Troy Dog
Troy Dog joined the Blu Cru and you should too! Have you seen the new 2024 models with the special livery? Go look right now! It’s amazing. Yamaha also supports T-Dog Squad ELITE Athletes Grant Harlan and Marshal Weltin. Purchase a Yamaha today and shred like them, Eli Tomac, Cooper Webb, Haiden Deegan, plus more!
Okay, I get it, half of the field was taken out in the first turn of of the 250SX Main Event on Saturday night in Detroit. A bunch of title contenders were laying on the ground one hundred feet out of the gate, putting their season in jeopardy. One even gave the fans an extra show for fifteen minutes.
When the checkers flew it was one of the sport’s most underrated riders crossing the finish in fourth place. Coty Schock, the newly signed Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX Yamaha rider, had gotten his career best finish.
Since this is T-Dog’s Takes, I owe it to all of you to take a stance on this performance. Did the issue in the first turn for so many riders affect the final results? Sure. Do I think most people are sleeping on Schock and his new ride with ClubMX this season? Absolutely.
Schock announced his departure from the Phoenix Honda team on November 13 and then announced his deal with ClubMX a month later. It was kind of weird how the Schock and Phoenix deal ended. I was writing team previews at the time and I remember thinking that Schock definitely had a ride with them. Also around the first week of November, the Phoenix team started to release that Dylan Ferrandis was riding for them. I’m not saying any of this is connected it was just an interesting scenario is all.
I think that Schock came into 2024 with something to prove and that fourth place was just as good as a win for him. I don’t think it was a fluke at all. Coty is hungry to show everyone that maybe all that he needed was a fresh start, on a new bike, at a new facility.
One thing that is for sure, is that when things are clicking on all cylinders, Schock can run with the best of them. He’s proven that time and time again. Of course most of us will never forget the “Summer of Schock” where he finished in the top ten of the 450MX class five times and gave all the factory riders fits on his Chapparal Honda.
I believe that Schock will stay in the 4-8 range for the duration of the series, no matter what happens. A lot of factory guys had to play catch up on Saturday night, sure. However, Schock put himself in a good position and got stronger as the race went on as well. It may take a few rounds for all of you to jump on this bandwagon with me, but Coty Schock was a nice surprise in Detroit and I think it’s only a sign of things to come.
Main Image: Octopi Media
