DEW ACTION SPORTS TOUR
TOYOTA CHALLENGE AT THE HP PAVILION
SEPT 7-10, 2006 – SAN JOSE, CA
PHOTOS BY GREG HALL
WWW.WHEELBYTE.COM
PRESS RELEASE:
2nd ANNUAL DEW ACTION SPORTS TOUR CONTINUES THIS WEEKEND WITH TOYOTA CHALLENGE ON NBC and USA
NEW YORK- September 6, 2006 – NBC Sports’ weekend schedule is highlighted by football, but the Dew Action Sports Tour Toyota Challenge is featured Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
Prior to Notre Dame’s home opener versus Penn State on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET, Freestyle Motocross highlights NBC Sports’ coverage of the Toyota Challenge from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., at 2 p.m. ET.
Sunday afternoon’s Dew Action Sports Tour features live coverage of BMX Park and Skateboard Vert from 3-6 p.m. ET, prior to the debut of “NBC Sunday Night Football,” featuring the first-ever Manning versus Manning match-up with the New York Giants hosting the Indianapolis Colts at 8 p.m. ET, preceded by “Football Night in America” studio show at 7 p.m. ET. Taped coverage of the Visa Gymnastics Championship begins Sunday’s sports schedule at 1:30 p.m. ET, featuring the men’s finals.
USA Network will air late-night coverage of the Dew Action Sports Tour with the BMX Dirt competition Friday and Skateboard Park Saturday, midnight – 1 a.m. ET/PT both nights.
Co-hosts Pat Parnell and Kenan Harkin will anchor the Dew Tour coverage for NBC and USA from the HP Pavilion, joined by reporter Robbie Floyd.
USA FRIDAY: BMX DIRT, MIDNIGHT ET/PT
Anthony Napolitan currently leads the Dew Tour BMX Dirt standings by a slim 25 points, but has earned his first-place position through consistently strong performances, placing first, second and third, respectively, through three Tour stops. Napolitan will seek to repeat a first-place finish in order to ward off his closest competitor, Luke Parslow. It’s a battle for first-place as only two Tour stops remain before the season ends.
NBC SATURDAY: FREESTYLE MOTOCROSS, 2 PM ET
Dew Tour leader Travis Pastrana has secured first-place finishes in the last two Dew Tour stops, but Nate Adams sits only 25 points behind and is the only man who has taken the first-place finish from Pastrana this year. Going into the third Tour stop this weekend, Freestyle Motocross is looking like a two-man battle as third place Jim McNeil is 111 points behind Adams, and last year’s Dew Tour Champion, Kenny Bartram is in seventh-place.
USA SATURDAY: SKATE PARK, MIDNIGHT ET/PT
2005 Dew Tour Champion Ryan Sheckler’s 2006 season is a stark contrast to last year when he won every Tour Stop, and easily claimed the Dew Tour title and Athlete of the Year recognition. This year, Sheckler has faced stiff competition from current second-place competitor Jereme Rogers who sits only 17 points out of first and claimed first-place at the Right Guard Open, where Sheckler placed fourth. Eleven-year-old Nyjah Huston is a young, but consistent threat to win, finishing in second-place twice this season and currently in third-place by only 33 points. This weekend’s Toyota Challenge could again see the first place honors switch hands in this tight battle for the season-ending crown.
NBC SUNDAY: BMX PARK, 3 PM ET and SKATEBOARD VERT, 4:30 PM, ET
A total of 29 points separate first through third-places in BMX Park, with Daniel Dhers narrowly maintaining first-place despite a third-place finish at the Vans Invitational last month. Vans Invitational Champion Ryan Nyquist is closing in on first-place with only 18 points separating him from the title as the Tour approaches the fourth of five stops. Bucky Lasek leads the Skateboard Vert standings with consistent performances this season, finishing second twice and third once among the three Tour stops. Sandro Dias has battled back from a disappointing 19th place finish at the Panasonic Open to currently claim second-place, and sits only 24 points out of first.
