Instead, however, it’s been very much about the 250 class and its two tangling senior members, Christian Craig and Vince Friese. Their crash together last week in the second moto of the Triple Crown was brutal, ugly, and avoidable. It left Craig, the points leader, fairly beat up, and it cost him another sure overall win. It also cost Friese what was shaping up as a great opportunity to grab his second AMA Supercross podium in the class (his first was a third at the 2014 East Rutherford 250SX), and left the SmarTop/Bullfrog Spas/MotoConcepts Racing Honda rider with another mark on his long rap sheet of mid-race misadventures. At first glance I thought it was Friese’s fault. On second glance too. But I also think it was unintentional—he could not have meant to blow Craig off the track like that and put himself on the ground—but not a smart decision by any standard. Vince himself said as much in the interview he did with Donn Maeda of Swap Moto Live, which you can watch here:

Over the course of the week I’ve seen a lot of folks weighing in on this, and while most think it was Vince’s fault, there’s also a sizable contingent that thinks it wasn’t intentional or dirty, including some very smart and experienced racing minds like David Bailey, Grant Langston, and even James Stewart (which you can see down below in, Watch It). James made a great point, too, saying of Christian Craig, “I would have been pissed, too, in the moment for sure, but it was the person that did it more than anything else.”

That’s because there is a preconceived opinion out there that Friese is the bad guy out to make racing difficult on the rest of the field, given all of the past transgressions that weren’t as close a call as this one was. Vince is often involved because: a) he’ll fight anyone for any position, let alone first place, b) he’s an excellent starter, and c) he’s good.

But he’s not as good as Christian Craig. And after getting the holeshot, he decided to fight for the position. It ended badly for both of them, but worse for Friese. Yes, Christian was banged up, and it could have been much, much worse, but he’s got many wins and podiums to his credit, and more to come. For Vince, it cost him the best shot the journeyman has ever had at a podium, and that includes Anaheim 2 when he crashed while running third with just a lap to go. And even in a season where we’ve seen some very aggressive passes for everyone from Justin Barcia to Jason Anderson to Ryan Breece, it’s Vince’s move that nearly breaks the internet.

Every one of these collisions or run-ins or takedowns or whatever you want to call them, they all come with their own set of circumstances, their own nuances, geometry, and physics. They also have their own backstories. Their own DNA. The riders involved make their own decisions based on situational opportunity or overt aggression or maybe just panic. And when they’re dissected frame-by-frame afterward by the race-watchers, the ex-pros, the talking heads, the fans, the officials, and even the participants themselves, pretty much everything anyone ever did to anyone else is brought into the crowd-sourced autopsy of what exactly happened, who was to blame, and what punishment they should pay.

Like I said, Vince Friese has long worn the black hat, to the point where he is almost comfortable in it (or maybe just used to it). He's an excellent starter, a hard worker, and a scrapper. If he were a football player on our favorite team, we would love the guy.

But he's not playing football. He's racing dirt bikes in stadiums, and he has the unfortunate but well-earned M.O. as a great starter who is difficult to pass, which means he's a part of the story in almost every race, not for charging forward through the back, but rather making every pass of himself difficult. And he’s not afraid to bang bars.

But Christian Craig is no angel either, and he's been okay with that over the years too. With an average age of, what, 31? Their Glendale crash must have been the most “vintage” of collisions at the front of a 125/250 SX in the history of the class! Well, unless John Dowd and Barry Carsten got together at the Meadowlands or Pontiac one time in the late nineties. Both of these guys know the drill, and they even discussed it before one of the earlier races. Of course, Christian had much, much more to lose, as he’s in a great position to win the first professional title of his career. He made a risky pass in a very fast section, banking on the fact that Vince was on the inside and probably slowing down and staying in that line. He did not, instead moving across on the smoothed-out sand to the outside and right into the side of Craig as they both ran out of room.

Had it not been Vince Friese—as James Stewart says in his video, if it was Jo Shimoda—it would not have had as much oxygen as this whole topic has had all week. But it was Vince, and that blurred the vision for a lot of folks who don’t like the way he sometimes conducts himself out there. (Be warned, Matthes will have a much different opinion farther down.)

Let me close with Mike Genova’s statement on the SmarTop/Bullfrog Spas/MotoConcepts Honda Instagram:

Like any manager or team owner, you defend your guy in a close call, argue the point, and move on. That’s what Mike and the team are doing, and that’s what Christian Craig and the Star Yamaha Racing folks are doing too.

I personally hope Friese gets another good start tomorrow night at Anaheim, puts himself in another position to get a podium, and makes the right choices out there. If that’s enough to finally get a podium, great. But if it’s not, I have no doubt he won’t stop trying. That’s the one sure thing in all of this. If it goes the other way and he tangles again with someone out there under dubious circumstances, well, they’ll just have to fix the internet all over again.

