If you’re wondering why Sexton was not docked actual positions instead of points, it’s because he didn’t pick up any positions when the infraction occurred, and the AMA doesn’t like to dock positions after what happened in Detroit in 2016. That was the night that Ryan Dungey jumped on the red lights, still won the race, but then the win was taken away when he was penalized two positions. Then-Husqvarna rider Jason Anderson was given the win instead, though he didn’t find out about it until he was on an elevator headed to the press conference. The fans were all gone, and they all thought Dungey had won, not Anderson. It also meant Dungey would not get his win bonuses, making that a six-figure mistake—but Anderson did, despite not actually winning or getting to celebrate or anything. The whole point of the trackside safety lights is to keep downed riders safe, and violations of the rules concerning the lights should come with a penalty, but taking a win away and giving it to someone who literally did not win seems quite harsh. But then again, if Sexton ends up moving up here toward the end of the series but loses by less than seven points, well, that would be the harshest penalty of all.

Read about Sexton's Detroit penalty

Watch video explanation of Sexton's Detroit penalty 

Shifting gears to the 250SX class, a stat graphic popped up on the program that almost certainly came from Clinton Fowler (@Fowlersfacts). It showed the bizarre similarities in the supercross careers of brothers Hunter and Jett Lawrence, and how they are tracking almost perfectly even to this point. Each has entered 27 250SX events, each has 10 wins, and each has 22 podiums. The only differences: Hunter has 19 podiums, one more than Jett, but Jett has one championship, last year’s 250SX East Region. That stat will no doubt change tomorrow, but it was very interesting!

And at this exact same time, as MXGP goes to Sardinia off the coast of Italy for the second round of the 2023 FIM Motocross World Championship, Jeffrey Herlings and Tim Gajser are presently tied at 38 career MXGP overall wins. Gajser, the defending MXGP champion, is out right now with a broken femur, and Jeffrey will be on a sand track this weekend, so he may very well go to 39, as well as a 100th overall (when you add in all of his MX2 wins).

And speaking of brothers, hats off to Team Tedder Racing’s Justin and Josh Hill, who are both having solid seasons in SX. Justin finished seventh in the 450SX main at Detroit, while big brother Josh scored tenth—his first top-ten 450SX finish since Anaheim 3 2015! Justin and Josh became the first set of brothers in nearly 50 years to finish inside the top ten of a premier 450SX Class main event on the same night. The last duo to do it was Jim and Ron Pomeroy in Houston in 1974.

Before we throw it to the rest of the week’s news, we’re proud to have welcomed Chance Pickens to the Racer X staff recently. He’s picked up on Racer X Brand, which hadn’t been getting much attention lately, and he’s off to a great start—check out racerxbrand.com to see some of the new gear, and also follow @racerxbrand on Instagram.

And finally, with March being Women’s History Month, please check out the Racer X magazine feature about pioneering motocross rider Kerry Kleid, written by our friend Larry Lawrence, about the life and times of the first really fast woman to come along in American motocross. She ended up in court fighting the AMA for the right to get her professional license in the early 1970s. It’s a great way to honor not only Women’s History, but motocross history as well!

It’s Almost Scripted (Jason Weigandt)

I can’t believe that supercross keeps delivering more surprises! Last week I wrote about how compelling this season has become on the back of Ken Roczen’s feel-good win and the very close points race. Detroit found yet another angle, with Red Bull KTM’s Aaron Plessinger simply walking away from the best in the business. I was on the floor announcing Detroit, and then I heard a massive roar from the crowd. From my spot near the mechanics’ area, I couldn’t see the whole track, but I quickly spotted Chase Sexton and the pack behind him jumping through the rhythm lanes after the start. But I could not find AP anywhere. At that point I knew he must be down somewhere.

You can watch Tom Journet’s awesome footage in this video and you’ll hear me yelling “Plessinger! Nooo!” I think that’s how everyone felt. Good to hear Aaron more pumped up than ever in his appearance on PulpMX Monday.

