Here are some snippets from the post-race Pulpcasts
Here are some snippets from the post-race Pulpcasts
Chad Reed
Welcome back to the podium. It’s been a while. We were wondering who’s been riding your bike, but tonight a much better job. You’ve got to be pumped.
I’ve been a little sick and we put Byrner in. All things considered, I think he was 12th, a couple 8th and things like that. So for a retired guy it wasn’t too bad.
You did come from the back last week.
Yeah, but I don’t know that I would have… If I started at the front I think I was still going to go back. I don’t know if I would have went back to 12th. Disappointed the last few weeks, the last four weeks since Oakland really, to be honest. I felt like we’re a podium guy. Just haven’t been riding. Kind of talked to myself and looked in the mirror this week and made changes to myself a little bit. A little bit to the bike and here and there but honestly it’s just me. I just want to give my 100%. Even though we’re on the podium I still don’t believe that that’s my 100%. When the track is tough like this, I’m still better than that. Those guys were right there and weren’t really doing anything amazing. So yeah, happy that I didn’t get my transponder clipped but still felt like there was a lot more in the tank.
I thought early on they sprinted away from you early and then about lap four or five you maintained that gap and then you caught near the end, but their opening lap speed maybe got you a little bit by surprise?
Yeah, honestly there’s a few things we’re struggling with, just things I need to be better at. It’s on me. I’m doing everything I can, but sometimes when you want things they don’t come quick enough.
*****
Ryan Dungey
That last lap there, man, I don’t know how close you thought you were coming but I thought it was going to go ugly.
Yeah, I don’t like close calls like that, by any means. I think things got really confusing really fast obviously with James, and then Marvin still tripling, and then I double-tripled. Things got really… yeah. But thankfully we didn’t collect and Marvin was able to save his mistake and everything. But overall aside from that, it was a good night. Obviously Marvin got the holeshot, was leading, was running some good laps. I was able to get my way into second. I tried to do everything I could with Marvin. For 19 laps he had all the bases covered. The last lap I was like, I got to do something if I’m going to get a win. But unfortunately, I don’t like to capitalize on his mistakes. A victory is exciting and I’m very, very fortunate for that. With Marvin getting second I think it’s great for the team, but I will say Marvin was the true winner tonight, man. He rode his heart out. For a guy, his first year in the class, it’s impressive he’s already up there racing for wins.
He was on that inside line for the wall, and you were probably like, what’s going on there? And then he was triple-tripling I think more consistently than you coming out of that turn.
Yeah. He actually did a really good with that wall. He’d land and tuck the turn, then he was over the wall. I was like, jeez! I’d always lose right there, then I’d catch up. We’d get to that on-off, table-table section and I’d have to give up and he was able to make a little. So then it evened out. It was kind of weird because you’d do one thing and then it was like you’d give up then you’d make it, or you’d make time and give up. So it was really cat and mouse.
***
Marvin Musquin
Almost, man. I thought it was going to end up bad for you and Dunge. I’m sure you’ve seen the replay. It got close. Just about. But still a good night.
Yeah, it was a great main event. To be able to lead a couple laps… It was great and then I was pushing really hard. I was feeling great. They fixed the berm. The berm was before the finish, after the whoops, it was clean. I was trying to go fast and I was able to do the triple, so it was cool. I had a great feeling. And then Ryan was behind and it was really cool. To be able to lead Ryan…
You knew it was Ryan?
Yeah, then I saw him. And then Frankie showed me six laps to go and I didn’t expect that. So I was like, that’s almost the end.
It went quick.
Yeah, it went quick. Lap times were actually pretty short today, so it was a short 20 laps main event. And then I got close to James Stewart by the mechanics area. People told me he looked back so he knew we were coming. I revved my bike before the finish to try to go around him. And then he was in the way. He was in front of me in the whoops, and then in the turn he went really tight inside. So I was like, okay, I’ll go around him. I still went for the triple and I was missing a little bit of speed in the turn. So that’s not his fault why I cased that triple, but I wish he would have moved earlier. I cased that triple and then I had to slow down and then James was coming and doing one of the triples in the middle. I thought he was going to land on me and I switched lines because I got so scared. I got so sketchy and out of control, feet off the pegs. I thought I was going to crash. I was like, it’s over. I went off the track and then from that I knew Chad was behind but not too close. I was like, okay, be safe, get back on the track and get second. But to me, tonight second is not good.
That’s got to give you confidence that the win will come.
For sure. I was just trying my best. At one point when you have Ryan behind you, you think he’s going to pass you at one point. Actually I got to the white flag for the last lap and he was still behind. Overall it was a great race, but I’m still bummed.
***
RJ Hampshire
Opening round in Dallas. You’ve had a rough off-season. I understand you crashed again coming in. So you’ll take this sixth. You were up to fifth at one point and you’ll take it, right?
