It appears everyone needs our help this week. (We struggled too.) So everyone needs to stick around—maybe we can provide some answers. Let’s take a look at last week’s top three.

450SX

Trey Canard | 1st overall

1.) 12 percent of all entries picked Canard to finish first.

2.) 14 percent

3.) 16 percent

Ryan Dungey | 2nd overall

1.) 15 percent

2.) 23 percent

3.) 34 percent

Chad Reed | 3rd overall

1.) 0.4 percent

2.) 0.5 percent

3.) 2 percent

 

250SX

Malcolm Stewart | 1st overall

1.) 0.7 percent

2.) 2 percent

3.) 6 percent

Cooper Webb | 2nd overall

1.) 57 percent

2.) 29 percent

3.) 8 percent

Alex Martin | 3rd overall

1.) 0.0001 percent or 1 player

2.) Three players

3.) Four players

We want to know who is this one maverick who picked Alex to win? Is it Alex himself? Filthy-Fill? Jeremy Martin? You, sir, were on the verge of history as A-Mart closed on Mookie in the latter laps. Who are you? Identify yourself please Chase@racerxonline.com.

Qualifying vs. Results

Hopefully some of you followed our advice and were cautious when judging qualifying. As we've said again and again, it’s vital to study qualifying to make good picks, but one must use caution. We could list the many reasons as to why, or just show you some examples of the best, and worst, and what was right on from qualifying to main event results.

BEST

450SX

Killy Rusk | Qualified: 34th | Finish: 19th | Difference: +15

Phil Nicoletti | Qualified: 27th | Finish: 14th | Difference: +13

Kyle Chisholm | Qualified: 23rd | Finish: 13th | Difference: +10

250SX

Alex Martin | Qualified: 9th | Finish: 3rd | Difference: +6

Scott Champion | Qualified: 19th | Finish: 13th | Difference: +6

Aaron Siminoe | Qualified: 27th | Finish: 22nd | Difference: +5

 

MISSED THE MARK

450SX

Broc Tickle | Qualified: 6th | Finish: 22nd

Josh Grant | Qualified: 11th | Finish: 21st | Difference: -10

Josh Hill | Qualified: 14th | Finish: DNQ

250SX

Justin Hill | Qualified: 1st | Finish: 9th | Difference: -8

Chris Alldredge | Qualified: 13th | Finish: 21st | Difference: -8

Jake Canada | Qualified: 15th | Finish: DNQ

 

ON POINT

450SX

Trey Canard | Qualified: 1st | Finish: 1st | Difference: 0

Eli Tomac | Qualified: 4th | Finish: 4th | Difference: 0

Jason Anderson | Qualified: 9th | Finish: 10th | Difference: -1

250SX

Zack Freeberg | Qualified: 12th | Finish: 12th | Difference: 0

Nico Izzi | Qualified: 20th | Finish: 20th | Difference: 0

Zach Osborne | Qualified: 7th | Finish: 6th | Difference: +1

Austin Politelli | Qualified: 18th | Finish: 17th | Difference: +1

Shane McElrath | Qualified: 10th | Finish: 11th | Difference: -1

Aaron Plessinger | Qualified: 6th | Finish: 7th | Difference: -1

 

SCORING CHART

Need a refresher on how scoring works? Go here. Want to view the scoring chart? See below.

Place	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
1	50	22	20	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1	0
2	22	48	22	20	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1
3	20	22	46	22	20	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2
4	18	20	22	44	22	20	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3
5	17	18	20	22	42	22	20	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4
6	16	17	18	20	22	41	22	20	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5
7	15	16	17	18	20	22	40	22	20	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6
8	14	15	16	17	18	20	22	39	22	20	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7
9	13	14	15	16	17	18	20	22	38	22	20	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8
10	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	20	22	37	22	20	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9
11	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	20	22	36	22	20	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10
12	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	20	22	35	22	20	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11
13	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	20	22	34	22	20	18	17	16	15	14	13	12
14	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	20	22	33	22	20	18	17	16	15	14	13
15	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	20	22	32	22	20	18	17	16	15	14
16	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	20	22	31	22	20	18	17	16	15
17	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	20	22	30	22	20	18	17	16
18	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	20	22	29	22	20	18	17
19	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	20	22	28	22	20	18
20	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	20	22	27	22	20
21	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	20	22	26	22
22	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	20	22	25

