Signature Section

You could make the argument that every single part of Spring Creek is a signature section. The track literally has just about everything you can think of, from off-cambers to steep, gigantic hills, and from hardpack to loam. But Spring Creek’s most famous section has got to be the double set of sand whoops. They’re long, exhausting, and if a rider hits a whoop wrong at the beginning of the section it can be extremely difficult to regain momentum and speed. As a result, huge gains, and losses, can be had in the Spring Creek Sand rollers, and riders who get through them cleanly will have an advantage on Saturday. –Hansel

No Fluke

For the second week in a row Jo Shimoda was on the box. And while he didn’t win the overall at Southwick like he did at RedBud, you could argue that his motos were just as, if not more, impressive. He wasn’t aided by a mechanical problem from Jett Lawrence this time around, and still brought the heat in both motos. His performance earned him 2-3 scores, which put him at second overall. Shimoda is no doubt riding as good or better than he ever has, and it’s going to be fun to see what he can bring to the party at Spring Creek. –Hansel

Back in Form

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Aaron Plessinger, who broke his arm during supercross, ride to his potential but he sure looked great in the second moto at Southwick. The Red Bull KTM rider got out of the gate well, and after getting by Christian Craig, held second for most of the race. He yielded to Tomac, and later Chase Sexton, but if you’re going to get passed, there’s no shame in getting passed by those two. We know Plessinger is fast, and if can consistently be up front it’ll make for even more exciting battles in a season that’s already been full of them. –Hansel

Firepower

There can never be too much talent in the racetrack at once, and the series gained even more when Max Anstie joined the fray at RedBud. Bike issues ruined his day, but he certainly made up for that at Southwick! The Firepower Honda rider was great, and despite jumping into the season late, he went 5-5 at Southwick. About the only bad part of his day is that his 5-5 earned him sixth overall, but that’s just how it goes sometimes.  Spring Creek will be the last National for Anstie this summer. Will he go out with a bang? –Hansel 

Ryder Returns

Ryder DiFrancesco made his professional debut two weeks ago at RedBud and fared well with a second moto holeshot and 14-12 scores on the day. He took the weekend at Southwick off but will once again get behind the gate on Saturday at Spring Creek for the second of just two rounds he has committed to this year. The plan is for Ryder D to race these two rounds and then drop back into the amateurs for his final run at the Monster Energy AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch, but he also feels that good enough results could warrant him staying on with Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki for the rest of the year. If so, he might still skip Loretta’s, but Saturday would be a huge determining factor in that. –Kellen Brauer

Martin Bids Farewell to Home

Alex Martin announced last week that he will retire from full time racing at the end of 2022. That means that Saturday could be the last time the elder Martin brother races in front of his home crowd as he is not only from Millville, Minnesota, but his family owns the racetrack. There have been some very memorable rides for Martin over the years at Millville, but this will be his first and only go at the facility in the 450 class. Could we see his best results of 2022 coming at his familiar home? –Brauer

No Heat in the Kitchen

Levi Kitchen has been very solid in his first full go around at Lucas Oil Pro Motocross in 2022. A first moto win at Thunder Valley for his first career professional win was a highlight, but his second moto last week at Southwick was impressive as well as he kept Jett Lawrence on his toes for nearly the whole moto. Unfortunately, Kitchen crashed while practicing this week and broke his wrist which looks like it will sidelined him for the next few rounds. He won’t be at Spring Creek this weekend for sure, but we hope to see him back before the sun sets on Pro Motocross for 2022. –Brauer

Listen to the Crowd

Another homecoming this weekend will be for Belle Plaine, Minnesota’s Ryan Dungey. The multi-time AMA motocross and supercross champion and legend of the sport came out of retirement this year after a five-year hiatus. Dungey has always been a huge fan favorite in his home state with some memorable wins at the Minneapolis Supercross and Millville as well. He’s already been a huge hit with the fans this year on his return but expect that excitement to ramp up even more when Dungey takes to the track in front of his home crowd this weekend. Millville always gets loud, but this weekend will truly be a special one for them. –Brauer