For sure. I was kind of just getting through the whole day and knew I had fifteen laps in me, so that’s what we were going for. I worked with Asterisk a little bit throughout the day. It sucks but I had to settle with qualifying 7th and barely get out of the heat race. Just knowing I could put it together and hold it together for fifteen laps. I had a big practice crash this week and didn’t even know if I was going to race, to be honest with you. It was pretty bad. So I rode Thursday and couldn’t really even hold on at all and then sucked it up. Nothing new over here.
Track got beat up, man.
For east coast it was sick. Honestly my bike was working awesome and just me not being 100% I think that helped me out a lot. One place I was solid this weekend was the whoops and usually I’m terrible. So that was a good step. I think LaRocco’s pumped on this weekend. So, we’ll take it.
***
Nick Schmidt
Another main event for you, another good job getting in there every week. You know what I really noticed? The blue flags really jacked you guys up.
So bad. I’m in a good pace, we’re all battling, me and Weimer. Then we get a blue flag and some dude’s pulling away and keeps racing. I think I just need to practice on just keep racing. Stick to my line, because those dudes are going to get around me, obviously. They’re getting the blue flag for a reason, I’m not going to lie. But that’s the biggest thing. As soon as lap fifteen or twelve you just start slowly kind of sliding back and kind of losing spots. I need to work on that for sure, the blue flag.
You could be more a dick but that sucks.
Yeah, I don’t want to be that guy everybody’s flipping off or doing whatever. I’m trying to make it so everybody likes me. I’m making all the main events and it’s good. I think I only missed one so far which is Anaheim 1. It’s bad luck. It’s racing. It’s going to happen. Just keep plugging away from here, cracking the top fifteen. Close.
***
Tyler Keefe
McElrath, bad night. Justin Hill rode great I thought, coming from way back. Frye was a surprise. So two out of three ain’t bad, like Meatloaf used to say.
Yeah, it was good. Shane actually had the holeshot in the main event and then threw it away. Just landed on a hay bale, but he’s only been on the bike for about two and a half weeks. So all in all I’m very impressed with him and his recovery.
You told me he’s about 80% right now.
Yeah, I would say that. So all in all he wants to be up there. Obviously he got the holeshot, so put it together next week. And then Hill actually…
What happened early?
Hay bale came out in the first turn and he hit it and went down. Came from dead last to fifth.
So on lap one you’re like, this is awesome. We’re 21st and 22nd?
Welcome to the east coast.
He rode great, man.
Yeah, he fought the whole way. His lap times were good. Actually really strong from seven on, so I think with a good start he’ll be right up front and battling with those guys. Frye was a surprise. He’s been putting a lot of work in this whole offseason and really working on his technique and it paid off tonight. He got a pretty good start and just hung tough and ended up getting 9th. So for his first race getting 9th, that’s huge.
***
Luke Renzland
I think you were 8th or 9th and then a terrible crash. I was really worried for you.
Yeah, it was kind of a struggle all day. Honestly, the first round jitters were in the system. First time practice I rode so bad. My arms were pumped up after one lap. I was floundering around out there. We made some suspension adjustments, which it’s to be expected at the first round. You’re never in race conditions until you show up here. Second practice was better. I qualified in the top ten which was my goal for the day. The night show was okay. INAUDIBLE the start in the heat race and came out so far back… But I ended up 8th in the heat race. Started way far out in the main and got a really good start. Got down there with the lead pack and then just got pushed wide. Then McElrath got into the tuff block, through the tuff block in front of me. I had to come to a complete stop, jump off the track. So I was second to last. McElrath was the only one on the ground behind me.
And then Hill was probably right in front of you.
Yeah. So from there I just clawed my way up. Honestly felt really good in the main. I felt better than I felt all day. Lap 11 I was in 10th with 9th and 8th right in sight, and just cross-rutted out of the sand and drilled my face into the ground. They’re calling it a stinger, which I stretched all the nerves from my neck through my shoulder.
You got up and I saw you, you just rode right to the mechanics area. You were like, all right, I’m done.
Yeah, I thought I broke my collarbone, honestly. I kept telling them that I broke it, and they kept telling me no. But it’s the nerves, so I should be back on the bike within two to three days and be back ready for Daytona. I love Daytona so I’ll do everything I can to get back.
***
Cole Seely
Frustrating Atlanta race for you. Early on in the main you and Anderson kind of got into each other a little bit when you passed, and then late in the race it looked like he hit you pretty hard. You’ve got to be not stoked right now.
Yeah, I think I owe Dungey one and I owe Anderson two. Off the start, I don’t know what Dungey was thinking. He just decided to not let off. I had complete half a bike length on him, went to turn left, and he just never let off. When he hit me he pulled my clutch down, like completely pointed at the ground, and then put me in neutral. So first turn I’m going down into second, trying to hit like when I had the holeshot. I was riding really good. I had really good times. I was going fast. I had a really good night going, and then making my way past probably six guys and then got to Anderson. When I caught him and passed him, he took me out.
I thought the way you caught and passed him, nothing wrong with that, that’s fine.
I didn’t get him. He took me out twice.
