Dirty Little Secrets
St. Louis is revered as arguably having the best dirt of the series. It’s usually scheduled right as the snow is beginning to melt throughout the Midwest, leaving plenty of moisture in its wake. The tricky part is having dirt that is tacky, like we always find here, but not so wet as to be rutty and treacherous. Somehow St. Louis nails that combination every single year. Riders look forward to this race for that solitary reason.
The track map is a bit unique. It has some sections that will be very fast but also some rhythms that have the potential to be difficult. The two sections on each side of the stadium walls will be the most important. The first of the two is the main rhythm section. There are multiple opportunities to triple, but all will depend on the first combination of the tabletop. Whether or not riders jump onto or over the tabletop will determine how they put the rest of the section together. Look for riders to experiment with that as they search for the fastest route.
Further around the track, the whoops look to be of decent length. The key here will be how they break down. I have seen St. Louis whoops stay composed enough that blitzing is the best option through the end of the main event. I have also seen them break down to the point where riders jump a couple of times and are out of them. If they stay tough enough to blitz, look for some passes to be made here. Riders will be accelerating from yet another wall jump, allowing side-by-side action.
Who’s Hot
Eli Tomac won his second race of the series and his first in ten rounds. Eli has been fast all year, but untimely mistakes and poor main event starts have made it tough to reach his potential. He has the talent to be a champion in this class. When his maturity matches his ability, the sky is the limit for the #3.
Justin Bogle has been building up to this first win for a while now. For those paying attention, it’s been evident that his riding and endurance have been on an upward rise since the beginning of the season. He came into Dallas at less than 100 percent and he’s finally ready to battle. He is 13 points down with two rounds left so he needs a lot of help, but if he can win out, anything is possible.
Cole Seely has emerged as a podium mainstay the last few weeks. His Daytona ride was overshadowed by his tip-over, but he followed with a strong runner-up finish at Indy. Detroit was another good one for Seely, as he won his heat race and then rode solidly to third in the main event.
Ryan Dungey remains here because I don’t think I can leave him off the list with a 67-point lead. With Canard’s injury, his point lead is more like 77 as Tomac is the nearest healthy threat.
Who’s Not
Jeremy Martin had a horrendous weekend in Indiana, but coming into Detroit, he looked ready to bounce back. While fourth certainly isn’t terrible, he is capable of more. Where is the J-Mart from ATL 1?
Jason Anderson has seemed to catch the crash bug recently and that continued in Detroit. His crash was a bit more violent this time, side-saddling him into the ground while behind Chad Reed. He went to the hospital to get checked out but seems to generally be okay. Tough stretch for El Hombre in his rookie season.
Martin Davalos hasn’t been able to put together the great results like he had in 2014. Detroit was cut short by a wild sequence that saw him shoot over a berm and take RJ Hampshire down with him. He didn’t rejoin the race after his crash, so hopefully he is healthy and ready for more in St. Louis.
Bold Predictions
Eli Tomac wins his second race in a row, capitalizing on the great St. Louis traction.
Weston Peick, after his violent crash in Detroit, is sued by Ford Field’s soil. Peick is accused of doing deathly harm to the Detroit soil via his body slam in the main event. The Michigan Supreme Court finds itself in a pickle as they have never had “Dirt” as a plaintiff before. Weston wins the ridiculous case and tells the “Candy Ass Dirt” he can’t wait for another rendezvous in 2016.
Andrew Short holeshots his seventy-third main event of the season.
Trey Canard and Jimmy Albertson both recover from their respective surgeries in time to combine their powers to build one superhuman healthy enough to compete in Missouri. Jimmy Canard is one lethal creation and drives the hometown crowd into a frenzy. Now that I think about it, this may just be how Ronnie Mac was created. If that’s the case, I hope the Edward Jones Dome stocked up on PBR and scandalous women.
Marvin Musquin rebounds to win in St. Louis and extend his points lead over second-place finisher Justin Bogle.
Steve Matthes misses his second race in a row. Okay, so maybe I already know this is definitely happening, but I am still shocked nonetheless. It was a good run, Steve. End of an era.
My Picks
450
- Eli Tomac
- Ryan Dungey
- Cole Seely
250
- Marvin Musquin
- Justin Bogle
- Jeremy Martin
