The Flying Frenchman
Anaheim 2 wasn’t the best night for Dylan Ferrandis in terms of results (he was third the week before), but it just might have been his best performance of the season. After a lousy start, Ferrandis put his head down and went to work picking his way through the pack before eventually crossing the line in fourth. Based on the last two races, it’d seem Ferrandis is set to start surging. However, the Triple Crown puts a premium on starts. If he’s finally able to get some decent starts he’s going to be trouble for the competition. –Aaron Hansel
Five in Five
We’ve had four winners in the first four rounds, and there are still riders who haven’t won who could easily get it done in Glendale. Reigning champion Cooper Webb is still winless, Ferrandis can’t be far off from lighting the torches, and it’s conceivable that guys like Malcolm Stewart, Marvin Musquin, Justin Barcia, or Aaron Plessinger could notch a win too. Will we have a repeat winner in Glendale, or will the list of 2022 winners get even longer? –Hansel
Tomac Time
We’ve got a whole bunch of racing left this season and it’s too early to say things are looking a little scary for people not named Eli Tomac, but then again, things are looking a little scary for people other than Tomac. He took the points lead at round three and followed that up with a pretty convincing win the following week at A2. He holds a six-point lead over Chase Sexton, but if Tomac goes on a run, which is something he’s no stranger to, the championship landscape is going to start looking drastically different. –Hansel
On the Rise
Brandon Hartranft has been doing great in 2022. He was 17th at the opener, which matched his all-time personal best in the 450SX class, and has improved since at every single round, going 16th, 15th, and finally at A2, 12th. That’s some pretty marked improvement! Afterward he joked with journalist Steve Matthes that, at this rate, he’d probably have the championship wrapped up by Salt Lake City. Will Hartranft’s upward trend continue in Glendale? –Hansel
A Championship in Crisis
As good as the beginning of the season was for Ken Roczen, who smoked everyone at the opener, it’s been just about as bad for him since. He’s taken 13th, seventh, and 13th since, putting him in ninth in points and 23 back of Tomac. It hasn’t been all his fault, he was helped violently to the ground by Jason Anderson at A2, but no matter how you look at it, he’s in real danger of having this title slip out of his hands before we even reach the halfway point. Roczen needs to get back to his winning ways to keep his title hopes alive, and he needs to do it in Glendale. –Hansel
Brown Town
So far Carson Brown owns the best comeback story of the season. He crashed at A1 and took a lever to the mouth, which dislodged teeth and created gashes so big he needed stitches, yet somehow didn’t even miss any subsequent races. Fast forward to A2 and he had the best result of his career, finishing in sixth place! Any chance he’s able to take another step forward and get it in the top five? –Hansel
Second-Place Shootout
At the moment Christian Craig is turning out to be a pretty tough nut to crack, but there’s a pretty exciting points battle starting to materialize behind him between Hunter Lawrence and Michael Mosiman. Lawrence leads Mosiman by three points, and the two have been pretty close in speed too. Lawrence has been more consistent, but Mosiman’s beat him at the last two rounds and is the only one of the duo who’s scored a win this season. Which one of these 250SX racers will own second place following Glendale? –Hansel
Fast Friese
Vince Friese was two laps from his first podium in 13 years at Anaheim 2 when he crashed in the whoops and was clobbered by the passing Jo Shimoda. Friese bit his tongue and was put in a bit of a daze but was otherwise okay from the crash. Now Friese has showed steady improvement through the first four rounds and has been knocking on the door for some great results. The triple crown this weekend will maybe help him get there as Friese is a start master and can use these shorter races to perhaps even win a main event. Look for Friese to be working just as hard as last week to get a career best result. –Kellen Brauer
Dry and Slick
Glendale might take the cake for the longest and fastest track of the year outside of the speedways, but it also usually takes the cake for the most hard-packed track raced all year. During press day, the dirt appeared to be tacky and wet, but it will certainly dry out throughout the day and turn into blue grooved sections by the night show. Look for riders to be teetering on the edge of track in a lot of sections. –Brauer
Triple Down Triple Crown
It’s been almost two years since we last had a Triple Crown race in Monster Energy AMA Supercross. This format pushes the riders to put three races together and stay out of trouble to bring home a solid result. Some riders like it for the opportunity to shake things up, but others are not fans of the added risk involved. What this all culminates in is we might even see some of the early championship contenders working a bit harder to avoid trouble at all costs to put three main events together. As such, some riders with less to lose might be sending it to win all three races. Either way, it will certainly be entertaining racing to watch. –Brauer
