Quick trivia question from @3lapsdown data man Clinton Fowler: How many motos did Ricky Carmichael win at Spring Creek in the 250/450 class?

Overall, the series has been going really well, on-track anyway. We've been lucky to have great weather at all six rounds so far, and the weather looks great for Spring Creek tomorrow. Every crowd has been either a record for each track, or close to it, and last Saturday's Southwick was bigger than ever, in both fan turnout as well as riders—both classes were completely full. Congratulations to The Wick 338's Keith Johnson and his dad Rick, who have an all-star team up there that includes John Dowd, Doug Henry, Mike Treadwell, and more NESC royalty. They've been constantly improving this event ever since they joined forces with Mike Grondahl to bring the track and the national back in 2016, and their combined efforts show.

Now we are looking at two rounds (Spring Creek and Washougal) to get the second half of the series started, and then a couple weekends off before the four-race stretch run of Unadilla, Budds Creek, Ironman, and then we end at Fox Raceway at Pala. Then everyone gets to either head home or stay ready for the 2022 Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations at RedBud. Hopefully our streaming problems are finally sorted with the move over to MAVTV on FloRacing, as that's been an embarrassment to everyone involved in the series. I know I will be watching it tomorrow as I'm skipping Spring Creek for a short family vacation before Loretta Lynn's hits and then it's back to school for the kids. (We're in Charleston, South Carolina, just checking out the beaches and all of the amazing history here.) So please forgive me for making the intro here short and getting back off the clock.

Here's hoping for a great, safe weekend for everyone at Spring Creek—it's a big weekend for the Martin family, as you will read below—and this round is every bit as exciting and successful as the rest have been! See you at the races.

Quick trivia answer from @3lapsdown: Every. Single. One. Carmichael went 16 for 16 in his career at Spring Creek for eight overall wins, and he famously lapped the field in that super-muddy second moto in 2006.

Tune into the Spring Creek National with the broadcast/streaming schedule below:

The MXGP of Czech Republic will also be taking place this weekend. Tune into www.mxgp-tv.com to follow along!

Alex Martin (DC)

This weekend will mark the last "home" national for Alex Martin, as the veteran favorite has announced that he will retire at the end of the series. The Martin family owns Spring Creek MX Park and Alex and his younger brother Jeremy grew up literally right there at the track. They both went on to excellent professional careers (ironically after neither ever won a Monster Energy AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch). Alex has been a strong presence in the paddock throughout his career, advocating for everything from better track conditions to better parking for the privateers—remember his Eleven-10 Mod days? He's also been a pioneer in vlogging his experiences on the circuit via his Troll Train shows on YouTube.

Anyway, we wanted to congratulate him on his decision to call it a career, and hope he gets a holeshot this weekend so the Spring Creek faithful can really show their appreciation. (And if you're wondering about the sidelined Jeremy Martin, the two-time 250 Pro Motocross Champion joining Weege in the booth for MAVTV.

Also, Clinton Fowler of @3lapsdown put together this stat package of Alex's career as he gets ready to race at home for the last time: 

• Alex Martin has 143 career MX starts. Note he's got 137 in the 125/250 class, which is the most of all-time. 
• Two overall wins and five moto wins
• 21 overall podiums and 39 moto podiums
• Finished a career-best 2nd overall in the 2016 and 2018 Lucas Oil 250 Pro Motocross championships
• And at Spring Creek he has 14 career starts in the 125/250 class – the most of any rider.
• He has five moto podiums including three 2nd-place moto finishes.
• He has five overall podiums, including second overall back in 2017.

Pro Perspective (JT)

Spring Creek might be the best track in America. It has great dirt, tons of elevation, and fun, floating jumps. While a fun track isn’t a prerequisite for Pro Motocross, it certainly doesn’t hurt. As a rider, you enter each weekend with the same goals in mind, but a fun track can really improve the overall mood. I can remember having a much more optimistic attitude when I stepped off the airplane simply because a fun track lay in wait. Ten years removed from racing this series myself, my advice is to appreciate these opportunities. You’re living a life that you grew up dreaming about. Good result or bad, there will be another race the following weekend to try again. One day, you’re going to wake up and realize it’s been ten years since you raced your final time at Spring Creek and wish you’d enjoyed the small things. Make the most of today, boys.

K-ROC (Matthes)

We had Ken Roczen on the PulpMX Show this past Monday and he shared a few things about the upcoming WSX tour he's signed up and more. Roczen and my co-host that night Justin Brayton are tight, and they had a great conversation about how Ken's held to a higher standard than a lot or riders and Ken's early days here at the Mini Os and more. Interesting that Roczen said he feels like he wants to do a motocross deal for 2023 wherever he signs because a lot of us thought he would be SX-only next year. Now obviously that could change but that's what he said. Also, doesn't sound like he'll be in the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations this year as with the FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX) thing, that doesn't leave him a lot of time off.

As per the WSX, well he didn't know you needed to be on a team, he didn't know who he'll be riding for and as Brayton and I were laughing about, all he needs to know is the date and the time to ride. Everything else will work itself out, right?

You can watch the interview here:

NATZKE NATION (Matthes)

Cool story developing up in my homeland of Canada. The Triple Crown series is heading into its eastern swing and the first two rounds saw Kiwi Josiah Natzke take two relatively easy wins aboard his PRMX Kawasaki. We saw the 23-year-old Kiwi down here for the first four Pro Motocross nationals and then that was it, he was heading home as he was out of money. That's when PRMX reached out and took him up to Canada and things are rolling now. He's out of the title hunt but still having a good time getting paid and looks like he and the team will continue their relationship in 2023 with AMA SX and Canadian MX. 

Natzke headed to Europe a while back and he and his dad persevered to the point where KTM gave him a five-year deal to race EMX and hopefully into MX2. He raced Jorge Prado a lot of those years, worked with Stefan Everts and Ben Townley at KTM but injuries and so-so results left him back home after those five years and thinking about quitting the sport altogether. He decided to head to the USA and privateer it this year to take another crack at his dream and hey, look at this- it's kind of working out, just not full-time in the USA yet. 

Nice guy and really open and honest about all he's been through in racing. Have a listen to our chat.

2023 Yamaha Announcement (Keefer)

I am finally done with a two-week block of confidential testing (not Yamaha) so I have been living under a rock for the past 12 days or so, but I did manage to get a text every day for the past two weeks on when the 2023 Yamahas will be announced. First off, it's only July, so everyone needs to calm down, secondly another part of me understands your excitement for new bike season. However, with COVID-19 wreaking havoc on parts production as well as availability the Blu Cru might be a little late to the game this year. From what I understand is that we will not get an announcement from Yamaha until sometime in August and may not see the new YZ450F until late September early October. Now I REALLY DO NOT know anything about the new 2023 YZ450F but I do know we can expect a drastically different machine. The 2022 Yamaha YZ450F is one of my favorite bikes to ride so I hoping Travis Preston didn't screw up the new one! Look for some type of announcement around Loretta's or maybe just after and then we will break down all the changes, that Yamaha made, on my weekly RMATVMC Keefer Tested Podcast. Until then, everyone just chill down.

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