Another Friday means another plate of hot, steaming, UnPhiltered is headed your way. We hope you’re hungry too, because this week Phil Nicoletti sinks his teeth into riveting topics like team changes, Jason Lawrence, and arm pump. Wash your hands for dinner and come to the table kids!
And, of course, to have your own questions answered by the nation’s leading philanthropist of Philth, send them to Phil@RacerXOnline.com.
(Note: Some questions have been lightly edited for clarity.)
Hey Phil, what do you think about guys who switch teams right after they have had a winning season? Also, do you really think that [Chase] Sexton left Honda because the Lawrence brothers are taking over?
Shooter McGaver
I guess it’s mixed feelings, right? A lot of the deals happen with the heavy hitters before they even win the title. So, to say they are taking the #1 plate to them is a bit skewed. I personally think it’s weird to see someone win with one brand, and then the #1 plate on another manufacturer. I think the move really didn’t play out well when JGR picked up Justin Hill and had the #1 on a Suzuki. Justin did win a race that year, but from the level he was at the previous year on the Pro Circuit bike, it didn’t translate.
As far as Sexton leaving Honda, I’d say there was a 20 percent affiliation to him leaving because of the Lawrence’s. Not in a bad way, at all. It’s just hard to have three alphas under one tent. They all require so much attention. I think Chase leaving is a good idea for him, personally. Also, he’s been Honda for a long time now, so I believe it was time for a change.
Phil,
There has been a lot of talk lately about top riders that have let other top riders pass them while racing, so as to alter the outcome of the race for a variety of reasons. It surprises me that no one has said anything about the year that Jason Lawrence let Chad Reed pass him at the Daytona SX for the 450 win. They were both riding a Suzuki and Jason finished second. He probably knew that Chad was going to pass him anyway, but it is still worthy of being on the ‘Let ____ Bye’ list.
Centerpunch
First of all, Jason was on a Yamaha when that happened, not a Suzuki. Racing is racing. If someone wants to let someone else bye to help advance themselves, or help advance another person, who gives a shit? If Jett wants to wave someone bye when he thinks it’s going to give him a few more points for a million dollars, then do it. Any other rider or fan in that same exact position would do the same thing. Go ahead and send a warning or a fine. Fine is $10k? Done deal, paid. Give me my three extra points for the million. I mean, the Lawrence or Savatgy examples are not that big of a deal to me. Of course they are affecting the outcome of the race. But who cares? And, there is no way to control it. It’s happened before and it will happen again.
See the pass in question below at roughly the 2:55 mark
Pumped up Phil,
If I recall correctly there were a few times during supercross when you said you pumped up and weren't able to hold the pace. As someone who gets arm pump just parking the truck in the pits, I can relate. My question is, what do the pros do to deal with arm pump during a race? Is it something you prepare for during practice? Are there any tricks you can share? I usually just fake like there's something wrong with my bike and look down at the front wheel as I'm standing up and rolling everything. You ever try that?
Dan
I very rarely get arm pump. Hardly ever. Most of the time when I get it, it’s just in warm up and it’s a cold day. I’m very lucky to not struggle with it. But I do a proper warmup every time before I head out onto the track before first practices and the first moto. I always do certain forearm exercises that pump my arms up and flush them out. Makes a big difference for me. But when racing, it is really hard and almost impossible to get rid of arm pump in the moment. Doesn’t go away until you’re not riding and are able to give your arms time to flush. A lot of guys go for arm pump surgery to help them. That seems to help them for a certain amount of time until the fascia builds back up again. Arm pump is a very hard thing to deal with and manage. A lot of guys deal with it at a massive level.