So much went on in Detroit. As the Honda folks were gathering Hunter Lawrence and Chase Sexton for a historic double-win victory photo, Sexton was intercepted with a TV monitor so he could watch his jump through the red lights, which would ultimately cost him seven championship points. He was smiling for the photo while also surely wondering about a penalty. In the end, Chase was able to put a positive spin on it—at least he rode hard the entire 20-plus minutes and stayed solid, points penalty be damned. Oh, and the factory Honda team hadn’t won both supercross classes on the same night since 1993! Yes, Honda had plenty of sweeps with the factory 450 team and the GEICO Honda 250 squad, but Team Honda proper hadn’t taken two big SX trophies into the same truck in 30 years—Indy ’93, when Jeremy McGrath won the 250 class and teammate Doug Henry won the 125 class.

Of course you know we had some Haiden Deegan controversy, and all I can say is get used to it, because the Deegan family has done a masterful job of creating a fan base and drawing attention. This means every move—good, bad, or other—is going to get extra attention and cheers, but there will be haters too. Haiden didn’t really diffuse the situation (aggressive riding with his teammate Jordon Smith in a heat race) because he didn’t really explain anything, instead giving odd answers saying he wasn’t paying attention or doesn’t remember. Hey, he’s 17. Every answer isn’t gonna be perfectly polished.

To try to learn more, I talked to Jordon Smith on Thursday. You can listen to the full podcast, which I recommend, so we don’t take too much out of context. Yes, Jordon admits the moves by Deegan took him by surprise and he got heated, but he also takes full responsibility for the rest of his crashes and not making the main event. He puts his DNQ fully on himself.

Here’s the main takeaway, I think: Haiden feels Jordon has been racing him extra hard at times this year, and this was Haiden getting aggressive on him in return. That’s it. That’s the crux of it all. Anyway, listen to the podcast—good perspective from Smith.

That’s it from me. I’m not going to Seattle. Instead, I’m going to ClubMX for a Yamaha BluCru riding weekend. I get to bust out my own bike for a change, and my son will (attempt to) learn how to use a clutch for the first time on a YZ65. We’ll see how it goes. Anyway, have fun watching Seattle!

Seattle Settled (Matthes)

Should be interesting to see what we get for round 11 of Monster Energy AMA Supercross. We're gonna have soft and rutty conditions, maybe a bit of rain, and one has to wonder if we'll see conditions like Indy. One also has to wonder if Aaron Plessinger can show us again that he's the guy, just one week after a heartbreaking crash in Detroit, 1.5 laps away from glory. I wrote this in Observations, but just because AP did this, we can't just automatically assume he's going to win a 450SX along the way. There's a guy named Tim Ferry who was 2.5 laps away from winning the ’02 Pontiac SX with a nice lead when he threw it away in the whoops. It sucked for him, but it allowed Nathan Ramsey to win his one and only 450SX, and most people walked away from the Silverdome (RIP BTW) thinking that Ferry would win another one at some point right?

Well, he never did. 

So you just never know. It seems obvious now that AP will get a win, but yeah, the SX gods sometimes have other ideas. Here are some other thoughts about Seattle:

- Did Eli Tomac rebound from a poor Indy? His neck was better, but he said it still wasn't 100 percent, and he got into second with a nice bit of riding. But then Chase Sexton and Cooper Webb got past him, and those are the two guys he's fighting for the title, as you know. So I'm not going to call it a full rebound…. Let's call it a half rebound? Tomac is good in this type of stuff, and if his neck is back to 100 percent, we might see Tomac slice and dice through the ruts to a win…

- …unless Chase Sexton does. I've been one of those guys who’s said Sexton needs to get one win in a 20-minute main event and he could go on a run. After all, he's been the fastest rider this year, hands down, but as we saw with Tomac in so many years, sometimes the fastest guy doesn't win. And this win, although he gets the check and all that, was sort of given to him by Plessinger, so I'm not sure my theory holds here. Sexton had a huge crash in practice here last year and was held out of this race, so he's got some revenge coming in the PNW.

