Tyler Collingwood
Casey Cochran has been making some noise the last three rounds of the Pro Motocross season. Cochran had a 10th place finish at a brutal Southwick track, tying his season best (10th at Hangtown). Going into RedBud full of confidence, with past success there in the Moto Combine, Cochran would go 7-9 to up his season best to a seventh overall.
How did he back up those two rounds at Millville?
Cochran would have a solid finish his first Moto with a ninth and would put himself in great gate position for the second Moto.
Before the Moto, we would enter a rain delay and the guys would gear up for a mud race. “I knew getting out front was going to be important,” said Cochran in the post race interview. Cochran would do just that, getting the holeshot and going onto lead nine laps. “I just let the race come to me, it felt like I was back at the amateur race,” Cochran said. “Lap by lap it just came to me.”
The Rockstar Husqvarna rookie would finish in second, which would be his first Moto podium. Cochran had another surprise as he pulled off the track pumped up, revving his bike for the second place finish. The team would let him know that he not only got his best Moto finish, but had earned himself a spot on the podium. With that podium finish, Casey Cochran would become Rockstar Husqvarna’s youngest podium finisher (18 years, 19 days old) via SMXMUSE.
We all knew of Cochran’s capabilities coming into this Pro Motocross season. I felt like we hadn’t gotten the full effect of what he was capable of up until the last few weeks. It’s been like the flip of a switch and the pro scene just seems to be becoming easier to him each week.
Now that Cochran has that feeling of running up front, and knowing what it takes to run with the top guys, could we see him podium again this season? Cochran pointed out in his post race interview that he felt like he was back at an amateur race and we all know he dominated most races back then.
This could be a massive confidence boost for the young star, getting that feeling back of being out front and being the top guy, could make for some troubles for these other guys.
Each Moto has been a major progression and I think it’s not crazy to say we could see him on the podium again this season and maybe even click off a Moto win.
Main Image: Octopi Media
