5 | #90 Jordon Smith | Ochlocknee, GA | Honda CRF250R

Good ride for Smith who’s gone 5-6-5 in the last three races and on a privateer team, that’s about all you can ask for, I think. He’s got podium potential in. I mean, he’s got Marty (Davalos) as team manager! Marty knows raw speed when he sees it.

6 | #54 Mitchell Oldenburg | Aledo | TX Honda CRF250R

Freckle didn’t get the start he needed and sort of followed RJ through the pack a couple seconds behind the Husky rider. We were talking to Mitch on the PulpMX Show and he commented that “the position doesn’t matter” to him and I get that. A veteran like him that’s been on the podium, what’s the difference between a fourth or sixth, right? Also, he mentioned that he almost quit the sport this past off-season but feels reinvigorated with this ride from the SmarTop/Bullfrog Spas/MotoConcepts Honda guys.

7 | #715 Phillip Nicoletti | Bethel, NY | Yamaha YZ250F

Phillip was fourth and riding well, he then got zapped by the vets (even though he’s older than all the guys who passed him) and was probably very upset inside his helmet. He regrouped and then stuck with that pack, but he couldn’t pass them back. He got Robertson on the last lap when he blitzed by him. I know I’ve said this a few times but watching 56-year-old (rough estimate) Nicoletti hit the whoops every lap, his bike is good. The KYB help looks like it’s working as does the Twisted Development motor set-up.

8 | #50 Stilez Robertson | Bakersfield, CA | Husqvarna FC 250

I’m so confused by Stilez. How does he get an impressive second at the toughest race of the season in Daytona, and then in most of the other races, get a start and go backward? That’s weird, right? He’s still fourth in points, which is good, but I guess with his second-best starting position in the class you would want more than 7-10-8 finishes at the “regular” SX races? Also, Stilez needs to get better in the whoops. He and his teammate, Jalek Swoll, have that major weakness happening.

9 | #80 Enzo Lopes | Indian Trail, NC | Yamaha YZ250F

I know this ninth doesn’t look that good for Lopes but dude, he was very good in coming from the 18th gate pick and a very bad start to this spot. Enzo even led the heat for a bit before crashing. He had a brake issue after crashing, he had a clutch issue in Daytona, he had a bike issue that prevented him from doing the parade lap this week, and in my post-race interview with him, he seemed frustrated by the issues he’s been having. He still rode very well but he wasn’t having it.

10 | #38 Joshua Varize | Perris, CA | Husqvarna FC 250

Good ride for Josh, that’s two top-tens in a row for him and that’s always a good thing. He’s on the “old” factory bike which you would think isn’t maybe as good as the new one but to me, this bike is very proven.

11 | #331 Derek Drake | Lake Elsinore, CA | Suzuki RM-Z250

Drake’s been steady at the races this year. He’s a talented rider who’s had health issues and has maybe missed more races in his career than he’s lined up for. This was his season-best result so maybe he’ll keep getting better with more races under his belt.

12 | #11 Kyle Chisholm | Valrico, FL | Yamaha YZ250F

Yeah Chiz! He’s got a promotion to a Monster Energy/Star Yamaha Racing and was telling us that it’s about as fast as his stock 450, which I kind of believe, to be honest. He was pretty good all day long and it looked like his adaption to the “crazy” class was going pretty well but he stalled it and crashed in the main. Nice to see him get a chance to ride some great equipment, and also nice of his existing sponsors to let him out of their deals to do this. PulpMX Fantasy people weren’t very stoked on his race but overall, most of “us” were happy to see #11 out there on the Star bike.

13 | #72 John Short | Pilot Point, TX | Honda CRF250R

John Short is John Short. You know what you’re gonna get with him, a sub-par qualifying time because he’s not a one lap wonder kid, he’ll get in the main, and then he’ll then put in a quality 15 min of racing. Also, his title sponsor, Volkswagen of Waco, should be stoked with this ride. I imagine a lot of Jetta’s will get moved off the lot this week.

14 | #81 Jace Owen | Mattoon, IL | Yamaha YZ250F

Probably not one of Owen’s best races of his career. He was inside the top for a while before I assume he crashed?

15 | #129 Henry Miller | Rochester, MN | KTM 250 SX-F

I wrote this a week or two ago but again, Henry’s been the top “real” privateer at most of the races this year and that’s awesome, that’s an improvement for Henry also, as most years the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship outdoor game comes easier to him than indoors.

16 | #63 Jeremy Hand | Mantua, OH | Honda CRF250R

Hand’s been in two mains and missed two mains this year on the SGB Racing Storm Lake Honda team. He’s a talented kid for sure and charges hard, I spoke to him after the race for the first time as well and gave him my condolences on being teammates with A-Ray.

