Uneasy Rider

With a 27-point lead on Blake Baggett and 31-point lead on Musquin, Eli Tomac is still in a pretty good place, championship wise, with just four motos remaining. That said, there’s no way he’s happy about Musquin winning the last six motos in a row, and he absolutely cannot be pleased about coughing up 23 points to Musquin at Unadilla. Tomac’s grip on the championship is still strong, but if he wants to keep it that way he simply cannot give up another big chunk of points to Musquin or Baggett at Budds Creek. –Hansel

Late-Season Surge

Cole Seely has made no attempt to conceal his intention to improve his results at the Nationals. He’s voiced displeasure with a run of fifth and sixth-place finishes, and even moved to Florida earlier this summer to see if a change in scenery could strengthen his results. Judging by his recent performances, the hard work and changes seem to be paying off. He took third in a moto at Washougal (3-5) and after getting named to Team USA for the 2017 MXoN, landed on the overall podium for the first time in his 450 career last week at Unadilla (3-6). Let’s see if he backs it up on a dry (hopefully) Budds Creek. –Hansel

Back on Point?

Want to know Jeremy Martin’s average moto finish in the last six motos before Unadilla? 5.667. Plenty of riders would be thrilled with this, but Martin is a two-time National Champion who is capable of, and should be, battling for wins on any given weekend. Of course, this is not lost on Martin, who said he spent a couple days before Unadilla testing and working on suspension improvements. He also said he did a few things differently off the bike without elaborating much. Well, the changes must have worked because Martin turned some good starts into an overall victory at Unadilla. Does this mean he’s back in the groove? We’ll find out at Budds Creek. –Hansel

Savatgy Rolling

There’s no denying the testing Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki and Joey Savatgy conducted recently have drastically turned around what was otherwise a disappointing Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. In the last three rounds, Savatgy has two overall wins and three moto wins. In the first seven rounds, he won just one moto. Steve Matthes reported that they did “some things to help the turning.” Whatever they’ve done, it’s worked. While his run at a title is likely over, this momentum will help Savatgy heading into 2018, especially after a heartbreaking finish to Monster Energy Supercross. –Chase Stallo

Second Time Around

Justin Cooper stole the show at Unadilla, as the New York native charged through the slop to capture a moto podium in his first ever Lucas Oil Pro Motocross race. While the Nicky Hayden AMA Horizon Award winner was the focus, two other rookies—Joey Crown and Jayce Pennington—had good days as well, scoring nine and four points, respectively. With first-race jitters out of the way, we’ll see how the rookies perform in their second race. -Stallo