Television Changes (DC)

Tomorrow night’s Anaheim 3 is coming on a very busy weekend for NBC and its affiliate networks, including USA and CNBC. The Winter Olympics are in full swing, and so is the Super Bowl, which will take up much of Sunday’s NBC television programming hours. Add it all up and we will have the first AMA Supercross not on actual TV for the first time since, what, the mid-1980s? Instead, the race will only stream on Peacock, as NBC just doesn’t have enough bandwidth to get the race on TV, especially with NBC Sports now gone completely from linear airwaves. Fortunately, most of the audience has learned how to watch streaming instead, so  Monster Energy AMA Supercross will go on(line).

The departure of NBC Sports has also affected the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship  to the point where a new home had to be found so as not to end up showing more races on tape delay. Fortunately, MAVTV, which is owned by Lucas Oil, the longtime sponsor of the series as well as the home of the first motos for the past few years, stepped up big time. Lucas Oil Studios, which has long produced the series programming for both MAVTV and NBC Sports, as well as NBC network, will now air all four motos live of every round, with zero chance of the races being delayed for some other sports programming. They also will have a live streaming service on MAVTV Plus that is a bargain at under $10 a month. And a further bonus (at least for international fans) is the fact that MAVTV Plus will not be geo-blocked in countries like Australia, which was extremely frustrating for Hunter and Jett Lawrence fans back home.

Speaking of Jett, he joined Jason Weigandt, the voice of Lucas Oil Pro Motocross, for last night’s live announcement at the 46th Annual Wrisco Winter Nationals for Late Model Dirt Racing cars outside Tampa. Lawrence, the defending 250 AMA Pro Motocross National Champion, will make his 2022 racing debut next Saturday night when the 250SX East Region begins in Minneapolis.

Here’s more on the new package, which still includes three shows that will still be on NBC.

Pro Perspective (Jason Thomas)

One last California round! While the racing will be familiar, it's a period of transition for most of the field. For the last two-three months, California has been home to many of the mechanics and riders. That will soon change, as a big percentage of riders will head to Florida, following the direction of the series. That can be a big move with vehicles, families, practice bikes, etc. I think many enjoy the change, though. California is a bit of a rat race. Florida (and southern Georgia, etc.) has a slower pace of life and just feels like the overall atmosphere is more relaxed. There are fewer distractions during the week as the series goes east, fewer sponsor obligations, and more time to focus solely on improving. Testing will also take a back seat, which is a welcome reprieve after months of it. Is it a hassle to move everyone's life across the country? Sure. Is it a welcome change and refresher as the series reaches halfway? Also yes.

I will be keeping an eye on trends in the results too. So often, the trends change as we enter February and March. Ricky Carmichael most notably once said that the series doesn't really start until we reach Daytona. While that may seem hyperbolic, the concept is more practical. The second half of the series is comprised of softer dirt and ruttier tracks. Many riders start to feel the effects of the week-in, week-out racing and travel, too. The cream rises to the top as the series grows long. We are entering the first transition after a month-plus of California dreamin’. What the East Coast brings will go a long way in determining who stands tallest. (And by the way, while he won five AMA Supercross Championships, Ricky Carmichael never won the Anaheim opener.)

Bikes Of Supercross (kris Keefer)

That's right! It's back! I am currently packing up and heading down to Angel Stadium to film some "Bikes Of Supercross" for Racer X Films. Never been able to sit on a factory bike? Don't worry, let us walk you through all the feels of what it's like to build, sit, and work on one of these high-end Saturday-night race machines. Watching these videos will feel like you're actually on one! We also might have a couple other surprises for you from the Orange County paddock.

This Week In Pulp (Steve Matthes)

Another week of shows for us over on the PulpMX Network starting with the show on Monday night. Zach Osborne came in to Vegas after his TV work for NBC Sports and we golfed, e-biked, and then did a Monday-night show. We were pretty much best friends. Anyway, he spoke about his TV work and how hard it is to have someone in his ear talking while he's giving his report, and also he thought he got better this week. We had Malcolm Stewart on the show to tell us about how he hates the Triple Crown format, he's still working on getting used to his bike for the West Coast tracks, and that yes, he knows he's not quite as fast in the whoops as he used to be but that it's coming. Malcolm is always a good interview and seemed to be happy with everything that's been going on under the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna tent. After all, he just had his best 450SX finish ever with a second overall at Glendale.

Also coming on was Christian Craig to talk about that "thing" with the MCR guys and the rest of his night. He's riding great right now and yet is only eight points up after Hunter Lawrence's win. The "thing" for Craig was really unfortunate for sure. I saw the apology Vince did with SwapMoto Live, and honestly, coming from a guy that's had Vince's back in other incidents, the apology was lacking. Talking about how Christian was courageous for going outside, how he was actually braking, how he didn't mean to knock Craig down and all that… Just own it, Vince, and apologize. 

