The third ever MX Sports Pro Racing Scouting Moto Combine commenced on Friday before the RedBud National and included a host of future motocross stars. Three of such athletes were Orange Brigade KTM’s Daxton Bennick, GasGas amateur Caden Braswell, and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Talon Hawkins. Though it may be easy to believe these riders have plenty of resources preparing them for their professional debut, each rider at the Scouting Moto Combine expressed that they did actually learn a lot from the experience.
We caught up with Bennick, Braswell, and Hawkins as the end of the day to see what they thought.
Daxton Bennick | 2nd Overall (10-2)
Second overall here at the Combine. Tell me about how your motos went. Obviously, started out with a crash, but from there it seemed like it was uphill a little bit.
Daxton Bennick: Yeah, it was all right. The first moto I got into a little crash on the start and my knee has been bothering me pretty bad. Second moto, I decided I was going to race and got off to a pretty good start. I think I came out third and then got into second. Rode pretty good for a couple laps, and then the knee started bothering me. I started thinking about it too much and started dabbing it and making mistakes. But it was a good day. I pulled through. I don't know how I got second, but I’m happy with that.
Who was your coach today?
Broc Glover.
What did you take away from things he told you about today?
We had a big debate on the start. I was, like, tenth gate pick and there was a good one on the inside and a good one on the outside. So, I didn’t really know what to do. We ended up going outside and I ripped the berm and came out third, so I shocked myself a little bit on the start.
Now you’ve had a couple of these as experience, what did you feel was maybe different or that you liked better about this one this year?
I think it was a good idea to have it at RedBud. That was the main thing. The track is awesome here and the crowd was insane. The fans were going nuts. I feel like that’s it. I feel like the format was about the same. It was good, though.
How would you say you felt fitness-wise too over the two motos’ distance? Obviously, the injury, but…
Yeah, fitness was fine. The first moto I picked myself up and I was coming through the pack pretty good, and then struggled with arm pump. But fitness is good. I really didn’t even get tired.
What’s your next steps? Are you going to take a couple days to rehab a little bit and then get prepped for Loretta’s? What’s the plan there?
Probably take a couple days off to figure out the knee if it needs to be X-rayed or whatever. Then I’ll go back to the Baker’s Factory and put in some work for Loretta’s.
Caden Braswell | 6th Overall (8-5)
Sixth overall on the day. Tell me a little bit about how you felt today, how you felt in the motos, and what you thought of the day overall.
Caden Braswell: Anytime you’re racing is a very good time. I love what I do. I have a lot of fun. Can’t say I did very good. Not what I expected myself to do. I was really disappointed in that, but keeping my head up, having fun out here at RedBud. Going to watch the pros race tomorrow. See if I can’t pick up anything. I want to try to go pro at Millville, so I’m really excited to kind of watch it in person. I train with those guys at the Baker’s Factory and that’s what I plan on doing before Loretta’s. Going back down after this and picking up where I left off. Put the nose down to the grindstone. Motos weren’t ideal. I did a lot better in moto two. The track got a little rougher. I do typically better when the track gets rougher. I like that part.
My mechanic did good. We had to move three times. So, we were parked over there in that outfield. I kid you not. They said, “Hey, listen. You’re going to be good until about 9:00.” I said, “All right.” I get done with my second practice and all my stuff is moved. I’m like, what is going on? They weren’t even going to let me get done with practice. So, we moved from there because they were all mad. I was like, y’all don’t need to be that mad about it. We’ve got plenty of time. I said, “We’ve got all day.” They didn’t want to hear nothing about that. So, then we moved over to another spot, and this joker wanted to put this tarp out. He said, “Y’all are in the way. I can’t put my tarp out.” I said, “We’re sorry. I guess we’ll move again.” So, we moved again. My poor mechanic. He was so not about it, moving stuff and then trying to run back.
We had a really cool, complicated scheduled, but it was all formatted real nice. We got back with a lot of time, but with a little bit of moving going on, trying to get everything ready, it was crazy. A little hectic, but I had a blast. Michael Byrne was my coach. He was really good. He helped me open some stuff up, connect a little bit better. So, huge thank you to him. Look forward to talking to him more. I really like him.
It was cool at the Combine. We got to talk to Jason Weigandt and Sam Nicolini. She was pretty. They were talking about some social media stuff. I was like, I’ve heard about all that stuff before. I don’t really like to post on social media. I don’t even look at my phone half the time. Honestly if you asked me right now where it was, I couldn’t tell you. I don't know where it is. So, I do probably need to do a little better on that stuff, just keep everybody updated. I thought that was really neat to learn.
