SLC wasn’t the most exciting of races so I thought I would give you all a few of my “Best Of 2023”. What about the worst? Yes, we will do that too, but let’s start with the positivity for now shall we? Here are a few standouts that I have seen/witnessed over the course of the 2023 season.
Best Overall Year: I mean we have to give this to Chase Sexton. I went back into all of my Daytime Program articles of 2023 and I said at least four times that Chase is out of the title hunt. Well… I don’t know crap and I’ll stick to testing dirt bikes! Chase had some frustrations moments but came back the next weekend ready to do work! It’s hard to put into words how difficult that is on any rider that is trying to get through a series as well as win races! Not only did he have to work through bike set up problems but also his own mistakes that needed to be corrected. If you would have asked me three years ago if Chase Sexton would impress me, I would have told you “no”. People say that this championship was gifted to him, but part of racing is staying on your bike and Chase showed up at every round and finished. It is going to be hard to beat 23 outdoors too! Chase could be going all Tomac on us for 2023!
Best Comeback Story: I will give this to Roczen. Why? Because although he was good at Team Honda, I feel like he was much better on the HEP Suzuki. He was fast and pretty damn consistent. He would have had third if he didn’t pull out in SLC and to me was the only other dude in the realm of Chase once Webb and Tomac were out. I would have never thought that Roczen would be as good as he was on this machine but again, I was wrong.
Best Dressed: Congrats to TLD and Justin Barcia for making some of the sickest looking kits ALL YEAR! I don’t know if it was the gear or the way it looked on Justin or maybe the way he rides and the gear, but it was working for me. I am a fan of the tighter stuff and TLD got that down and then some, But even the colors looked bad ass to me against the red of the Gas Gas!
Most Improved Rider: This is tough one but for me it has to be Cartwright. This is going to sound bad but he just didn’t look great last year even though he did decent. Cartwright was in mains when it was stacked (so was Harlan) and to me I just don’t think he does that a year ago. I do think if he had another helmet on his riding style would look even better, but I am sure he’s getting paid a good amount to wear the helmet he does. I almost picked Grant Harlan for this but I kind of knew he was going to be pretty good. Cartwright (for me) came out of nowhere.
Most Disappointing: Tomac losing this championship has to be the most disappointing part of the series for me. Even though Tomac was a complete bad ass all year, getting hurt and the penultimate round has to be gut wrenching for almost everyone who is a true fan. There wasn’t one person that I talked to that said they didn’t feel sick after Denver. I was debating on if he would come back and even though I thought he was coming back for another year before he was hurt, I think this might be game for Eli. Another baby on the way and to me he has nothing else to prove. He is on my Mt. Rushmore. That is all..
Worst Luck Award: I am going to give this to Malcolm Stewart. A lot of you guys forgot about Stew didn’t you? I bet if Stew didn’t get hurt he would have been in the mix with the BIG THREE. I am glad he got another two year deal and I hope he comes out swinging next year to show everyone that he has that championship type speed in him. I think he does.
Best Looking Bikes: I will also give this to Team Honda HRC as the clean looks and red colors makes me want a Honda as well as ride one! Nice work to Lars and the boys. Oh yeah, we get to ride these bikes soon!
Rider Who Looked Like They Had The Most Fun: Logan Karnow just looks like he is just loving every minute of this SX season! Cool sponsors, beers, god results, chics and smiling from ear to ear. I mean I believe in Homelife but this Karnow guy looks like he is having a bad ass time. Good for you, brother. Keep it going in 2024!
Nicest Rider I Met This Year: Tristan Lane has to be one of the nicest humans I have ever encountered. He’s polite, looks you in the eye, asks how you’re doing and genuinely seems happy every time I see him. I put this category in here because it’s nice to meet someone that is actually happy and doesn’t come off like a cool guy. There are several of these types out there, especially a lot of these privateers, but Tristan stands out to me.
Most Deserving, Give Him A Chance Award: Pro Circuit Kawasaki has had a rough go with injuries again this year but two dudes that I think couldn’t be more deserving of a shot on a great bike is Carson Mumford and Chris Blose. Both of these riders did great with how long they had on the bike. Blose literally had only a few times on the bike before he had to go race and Carson had about a month on the new bike before he had to lay some heat down. Both riders showed some flashes of speed and it was cool to see Mitch give more riders a shot when his “A Team” was down with injuries. It would be cool to see more team do this. Nice work Pro Circuit Kawasaki
