Justin Bogle is, literally, a lyricist. He doesn’t advertise it but he’s penned some rap songs that have made some sales. Last year he made Fox Sports’ Jenny Taft say on the podium, “Justin, you always have the best words.” And this year, he gave us the quote of the season from Indianapolis.
“I drug my foot pegs up the face of the finish line jump in practice, and the case was so hard not even OJ Simpson’s team coulda helped out! It was a hard case!”
But the phrase we hear most from Justin Bogle is actually a simple one, but one that’s effective when you’ve been through the ups and downs he has.
“It’s all good.”
If you’re Bogle, you need that crutch to stay positive, because his career has been dotted by highs and lows. He was mostly just under the radar as an amateur, until his final season, when he flipped the switch and delivered the AMA Horizon Award. His pro career was soon peppered by injuries and by the time 2014 came around, he had reached the make or break point.
Then he broke. Literally.
A huge crash during the pre-season appeared to end his Monster Energy Supercross campaign. GEICO Honda even had to hire a replacement rider. Bogle quietly worked away in the background hoping to make a few races. He actually limped into the opener, began to put together solid rides, and as the series leaders on the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki team began to find misfortune, Bogle’s grit and timing paid off—ending as the 2014 250SX East Region Champion.
Last year he came into the season hurt again, and ran into a buzz saw in Marvin Musquin while trying to defend his title. He was injured for most of Lucas Oil Pro Motocross and lost in the shuffle. The points system said he had to move up to 450SX full time for ’16, but his 2015 results made it tough to find a deal, or confidence.
“Last summer I was in a really weird spot,” he told us in the pits after the New Jersey Supercross. “I was pretty down on everything. I was pretty over a lot of stuff. Things just weren’t looking up for me.”
Bogle was rumored to join several teams, such as the Monster Energy/360Fly Yamaha team as a teammate to Chad Reed, but that spot fizzled. GEICO Honda squad swooped in to the rescue, leasing a factory 450 from Honda HRC and sending Bogle to the races. He’d get this season to prove himself on good equipment, then find a good deal for 2017.
"The way I look at it I’ve got youth on my side. I’ve got that youthful confidence and I’ve got that youthful mindset where I have the time to figure it out."
-Bogle
Then came more injuries. Bogle broke his foot before the season; then banged his head at Round 2 in San Diego. By the time he was finally right he was 23rd in points, he logged 15-18 finishes, and he was in trouble.
But Bogle never stopped believing and never panicked. He kept throwing out the “It’s all good” and kept working. Fortunately or unfortunately, he’d been down this injury road before.
“I’ve said this before, it only takes one time,” he says. “If you do it once, then for me at least I feel like if I can get up there and run up front and kind of get used to it, see what’s going on up there. It’s a lot different up front in this class; it’s way different. Get up there, get a feel for how it is. Now I feel like I should be battling for top fives every weekend rather than just stoked on a top ten. I’m pretty disappointed in a tenth.”
Bogle has been nailing starts and getting a taste of the front. Some of those starts led to embarrassing moments, like a huge loop out crash in Toronto that nearly wiped out the entire lead pack. But lately he’s been sticking closer and closer to the front. He had a sixth in Santa Clara, then 4-6 finishes in St. Louis and Foxborough. So now even the tenth from Saturday night at MetLife Stadium doesn’t measure up to his standards.
“It’s just time and health,” he says of his recent improvements. “Getting some good time during the week under my belt riding with good guys now. I was back home riding with Trey [Canard] and all the guys back there in Oklahoma. That’s been a big help. Just getting used to the pace and things like that.
“The first time I got sixth I was happy but the last few weeks where I got that fourth at St. Louis, I feel like that’s closer to where I’m capable of being at the moment. Obviously always trying to improve. This weekend I feel like it wasn’t lack of effort. I’m getting stronger physically, lap 20 I felt better than I have in a long time. I had a crazy battle tonight with podium guys but it was for eighth and ninth place. I just made too many mistakes. It’s all good. We’re making progress regardless. Top ten, we’ll keep it moving.”
The top ten in points could be en route, too. Bogle has clawed to eleventh, and is within five of tenth-ranked Weston Peick. Riders at this level usually don’t celebrate top tens because they want more.
“You start running up front and you know things are looking up,” he says. “But like I’ve said before, I believe in myself second to just that God above us, and that’s it. I believe I can do this stuff. I do know that it’s going to take some time unfortunately. It’s been that way my entire life. It’s taken me a while to figure things out, but once I figure it out I’m fine. It’s all good. I’m going to make it happen. The way I look at it I’ve got youth on my side. I’ve got that youthful confidence and I’ve got that youthful mindset where I have the time to figure it out. I believe in myself and I believe I will. So it’s all good.”
Youth is on his side, but he has to hope a team is on his side for next year, too. Bogle’s chosen to focus on the racing and let others handle the business side.
“I have incredible people in my corner. That’s why I have [agent] Jimmy Button on board to take care of things like that. I believe in him and I believe in what he does. Guys like that, guys like my trainer Ryan, my boy BMC, Hutch, everybody, my family. They keep me on the right track here and keep me focused on the task at hand. The task at hand is trying to improve every weekend because I believe I can be up there in that top five and I want to get close to a podium. I want to get up on the box next weekend. It’s all good.”
