Slaw Dog
If you are looking for a full written recap from the second round of Monster Energy AMA Supercross in Oakland last night, you’re in the wrong place. We all watched the main events last night, so there isn’t really a need for Slaw to get all poetic and recap it for you. If you missed the main, go watch some highlights and come back and read this.
It Pays to Be Fried
Raise your hand if you had a Jason Anderson, Aaron Plessinger, Justin Barcia podium in 450SX last night in Oakland….
Sit the f*** down. Ain’t nobody had that podium and through two rounds of the championship EVERYTHING IS UP IN THE AIR and I love it.
After spending his entire career under one team, Jason Anderson needed a change of scenery. In one of the biggest moves of the off-season, Anderson left Rockstar Energy Husqvarna and moved to Monster Energy Kawasaki to replace the departing Eli Tomac. Through two rounds, the move has certainly paid off.
Anderson was most likely going to podium at the opener at Anaheim before Bam Bam happened and last night in Oakland, he rode a flawless race to capture the win.
His last win? March 3, 2018 in Atlanta! The same year he won his, thus far, only 450 title. Man, what a wild ride it’s been for Anderson and you could see the emotion on his face during his podium speech. Pure honesty and emotion. Have to love it.
New Points Leader in 450SX
Man, the 450 Class has been wild through two rounds, with the only consistent being Justin Barcia on the podium. Let’s quickly breakdown the craziness.
- Round 1 winner Ken Roczen and the whoops in Oakland DID not go together like a good Oscar and some Slaw. Nope. Roczen made uncharacteristic mistakes in the whoops all day and it cost him in the main when he went down and finished 13th.
- Round 1 runner-up Cooper Webb did not have a good main and finished seventh.
- Chase Sexton all had a terrible main. He finished ninth.
- After a fourth at the opener, Marvin Musquin finished eighth.
What does this all mean? One, we have a new points leader, as Barcia, with back-to-back podiums, holds a three point lead over Webb and Anderson. We all know the backstory of Barcia buying some Team Fried merch after his move on Anderson at the opener. Cool story. Was it a coincidence that Anderson won, Barcia finished third and is the new points leader? No. No it’s not.
You know what else it means: The top 10 in points are separated by just 15 (!!!!!) points. Will this last? Haha, hell no it won’t, but let’s enjoy it while we can.
Changing Teams Is Apparently The Way To In Oakland
Crazy little fun fact from Oakland: Of the top five finishes in 450SX in Oakland, Justin Barcia was the ONLY rider who was on the same team in 2021! Crazy, right. Anderson, Aaron Plessinger, Eil Tomac and Malcolm Stewart all had impressive nights in the Black Hole. The one I DID NOT see coming was AP.
Through one and a half rounds, nothing said AP was going to ride to a strong second place. He wasn’t qualifying well and didn’t look great at the opener. His results coming into the main last night:
- Qualified 19th at A1.
- Finished 4th in his heat race at A1.
- Finished 9th in the main at A1.
- Qualified 12th at Oakland.
- Finished 3rd in his heat race at Oakland.
But, hot damn, none of that mattered come the main event. AP was damn good in just his second race with KTM and captured just his second career 450SX podium. His first came with a third place finish last year at Daytona.
“I don’t know where I was last week,” said Plessinger. “I was in a different mindset. I regrouped this week, and it was a good week. We did some testing and the whole crew and I spent some time at the track and man did it turn it around. I’m stoked. My second podium ever in the 450SX class and I can’t thank these guys enough.”
Sushi Gets Rolled
UGH, what could have been for Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Jo Shimoda. After a strong second place in his heat, Shimoda grabbed the holeshot and lead early in the main event before stalling and dropping back outside the top five.
As Shimoda was trying to work through the pack, the gnarly whoops of Oakland collected him and he went down hard. Somehow, he still managed to get back up and get seventh. Don’t sleep on Shimoda, a podium is coming soon. You heard it here first.
Ryan Breece, That Is All
If you know, you know. What a wild night for Breece Dog.
Bonus: Two-Stank
Pretty cool to see the Stank Dog qualify for the 250 main event straight out his heat race on a 125 TWO-STROKE! I don’t know the last time this happened, but Troy Dog thinks it was Michael Willard in 2008…. can anyone confirm?
Main image: Feld Entertainment
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