17 | #519 Joshua Cartwright | Fort Worth, | TX Kawasaki KX250

Cartwright is much improved this year and it’s showing in his qualifying times.

18 | #285 Marshal Weltin| Ubly, MI | Yamaha YZ250F

Hometown race for Weltin, who’s much better at SX than he was the last time he raced indoors. A total privateer, Marshal is doing pretty well out there. I was stoked to see him make it.

19 | #140 Cullin Park | Clermont, FL Honda | CRF250R

There’s something here. I don’t exactly know what but Cullin, in his rookie year, seems to be figuring it out. He crashes a bit much still (I think he’s crashed in every main he’s been in this year) but he’ll figure it out. He’ll get there when it’s time…

20 | #243 Hardy Munoz | Kissimmee, FL | Kawasaki KX250

Hardy is very exciting out there. He had a hard crash in the rhythm section where Webb went down in practice and still made the main, which was impressive. By the way, when Dirt Wurx makes a change to the track they should make sure to tell the non-seeded guys also.

21 | #76 Devin Simonson | Laurinburg, NC | Yamaha | YZ250F

I was on some dumb show of mine and was saying that Devin was riding well but needed to cut his hair. I mean, it’s seriously out of hand and I’m old so I can say that. I saw him in the pits this weekend and he told me that his team owner, the late Bill Dill, liked the hair and wanted him to leave it. Don’t I feel like an a-hole now?

22 | #460 Michael Hicks | Fenton, MO | KTM 250 SX-F

Hicks is the Hoosier AX guy and this was his second ever main event. He almost bobbled it away on the last lap in the LCQ when he was taking it easy but he got it in. Once in the main, I’m not sure he had 15 minutes in him.

450SX Results

1 | #3 Eli Tomac | Cortez, CO | Yamaha YZ450F

Just two races ago, Eli had a six-point lead and things were tight with him and Jason Anderson. And now, it’s forty-two points. What the hell? Yeah, with all the carnage around him this great ride is going to get lost out there, but he started around tenth and just worked his way up. On an easy track where tenths of a second was all you could hope to gain on someone, ET caught and passed Anderson (and everyone else) before the carnage set in. Great ride by ET and is he better than ever? I mean, maybe, right? Crazy!

2 | #27 Malcolm Stewart | Haines City, FL | Husqvarna FC 450 RE

The question is, will Mookie get a win this year? He’s been fastest qualifier, he’s been a heat race winner, he’s gotten starts, and then been involved in “altercations” with other riders. But other times, when he’s stayed drama free, he’s not gotten the start he’s needed. This weekend he fell into the last category but used speed and stamina to get the runner-up spot. He was on PulpMX Show a while ago and said the new bike wasn’t quite where he wanted it, but now we’re back east and he seems much happier. He was also telling us that it wasn’t until his first year pro that he started to take this racing stuff seriously.

3 | #51 Justin Barcia | Greenville, FL | GasGas MC 450F

Barcia’s got a hand injury so he used hand guards out there, but honestly, in talking to riders it seems the dirt (which was brand new for this race) had a ton of rocks, glass, and even a severed cat’s leg on the track. I’m being dead serious. I’m not sure if the dirt sifter thing was broken or what. Anyway, Barcia got his fourth podium of the year, which matches what he did all last season but of course this year he doesn’t have the win. Sooooo, if he doesn’t win this year but gets more podiums, does that mean this was a better year? Discuss…

4 | #25 Marvin Musquin | Corona, CA | KTM 450 SX-F FE

Marv got the holeshot and then went backward, which has been a theme in more races in his career in 2022 than at any other point. He stopped the bleeding at some point and stabilized his spot and then, as will be a theme in this column, moved up with the carnage. It’s still a bit jarring to see Marv get passed as much as he’s been this year. I think he’s having a “good” year so far—not great, but not terrible. Will it be his last on a KTM though? That would be weird to see #25 on another brand.

5 | #10 Justin Brayton | Charlotte, NC | Honda CRF450R

It’s his 38th birthday this week and it’s amazing he’s still out there. You think about a legend like Chad Reed and when he was 38, he wasn’t as good as JB has been this year, in my opinion. It’s pretty cool to see JB in his last year getting to be in opening ceremonies and being right up there. This fifth was him taking advantage of an opportunity for sure but yeah, good for him. I asked Weege about this and he said this proves that Brayton is the fifth best rider in the series, so there’s that.

