Hard to believe that one week after his Daytona win, and more than two months after Tomac grabbed the red plate at the Anaheim opener, the team lost it to Red Bull KTM’s Cooper Webb, third place behind Roczen and Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GasGas rider Justin Barcia. Webb has two wins, four seconds, a third, a fourth, and a fifth in what’s been a very steady season. He’s also got the red plate back on his bike for the first time since he won the ’21 AMA Supercross Championship, a single point ahead of Tomac.

And then there’s Chase Sexton, the seemingly jinxed Honda factory rider who keeps making unforced errors. Just as he seemed ready to pounce on early leader Roczen, he hooked a footpeg in one of the many, many ruts in the soft dirt of Lucas Oil Stadium and crashed once again. And yet, even with all of his crashes, Chase is still just 13 points out of the lead. The week didn’t make a difference for him, but if he can settle down and start stacking positive races together, he’s not out of this either.

One rider who might be out is Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson. The former champ, who won the last four rounds of ’22, just can’t seem to put a good start together with a good race. His season is not going the way many expected, and the same can be said for Kawasaki in general. With his teammate Adam Cianciarulo on the mend, and the entire Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki 250 team decimated by injuries, Kawasaki is facing a very unfortunate distinction this season: if they don’t win a main event in either class, it will mark the first time since 1983 that Kawasaki failed to win a round of AMA Supercross in at least one class.

As far as the 250SX class goes, it was once again a Lawrence brother out front, and once again it was Hunter. He avoided traffic and trouble to take his fourth win in five 250SX East Region rounds and now has a 22-point lead on second-ranked Max Anstie, who finished fifth at Indy. The drama that we thought might happen when Nate Thrasher was behind Lawrence—possible retribution for their collision at Daytona—did not actually happen (though the non-topic clumsily became a topic again after the press on hand were asked not to ask about the matter).

Finally, there was the crowd. A huge turnout of more than 62,000 fans attended the Indy SX, and the racing delivered. Coming off a very strong Daytona event, Monster Energy Supercross is really humming right now. I doubt they will have a similar turnout in Detroit this weekend, but next weekend in Seattle, where the 250SX West Region fires up again, if they get good weather, they might get another amazing crowd—and right when things got interesting all over again!

Roczen’s Media Tour (Jason Weigandt)

When Ken Roczen signed to return to Suzuki, in this case Progressive/Ecstar HEP Motorsports, he said it could make a great story. Well, now he’s won, so it’s time to tell that story. Credit to Ken for working with so many media outlets this week, from PulpMX to the Carmichael/Villopoto Title24 podcast, to working with myself and Daniel Blair on our SMX Insider show, and then I hear he has more press lined up this weekend in Detroit. Ken has always been an outgoing personality and someone who carries himself like a superstar. He’s not afraid of the spotlight. We also know that putting yourself out there so much can also lead to criticism, but Ken has shown over and over that critics do not bother him one bit.

I also talked to HEP team manager Larry Brooks this week. Larry said he never doubted they could get Ken’s bike where it needed to be, although on some of the long days Larry started to wonder if he was the problem. Why couldn’t he get it solved? Well, they finally did. Larry gives credit to new suspension man Matt Andruk, who was introduced to the team through Kyle Chisholm. Matt’s company is called Active Ride, and he suggested some ideas that Larry said were pretty outside-the-box but effective.

Larry also said he had heard that Ken could be tough to work with, but that’s not true in his experience. They’re still learning each other since this relationship is new, but Larry is super impressed by the team unity this squad has and how nice Kenny is, even with some tough, long days early in the process.

We all know this Suzuki win is one of the feel-good stories of the sport. What’s also interesting is what comes next. Not only does Ken have confidence, but you’ve got to think riders like Jason Anderson, Aaron Plessinger, and Justin Barcia probably all feel like they could do what he just did and get a win. Plus we only have one point separating the series leaders? How amazing to have a series this close at the halfway mark, and yet that’s not even the biggest story!

Detroit should be good. I’ll be there as the floor announcer, so if you’re in the crowd and you hear me tell you to get loud, remember: that’s an order. Help me out!

Pro Perspective (Jason Thomas)

Cooper Webb took over the red plate last weekend with yet another podium finish at Indy. Most would expect this to be a reason to celebrate, as he hasn’t held the red plate in over a year. Shouldn’t he be thrilled with such a coup? I think it’s fair to assume so. That wasn’t the case, though.

