Mud is His Bud
Justin Barcia’s got a handful of 450SX wins to his name, but before Saturday night, it’d been over two years since he’d earned one. Well, that all changed in the muddy mess that was East Rutherford, where Barcia recorded his first win since taking the checkers at the season opener in 2021. Now that a surging Barcia has broken through, you’ve got to wonder if we’ll see him collect more wins in the final three. -Aaron Hansel
Winning Season
After Atlanta it sure seemed like Chase Sexton might be on the verge of reinserting himself into the championship fight. Eli Tomac wasn’t having it, however, and pushed Sexton back to a 21-point deficit. Sexton is technically still in the hunt, but it’s not much of a reality at this point. With a good portion of the pressure off, he’s free to do what he does best, which is haul ass. Don’t be surprised if Sexton goes on little streak to close this thing out. -Hansel
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
After finishing a disappointing fifth last week, Cooper Webb is now in the difficult position of being eleven points out of the championship with just three races remaining. Even if he wins the rest of them, which is what he’s going to have to do, it may not be enough to catch Eli Tomac, who’s shown very few weaknesses this season. How will Webb react to the mounting pressure when the gate drops in Nashville? -Hansel
Fire Power
Max Anstie has been fantastic this season, ending up on the podium more often than not. He was especially good in East Rutherford, where he used the mud to his advantage to score his first ever supercross win. His description of turning his team owner, Yarrive Konsky, upside down and shaking the coins out of his pockets to get his win bonus, was almost as entertaining as the race itself! Now that he’s got that first one out of the way, can he get another one in Nashville? – Hansel
Title Time
With just two 250SX East Region races remaining, Hunter Lawrence holds a 49-point lead over Haiden Deegan in second. That means all he has to do is score three points in Nashville and the title is his no matter what. In other words, 20th or better gets it done. Yes, anything can happen in racing, but Lawrence could probably score three points with a kangaroo riding shotgun in a sidecar. Blindfolded. Look for Lawrence to win his first AMA title in Nashville. -Hansel
Battle for Second
The 250SX East championship battle has been over for a while, but there’s still an exciting race going on for second between Deegan and Anstie. Deegan currently holds the advantage, but only by a single point over Anstie. Both riders have been great this season, and Anstie is fresh off his first win last week in East Rutherford. Which one will leave Nashville in second place? -Hansel
Career High
You’ve got to be a bad dude on a dirt bike to qualify for a 450SX main event, and putting it into the top ten, against the best riders in the world, is a completely different level. But that’s exactly what privateer Kevin Moranz did in East Rutherford! Moranz has been having a pretty good year, so it’s not a huge surprise to see him pull in good results, but a seventh place is still a big step. Let’s see if Moranz can keep his good thing going in Nashville. -Hansel
Related: Moranz on Career Best P7 at Muddy 2023 East Rutherford SX
Day Time Television
Similar to Atlanta, this weekend’s race in Nashville will be held during the day, so this is not so much a what to watch, but a when to watch. However, that is where the similarities end as instead of battling the hot Georgia sun, the track crew will be battling rain on Friday. Dirt Wurx always kills it giving the riders the best track every weekend but after last week’s mudder there may be a few fans (and a couple of riders) who might enjoy another mud race. -Sarah Whitmore
Which Way
Nashville’s unique track design features two obstacles combined into one, the spit lane and a sand section. Split lanes are always tricky for track designers to make both lines equal, and sand sections have been proven to make or break a race. It will be interesting to see how this tricky section plays out. -Whitmore
Seasons Best
Shane McElrath has stated that his goal was to finish in the top ten by the end of the season, and he accomplished that in East Rutherford with an impressive sixth. Sure it was a mud race, but sometimes all it takes is one good result, mud or not, for a rider to get their confidence up and the ball rolling. Will Shane finish out the rest of the season in the top ten? -Whitmore