6 | #62 Vince Friese | Menifee, CA | Honda CRF450R

Look at this! MCR Honda fifth and sixth on the night. Vince told me after the race that, in the 450s so far, he hasn’t put the good start and the riding together yet and he’s right. When he’s grabbed a great start he’s been dropped, but other races he’s ridden good in coming close to top-tens. I would guess when he gets the great start the pace is a little too high for him and he blows up a bit, which affects his race, but when he can get into his pace, he can work forward. Again, the pace the top guys go is simply insane and VF is finding that out. Yes, like many others on the list he benefitted from some crashes but a sixth is a sixth and that’s awesome.

7 | #12 Shane McElrath | Oakland, FL | KTM 450 SX-F FE

Quiet night for Shane out there. It was a season best for him and there are times when I’m thinking he’s coming around a bit and figuring things out and then there are other times where he ends up going backward a bit.

8 | #19 Justin Bogle | Wesley Chapel, FL | Suzuki RM-Z450

Yeah Bogle! We should’ve known we were in for some nuttiness when Bogle holeshot and led some laps. Nothing against Justin but he’s not done that for a while. Nice work for the #19 and I think this eighth is very respectable also. Suzuki leading a 450SX main event? It’s been a while for sure.

9 | #41 Brandon Hartranft | Brick NJ | Suzuki RM-Z450

I don’t know man, Brandon’s a good dude but for me, in 2022, he’s been one of the more invisible guys out there. He’s just outside the top ten most nights and he stays there which isn’t easy to do for sure, but he’s gaining a ton of experience. Just how does he take that next step I guess is the question. He had to go to the LCQ this week after a crash in the heat and those are always terrifying.

10 | #78 Cade Clason | Chesterfield, SC |Honda CRF450R

Yeah, he got help from some crashes, but Cade’s been, like, legit this year. If he hadn’t ghost rode his bike in Oakland, there’s a real chance he could’ve made every main this year. He’s been the most improved rider without a doubt in 2022 and is rolling with a lot of confidence this year. I did have a top rider tell me that he’s the toughest guy to lap.

11 | #200 Ryan Breece |Athol, ID | Yamaha YZ450F

Another guy with a career-high result because, well, you know. There’re a lot of privateers who could use some more JT in them. As in, Jason Thomas had a long and good career in the sport by being able to ride within himself and be in shape. Those are the two things you can control, never mind factory bike or whatever, be in shape and stay up. You do that and you can get a lot of points in SX over a season by just gobbling dudes up late in the race like Pac-Man.

12 | #95 Justin Starling | Deland, FL | GasGas MC 450F

Starling is a very talented rider. He’s a good racer, but not a great racer you know? In traffic he’s a bit tentative, truthfully, and he’s probably too smart of a guy to just “Alex Ray” it out there. He’s thinking too much about consequences. If he can disregard his safety just a tad more and combine it with his obvious talent to ride a dirt bike, he could do better. As it is, he’s doing well, don’t get me wrong. It’s just this guy has real talent in my opinion.

13 | #26 Alex Martin | Clermont, FL | Yamaha YZ450F

I don’t have a whole lot on Troll this week. He was quietly 13th and guess what? It was also his season-best as well.

14 | #15 Dean Wilson | Murrieta, CA | Husqvarna FC 450 RE

Dean has got to be bummed. I mean he’s had one race worse than ninth to 12th this season but otherwise he’s been steady as she goes. And then on the weekend where one would logically think he could be around Brayton in fifth, he eats crap in the whoops (and I think tipped over one more time) and gets a 14th. I mean, it’s not ideal but he still is married to one of the hotter wives in the pits so there is that.

15 | #67 Logan Karnow | Amherst, OH | Kawasaki KX450

After all Karnow’s been through with a sponsor screwing him over and having to buy a bike this week, making the main in front of his family and friends left Ol’ Karne a bit emotional. And it’s understandable really. Good work by him.

16 | #57 Kevin Moranz | Topeka, KS | KTM 450 SX-F

Moranz is going to do the smart thing and stay in the 450SX class for the rest of the year. It’s something more guys should do in my opinion. There’s a lot better money up there even if you don’t make the main. At this point, with as long as he’s been around, no OEM factory 250 team is going to hire him unless he starts making the podium.

17 | #87 Alex Ray | Milan, TN | Honda CRF450R

Somehow A-Ray lost his appendix a week ago or so but gained some smoothness? Who had him making the main and staying upright while four factory riders crashed out?

18 | #55 Justin Rodbell | Prince Frederick, MD | Kawasaki KX450

First ever 450SX main event for Rodbell and that’s awesome, he was stoked! HVAC can wait a bit now.

19 | #14 Dylan Ferrandis | Tallahassee, FL | Yamaha YZ450F

I wonder if Dylan’s got something going on with his wrist the last few weeks. He seems to have an issue with his hand coming off the bar and he jammed it in Detroit and pulled off.