For Webb, every race brings a need to maximize opportunity. There are layers to success, and oftentimes the factor isn’t necessarily the points earned, but the points left on the table. When looking back over a championship, riders will reflect on weekends where it was effectively won or lost. Crashes, bad starts, and mechanical failures are easy to highlight as limiting factors. The more subtle causes for unmet goals can often be the killer, though.

Take Indy, for example. Chase Sexton crashed himself out of another win (or chance to win), and Tomac had his worst race of the season. Webb, to his credit, was sitting in a great position for his late-race prowess. Many expected him to chase down Roczen and steal an incredibly valuable 26 points on a night where the door had swung wide open. Instead, he seemed to struggle with the whoops and lost another position to Justin Barcia. While this wasn’t a crippling development for Webb, these are the hidden points within a season that matter so much. Had he been able to capitalize, he would have gained five more points on his rivals. That may not seem critical now, but when we cruise into Utah, those five points could be the difference in this championship.

So if you’re wondering why Webb wasn’t as elated as he could have been, think about these hidden points that are gained or lost. Webb is a two-time 450SX Champion and understands how important these subtleties will be in gaining a third. They say that championships are won on your bad nights. While that may be true, there’s also a case to be made for those who capitalize on their rivals’ bad nights.

Cooper Webb '24 (Matthes)

Once we know what Eli Tomac is going to do in 2024, things will fall into place in what should be the craziest silly season year we've seen in a while. One rider who will have his choice of places to go is Cooper Webb, who signed a one-year deal last year with an option for motocross (he says he's going to do it). Webb's been great, as we all can see—he's got the red plate and could win his third 450SX title this year. There's no way, in my mind, that Red Bull KTM thought he would be this good last year when they signed him up for one last go-round (before we assume Chase Sexton is going to be there in ’24). Now, Webb's holding all the cards. I can't see KTM letting him take a #1 plate somewhere else if he gets it, and you KNOW his old boss Bobby Regan is going to want him back if ET retires. Of course Honda's got a spot open, so they could also be in the market for Coop. Whatever he decides, it'll be good to be Cooper Webb in 2024!

(DC Note: A good candidate for craziest silly season ever would be the 1974 to ’75 off-season, where more than a half-dozen factory riders switched teams: 500 National Champion Jimmy Weinert took his #1 plate from Kawasaki to Yamaha; Pierre Karsmakers went from Yamaha to Honda; Tony DiStefano went from CZ to Suzuki; Gary Semics went from Husqvarna to Kawasaki; Rich Thorwaldson went from Suzuki to Maico; Mike Runyard went from Suzuki to Can-Am; and Gaylon Mosier went from Honda to Maico.)

Larry Reyes (DC)

Privateer Larry Reyes went down hard in his 250SX heat race, which brought out a red flag. The GasGas rider was clearly knocked out and didn't move for a couple of minutes. Fortunately, the Alpinestars mobile medics got to him quickly and helped get him some urgent care, both on the track and back at the medical unit. There wasn't a lot of information about his condition as the race continued, other than pit reporter Daniel Blair saying he was not in the LCQ and had been transported to a local hospital. Reyes himself later posted that he had a grade-5 liver laceration, a fractured shoulder, and a concussion. He had surgery upon arrival for internal bleeding, and it appears that he will be out for a while. He also reported that the ankle he injured at Daytona the week before was actually broken, which he didn’t realize until he got to Indianapolis and had it looked at. Reyes, who hails from Houston, rides the #552 GasGas and is sponsored by Iron Supply Powersports, RPC Company, Seven MX, Gaerne, and more. Here's hoping he gets healthy and back out there soon. 

MILLSAPS (Matthes)

This past Monday night, Davi Millsaps made his return to the PulpMX Show after a couple of years away. Davi's working with Dean Wilson this year, and we had Dean-O call in as well. Davi seems to be doing pretty well in his search for meaning, which is something many motocrossers go through. He thought he was leaving Lake Havasu but didn't, and he seems to be doing well health-wise, although he did tell us that he still has vertigo stemming from his bad crash before the season started when he was on factory Yamaha few years ago.

He also got into some of the pressures he felt as an up-and-coming amateur Suzuki rider with his mom, Colleen, coaching him and starting the MTF facility. It didn't sound like a lot of fun around those days. Props to Millsaps for being open and honest about the things he went through. Sometimes motocross success has a real price. 

Also, Wilson was telling us how he's got real anxiety sometimes at the races because he's been hurt so much and got a "new ass" last year with the footpeg injury. He spoke about the ups and downs of being a pro racer and how in Indianapolis, when he was feeling pissed-off and down, the fans outside his truck kept him in a good mood and gave him perspective. Some really deep feels on Monday's PulpMX Show, people! 

