Maryland’s Justin Rodbell is trying to get back to “Summer of Rodbell” status, from back in 2020 when he became a top 15 regular in the 450 class of Lucas Oil Pro Motocross. After a rough attempt at supercross in ’21, he switched to the Revzilla PRMX Kawasaki team for ’22 and did much better. He raced a few rounds of 250SX West before qualifying for his first ever 450SX main event at Detroit. Rodbell went on to qualify for another four main events and earned a career best 16th at the finale at Salt Lake City. At the opening round of Lucas Oil Pro Motocross, he remained on the team and just missed scoring points as he went 21-28 on the day, but it seemed like things were moving along smoothly.
So it was surprising to suddenly see Rodbell on a new bike and team Saturday morning at Hangtown. Steve Matthes got the scoop in this interview, part of his FXR Privateer Island Life podcast.
You were on the PRMX team for supercross and the PRMX team for Pala, and I understood you were going to go and race for that team in Canada. You didn’t. You split from the team, and you bought yourself a Husqvarna that you rode for the first time on Saturday at Hangtown. I have a lot of questions about that! But first the PRMX thing. Why the split and why no Canada for you?
Justin Rodbell: So basically, I’m not vaccinated. I have nothing against the vaccine, but I’m not vaccinated, personally. They changed the laws up there a month or so ago, and you need to be vaccinated to cross the border. That was the issue there. I had an option to keep racing here and we just made it work last second. There’s no hard feelings. I hope we can stay friendly in the future. I just wanted to go racing here. Obviously, I’m not going to do as well here as I would up there, but the pinnacle of racing is here.
So you hope to be friends with Julian the owner of the PRMX team in the future. Do you think you could ride for them again or did this shoot you in the foot?
I don’t know. I ended pretty good on supercross, so we’ll see.
So why the Husqvarna?
Well that’s the other thing. I really like this Husky, man. That was really my only option to race at Hangtown, but the damn bike was very good. I got to ride it for the first time on Saturday, and then I actually got to ride it this week. We’re in Colorado and the fuel was boiling…
Just run pump gas, dude.
Yeah, that was a mess up. I had T4 and it boiled, and my bike was so slow I couldn’t even hit the jumps. We figured that out and tomorrow will be a better day.
So when you say the Husky was the only choice, do you mean you could only find a Husky in stock and you couldn’t get anything else, or what?
No. I’m riding for the Bud Builders team. It’s me, Brandon Ray, and Jackson Gray. Basically what they do is, that business builds cannabis grow facilities from the ground up. It’s a construction company, basically. The guy’s name is GL and he’s out of Vegas. He actually sponsored the PRMX team in supercross. He was at Pala, and we got to talking. I said I didn’t want to go to Canada this summer, so he said “Well, if you don’t want to go, I’ll get you a Husky.” So I told him let’s go! I have some people who want to help me out this summer, so let’s make it happen.
So you’re not full privateer, you’re on a team.
One hundred percent. I mean, I built the bike on Friday, but I’m not full privateer. It’s more like, I get myself there and sign myself up, but they provide a bike. It’s very helpful. The suspension, and I’m not knocking anyone I’ve worked with in the past, but that AEO suspension was very good. It opened my eyes last weekend. My results weren’t crazy good, but I feel like I rode really well at Hangtown. The first moto I was in about 16th until about 10 minutes to go, then I got eaten up by some guys who had a little more in the tank. What do you do about that? You just work harder.
So on your Instagram you said you didn’t have any time on this bike. I had assumed you had at least ridden the bike at some point, but no, practice on Saturday was the first time you rode the bike! You’re on an aluminum-framed Kawasaki all season in supercross. Now you’re on a steel frame. How does that go for you?
It went alright in practice. That Husky, it has a very mellow power. Very fast but very mellow. It’s easy to ride. The Kawasaki is just grunty, really fast, wants to pull your arms out. The Husky, it has that kind of power, too, but it’s just, you have to find it, I guess? So let’s start in practice. I literally had zero hours on the bike until practice. We did a heat cycle on Friday and that’s it. I qualified 19th in the first practice, then a few guys went faster, and I ended up 22nd. So I was kind of where I was before, so I was like “We’re fine! I can go faster I just need to learn how to ride it.” And I learned a lot more about it this week.
Does the steel frame feel more flexy than aluminum?
Oh yeah, big time.
But the suspension is all good?
Yeah so, they ended up getting the new WP Cone Valve fork for me. They didn’t want me to be on production suspension, and I really appreciate it. These guys really care about what we’re on and what we use. It turned out pretty good.
Hangtown looked like a pretty fun track to ride.
Steve, I think you’re crazy.
Alright! But it looked fun!
Well, it would have been fun if it was smooth! Practice it was fun. Moto 1 was okay, but Moto 2 definitely not!
So are you staying on the road all summer? Are you going back home to Maryland and traveling out of there?
So after Colorado I’ll fly back to North Carolina and then I’ll probably drive home to Maryland. I gotta get in some laps at Budds Creek! Then I’ll come down to South of the Border. So I’ll South of the Border and Budds Creek it most of the summer, and I’ll probably drive to most of them since they’re all probably eight to nine hours from me. I’ll have to fly to Washougal, obviously. I don’t really like the Washougal track, but I don’t know, I’m on a new bike this year so let’s see.
Right off the bat, what do you like about the Husky better than the Kawi, and what do you like better on the Kawi compared to a Husky.
You can ride the Husky for 30 minutes way more efficiently. I understand why all these privateers are on these bikes now. You don’t have to do much to it, and you can compete on it. It makes a lot of sense. Now, the Kawi, the positives are, it’s fast, but it’s a hard-to-use power. It’s fast but I got tired on it. It beats you up. That’s the biggest change if that makes sense. I still got tired on the Husky, but it would make you less tired. Obviously, a factory bike, they can make any of them do whatever the rider wants. Well, I don’t know for sure, I’ve never ridden a factory bike. But from what I’m dealing with, this is probably the best bike for me. So I’m pumped.
Do you guys have a rig?
Yeah, Jackson Gray and his father Robert are really involved with the team. Robert and Jackson drove from Sacramento to Colorado, but the motorhome blew up in Wyoming! So they had a motorhome and a trailer and a truck and a trailer. That was the setup, but now the motorhome is out of the equation! They went back to Wyoming a couple of times to get the other trailer, it’s at an Airbnb right now. Yeah, we’re figuring it out this week! I’m actually sitting in my U-Haul van right now about to go get some dinner!
How do you like Lakewood?
Well, I like Budds Creek better.
Well of course, Rodbell!
Lakewood is fun, but man, the second motos are tough. Actually 450s race first moto this weekend, so maybe I’ll have a better review after this weekend.
Well, Budds Creek is your home track. That will always be your favorite.
That and Southwick. I just like those softer tracks. I do alright on that hard base, but it’s just not me, I would say.
So how did supercross go for you this year? You made a lot of main events, but you didn’t make ‘em all. How would you grade your season.
I’d say that it makes me want to race supercross again next year! Last year, it kept me guessing. Was it me? Am I supposed to be doing this or am I just an outdoor guy and I should just go work at a regular job? That was last year. When you don’t even make a single main event, it’s tough. This year, we worked harder. Now I feel like I kind of belong. It’s not impossible. All the tracks are turning into the same for me now, you just get on them and ride them. So that was a big relief toward the end of the season. I also think I had a pretty good bike and setup at the end of the season. At Salt Lake City I did some things on the bike, and I had never felt that comfortable on a supercross track. I feel like I ended it up pretty good, my best result of the season, so I guess I’m gonna ride that high all the way through next season.