- And out of all these guys, Cooper Webb had the red plate and is at home in these dynamic conditions, "normal" SX conditions, and … heck, everything but a pristine SX track suits Webb. 

- It would be great to have a Chicken/Larry Ward battle for the lead like we had in ’90. Heck, we had that for a few turns in last week’s 250SX Heat 1! The more things change….

And here's that ’90 Seattle SX main-event battle between Jeff Matiasevich and Larry Ward (Chicken vs. Big Bird).

Pro Perspective (Jason Thomas)

Seattle is a long way from the Florida practice facilities. The long flight takes a toll on riders. Travel is tough as-is, but such a long flight increases soreness for those with nagging injuries. The switch back to the Pacific time zone is also a nuisance, as riders are now accustomed to East Coast time. While that may not seem like a big deal, riders will likely be yawning in the moments before the main event as it feels like midnight (9 p.m. local). It's hard to find your best level of performance when your body feels like it's time to sleep. So, what can riders do to offset some of these challenges?

First, flying a day earlier helps. There is no press day for Seattle, which throws a wrench in the “fly on Thursday” solution, but I still think it's worth it. Waking up in Seattle on Friday will help acclimate and also allow for exercise and blood flow. Stretching in the morning and going through a reasonable workout in the afternoon is likely the standard protocol but will be more important than usual. Riders want to make sure they flush any lactic acid and also snap their body back into normal blood flow after a long cross-country flight.

I would also switch my sleep schedule beginning last Sunday night, gradually pushing my bedtime a bit later all week. It takes balance, because there are still things to do during the week, but shifting 30 minutes to an hour each night will take some of the shock out of Saturday night's timeframe. For example, if a rider's normal bedtime is 10 p.m. and wakeup is 6–7 a.m., slowly adjusting that to asleep at 11:30 or midnight and waking up 8 a.m. will help. Will they still feel a little groggy if they don't stay active? Sure. But the goal is to offset as much of the jet lag as possible. 

Racing at the very top level can come down to the smallest of details. Finding your best level as a racer is not easy. Aaron Plessinger found it last weekend seemingly out of nowhere. Eli Tomac struggled mightily at Indy because of a sore neck. These small details, like time zones and sitting on a plane for seven hours, might not seem like they can wreck a weekend, but again, the details can often be the difference. You likely won't hear a rider say "I was so tired before the main event," but you might hear them say "I couldn't find the intensity I needed" or "I just couldn't get going" or even "I just struggled to find any rhythm." In reality, those can all be the same thing. Being tired makes it harder for the body to perform at its peak, even if you can't put your finger on why.

Carson Mumford (Kris Keefer)

Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki has another rider besides Cameron McAdoo in the semi this weekend. Carson Mumford is a fill-in for the team and was scheduled to race earlier in the season at Oakland, but a torn calf muscle set him back until this weekend in Seattle. I've spent some time with Mumford, and I can tell you he’s ready to be up in that top five. If he can get a start and stay out of trouble, a top-five isn't out of the question this weekend. He has put more time in off the bike, doing long mountain bikes (as well as worked on his whoop speed on the 250), so I know what the kid is capable of. Look for some good starts from Carson this weekend, and if it rains, don't count him out. Although he is from California, he’s not a bad mud rider. Lots of weather has forced some of these West Coast 250 guys to ride in less than favorable conditions recently. Hey you fantasy players! You might want to pick Mumfy….

