Troy Dog
Five Things We Learned…is a new-ish installment to the Vurb line of race coverage. It’s a quick hitting piece where I break down five trending topics from the weekend. We’ll put facts behind what happened and break down how it will play out. As always, please feel free to give your thoughts on these topics in the comment section. If you’d like to discuss any of these topics further or have a question for me you can reach me at [email protected].
450SX Title
We’re all tied up going into the break as Cooper Webb and Eli Tomac each go for their third 450SX title. Webb, although winning the heat race, seemed to struggle during the main event and still ended up second. Tomac blitzed the whoops faster than anyone and took home his 50th career win, of course tying him with James Stewart for second on the all-time wins list. When the series resumes, we only have six rounds left to crown a champion. This thing is going to go down to the wire and it’s going to get spicy!
McAdoo and Hampshire
Both Cameron McAdoo and RJ Hampshire should be holding their heads high this season. They have the speed to dice it up with Jett Lawrence, try their hardest in every race, and have the heart of an infinite amount of lions. If trying too hard were a bad thing, then these guys would be public enemy number one. I really enjoy watching these guys because they make the sport exciting. One of these races things will go their way and maybe one of them (or both) can get a main event win before the season is over.
Mumford
Carson Mumford has had one of the most exciting offseasons/seasons ever and he hasn’t even been able to race until Seattle. He started off with Bar X Suzuki, got hurt, came back, grabbed the Pro Circuit fill-in ride, postponed his start with the team, and now we’re here. An eighth place on the night is an excellent starting point. It’ll be interesting to see what Mumford can do the rest of the season to prove to the team that he needs that bike full-time.
Justin Hill
It’s been such an up and down career for Justin Hill. Mostly the down had to do with him quitting to become a cop and then coming back to race after that. Well, this year he really come to play! He’s back to form, has two top ten finishes in a row, and sits tenth in points. These are the best results that Team Tedder has seen. The cool thing about it is that Justin, and his brother Josh, look to be having the best time going to the races together this year. How much higher can Justin climb?
Shoutouts!
I like to take a look deeper into the results and give the guys who don’t normally get any limelight. Let’s start with Hunter Yoder who grabbed two great starts on the night and was up front in both his heat and the main event. Kevin Moranz grabbed the holeshot in the 450 main and even passed Chase Sexton back for the lead! Grant Harlan had another career best with 13th on the night. Frsddie Noren had a season best 14th. Cole Seely came back and it was cool to see his name in the main event again! We had a total of eight former 450SX winners in the Seattle main event!
Main image: @jasonfribergphoto