You can watch or listen to the show with Millsaps, Wilson and even Ken Roczen here:

MXGP TRIVIA (DC)

Last weekend's Argentinian Grand Prix kicked off another new season for the FIM Motocross World Championship, with Spanish Honda rider Ruben Fernandez topping Jeffrey Herlings in the MXGP class, though another Spaniard, Jorge Prado, is actually the points leader—he won the Saturday qualifying race and earned 10 points, then finished third overall with 1-6 finishes in Sunday's actual MXGP race while Fernandez went 5-1 and Herlings 4-2. In the MX2 class there was less confusion, as Belgium's Jago Gaerts won the Saturday qualifying race and then topped both of Sunday's motos.

Racer X Online is partnering again with MXGP-TV this season to give away subscriptions for the entire 2023 MXGP season, which includes the FIM Motocross of Nations in October, where Team USA will try to defend the Peter Chamberlain Trophy we won at RedBud last September. It's a $130 value. I watched Sunday's MXGP opener, and the stream was excellent—and host Paul Malin is always a joy to listen to. To win it, we ask a weekly trivia question based on MXGP, and we try to make them hard, so we know a true fan has the best shot at winning. The first to answer correctly in the comments below will get the MXGP-TV subscription:

Who was the first American to win a moto at the old Carlsbad 500cc U.S. Grand Prix of Motocross?

Last weekend's question asked which brand has the longest FIM World Championship winning streak, and when did the streak occur. Several of you got the brand right (including renowned British motocross artist Rob Kinsey) but didn't mention the years! The correct answer is Suzuki, and the streak occurred between 1975 and 1984, when the RM Army won ten straight FIM 125cc World Championships. Who guessed both right first? Our regular reader JustMX.  

The riders involved with the Suzuki 125cc streak were the late Gaston Rahier (1975–'77), Japan's Akira Watanabe ('78), Belgium's Harry Everts ('79–'81) and Eric Geboers ('82–'83), and finally the first Italian World MX Champion, Michele Rinaldi ('84). The streak finally ended in 1985 when Finnish rider Pekka Vehkonnen won aboard a Cagiva. One other note: Rahier, who also hailed from Belgium, is the only European rider to win a 125cc U.S. Grand Prix. He topped the '77 race at Mid-Ohio while on his way to a third straight world title. 

Freestone (Keefer) 

The JS7 Spring National at Freestone took place last week, and tons of people made their way across the country to try and get to the JS7 compound later this year to ride. Yes, the winners get to go ride at Stewart's compound! The Freestone crew got the track dialed, and it made for a challenging yet fun track. Seeing the droves of rigs/motor homes in the pits makes me wonder how the hell people afford this stuff, not to mention take two weeks off work to race dirt bikes. I was gone almost two weeks and I was freaking out about work that was waiting for me when I got home. Maybe they’re freaking out too? Maybe they own their own business? Maybe I need to find another line of work. I don't know, but it was awesome to see so many families out racing. I only saw one fight between two dads (of course they were Cobra dads), and most of the people there were very engaging and willing to lend a hand. This is something I’m seeing more of in amateur racing, and it is quite "off-road-like" to me, so I approve! My kid got a podium in 450B and rode great but needs better fitness. 

Jett Reynolds made his return to racing and completed all the motos he entered. Jett plans to race the outdoor nationals this summer, so he will need these races to get him ready for the longer, more grueling motos of the outdoors. Indiana’s Mark Fineis was the big winner in the Pro classes, as he won both 250 and Open Pro divisions. Canadian Ryder McNabb also was on hand to get ready for his Canadian Motocross Championship Series, along with SX Futures rider Daxton Bennick. Those three were the top of the class and went back and forth on many occasions. I will say that I was most impressed with Casey Cochran, who displayed "A class" speed and swept all of the B class titles. The kid is small but rides strong on the bike, and his die-hard parents are super nice. All in all it was a great couple weeks in Texas, but I’m glad to be back home in the HIGH DEZZZZZ! 

Another Take on Indy (Chris McGraw)

(We invited Racerhead reader and fellow bench-racer Chris McGraw to add his take on the Indy SX last weekend, and more specifically Ken Roczen's win)

Last weekend supercross fans around the globe witnessed a victory long in the making, and widely speculated on. The possibility of seeing yellow on the podium, much less at the top, to most seemed all but lost. Ken Roczen and the H.E.P. Motorsports Suzuki team, backed by Progressive Insurance and Ecstar, kept working.

