Troy Dog
Feld held the NBC Sports’ Supercross Press Conference for the members of the media yesterday. I assumed that they had called everyone together to announce that I was winning the Media Member of the Year Award, but I was wr-wr-wrong. It was hosted by Senior PR Manager of Supercross, Sean Brennan and he brought in Ricky Carmichael, Leigh Diffey, Jason Weigandt, Jason Thomas, Will Christien, among many other very important people who make the sport go round to preview the upcoming championship. I will say that having this meeting is another step in the right direction for the sport and I’m thankful for the hard work the powers that be are making our job as media members easier. There were definitely more things discussed during the meeting, but you know the deal, this is 5 Things (not 12 Things).
The Tomac Effect
Weigandt brought up an interesting point in the storyline of Eli Tomac and Jett Lawrence. Lawrence of course, hasn’t had the chance to race Tomac in supercross, so the unknown is truly making the hype more than it would be. We’ve seen Lawrence race all the other top guys and hold his own. However, Tomac is on a different level of all-time greatness and the fact these two haven’t had a chance to battle it out yet is making the series and fans rub their hands together in anticipation.
Questions Around Sexton
There are some questions around defending 450SX champion Chase Sexton that JT brought up as well. Thomas brought up the point about how Honda had waited almost 20 years to “break the curse of Ricky Carmichael”. As we all remember, once Carmichael left team Honda in 2004 they went almost 20 years without a premier class title. Team Honda was once THE powerhouse in the 1980s and 1990s, so if you would have told them they would go from 2003-2023 in between premiere 450SX titles, they would have laughed at you. Sexton won the title last year, but now he took the #1 plate to another brand, which has to sting a bit. The HRC Honda team is locked and loaded for the future, a future without Sexton the defending champ.
Weege is IN
You probably saw this news the other day on social media, but Jason Weigandt is in the booth for 2024 supercross! The Weege will be filling in for Leigh Diffey when he has other events to announce. For many, including Weigandt, this was long overdue. He’s been trying to get this job for decades and to see his hard work pay off is pretty rewarding for our buddy Weege. This change will step the broadcast up and keep everyone on their A games in the pursuit of perfection on the broadcast.
The Sport is Healthy
In the 2024 season I’ll be celebrating my 12th year covering the sport. It should be my 15th year, but I took some time away when my first son was born. Regardless, I’ve never seen this sport in a healthier spot. We’ve got two more Factory OEMs joining the paddock, we’ve got around 30 official teams signed up, a group of riders with popularity we’ve never seen before, and more media outlets than I’ve ever seen. Yesterday’s meeting had upwards of 50 people in it and not all were media, but not all media members were on the call. Even last year’s post race press conferences were full of people asking questions and pumping out content to their audiences. This is another step of growth for the big picture of the series. Thank you for choosing us here at vurbmoto to bring you the news.
A Couple New Things
Every year the series adds something new whether it’s something big or small. My long lost brother Mitch Kendra from Racer X asked a question relating to the leader lights Phil Nicoletti tested in 2023. Those lights are still in the testing phase at the moment and the series doesn’t have plans to use them yet in 2024. A new element that was added to the broadcast this year is the addition of a Spanish broadcast. Edgar Lopez and TJ Rios will be the hosting talent for those shows. It’s just another element to capture more fans worldwide and trying to grow the sport for the long run.
Main image: Honda HRC