To hear some other ex-riders talk about how it was a racing incident made me laugh. Imagine these guys in CC's position and just shrugging it off as a racing incident. Getting blown off your bike doing 30 mph after you've made the pass and just accepting it? Yeah, real normal. But again, some people think the earth is flat, so…

Joey Savatgy called in to talk about his recent ACL surgery, being a dad again, and what his plan was for riding with a torn ACL before he finally did it in at San Diego. And then, because Zach was in-studio, we recapped the Vegas 2017 finale that changed both of their careers—Osborne's for the better, Savatgy's for the worse. Both guys handled that talk well, spoke about the emotions of that night and the protests that came after. As Joey said, he would've done the same thing as Zach if he was in that position. Both guys talked about all the things that happened during that race.

Watch a short clip from the show below:

On the privateer podcast this week I caught up to the Bear, aka Tyler Bowers, to see what he's been up to. Bowers hasn't been at the races this year—he said he was close to doing it but couldn't pull the sponsors together, and he's working out in Florida. He didn't rule out a comeback by any means but sounds like he's happy being a dad and working a normal job. He mentioned that he might be doing some training/coaching with Jason Baker at the Sandbox riding facility. All in all, sounds like he's doing well and in a good spot with his career on and off the track.

ProTaper ACF (Keefer)

Some people may not be as picky as me on bars, but I am very sensitive to rigidity when it comes to handlebars. ProTaper has introduced its new ACF Handlebar (Aluminum Carbon Fiber) that is said to be the lightest 1-1/8 handlebar on the market. I have been riding with these bars the past few weeks and have come away impressed. Below are some highlights of the new ProTaper ACF bars, and be sure to look out for a video on these soon, right here on Racerxonline.com. 

Carbon Core

Unlike traditional carbon fiber fabric, unidirectional carbon fiber is unwoven. Its fibers run parallel to one another in a single direction. This allows the fibers to lay completely flat with no gaps between them. These densely concentrated fibers provide unidirectional carbon fiber with maximum longitudinal tensile strength—typically twice that of a traditional carbon fiber weave. ProTaper® ACF Handlebars use a unidirectional carbon fiber core system to reinforce the aluminum tubing. The added strength is said to allow the aluminum tubing wall thickness to be safely reduced in key areas, greatly decreasing weight and producing unrivaled impact-absorbing flex.

Control+

The four-stroke era has pushed motocross technology forward at an unprecedented pace. As a result, handlebars are quickly becoming crowded with hydraulic clutches, ignition mapping switches, electric starters, and more. With PT’s innovative Control+ design, ProTaper® ACF Handlebars are addressing this growing concern. Control+ features 220 millimeters of control space—up to 40 millimeters more than conventional 1⅛" handlebar designs. This means that you’re free to move around your controls and switches where you please because you actually have some room now!

Blame It On The Media (DC)

Last week, in the wake of Jeffrey Herlings' big crash while doing a photo shoot in Spain, we mentioned past instances in which top riders were hurt doing media-related riding for the cameras, like David Vuillemin in 2002. We left out a couple, like the time in 1983 that Bob Hannah, riding for Team Honda, was leading the AMA Supercross series in points going into the Orlando SX and ended up breaking his wrist during press day. Yamaha's Ron Lechien won the race—his first AMA Supercross win—and Hannah's teammate David Bailey went on to win the title. 

There was also the time in 2003 that 125 East Region Champion Branden Jesseman snapped his wrist on press day before the '03 Las Vegas East-West Shootout, knocking him out for most of the following summer. At that same Vegas race, James Stewart, the 125 West Region Champion, crashed spectacularly in front of the mechanics’ area, breaking his collarbone and knocking him out of the first four rounds of the 125 Nationals. That meant that both East and West Region SX champs were knocked out in one weekend in Las Vegas, which reminds us of this off-season, when first Justin Cooper and then Colt Nichols got injured before the first main event of the season, meaning that neither of Monster Energy/Star Yamaha Racing's riders would be able to line up for a main event in 2022! 

We're still hoping Herlings can get out there in MXGP before it’s too late!

AC222

The nine-time MXGP champion posted this photo to his social media accounts this week, stirring up the comments section...

Hey, Watch It!

Want to see James Stewart’s take on the big crash at Glendale?

One of the bigger pre-season races in Europe took place last weekend, the Masters Motocross at Lacapelle Marvel:

Another excellent Race Examination by our man Kellen Brauer:

Head-Scratching Headlines of the Week

“Elon Musk’s Neuralink 'Brain Chip' could give users orgasms on demand”—The Daily Star

"Tesla in 'Autopilot' mode crashes into police car"—CNN Business

“After more than 1,000 years, this English pub is closing its doors”—CNN

“Leaf blowing feud ends with 2 stabbed, Florida woman arrested”—ClickOrlando.com

Random Notes

First cover of the year for Stew Baylor after he won the Sumter AMA Enduro National in South Carolina, as he gets warmed up for a run at Ben Kelly and the GNCC title, which begins on February 20 in Georgia.