By Denny Stephenson, Jason Thomas, and Steve Matthes
1. Is Ryan Dungey just doing what Ryan Dungey does, or is he better than ever?
Denny Stephenson: This is the best I've ever seen the Diesel. My friend David Vuillemin often speaks of bike setup and how he sees the #5 fighting with his bike. I like DV’s analysis, which made me watch the races differently. But I think this was one of Dungey’s best performances to date. I tweeted after his heat: "Holeshot in the main and he's gone kids." Well, something like that. When Fro, RC, and Ralph super slo-mo'd Ryan scrubbing one of the singles in the main, he looked perfect. I honestly was blown away by his technique! This is usually the guy who wins by opportunity. In Dallas he was the most technical and precise guy on the track. I'm just a guy watching from afar, but if you're KR, TC, or ET, be afraid. Be very afraid.
Jason Thomas: I do think it’s similar to what we’ve always seen from Ryan—with a catch. I’m starting to sense a bit more confidence from Ryan than I noticed in years past. I think he’s starting to see that with RV out of the equation, he is "the guy." Roczen, Tomac, and Canard are on the same level at any given time, but Dungey's experience and ability to consistently avoid mistakes are beginning to shine through. This is what Dungey does; he just doesn't have to contend with a four-time defending champion this time.
Steve Matthes: He's "different" for sure. Ryan's already got more wins than all of last year, and I think he realizes that this title is wide open for anyone to grab. There's no Ryan Villopoto or James Stewart out there, so his thinking is: “Why not me? Why can't I be next?” I think the combination of losing two out-of-this-world talents, Dungey’s work with Aldon Baker on the mental side of things (Dungey was already in shape, people), and the new bike has made him a new (okay, a new-ish) Ryan Dungey. That bike is really good, folks. I think Ryan has stepped up his game, but we’ll know for sure if he gets a little aggressive with one of the other big three riders at some point. Then, and only then, can we stamp this as a definite thing.
2. Besides the obvious—Musquin—who impressed you in the first 250 East Region round?
Stephenson: Oh, the East Coast. Less hype and name-dropping, but the same pay check. This was my coast back in the day. My favorite? Matt Lemoine. Someone give this kid a factory bike already! Arnaud Tonus was fast in practice, but I didn’t believe he was capable of getting a podium just yet. He’ll need to get used to the young American supercross chaos of getting punched in the face once the gate drops. Matt Lemoine is ready for the next level. Just give the kid the bike and the chance. And some twenty-sixes. Kid’s from Texas. He does enjoy baller status.
Thomas: Justin Bogle was better than I expected right away. Because he was dealing with an injury in the off-season, I didn't really know what to expect. He was fast all night and looked to be ready. He wasn't quite on pace with Marvin but he was certainly the second best guy. The other surprise was the speed from Arnaud Tonus. His result wasn't great, but he was very, very fast and will be on the podium very soon.
Matthes: I'm going to go with Tonus for the reasons the other two jerkies already said, and I’ll also say that Colt Nichols of the Motosport.com/GPI/Honda Racing team and Luke Renzland of the CycleTrader.com/Rock River Yamaha team also stepped up. Both riders looked great in their rookie supercross races, and you can see Nichols has some skills out there. Renzland is under the radar compared to other rookies, but he's acquitting himself well.
3. Josh Grant's finishes at the start of the season: 18-19-20-21-22. That's a bad trend. He’s gone 12-8 in the last two rounds. How does a dude dig out like that?
Stephenson: This is a biased question for me because, simply, I love Josh Grant. When I did the agent thing for a couple years, Josh and Trey Canard were my guys. I signed both of them and became personally invested in both of their lives. I clicked more with JG because he's a bi-product of the 1990s. I remember selling him to JBone at JGR, and the night Josh won A1 is still to this day one of my happiest moments in moto. JG’s talent on a motorcycle is matched by very few. And the way he started this season so poorly, even with Reedy in his corner, had me wondering what the heck was going on. Pretty sure he's been battling some old foot injuries, but he's back. Top ten is only tip of the iceberg for Josh. Kid’s a straight greasy talent, and a top-five is next door. Chad Reed hired him for a reason.
Thomas: From being in the TwoTwo truck and listening to the conversations, I know they have just been trying to stay positive and wait it out. Grant was basically trying to back it down a touch and just make it to the checkered flag in recent weeks. Once he could put any sort of result in, he could start to build from there and try to pick the intensity back up. Looks like that’s happening. There was never any panic under the tent, though, and that was important. Everyone knew the luck would turn around, and it seems to have already.
Matthes: That's tough to do, but Grant has the talent, which is a huge step. The thing is, you do all your work in the off-season, but if the bad juju hits during the season, it’s hard to get it to stop rolling that way. There's not a lot of time during the week to work on whatever it is you feel is holding you back. It’s often just one little thing that sets you back at the race. I've seen riders who have been dealing with personal issues at home and arrive at the track a mess. Things go south fast when you're not happy or stress free, and that goes for anything from a professional dirt bike racer to an accountant, you know? Anyway, props to Grant for working through this and staying on two wheels the last couple of weeks and hopefully reversing this downward trend. Unlike Denny, I don't know if he is a top-five guy, but sixth to twelfth every weekend is where he should be.
