Frid’Eh Update #17 | Julien Benek | Brought to You by Dirt Care

Frid’Eh Update #17 | Julien Benek | Brought to You by Dirt Care

Week #17 of the DMX Frid’Eh Update belongs to Julien Benek from Mission, BC and is brought to you by Dirt Care

By Billy Rainford

Welcome to Week #17 of the DMX Frid’Eh Update brought to you by Dirt Care Cleaners and Lubricants. Things were a little quiet here on Thursday because it was drive day to Philadelphia for one more round of Monster Energy AMA Supercross at Lincoln Financial Field.

I decided to take the “No Tolls” route from London to Philly because it showed as only 30 minutes longer and I hate getting the bills in the mail from the American toll roads. One from last year wouldn’t let me pay online they kept sending me more envelopes in the mail with ever-increaseing fees, so forget that!

Plus, I was really impressed with the geography and small-town feel of the drive when I did it last season for Philly and Pittsburgh. If you’ve never wandered around through this state, I recommend you take the backroads and roll through the Alleghany Mountains. The cycling – on road and off – must be amazing!

However, like every state in the north east, the roads and highways need a ton of attention. It’s embarrassing just how bad they are in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. I’m sure there are others, but those are the ones I’ve driven on lately and they are just as bad as you remember them being.

We won’t have #3 Eli Tomac on the line this week, as that crash in the whoops in Cleveland has left him battered and bruised. They have ruled out any broken bones or serious soft tissue damage, so it sounds like he could make a return next week, but I won’t hold my breath.

With his win last week, #94 Ken Roczen has closed to within 1 point of #96 Hunter Lawrence who has shown a couple slips in his usual consistent performances. Like I said last week, I have never seen a more popular win than Kenny’s in Huntington Bank Stadium last week. It was wild to witness.

In the 250 class, #25 Nate Thrasher rode like a guy who doesn’t have a ride in 2027. He made it clear he was looking for a new home in 2027 at the pre-race press conference and then went out and won the Triple Crown event. That’s about all you can do after making it clear you weren’t in talks with your current team moving forward.

It looks like we’re in for a cold, mud race again this week. I always say I like having one a year, but this will make two in a row, and no, I don’t like that. I’ve got all my warm gear and protective stuff for my cameras so it shouldn’t stop me from getting out there and shooting the action. I just hope the crowd still shows up.

Julien Benek is career #17 here in Canada. He’s had a rough go of it the past year with concussions and then the broken thumb at the FIM Toronto Arenacross. He’s been off the bike and then wasn’t able to continue doing light duties for the concrete company he was working for. It looks like he’s landed on his feet and is even looking at doing some pretty interesting things in 2026.

We called him up while he was riding the spin bike out in BC before heading in to work at International Motorsports. Here’s what he had to say:

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Media Day in Philadelphia

With a perfect weather day on Friday, we weren’t very confident about what we were going to see on Saturday. In fact, there’s a good chance the schedule gets adjusted as we head into the afternoon. However, Friday was a “Chamber of Commerce day!” (Thank you, Wes Kain.)

I just got back into the Photo Den after riders hit the track. I did a bunch of interviews you probably won’t see anywhere else, so watch for those.

It was dry and dusty for 250, 450, and then SMX Next.

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Preston Masciangelo Invited as a Wildcard to Pulp MX LCQ Challenge

#800 Preston Masciangelo from Brantford, Ontario, has been invited as a Wildcard to the Pulp LCQ Challenge in Salt lake City along with Crockett Myers.

#66 Cole Thompson from Brigden, Ontario, has the points needed to make it in and should be on the line as well.

Here’s a look at the standings as of last week in Cleveland:

Speaking of Cole, I scootered around the pits looking for his van, but couldn’t find it. I fired him a message and it turns out he saw the forecast and decided to sit this one out, too. Watch for him back on the 250 in Denver and Salt Lake City.

Have a great weekend, and enjoy the racing from your dry couch. Jordan is working away on some Instabangers behind me as I finish this column. We’re hoping to head downtown later for some Philly cheese steaks! I’ll post up a few interviews from this afternoon.

I just looked at the forecast again and it looks like the rain hits the area at around 3:30pm, but it says we should only get 10mm. I have no idea, is that much???