 

Top Picks/Sleepers

Picking all twenty-two riders in their correct positions is impossible. Science has proven that it will never happen. It's science we just made up, but still, it’s science, people. That’s not what this league is all about, though. You earn points just for picking—if they make the main. Every week we’ll give you a couple top picks and sleepers to watch. Also, make sure to check our Injury Report before making your picks for the weekend.

450SX

Josh Hill | Valli Motorsports Yamaha | Last week: DNQ
This is the week, right? Too much talent, right?

Phil Nicoletti | AutoTrader.com/Toyota/JGR Yamaha | Last week: 14th
Last week was like A1 for Filthy. And only six percent of players picked him to make the main. The main is a safe pick.  

Davi Millsasp | Monster Energy Kawasaki | Last week: 7th
Not sure if he’s in podium form yet, but top ten is a safe bet.

Chad Reed | Discount Tire/TwoTwo Motorsports | Last week: 3rd
Last week we told you Chad was salty and was prime for a good ride. He delivered with his first podium of the year. Expect more of last week Chad, rather than A1 Chad.

Kyle Chisholm | Privateer | Last week: 13th
DO NOT PAY ATTENTION TO HIS QUALIFYING TIMES. Seriously, don’t. Consecutive weeks he’s improved his finishing position by more than ten spots over his qualifying position. Top fifteen isn’t a stretch.

250SX

Justin Hill | Red Bull KTM | Last week: 9th
Threw away a win last week, but was super fast. Expect him to return to podium form.

Malcolm Stewart | GEICO Honda | Last week: 1st
As I mentioned in 10 Things to Watch, this has been Malcolm’s most consistent year in his career. He should be in the top five on your ballot.

Shane McElrath | Lucas Oil/Troy Lee Designs KTM | Last week: 11th
Finished outside the top ten for the first time all year last weekend. That shouldn’t continue. Toss him back into the top ten.

Zack Freeberg | Strikt Slaton Yamaha | Last week: 12th
Back-to-back twelfth-place finishes. Expect more of the same.

Chris Alldredge | Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki | Last week: 21st
Has been super fast, but has crashed a lot. Take a chance on him this weekend. The speed is there.

 

AGAINST THE GRAIN

Against the grain is not always a bad pick. For example, if you were part of the two percent that had Aaron Siminoe making the main, you picked up some points. Or, if you we’re part of the 7 percent that had Cole Seely fifth or better, you picked up a ton of points. As you’ll see below, it can go the other way as well.

450SX 

- 7 percent of players picked Cole Seely to finish fifth or better; he finished fifth

- 31 percent picked Blake Baggett to finish tenth or better; he finished ninth

- 14 percent had Fredrik Noren making main; he finished seventeenth

- 64 percent had Broc Tickle tenth or better; he finished twenty-second

- 42 percent of players had Ken Roczen; he finished fifteenth

- Only 0.4 percent of player had Killy Rusk making main; he finished nineteenth

- 69 percent of players had Josh Hill; he failed to qualify

250SX 

- 75 percent of players had Shane McElrath finishing tenth or better; he finished eleventh

- 25 percent had Trevor Reis making the main; he finished eighteenth

- Zero percent had Brandon Scharer making the main; he finished nineteenth

- Only 2 percent had Aaron Siminoe making the main; he finished twenty-second

- 24 percent had Scott Champion finishing fifteenth or better; he finished thirteenth

- 1.5 percent had Zach Bell fifth or better; he finished fifth

- 61 percent had Josh Hansen tenth or better; he finished eighth

- 13 percent had Tommy Hahn tenth or better; he finished sixteenth

 

Bonus Picks

Just because Jordan Roberts struck gold last weekend and finally, after three futile attempts, got the heat race winner right doesn’t mean it’s time to start risking it. It’s too early. But, we understand that some of you like to live on the edge. And we are here to help you crazy folk as well.

