We’re in the homestretch of Monster Energy AMA Supercross, and what a season it’s been so far! Week after week we’ve seen surprises and shakeups, and Nashville held true to that trend. The action in Nissan Stadium left us with plenty of questions, and to get a better understanding of how it all played out, we sent our questions to former pro and NBC on-track analyst, Jason Thomas.
Last week the series raced on soft and rutty dirt, but in Nashville it was hard and slick. Who looked most at home on the marbly surface?
This was a moving target all day, really. Eli Tomac looked great up until the main so he would be my answer to that point. Hunter Lawrence won the day but I don’t really think he looked all that comfortable. Maybe that’s even more powerful? He did exactly what was asked but I never watched him and felt he was firing on every metric. If he can win when it feels like a shoulder shrug type of day, he is going to be hard to beat for this title.
It looked like this track was difficult to make up time on. Is that an accurate assessment?
The track didn’t reward aggression. Pushing harder wasn’t a straightforward way to turn faster lap times. Eliminating mistakes, getting the whoops right, and carrying momentum through the hard and slippery spots were the key areas of focus. It was a very different type of race than the tacky surfaces of late. Simply being more aggressive was a great way to make mistakes and possibly end up laying next to your motorcycle.
Seth Hammaker mentioned that he needed to step out of the comfort level to catch Cole Davies, but unfortunately he crashed twice in Nashville. Do you think either of those crashes were in any way related to an increased level of urgency?
I’m torn on this because Seth hasn’t been without incident leading up to this. Think about his Daytona crash in qualifying and his race two crash in Indy. Those were not brutal in a punitive sense but it hadn’t been a flawless season and then this out of nowhere. I do think he was pushing hard to catch Cole when he got to second and that was a real factor but I think Seth, by nature, is a rider who straddles the edge quite a bit. His peers would likely say the same.
There was a glitch with timing and scoring, which delayed the start of the 250SX main event. What’s it like when you get iced on the line like that?
It’s not great. The waiting is the hardest part even when things are normal. Stretching that time to the maximum just amplifies the nervousness and tension. It’s also hard to stay in “ready” mode while just sitting for 10-15 minutes. I saw Cole doing jumping jacks just before the 30 board went up, trying to reengage his mind and body to a state of readiness. I have never done the smelling salts thing but I do think this would be a perfect scenario for it.
Drew Adams was back. What did you see about you that you liked, and didn’t like?
He was fast so I liked the “eye test” but the result was not there. He still has to iron out the small details in his game so he avoids such a wide range of variance. He could finish 11th or fourth and neither would seem out of place. That needs to become much tighter of a range for him to be a serious contender in any championship.
Eli Tomac looked great in qualifying, but he wasn’t back on point in the main event. Did he just get hooked into matching the pace around him? It’s not often we see him struggle to come through guys who are mid-pack regulars.
This was tough blow. He was so good all afternoon and then a bad start led to poor riding and a poor result. It’s impossible to know how much of it was the track simply being too deteriorated for the scoop tire, how frustrated he was with the poor positioning, or if any of the main event challenges of the past few weeks returned. What I do know is, these results are quickly reducing his championship chances.
Hunter Lawrence spent much of the race behind Ken Roczen after closing on him fairly quickly. Do you think he was studying lines? Was he unwilling to show Roczen his cards early on? Or did Roczen turn it up when Lawrence got behind him?
Hunter had that inside line in the sand figured out and was making up a lot of time there. When he used it and also didn’t make the pass stick, Kenny recognized it and changed lines. That offset the lap time differential and they were even steven for a while. Kenny was making uncharacteristic mistakes, though, and Hunter capitalized. Kenny just didn’t seem able to maintain that elite intensity that he had been able to for the past three-four races.
Speaking of Roczen, he was good and led laps, but he didn’t seem to have the same level he had in the previous two races. What was different about him in Nashville?
This is the million dollar question. Was this indicative of the narrative he is vehemently pushing back on? The “fade down the stretch” theme that he’s been labeled with (and he would claim unfairly so)? Cleveland, if not a mudder, will be very telling in that story. If he can bounce back and look like the Kenny who was winning with ease, I wouldn’t think too much of a treacherous, blown out Nashville track/race. If we see more of the same where he’s great, just not as great for not as long, that narrative will be out in full force. The next race or two are really important, which is easy to say with four left.
Justin Hill is insanely talented, we know this, but even so, how does one explain the kind of ride he had in Nashville? He was second for a long time before crossing the line in fifth, which is still much better than he’s been finishing all season.
He’s very good in these conditions, which is the starting point. Also, he seems to get better as the season progresses. I am not sure if that’s a “race my way into contention” thing or what. Think about the New Jersey ride he had a year or two ago, it was this same April time-frame.
Dean Wilson was back and took a solid 11th. Is this about what you expected from him?
Yeah, this feels about right. I do think he will be inside the top ten sooner rather than later but it’s incredibly difficult to jump into a series midway through. Everyone has momentum, of which you have zero, and it’s just another gate drop for them. He will improve from here, even if the result doesn’t say so. He will get back into the groove and I would expect battles for the top privateer spot.
