John Dowd: The New Level of Awesome

If you're anything like me, you get a little frustrated at times with how little motocross gets covered by big sports outlets like ESPN. I'm always thinking that even if they hired just one full-time staff person to cover the series, it would be better than what they have now, which is basically just some contributors sending them stuff for some spare change.

But there are occasional moments when ESPN shows that they do care about the sport at least a little bit. When the magazine did a spread on Ryan Villopoto's race bike, that was great. Now, they've done a short but effective feature on the junkyard dog himself, John Dowd.

In case you're new and don't know why John Dowd has been getting so much attention, here's a quick run down. First off, the guy is 47 and still finishing in the top 20. That's more than double the age of current points leader, Ryan Dungey. When Kevin Windham is considered "over the hill" in the sport, it sounds amazing that Dowd is even able to ride at the pace of the top guys.

Plain and simple, he's fit. But he got more attention this week because, once again, he earned the 25 points needed to keep his career number, 16, for yet another year. He's had the number for 12 years (now 13) and it doesn't sound like he's going to give it up any time soon. Though Dowd isn't looking to become the next national champ or even be the runner up, it's fun to watch him. He still rides the best he can and still wants to finish up with the top guys if he can.

Check out ESPN's feature on Dowd HERE and be sure to watch for him this weekend at Unadilla.