Like Roczen, Suzuki has had a tough go lately. While the bike is often heralded for its good ergonomics and nimble turning, the lack of upgrades to the motor, lack of power, and super-supercross stiff suspension has caused the now underdog brand to come under much criticism, while still hanging onto an almost cult-like following. I personally prefer the kickstart. Perhaps that’s just me showing my age.

There are those of us who are old enough to remember that there was a time when it was hard to keep Suzuki off of the podium, with so many amazing and talented riders, including Ken Roczen, adorned in yellow, passing the checkered flag in first. That being said, these past few years have been touch and go for Kenny, leading him back to the brand that best suited him.

So, what does this mean for the future? With one win it’s hard to tell, but everyone at H.E.P. Motorsports Suzuki is hopeful, while Roczen looks dialed in, streamlined, and ready for more. This isn’t your typical underdog story, as both the rider and the brand have seen their fair share of success. But it's been a while. Perhaps it is the start of a true comeback. Only time will tell.

DAVE NICOLL. GODSPEED (DC)

We spotted the unfortunate news on longtime British motocross star Kurt Nicoll's Facebook page. It was an announcement that his father, Dave Nicoll, had passed away. Mr. Nicoll was a British motocross star himself, as well as the manager of the British MXdN team and FIM race director. He also has a place in American motocross history as the overall champion of the first Trans-AMA Series, held back in 1970 while Dave was riding for the BSA factory team. Wrote Kurt:

On a personal note, I can attest to what a great man Dave Nicoll was. I first met him at the '94 FIM Motocross of Nations in Roggenburg, Switzerland, when Kurt anchored a shocking British victory over Team USA, ending the Americans’ 13-year winning streak. It was a huge moment for the elder Nicoll because he had just missed out on being on one of the great British teams of the 1960s, which won several MXdN races, as he was just getting up to speed as those glory days were winding down. That '94 win was Britain's first in more than 25 years at the annual event, and I remember Dave saying something to the effect of "And it will probably be another 25 years!" He was right, and then some.

We would also see one another at various FIM-related events, and he was always up for a good bench race and some fun motocross trivia, especially about Team GB and Team USA. He was extremely proud of Kurt's accomplishments and had no problem with his son one-upping him by being on a winning British team, and well as having won many more Grand Prix events. Dave Nicoll was a motocross man through and through. Godspeed, Mr. Nicoll.

King Richard (DC)

In the rush to get home from Bike Week after the RCSX and then straight back over to Indianapolis for Monster Energy Supercross, we forgot to mention that Dick Burleson, “King Richard” of AMA National Enduro (eight-time champion) and general off-road fame, became the latest motorcyclist to be enshrined in the Motorsports Hall of Fame, located just outside of Daytona International Speedway. Burleson has long been enshrined in the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame, but he’s now in the company of legends from all forms of American motorsports. Among the fellow two-wheelers in the Motorsports Hall of Fame are Kenny Roberts, Jeremy McGrath, Jay Springsteen, Dick Mann, Jeff Ward, Don Vesco, Freddie Spencer, Malcolm Smith, Kevin Schwantz, and Cannonball Baker.

Hey, Watch It!

Check out Jeremy Seewer's get off during qualifying at the MXGP opener. Luckily he escaped without serious injury and lined up for the points-paying motos on Sunday. 

A Day in the Dirt Down South, RAW:

And here is the lap of honor they did at A Day in the Dirt Down South for the late Ron Meredith, who passed away last year:

Check out Kellen Brauer’s Race Examination from Indianapolis:

GNCC Between the Arrows from The General GNCC in Gerogia:

And here’s Donnie “Roto Moto” Southers’ Detroit SX track Examination with Filthy Phil Nicoletti:

And finally here’s Donnie’s post-race conversation with Indy SX winner Ken Roczen:

Head-Scratching Headline/s of the Week

"Can't Take It Anymore": Woman Who Married Herself Posted About Divorce Within 24 Hours" – NDTV

“Judge clears path for Miami Beach to roll back 5 a.m. last call.”—CNN

“Going Fast: Buy Ricky Bobby's 10 Million Dollar Mansion from Talladega Nights”—The Drive

"MotoGP™ to debut new theme music and opening titles - All-new theme from Hollywood composer Marco Beltrami set to score the new era of MotoGP™ history" - MotoGP Press Release

“Florida beaches could be dealt a one-two punch of red tide and giant seaweed blob” - CBSNews.com

Random Notes

Thanks to our friends over at 805 Beer for a care package with their Original and Cerveza offerings. Cheers! 🍻

The Deegans’ NC house is for sale