The Deegan/Smith Saga, Cont'd (DC)

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. And now most of the blame falls squarely on the shoulders of ... David Izer? Yes, the highly respected veteran interviewer and cohost and cofounder of DMXS Radio came under the microscope this week because people thought his press-conference questions were too harsh for Haiden Deegan. Izer was accused of being some sort of homer for Jordon Smith. He’s not. Izer is among the most upfront and genuine people in this sport, and he was asking fair questions in a press conference—just not getting any real answers from the rookie. (Haiden’s “Isn’t he like in fifth?” response to David’s admittedly exaggerated “took him out of the championship” phrasing, though, was very Bob Hannah–like, and quite funny.)

There are a lot of takes out there online from the couch set, but Smith himself didn't post anything about it, other than to apologize to his team and sponsors for not reaching the main event after more crashes in the heat and then, worst of all, the LCQ:

“Well all I can say is I’m healthy and I’ve been in a lot worse positions. I get to go home with my wife and baby and gear up and go ride again on Monday. I’m sorry to my whole team and sponsors. Everyone works too hard for stuff like this to happen. Thanks for the love and support everyone. We will be back.”

As Weege mentioned above, Jordon also did a podcast and doesn’t blame his failure to get in on the thing with Deegan.

Among all of the online takes out there, a couple of short clips did catch my eye. First, our colleague and contributor Donnie Southers got a quick interview with Deegan after the press conference for his Rotomoto channel: 

And then James Stewart weighed in with another of his own epic takes on the Bubba's World podcast, and the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer broke things down as the situation escalated between the two teammates. He also points out that there were a couple of times—first in the right-hander, then the switchback to the left—that "if Haiden wanted to end his night, he would have done it right there." And then James summed the whole thing up like only the #7 can: "It was a text gone bad. He read it wrong."

Seeing Red In Detroit (Chris McGraw)

From a fan’s perspective, Detroit never fails to disappoint. For the prospective stars of the show, the story can turn to quiet the tale of woe in the blink of any eye. Last season’s Motown SX provided some spectacular saves, along with some spectacular misfortune, and a fairly good amount of privateer action up front. This year, everyone seemed emotionally charged, and Motor City mania was so palpable with aggression that I could feel it emanating from my Peacock livestream as I barely choked down my wife’s cooking (the race was only partially responsible for my lack of willingness to eat). 

The big story in the 250SX class was right out of the gate in the first 250 heat race. Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing teammates Haiden Deegan and Jordon Smith decided that SX pinball should take precedence over placing in the main and, ultimately, let a third Yamaha rider, Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX Yamaha's Jeremy Martin, slip by for the win. From my point of view, Deegan and Smith let their egos get the better of them. To quote RC, “That was too much.” Maybe there’s something inside the team that we’re not seeing, and whatever was going on seemed to take the older Smith out of the game mentally for the rest of the night, with no better luck in the LCQ. There’s no doubt Deegan will succeed in this sport, and we can cut him a break because he’s young—not to mention he’s more than likely feeling a tremendous amount of pressure and has some large expectations to live up to. He does, however, remind me of a young, hotheaded Damon Bradshaw. 

There’s no doubt that the most heart-wrenching moment was Aaron Plessinger’s plunge to the bottom while on the brink of his first 450 main-event win. We were all with the KTM cowboy, hearts beating, beads of sweat forming on the tips of our own proverbial mullets.... Red Bull KTM's Plessinger had the crowd captivated. Still reeling from Ken Roczen’s unexpected victory in Indy, to have two surprise victories in a row would have brought the house down, and possibly thrown a kink in the points standings. Alas, fate wasn’t on Aaron’s side, as he went ass over tin cups at the end of the race, leaving Chase Sexton and the HRC Honda to cruise to the checkers (though he would later get that seven-point penalty the boys above have covered). I don’t think I’ve ever seen Aaron Plessinger without a smile—he’s just a likable guy—and I’ll be rooting for him to top the podium soon. 

