Monday Morning Coffee

By Billy Rainford

Mondays after these long drives to and from a one-day events are always a bit of a write-off. When you finally pull into the driveway, you’re tired and worn out, but then you try to relax and you’re usually so full of caffeine that you feel like you’re buzzing. I always find it difficult to go straight to bed like I should and find myself on the couch watching TV until way too late. Fortunately, well, sort of, there was a hockey game to watch as I tried to come down from all the coffee and driving.

Like I always say, one rainy mud race per season is OK, but two in a row isn’t something anyone enjoys. It’s always great to get some of those muddy photos of riders pulling off their goggles and trying to squint their way through a race. But as Danny Vermin said, “I enjoyed a Supercross mud race once….ONCE.” (Google it, Bowker!)

And from my perspective, it’s really bad on camera equipment! I made sure to bring my full rain suit and one of those cheap, clear plastic baggies to pull up and over my camera lens and body, but it’s still not great to put electronic gear through those conditions. I decided to drop one camera off in the photo den and just go with one camera and one lens. It’s just not worth it to me to risk ruining any equipment.

One of the big stories of the weekend at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA was the return of #11 Kyle Chisholm to racing. It was Round 15 of 17 in the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, the indoor portion of the SMX League Championship. He came back to ride for the Canadian-owned Partzilla PRMX Kawasaki team for the final 3 rounds.

I’m not sure how he felt about his decision when he left the track in these conditions. ⬇️

It was great to see him back on the track. He ended up qualifying 9th out of 450 Heat 2 to go directly to the Main. Unfortunately, he’ been dealing with a knee issue and was in a lot of pain. I spoke with Partzilla PRMX Team Manager Kraig Riese this morning and he said that Kyle was in a ton of pain and that he didn’t want to go out in those conditions with it, so he decided to sit this one out. The plan is for him to be on the line in Denver next week.

The 250 Main ended up being red flagged due to #91 Izaih Clark‘s crash in the rhythm section. He was down getting treated for a broken femur in the mud. #37 Cole Davies was out front and #10 Seth Hammaker had crashed and was coming from dead last. Cole was 21 points up in the series and just needed to get that spread to 25 and the title was his, so he wasn’t happy about the red flag situation that would give Seth a good chance to go for a win after the staggered restart.

Cole came by us at the crash site and revved his bike to the moon and spun his wheel on the muddy plywood, sending dirt and rocks up at me and the track crew guy I was talking to. It’s understandable that this restart could have affected his championship bid, but there was a fellow rider down in the mud struggling with a broken femur on the track!

Cole is only 18, so youthful exuberance is still running hot in him, but I hope he looks back at this action and learns a little something about professionalism and courtesy moving forward. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt and thought maybe he was just cleaning out his rear tire for the restart, but….no, there was just no chance of that.

On the restart, Davies got out front again and did what he needed to do. Hammaker was back outside the top 10 and was moving forward fast. He got to 3rd and was doing everything he could to close on #58 Daxton Bennick in 2nd. Had he caught and passed into 2nd, we’d still have a mathematical chance at a change at the top in Salt Lake City for the final East/West Showdown of the year. But it wasn’t to be.

Hammaker bobbled late and came across the line 3rd, handing the 250 East Regional title to Cole Davies from New Zealand.

In the 450 class, we had #96 Hunter Lawrence leading #94 Ken Roczen by just 1 point with 3 rounds to go. The rain was coming down at the beginning, but slowed enough that there seemed to be 2 dry-ish lines for riders to follow. The lines made it good to get around the track but also difficult for riders being lapped to get out of the way.

#41 Mitchell Harrison heard it from eventual winner Roczen at the post-race press conference, that’s for sure (36:15):

Lawrence would get out front off the start with #2 Cooper Webb and Roczen in tow. Roczen into 2nd right away and then Lawrence wouldn’t be able to double a section and Roczen would go to the lead and take the win.

Webb would close in on Lawrence late in the race, giving the crowd a reason to scoot to the edge of their seats, but wouldn’t be able to make the pass. Lawrence hit the ground and let the lead 2 get out over 35 seconds on him.

Now we head to Denver, Colorado, and Empower Field at Mile High. Yes, it’s another domeless stadium where we’ll be vulnerable to the weather. It can’t rain 3 weeks in a row, can it???!!!

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Tyler Medaglia 3rd Overall at J Day in South Caroina

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OK, pretty short and sweet this week. I’m not feeling back to 100% yet after all that driving. If you’re still not finished that cup of coffee, I suggest you head over to Carson Brown’s YouTube channel and watch him do a 65cc Shootout. Here it is:

I’m sure just about everyone reading this has already seen this, but whatever.

Have a great week, everyone.