The food was good. We had some fruit, all kinds of good snacks. We had Broc Glover, Michael Byrne, Jeff Stanton. Jeff Stanton was cool. That dude was awesome back in the day. My dad used to tell me stories about him. Broc Glover was really good, too. I got to talk to him after I raced that last moto. I did good in the last moto. I got me a good start and then really was patient. Made a pass, got into second. I was pulling in on the leader, then I went down this hill and I went to take a left. Last lap, I was kind of being a little too aggressive, I guess, coming in. I tucked the front. I looked up before I fell, because I don’t really like to fall with my eyes closed. I like to see what I’m hitting. It was a big, old tree right here. I kid you not. It was just a big, old tree. I hit that joker face first, busted my visor all up. I looked to my left because everybody was yelling. I’m like, where did they all come from? They were all yelling at me. They said, “Pick it up! Pick it up!” I’m like, “I’m trying. I’m trying to pick it up. I don’t want to lose.” So, I’m picking that thing up, but my grip was stuck up under the dag-gone tuff block. I was like, this son of a gun. We’re going to have to grab it by the seat. So, I grabbed it by the seat, and I put my hand on something real hot and it burned through my glove. I got that joker up and about flipped it over, I picked it up so fast. I hopped on it and I about got this guy. He went around the outside because I was in the main line. He about crashed and I was gunning it. We drag-raced and two turns later, neck-and-neck over the finish line. I’m like, son of a gun, I lost to that joker. Then I come off and I hear, that was for second overall. I was like, “Oh, my goodness, Cade. What are you doing?” Got a little homework ahead of me. Going to go back home, train, get ready. I had a blast. Thank you, guys.
Talon Hawkins | 11th Overall (14-8)
Bit of an up-and-down day. Obviously, you had the speed. You probably felt like you were good enough for second on the day. Just tell me how it went and how you felt in the motos.
Talon Hawkins: The first moto was honestly off to such a good start. I didn’t get the best start in general, but I went from seventh on the first lap and was able to work my way up to second place. Started closing in on first a little bit, and then my front tire went flat. It was like a lap before the finish line. It was just before the finish line. Ended up sliding off the lip of it, doing like a 180 and then yard-saled. Long story short, I ended up with a hematoma on my leg. Honestly, that’s a gift for how bad the crash could have been. So, I was lucky enough to walk away from that and able to line up for the second moto. Second moto didn’t go to plan. I got a horrible start. Then just wasn’t able to ride like myself. Wasn’t riding smooth. So, I know what I need to work on at Baker’s Factory. That’s where I’ve been training for the past couple months. So, I’m going to continue to work my butt off and make the most of these days.
How much did the hematoma affect you in the second moto? Was it pretty bad?
No. It didn’t really affect me at all. I can’t blame it on that. I’m feeling good. I’m walking. We’re good. Just didn’t have it in the second one. I’m going to work on it. I’m going to ride some mud. I don't know if we need to flood the track or something. I’m a Cali boy. No excuses. Should be able to ride anything. So, I’m going to work my butt off, like I said, and just try to come back next race.
What did you think of the overall experience today with the coaching and how gnarly the track got, and all that as well?
The track was sick today. Honestly, I don't know what better preparation you could get for a pro race. Honestly, I’m hoping to do a couple pro races this year, if it works out, if the stars align. So, honestly doing this was a great idea. I know this is going to help prepare me for the big leagues.
Who was your coach today?
My coach was [Jeff] Stanton.
How was that? Local Michigan guy. Did he give you any tips about this track?
He gave me so many tips. He’s a local guy. He gave me some inside tips I can’t share still. But he’s a legend, not even just a local legend. It was crazy being able to work with him. I’ve looked up to him. I love his work. He’s a good guy.
What would you feel is maybe the biggest takeaway from today? Things that you learned or things about how the track developed and things that you’re going to work on?
A lot of what I learned today is—it was a really low-blow day as far as results—you’ve got to take away positives from it. I rode a hell of a race the first one. I rode super good up until that big mishap. You’ve just got to take positives from every race. You can’t focus on the bad stuff, because you’ve got to prevail.
So what’s your next steps? Loretta’s is coming up pretty quick. How much more training or prep do you feel like you need to get done before that? Then what are you doing after that?
I’ve got Loretta Lynn’s coming up. That’s the next stop. Maybe a couple races in-between. I’m not sure yet. Going to try to go out and get on the podium, get Ws, get something going. I’ve been working my butt off out at the Baker’s Factory.
Main image by Mitch Kendra