1. Steve Lamson’s two-stroke resurrection was sad and sweet: sad in the sense that Lamy and his CR125 didn’t have a ghost of a chance of earning any points in that growling pack of 250Fs, and sweet in the sense that, every now and then, he would find the right gear and fill the valley with the melodic notes that only a 125 two-stroke can produce.

I wondered throughout the day how things might have been different if the Steve Lamson of 1996, rather than just his gear, showed up for the 250F motos. Lamson used to make a two-five sing like few others could, and Hangtown was his track. Would he have won? Probably not. But it would have been fun to see a 125 run down some 250Fs, and the 1996 Lamson was surely capable of that.

2. Ben Townley is the real deal outdoors. Of course, he rode solidly indoors this year, too, but at Hangtown he was flat-out masterful. His second-moto vanishing act on Ryan Villopoto was very impressive.

3. Despite his second-moto loss to Townley, Villopoto proved he’s ready to face anyone who wants his title. After crashing while in the lead in the first moto, he put in an amazing charge that led him past Josh Grant, Ryan Dungey and Townley. It may have left him with too little in the tank to run down Townley in moto two, but it showed the speed and tenacity he has.

4. Ricky Carmichael (4) is the greatest motocross rider of all time. I thought this was obvious before Hangtown, but there are always skeptics. Anyone who doubts it after Hangtown should seek therapy for delusions. Who else could not race for a couple of months and still have James Stewart’s number?

5. Once Carmichael goes back to car racing, nobody is going to touch Stewart. When those two were battling, they were turning lap times five seconds faster than anyone else on the track. When Carmichael exits, Stewart should be able to ride at 80 percent and still win. It could be a very boring summer in the 450s.

While I doubt anyone will meet this challenge, I’d love to see someone try. Millsaps? Ferry? Windham?

6. Lake Tahoe's Jimmy Hazel (317) looked great in the 450 class. He made the Fast 40 with room to spare and, despite a first-lap miscue in moto one, appeared right at home among the world’s fastest racers. He finished 28th overall with a 29-23 tally.

7. Carson City’s Nathan Tiearney missed the Fast 40 by a few spots, but did return to grab fourth in the consolation race.

8. After years of struggle, Tim Ferry has found his groove at Team Kawasaki. Kawasaki’s brass obviously thinks so, too, since they just re-signed him for another two years. Ferry rode two very solid motos to claim the final spot on the 450 podium.

9. Mike Alessi’s move to the 450 class seemed like a great idea--for the first few laps of each moto. After that it looked like he might have been better off trying to find the speed to duel with his old rival Villopoto in the 250F class. Alessi’s starts were great, but his KTM 450 beat him into submission by the middle of each moto, forcing him into a steady drift backwards.

Jeff Alessi, however, looked pretty good. After a long hiatus, he hovered around the tenth spot in the 450 class all day. With better starts he might have challenged his big brother.

10. While chasing Carmichael in moto one, Stewart scrubbed one of Hangtown’s small tabletops so hard that I briefly thought he might just go for the 360. But what made the crowd gasp was nothing big for Stewart--he just grabbed a handful on the landing and pressed on.

11. Though it’s unclear if any of his competition noticed, Stewart’s second-moto miscues underlined what may be his only weakness: if you break his spirit or concentration badly enough, he will make mistakes--sometimes costly ones. After a full day of battling RC, Stewart was not at his best as the laps wore down. The only question is: can anyone muster the speed or fitness to tire him out after RC leaves?

12. The 250F class had lots of depth. Behind Townley (101) and Villopoto, Dungey, Metcalfe and Jason Lawrence all looked fast and fit. And Grant looked quick, too, though he fell off the pace of the others late in the moto.

13. As with every national, a few riders had days to forget. In the 450s, Kevin Windham, David Vuillemin and Nick Wey spent too much time mid-pack. In the 250Fs, Josh Hill, Ryan Morais, Billy Laninovich and Branden Jesseman struggled.

In Wey’s case, at least, he had a decent reason: he hasn’t raced since injuring himself early in the supercross series.

14. The fight between Lawrence and Villopoto on Saturday came back to haunt Lawrence. Forced into the final gate pick for both motos as punishment by the AMA, Lawrence had to fight back from mediocre starts to reach the top five in each moto. Had he been able to take his earned gate pick (he qualified ninth,) it might have been a different day for J-Law.

15. How did the season forecast change at Hangtown? In the 450s it didn’t: Carmichael and Stewart are a cut above, and Carmichael is splitting after round five. Barring a major mistake (or many, many small ones) Stewart will be a national champion come September.

Townley caused the biggest uproar in the 250Fs, showing that he has the speed to beat Villopoto heads-up. And Dungey, Lawrence and Metcalfe showed they could get in the championship mix if either of those two falter.

16. Though it was only supposed to be 80 degrees, it felt pretty damned hot.

Here are more images from the day:

Villopoto's red plate made him easy to spot.

Andrew Short tests the suspension of his factory Honda.

Wey had a mediocre day, though he still looked pretty stylish.

Stewart's speed was blinding, but his mistakes cost him.

Lamson gave it what he had, but it's just a 250F world these days.

Can he win his 100th national this year? Hangtown was number 97.

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