Round	Fastest Qualifier	Heat Winners	Holeshot
Anaheim 1	Eli Tomac; Cooper Webb	Andrew Short, Eli Tomac; Justin Hill, Tyler Bowers	Mike Alessi; Jessy Nelson
Phoenix	Eli Tomac; Cooper Webb	Cole Seely, Eli Tomac; Justin Hill, Jessy Nelson	Eli Tomac; Zach Osborne
Anaheim 2	Justin Barcia; Zach Osborne	Ryan Dungey, Mike Alessi; Cooper Webb, Shane McElrath	Jimmy Albertson; Zach Osborne
Oakland	Trey Canard; Justin Hill	Ken Roczen, Justin Barcia; Cooper Webb, Jessy Nelson	Andrew Short; Zach Bell

My Picks for Oakland

450SX

Fastest Qualifier: Ken Roczen

Heat Winner: Eli Tomac

Holeshot: Ken Roczen

250SX

Fastest Qualifier: Cooper Webb

Heat Winner: Jessy Nelson

Holeshot: Zach Bell

 

ADVICE FROM THE SO-CALLED EXPERTS

I’m still baffled how Matthes picked up points on me last week. His advice was awful. “Ken Roczen top three.” Nope. “Webb wins again.” Close, but nope. “Hill, Wey, LaMay, and Albertson to make the main.” Nope, nope, nope, and nope. “Alldredge top seven. Stamp it.” No stamp. I’m going to crawl in a hole now. It can’t get much worse, or maybe it can, so we’ve asked our magazine managing editor Andrew Fredrickson to give us his advice. (Ed Note: Andrew specialized in photos when he first started here. Take his knowledge of who will finish in what spot with extreme caution.)

Five Things I’m Betting on This Week (Andrew Fredrickson)

1. Tyler Bowers wins: I’ve bet this for the last two rounds, but come on, he’s got it this time.

2. Andrew Short Holeshot: Is it risky? Yes, very risky, but I’m falling down the ladder in our Racer X League and I need something to pick me back up, and Andrew Short getting the holeshot is going to be it.

3. Ryan Dungey wins: I have yet to bet this, but I think it’s going to be his race. A3 means all the guys are getting used to this dirt now, and the third time is a charm for the cool, calm, and collected Ryan Dungey.

4. Alex Martin Repeats: Alex Martin just got the confidence kick that he needs. He’s going to be in either third or fourth this weekend.

5. Jason Anderson back on the box: Stamp it.

 

Prizes/Winners

Unfortunately do to a scoring change last week when Blake Baggett, Martin Davalos and Vince Friese were all docked two positions for jumping on a red flag, we are still calculating winners from last week. We apologize and should have it up shortly.

Don’t celebrate too early, there is still a long way to go and we got some sick prizes up for grabs this week.

Renthal 450 Prizes

1st place:   Renthal Twinwall Bars

2nd place:   Renthal R1 Works Chain

3rd place:   Renthal Ultralight Rear Sprocket

Maxima 250 Prizes

1st place: Maxima Pro Package - (4) Pro Plus+ Full Synthetic Engine Oil (1L bottles), Chain Care Kit, SC1, BIO Wash, Maxima T-Shirt, and Decal Kit

2nd place: Pro Filter Package - Stainless Steel Oil Filter, Billet Oil Filter Cover, and Premium Air Filter

3rd place: Maxima MTB Package - Synthetic Chain Guard Chain Lube, Assembly Lube, SC1, Maxima BIKE T-Shirt

 

Racer X League

Want to challenge the Racer X team? Here’s your chance. Each week we will run down the top five in the overall standings of the Racer X Fantasy League. Did you destroy us this week? Let us know in the comments.