Back-to-Back

It came as no surprise when Adam Cianciarulo broke through for his first win aboard a 450 in the last round at RedBud. After all, he’s a 250 National Champion and he’s already shown he’s got up-front pace in the big boy class too. After recording that first win, via 1-3 moto scores, Cianciarulo was happy but said he really wanted to go 1-1. Well, not only does he have a chance to go back-to-back this weekend, he’ll get his shot at getting that 1-1 too. –Aaron Hansel

Flabbergasted

If that’s the way you felt after watching Blake Baggett get hot, run down Zach Osborne and check out for the win in the second moto at RedBud 2, you weren’t alone. Baggett seemed to suddenly summon speed out of nowhere! But really, this kind of thing should come as no surprise at all. Baggett is famous for mysteriously pulling obscene amounts of speed, seemingly out of thin air, with zero warning, and you can usually count on it happening at least once a season. The only question now is, will he have it at Spring Creek too? –Hansel

Fantastic Fill-In

You know who’s been under-the-radar awesome so far this season? Broc Tickle, that’s who! Filling in for Aaron Plessinger at Monster Energy Yamaha, Tickle has been inside the top ten in almost every single moto, was almost on the overall podium at Loretta Lynn’s 2, and has been steadily improving, scoring fifth in the last moto at RedBud. Now, this might not seem like great results but you have to consider Tickle had not raced outdoors since July 2017 because of injury and then his two-year suspension sentence. If the starts go his way at Spring Creek, is it possible Tickle is able to put his blue machine on the podium? -Hansel

The Rematch

The last time the gate dropped, the potential was there for either Jeremy Martin or Dylan Ferrandis to make huge gains in the championship department. Well, things didn’t exactly work out that way, and although there were fireworks on the track when Ferrandis got into the back of Martin and took them both down, the net points differential was far from explosive at the end of the day—Ferrandis gained just three points on Martin. Now, after a weekend off, the season is heading into Spring Creek, where Martin will be an overwhelming fan favorite. Will he or Ferrandis be able to inflict any major damage to each other on Saturday? –Hansel

Maintaining the Course

With a 28-point lead on Marvin Musquin, 450 Class championship leader Zach Osborne is in a good place right now, and while race wins are great if they’re there, you could make the argument the most important thing for Osborne, at this point anyway, is not to go out and win, but to manage this championship. With the lead he’s got, hanging it out and risking catastrophe to score an additional two or three points is not only unnecessary, it’s unwise. And if there’s anything that’s described Osborne lately it’s not unwise. Look for Zacho to take the win at Spring Creek if it’s there, but most of all, to avoid taking a big hit in the points. -Hansel

The Home Stretch

Since March, everything about 2020 has been upside-down and the wild schedule of races that have been run in both Monster Energy AMA Supercross and the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship is no exception. Riders had essentially two off-seasons right in the middle of everything with a stretch from mid-March to June and then another month and a half of no racing after that. After this past weekend off from racing, just four races remain in this crazy year for the AMA circuit as the next four weekends will finally wrap up this year of racing. Who finishes this year with a bang? -Kellen Brauer

Turn the Jettson

Jett Lawrence has been steadily improving all year and outside of his double DNF at Loretta Lynn’s 2, the GEICO Honda rider hasn’t finished outside of the top 10 in any moto. At RedBud 2, he was potentially on his way towards his first career overall podium finish before a late race tangle with Ty Masterpool dropped him down to sixth overall. As the 17-year-old continues to gain confidence with each new racetrack he goes to, look for him to sneak into the front picture more often. -Brauer

Big Fish to Frye

Monster Energy/Star Racing Yamaha’s Jarrett Frye will make his pro debut this weekend at Spring Creek as he comes off a torn ACL from earlier this year. Having just seen teammate Ty Masterpool come off a broken leg straight into some great results at the RedBud double header, Frye will look to make a similar splash this weekend. Though it is his full pro debut, the pressure is off as he admitted earlier this year that the focus from he and the team is more on supercross in 2021. Look for the #134 out there this weekend. -Brauer

Tomac Turning Point

The championship may well be out of reach in 2020 for three-time and defending Lucas Oil Pro Motocross champion Eli Tomac. At 47 points down, Tomac needs a huge change of the tides with just four rounds to go. However, the second half of each of his three championship seasons were always his strongest and now we officially enter the back half of the championship this weekend. With just one moto and overall win to his credit this year, look for Tomac to get the ball rolling down the stretch. -Brauer

The Spoilers

Jeremy Martin and Dylan Ferrandis may well be in a two-horse race for the championship fight in the 250 Class, but RJ Hampshire, Shane McElrath, and Alex Martin have all won motos this season as well. As the championship drama intensifies, all three riders behind will be looking for every opportunity to pounce in for race wins. If what we saw from the second RedBud is any indication, nobody inside of the top five in points is laying over for each other in the slightest and it could make some great racing this weekend again. -Brauer