Championship Charge
Eli Tomac is on a roll right now and there doesn’t seem to be much anyone can do about it. At RedBud he was on fire, winning in grand fashion with a perfect 1-1. He was able to take a meaningful chunk of points out of Chase Sexton’s lead too, which now stands at seven points. Next up is Southwick, where Tomac is traditionally very strong. He’s only finished off the box there once, last year, and even then, he was fourth. Could this be the beginning of a string of wins for the three-time 450 National Champ? –Aaron Hansel
Determined Defense
The bad news for Sexton? See above. The good news? He’s still got the red plate and still controls the series, but he’s got to show Tomac some stubborn resistance if he’s going maintain his grip on the throne. As mentioned above, Tomac is fantastic at Southwick, so what better place for Sexton to make a statement than at one of Tomac’s better tracks? If Sexton can set the tone at this race and go 1-1, he’ll undo the damage done at RedBud, and set the right tone for the second half of the season. –Hansel
Back at the ‘Wick
Tomac isn’t the only rider who is pretty good at Southwick—Ryan Dungey has always been pretty good there too. Since racing there for the first time as a pro in 2007, the worst he’s finished there is fourth, and that was in 2009 on a 250. He hasn’t raced there since 2013, however, so things might not be quite as familiar as they used to be. Either way, Dungey’s intensity seems to have ramped up lately, so it’ll be fun to see how he fairs against the rest of the boys on Southwick’s unique, sandy surface. –Hansel
All in the Family
You can always count on your family to help you out, and when Jett Lawrence’s motor expired in the first moto at RedBud, his brother, Hunter, was right there to scoop up a load of points. Now, with a seven-point lead, Hunter will kindly carry the red plate to the next round for Jett. How considerate! Will he politely give it back at Southwick, or will he decide to hang onto it for a while, for safekeeping? –Hansel
The Jo Show
Whether you’re a Jo Shimoda fan or not, you had to feel good for him at RedBud. Not only did the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider breakthrough for his first moto win last weekend, he followed it up by showing his mettle and charging up to third in the second moto, despite getting collected in a crash almost right away. It was a great show of heart for Shimoda, and now that he’s got that first win out of the way, we’ll see if he can fight for it again at Southwick. –Hansel
RedBud Assassin
We’ve seen some pretty entertaining moments from Ty Masterpool at RedBud in the past, and he provided us with more gold last Saturday. After missing races with injury, he came to RedBud with a used bike he’d recently purchased and cobbled together and, out of nowhere, led a pair of laps and maintained third for over half the race before cramping up and eventually taking eighth. His 8-8 on the day earned him sixth, which is great, and if he can get more good starts at Southwick, maybe he can even get himself into the top five. –Hansel
Out of the Woods
Southwick always seems to provide the heaviest dose of local guys who not only qualify well on their home track but also pull in some pretty respectable results. Who could forget the time Mike Sotille qualified P1 at The Wick 338 when B qualifying got a smooth (albeit muddy) track for their session before the A guys got a quagmire? That won’t happen this weekend as the weather figures to be very solid but expect the unexpected from some names you certainly don’t always keep an eye on this weekend in the deep sands. –Kellen Brauer
Versace
Joey Savatgy earned a podium in moto 1 last weekend at RedBud which was the first moto podium in his 450 class career and it had been over four years since he last felt the podium grates beneath him as well. It was a great ride and an emotional welcoming to the podium as his wife Megan was in tears to greet him afterwards. What it really showed though is that the old Savatgy is still in there even after a rough string of injuries and he’s certainly making the most of this fill in ride with Monster Energy Kawasaki. What can the #17 accomplish at The Wick today? –Brauer
Inconsistent Cooper
Justin Cooper has made a career out of hitting the podium so many times that you begin to lose count. But the strange thing for Cooper this year has been how up and down his moto scores have been. His starts that used to be a guarantee are not so much that anymore and he’s been finding himself mid-pack more often having to fight forward. Obviously, he came back from a big foot injury and it’s still going to take time to get back into the swing of things, but it will start to click again eventually. Perhaps moving into the middle stanza of this championship is where Cooper finds his footing. –Brauer
Make A Statement
Today marks the official end of the first half of the 2022 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. There’s a case to be made that neither class is currently being led by the outright best rider at the moment since Eli Tomac nor Jett Lawrence are holding the red plates, but both have more wins in their respective classes than anyone so far this year. With that being said, moving into the second half of this championship is really where we will see the cream rise to the top and whoever eventually wins this championship in either class could show us what’s really about to happen in the next month and a half with a stellar performance this weekend. –Brauer
Main image by Mitch Kendra
