Ironman’s tacky dirt ends up being very rutty throughout the course of the day. Not only do the corners have several ruts entering and exiting, many of the straightaways will be rutted as well. The lengthy ruts require supreme balance to attack at speed. Like I have opined about other tracks, giving small inputs to the handlebars is a key tactic. Ruts can be incredibly difficult to navigate or they can be a guide for circulating the track. That difference is all in how they are handled. If done well, riders connect one rut to the next, almost like racing slot cars. When done poorly, riders feet are off the pegs and the front tire is in a different rut than the rear tire. I’ve done it both ways and the results are extremely different. All efforts to maintain momentum and work with what the track is giving instead of trying to force your will upon it should be made. It’s remarkable how much easier it is to go fast when going with the trend than trying to fight it. Watch riders like Jett and Chase for examples of this. They will stand up as they enter the rut, off the brakes and off the throttle. They will let the natural momentum carry them to the apex, sit into the pivot point and pick up the throttle on exit. They won’t try to explode out of it or upset the natural momentum they’re carrying. That’s a fool’s game and while it sounds fast, it’s wasted energy and effort.

Think about it this way: if you want to average 15 mph through a corner, doesn’t it sound reasonable to be doing 17 mph on entry, slow to 13 through the middle of the corner and then pick back up to 17 on exit? Sure, it does. However, amateur riders or those trying to override the track would come in at 20mph, have to brake far too aggressively and get deep into the rut or berm, slowing them down to 8mph or slower, then the lack of momentum only gets them back up to 14 mph on exit. That’s not a win, but a very common scenario. The mph numbers are arbitrary but the approach is not. Ironman rewards continuous flow. Swimming with the tide is much more productive than trying to fight upstream.

Who’s Hot

Jettson is now 20-0 and has a chance to pull off the third undefeated season in history.

Chase Sexton is riding incredibly well and if anyone is going to stop Jett, my money is on the 23.

Aaron Plessinger snagged a second overall at Budds, capitalizing on Sexton’s first moto woes.

Justin Barcia made huge strides in only his second race back from his Nashville Supercross injury.

Jason Anderson wasn’t able to put on the same charge in the second moto but he looks very much back to form. Watch for him to be a factor in the upcoming playoffs.

Hunter Lawrence carries a 22-point lead into the finale and also grabbed another overall win at Budds.

Justin Cooper has had an up and down season but it’s hard to argue that he’s on his best form at the moment.

Jalek Swoll needs to put in results as his 2024 is still up for grabs (to my knowledge). He did just that with a podium ride in the first moto.

Jo Shimoda is headed to replace Hunter Lawrence at Honda HRC next season and with that, the pressure will ramp. He looks like he will be a championship contender in 2024. [Editor's Note: Don't worry, we don't expect Hunter to be leaving the HRC squad].

Who’s Not

Haiden Deegan has had two tough results in back-to-back races. The riding has been much better than the results tally would indicate, but results matter. He will be a contender for a very long time to come.

Levi Kitchen would like to have last Saturday back. Thirteenth overall is not indicative of how well he’s been riding, but similar to Deegan’s result, it is still how we judge the day.

RJ Hampshire missed Budds and will also sit out the finale at Ironman.