What a weekend it was in Denver! From the Pulp MX Privateer Challenge to Tomac’s season ending Achilles injury, we had it all in the Mile High city. WOW! Let’s dive into Daytime Program from Colorado.
Eli Tomac: I mean what that actual efffffff. Crazy that Eli ruptured his Achilles on what it looked like (from the outside) not a bad landing but I guess all it takes is the right angle and you get what we witnessed on Saturday night. I can’t believe that we were at the penultimate round of the series and now Tomac is out! I could literally feel the air getting sucked out of the stadium on Saturday night and I was on my way to the airport! Somewhere Cooper Webb is sitting in a corner very sick to his stomach that he got his bell rang in Nashville. The last two rounds have been unbelievable for injuries and the series! We had a great series going up until Nashville and now it’s a wrap! Chase doesn’t even need to show up for SLC and it’s his! WOW! Three championships for Honda!
Chase Sexton: They say you gotta be in it to win it and Chase had some ups and downs but he managed to stay in the series and here we are! Can you believe if Chase leaves Honda next year that the number 1 plate will be on a different colored bike come 2024? Weird! But regardless the kid has fought his ass off all season long and is now finally getting rewarded for his efforts. He has been vocal about his machine not being where he wanted it to be at times but Chase and the team have worked through some setting issues and are walking away with the 450 championship! Honda hasn’t won a title since Carmichael! WOW! I still can’t believe it as I am typing this. Also, it should be noted that Team Honda as well as Chase was nothing but classy on the podium after Eli’s injury. You could tell it bothered Chase and he didn’t want to celebrate because an injury took his competition out.
AC: The feel good story of the year is this guy! Lots of crashes and lots of missed podiums didn’t deter AC from clawing his way back to the podium. We could all sit here and say that A LOT of guys are out of the series, but again, you have to be in it to podium and AC showed up to get his! This should be a huge relief for AC and Kawasaki and hopefully can give him some confidence to keep the train rolling. His podium speech got me all jacked up and it was nice to see some emotion back up on the box!
Shane Mcelrath: HEP Suzuki has got to be happy to have three guys in the top ten! Shane has had a rough year but I heard he changed his suspension spec to what Chiz was running and is now much happier with how the RM-Z is working. It’s crazy because we all know how good Shane was on a 250 and to see him battling with riders who I feel he is better than was rough to see for a bit. I love to see the resiliency of Shane and how the team as well as all of the riders work together to improve each other. More teams should take note!
Grant Harlan: Grant has a torn labrum but it looks to have not bothered him much in Denver. At least on the outside it didn’t look like it bothered him that much. Grant looks good on the 23 YZ450F and has got upgraded spec tires on his machine now which to me is a huge improvement, especially the front tire! Hopefully Grant can tough it out and get a spot in the WSX playoffs! Mo Money! Mo Money! Mo Money!
Dean Wilson: Dean-O has been good and even though the results on paper don’t show it at times, getting top tens this year is an amazing result. Up until Nashville the series had at least 10 different 250/450 champion in the top ten so Dean-O has been battling other series champions just like him. There hasn’t been a lack of effort or speed from Dean this year. I’ve heard he is going to give it another year so it will be nice to have Dean back in 2024! Thanks to Dean for coming out to the Pulp MX Live Show even though he didn’t feel great.
Jett: A calculated ride by J-Law and it’s pretty amazing that we get to witness this greatness while it’s here. I know some of us think that the media is chucking him down our throats but he is a talent we might not see for quite sometime again. I for one am looking forward to him riding outdoors and seeing how he can throw a wrench into Chase’s summer.
RJ: This guy right here might be the guy that dominates next year. RJ has the raw speed and the strength to go the distance in these main events. To see him get blown off the track then come back to catch Levi to win the damn thing was impressive. This all came from a track that was pretty basic and could be hard to make up time on. Nice to see RJ get a win. Not to mention that it was nice to see Husqvarna get one as well! Rough year for the steel frame group.
Levi: This kid is coming around to being a consistent podium threat in SX. I already know he can haul ass outdoors but being up front consistently is something we are starting to see from Levi. He was one of the first 250 riders to quad out of the first rhythm after the start and jump all the way down off the wall step down. It was also nice to catch up with this parents before the race as you can tell a lot about a kid by talking to his parents. Great ride by Levi and it was nice to see he just didn’t let RJ have it when he got by.
Pulp MX/Yamaha Privateer Challenge: I am sure by now you guys know how it all went down, but being there in person is something else. To see these privateers get all amped up and nervous all at the same time is something I wish everyone could see What is cool is that you’re in a stadium yet you get this local race vibe which is lad back and fun. All of the riders talk to one another and everyone genuinely seems like they are having a good time. I mean why wouldn’t you be? You’re about to make some money! A LOT OF MONEY! I picked Cartwright for the win and he prevailed but it would have been tough as Freddy Noren made a mistake in the rhythm and shot himself off the track. After all is said and done Steve thinks Josh could make over 25K! WOW! It was a fun event and it was insane on how many top professionals came out to watch the race! the stands actually had some people in it! Kudos to Yamaha and Steve for involving the little guy and helping our sport!
