Mud… Again… Aaron Plessinger will not complain if every Supercross event was held in an open stadium! The red plate holder is now number 7! Not JS7, but THE COWBOY, AP7! Mother Nature has been on Plessinger’s side so let’s breakdown Snapdragon shall we!
AP7: It’s pretty cool when almost ALL of the riders come to congratulate you after you just won your first AMA SX! Plessinger has been at this for some time now and even though I think this should have been his second win of his career, it was nice for him to do it in San Diego, especially since it is so close to the KTM offices! Let’s also give some credit to KTM for getting the bike better in 2024 and listening to some things in 2024 that should of happened in 2023. I may or may not have had spun some laps on the new frame and I can say that it is a more compliant KTM! Oh and can you believe that AP has the red plate! Where was AP in the SX Preview videos on Racer X? Ehhhhhhh. Yea, I don’t know either! Going to be cool to see how AP handles the red plate and if he can get back on that podium come A2! We will actually have a dry race track for next Saturday night!
Jett Vs. Jason: Everyone needs to calm down! Not Jett or Jason, but the fans of our sport. Adrenaline is at an all time high after these races and these riders are fired up if they are not on the podium. Jason raced Jett hard and did take his line away several times but from the video that I saw (not TV video) there was nothing that was out of the ordinary for JA. Jett should know that JA races hard and when the speeds are not as fast as a dry SX race, the racing might be closer (literally) than normal. I also don’t fault Jett for being pissed after the race. Maybe the finger in the face didn’t resonate with JA, but nonetheless the boys backed out of the scuffle before it got too heated. I commend that, because I might have flipped out if there was a finger in my face. I also like that Hunter didn’t get involved as he rode passed. Hunter did stop to make sure shit didn’t escalate, but he let his younger brother handle his own crap. Let’s move it along people. Nothing to see here. Dirt Bikes. Testosterone. End of story.
Webb: This feels like a Cooper Webb championship kind of first three races, right? Hangs around, is a podium guy if he doesn’t crash, has some spark in him when it’s time to qualify and he hasn’t made any big changes to his bike. If he doesn’t get blocked a little bit by Sexton, we might have seen a number 2 on top of the box. Watch out people. Chippy Coop is here!
Barcia: Justin was sick as a dog for two weeks and from what I have heard, he hasn’t ridden that much since the opener. Getting a podium in a mud race isn’t surprising for Barcia but to me, he looks to have some more speed in 24’. We just need to see the fitness come back and now JB51 is in the mix too! WOW!
Sexton: I feel like Chase knew what he did. Do I think Chase is a greasy rider? No, but I saw what I saw. I don’t think there is beef with Webb as neither rider is built like that, but from what I heard there was very little said after the race. Does this escalate to something? Naaaa. I think we move on and race clean from here on out.
Wilson: Besides the unbelievable walk in throwback fit, Dean-O has a hot a wife. No, I am joking, of course we are going to talk about his TOP TEN! A top ten in this year’s 450 class is a feat in itself! Going through the LCQ to barely qualify then to get a top ten is a bad ass race to me. Dean claims that he is the “old guy” but he’s not old, he just has some souvenirs of racing so many many years! Great work number 15!
Rodbell: For a guy that ruptured his Achilles and then had a cracked wrist before the season started, Rodbell is killing it! Switching to KTMs with Next Level Racing, the former east coast HVAC worker has surprised even some of the top professionals on how well he is riding. We know he can ride mud now, so let’s see how well he does at A2, since he missed the first Anaheim! I’ll be watching!
Thrasher: When it’s muddy, yet not too muddy, this is the guy to pick! This track had Nate’s name written all over it. Thrasher had some good lines and started jumping the triple early which helped him get back to Marchbanks. I also heard that during the week over at the Star facility that Thrasher has great speed against the whole team. I also heard that it’s not the most calm place to be training during the week. These Star boys have pressure to perform. Plain and simple! Great job to Nate for breaking through in 24’ after his injuries!
Marchbanks: Garrett was the guy jumping the triple, which forced the others to start jumping it. He also has long legs which helps in these types of races. I will say that Marchbanks has been riding great and even though Phil had some transmission problems, the Club MX Yamaha team has improved their engine package which (in my eyes) has helped Marchbanks results. Sure, he’s a great rider but in this class you need a fast engine!
Nagy: I can’t even find a photo of Nagy! DAMN IT! Nagy made his fourth main event of his career! Who knew? Not me! I thought it was his second! Congrats to Nags on his fine mud riding!