I guess that only leaves one question for me: where was Eli Tomac? He looked incredibly fluid and relaxed on press day but got very little screen time, leaving me to question if he was even pushing to get to the front. Tomac himself said in an interview that he had relatives close to Detroit and that the area had a sort of home-field-advantage feeling. Detroit was brisk to say the least, and that plays hell on sore joints when you get to be the ripe old age of 30. Don’t worry, Eli—if you’re ripe, I’m rotten to the core. 

Only seven rounds left, and nothing is certain headed to Seattle, except maybe the fact that one a Honda rider named Lawrence is going to win the 250 class.

MXGP-TV Trivia (DC)

We’re partnering with MXGP-TV on their 2023 streaming package, and we’ve been asking MXGP-related trivia questions for the last month and handing out one-year subscriptions to the package. Unfortunately, we gave the last one away with last week’s MXGP-TV trivia question, which was: Who was the first American to win a moto at the old Carlsbad 500cc U.S. Grand Prix of Motocross?

“Roostzilla” correctly guessed Jim Pomeroy, winner of the first moto of the 1977 U.S. 500cc Grand Prix at Carlsbad Raceway. Riding for Team Honda that year, after four years in Europe on the 250cc Grand Prix tour (where he became “First American” for his win in his first GP race, the Spanish 250 Grand Prix), Pomeroy topped Suzuki riders Roger De Coster and Gerrit Wolsink in the first moto, but then went down at the start of the second moto with Wolsink, who would get back up and race to second behind Heikki Mikkola. Pomeroy DNF’d the second moto, and it would be until 1980 before an American finally won the 500cc USGP, via Marty Moates.

Hey, Watch It!

Check out Kellen Brauer’s Race Examination from Detroit:

And here’s Donnie “Roto Moto” Southers’ Seattle SX track preview with Grant Harlan

Head-Scratching Headline/s of the Week

“JIMMY GAROPPOLO OFFERED 'FREE SEX FOR LIFE' DEAL... From LV Brothel Workers”—TMZ.com

“Space station discarded some trash. It rained fire in California's sky."”—LATimes.com

“Man Busted For Slapping Wife In Face With Slice Of Pizza, Cops Say”—TheSmokingGun.com

“'Tiger King' Joe Exotic runs for president from prison, Libertarian Party says he shouldn't be taken seriously”—Fox News

“Astronaut Sultan Alneyadi sees 16 sunsets daily on the space station. How will he observe Ramadan?”—CNN Space & Science

“Man adopted at birth finds out he has been married to sister for six years"—WalesOnline.com

“'Wheel of Fortune' host Pat Sajak tackles contestant in bizarre moment that has fans puzzled”—Fox News

“Tallahassee principal is forced to resign after parents complained that Michelangelo's statue of David is 'pornographic' and shouldn't be shown to sixth grade art history class”—DailyMail.com

Random Notes

PizzaGate! Props to Sean Brennan and the gang at Feld Motor Sports for serving up a few pizzas for the PulpMX people live on the show in Las Vegas last week after Matthes complained about a couple of Indianapolis Colts showing up with their families and thought the pizzas were for them, not the working media. (No word on whether any Detroit Lions showed up last week to graze on the media pizza. [Editor’s note: No pizza, nor Lions players spotted in the Motor City press box last weekend—Mitch])

Any given round of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship needs around 60 safety flaggers to help facilitate a safe racing environment. If you've ever wanted to get involved with the Pro Motocross Nationals or any Arenacross races, you can register as a Safety Flagger on www.FlaggerFinder.com.

Check out this shot by legendary photographer Jim "Greek" Gianatsis of Team Honda's Pierre Karsmakers exploding a sand berm at Southwick, and the movie poster for One Chance to Win about the five-way battle for the 1975 AMA 500cc National Motocross Championship going down to the final round in New Orleans. Jim wrote the move script, which was narrated by Dave Despain. You can order Gianatsis' prints and posters here: https://FastDates.smugmug.com.

Coming next weekend out at Glen Helen is the Pasha Racing 125 Open at the Two-Stroke World Championships.