Taddy Blazusiak's night, David Knight's season

Coming into the Saturday's AMA Maxxis Endurocross at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Knight, the KTM rider from the Isle of Man, had won the previous two rounds in the series, which pits the best off-road racers in the world against a punishing indoor track made up of logs, rocks, water crossings and huge tires that looks more like a construction site than a racecourse.

All Knight had to do to take home a cool $50K from series sponsor Maxxis was win the final race and sweep the series to pick up the special bonus payout during day two of the AMA's Las  Vegas Invasion.

The only thing in his way was a tough field that included 2007 Erzberg Champion Tadeusz Blazusiak, a Polish trials and enduro expert--and this year's grueling Erzberg Enduro winner in Austria--doing a one-off ride with Knight's KTM factory team for the Vegas event.

And in a star-studded final that included former Supercross Champion Damon Huffman, Enduro Champion Mike Lafferty and Mike Metzer, the godfather of freestyle motocross--along with the rest of the Endurocross regulars, it seemed Knight was in perfect position to collect the long-shot check. Transferring straight to the main event by winning his heat race going away, Knight's chances seemed even better when Blazusiak's tire came off in his heat race, handing him a DNF and forcing him to make the main after racing a semi and then winning the LCQ.

But if the Erzberg vet was tired, he didn't show it when the flag dropped on the main event. Knight took the lead early, hounded by Blazusiak, who stuck on his rear wheel through the rocks, water, whoops and logs. The two distanced themselves on the field, meaning that even if Blazusiak won, Knight would win the series championship.

Then came the pass.

Coming to a dead stop in the inside of a tight hairpin turn made up of loose boulders the size of beach balls, Blazusiak aimed at the inside line as Knight took the longer momentum line around the outside. Then, with a foot-plant and a throttle blip, Blazusiak hoisted his front wheel, pivoted on the rear and set his bike down ahead of Knight in a perfect trials move befitting the rider who finished eighth in last year's World Trials Championship. With another thottle blip, he accelerated ahead and into the lead.

And with that, Knight saw his chances of $50K evaporate like the steam coming off of Blazusiak's motor as he plunged through the water crossing that followed. His consolation prize? Winning the first-ever AMA Maxxis Endurocross Series.

"I said from the beginning that I was more concerned about the AMA No. 1 plate than the money,'' Knight said. "Taddy was riding well.''

For his part, Blazusiak widened his lead, and crossed the line with several seconds on Knight--and started celebrating immediately.

"I was coming here to win,'' said the smiling Pole. "I did the endurocross last week in italy and won it, so this was the goal.''

Amazingly, Blazuisiak hardly looked winded after a heat race, a semi, an LCQ and a main event on a track that was difficult to even walk over, let alone ride.

"Sure, I'm tired, but I can't say that I am destroyed,'' he laughed. "I could go again."