We were shocked to learn that sans the logos, the new design in the new production Moto 9 lineup for 2012.

Malcolm Stewart's KTM 250SX-F was on display at Anaheim, and his mechanic Craig Behl worked on it routinely, throughout the day. "Seriously, it's the best bike I have ever ridden," said Stewart.

Though the JDR KTM team enjoys full support from the KTM factory in 2012, the team tunes and builds its race engines independently. Also, if you closely, and you'll notice that all of the hardware on the JDR KTM's is anodized black for some extra bling.

Social networking, it seems, has completely infiltrated the Supercross pits. Check out the facebook logos on the JDR KTM graphics. We also spotted twitter and instagram account names plastered on rider posters, semi awnings, and graphics throughout the paddock.