In a new tradition born out of the marketing genius behind Supercross, EA Supercross stars Jeremy McGrath and Ricky Carmichael will ride today (May 11) on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno in what is being billed as the second-annual “Tonight Show Cup.”

Last year, McGrath and Travis Pastrana held a short race, and this year, 2001 Supercross Champion Carmichael joins the fun with an even more elaborate track constructed in the parking lot by Dirt Wurx, the official track designer and constructor of Supercross courses. The track is said to include a rhythm section and even a triple-jump.

“Last year, it was huge,” said Dan Krolczyk, Senior Director of Marketing, Motorcycles, SFX Motorsports Group. “I mean, it wasn’t a freak show by any means. They cut into the race about four times. They did a teaser up front where Pastrana did a couple freestyle jumps. The did a brief interview with both Pastrana and McGrath before the race started.

“The race is actually pretty cool. They start it right there on Jay’s stage. They take off. They go straight out of the studio down the hallway and out to the parking area they have out there. They go do a couple of laps around the track. Then they actually finished with a jump where they went off the jump and landed back on the stage. It couldn’t have been choreographed any better. Last year, McGrath won it in classic ‘Showtime’ style by landing practically on Jay’s desk. It was sweet.

“We’re really happy to be involved in this because we see it as a benefit to all of our motorcycle properties and motorcycle racing in general. It brings it more mainstream. So anytime we can do something like this, we do it. It’s a mutual effort between the riders, their PR people, and we just help bring it all together with our relationship with the Tonight Show. We are the ones that invest in the building and creation of the track. It’s quite an investment for us, but it’s well worth it in the development of the sport.”



UPDATE, or, What Else Is New: Carmichael won.