But you passed him and it was all cool and then he just hits you. I thought that was weird.
I passed him and then he brake-checked me basically and it took us both down. When I got remounted I was making my way through and I slowed down a little bit when I caught up to Bogle and stuff, trying to make moves on those guys. Then we all kind of got bunched up again. Jason was actually able to pull up alongside of me and I shut him out once, but nothing major. And then two turns to go he just completely T-boned me. I was heated. Luckily I didn’t find him after the race because I was about to do some things that probably would have not been good for me. Then he came over about an hour after the race and tried to apologize but I just told him that I didn’t want to talk to him. I respected him a lot because we fought really hard for that west championship two years ago and I think we have a lot of respect from each other because of that. Now I have none for him. I basically just want to retaliate the rest of the season.
***
Justin Brayton
Holeshot, a heat race win, yeah you got caught by Millsaps late in that race but you’ll take it, right?
Yeah, for sure. I think it was overall an awesome night as far as just result-wise. For sure, bummed with the main. I never get side cramps but I guess when you get a good start you’re just pushing a little bit extra hard. I got a side cramp, which is strange. But overall a good day for sure. Not going to hang my head too much; just look at what I did right, and I did a lot of things right so, good night.
Right from the first practice I thought you were on it. Whatever it was, whatever you woke up, you were on the right side of the bed. I thought you were good all day.
For sure. I felt great. I had a full week in Charlotte riding at Club MX. I think that made the difference. The past couple weeks I hadn’t been riding that much. Been transitioning to the east coast. I feel like I’m back on track and maybe get a podium. But I’m going to enjoy the first top five of the year.
***
Weston Peick
You were not top five, so we’re not exactly sure your finish but you really don’t care. Bad night.
Yeah, a rough night. Just been struggling with a little bit of injury and just trying to find myself out there, trying to get to like I was last year, comfortable. I think we’re slowly getting there. It’s taking a lot more time than I want it to but it’s one of those things where you kind of got to build blocks and take small steps.
And it sucks because you can’t miss any time, Barcia’s hurt… In some circumstances maybe you rest for a couple weeks. It’s your arm or wrist or something, right?
Yeah, I freaking bruised my sternum, smashed my arm, my shoulders… A little bit of everything is kind of hurting. So it’s one of those things where our other main guy’s out of supercross right now and we have Phil backing up for us so technically I can’t really take time off right now. It’s one those things where you got to just ride through it and just keep on fighting it. Riding through the pain versus taking time off and letting it heal.
The heat race went shitty and then bad start in the semi and you had to come up from there. You also have to work really hard for your spots.
Yeah, I feel like my starts have been shit this year. I changed things on my end that weren’t as good as I thought they should have been, so I think we’re starting to go back towards what we did last year. We’re showing a little bit of progress. I think it’s one of those things, like I said, just kind of building blocks. I think a couple more rounds I’ll be back where I want to be.
***
Davi Millsaps
Down here on the podium for Atlanta. You’re good again. Good ride. You got to be pumped.
I’m definitely pumped. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to race tonight because I couldn’t see.
Talking about your thumb?
It was my thumb and then this week I think my daughter got me really sick, so I have a really gnarly sinus infection and my head just feels like it’s going to pop and I can’t breathe. So first of all I want to say congrats to Martin. Haters are going to hate, but he might in a class that long, but there’s not many people that have won in any class. So it doesn’t matter if you’re 29 or 16 – a win’s a win. I’m pumped for him.
I think even worse case for Marty, Mookie beats him and he gets second. A good night for him no matter what, a good start to the season.
It’s better than crashing in the main or tightening up and not doing much. He rode great. I felt good too, I just ran out of steam about lap two.
You were pretty far back. Brayton had a nice lead on you, you got him. And again with your teammate, this is motorcycle racing but still with your teammate you got to be a little nice.
Yeah. We’re not going to ruin each other. There’s no need for that. We both have to go back to the same rig. But if that was for the win I would. And I would expect the same. All in all it was a good night for me and the team. Hopefully I get to ride this.
***
Aaron Plessinger
With a better start this thing could have been yours. You were fast all day. Even in the heat race, not the greatest start. If there’s one thing you’ve got to work on I guess it’s start, because your speed is great.
Yeah, I felt great on my speed and my corner speed and everything, whoops speed. I just got to work on those starts all week and come into Daytona well-prepared. I think with a start I could really do some damage to these guys.
Was there anything you did in particular to screw up the starts or was it just something different every time?
It was just something different every time. I didn’t really pay attention because on the start it’s just wide open. Just got to practice them and get them down for Daytona.
I don’t know what you were on the lap charts but I’m guessing around 8th or 10th?
I think first lap I was around 11th or something like that.
So who gave you the most trouble coming through the pack? It looked like you got around guys pretty easy.
Yeah. RJ Hampshire is one to pass, but nobody really gave me that much trouble. Came through the pack pretty good. I had some passing spots that really worked out for me. It was all a good night.
