Troy Dog
Ahhh, another West Coast round in the books and another night of racing spent staring at the back of my eyelids. I just can’t stay up that late anymore, man, especially when I’m up in the middle of the night with my baby Sam Dog. The good news for me is that the East Coast is coming, which is more elite than the West due to the time change and dirt. Regardless, whether I was awake or not I have some scolding hot news takes that I need to write about from Glendale. So here we go!
Friese/Craig
I’m so mad I have to write about this. This maneuver that Vince Friese pulled was pure bs and made me look terrible. On Friday I wrote about how rough passes in SX are okay, but obviously I’m not down with this one. I don’t understand why or how this move was even attempted. It was like the third corner of the entire race and many more chances were available to pass later on if Friese truly had the speed to run with Craig. However, no one has had the pace to run with Craig this season and it was a desperate attempt. I don’t like dangerous moves like that. Make an aggressive pass if you need to, but not so gnarly that you could have potentially ended a rider’s season. Craig could have been seriously injured. This was a rookie move and I expect more out of someone who has raced over ten years professionally.
Carson Brown
I like this dude and I don’t know anything about him, except that he rips on his backyard track no matter what bike he’s on. He’s had a really consistent month of racing too! He’s currently sitting 8th in points with a season best 6th at Anaheim 2. So far I believe that he’s the most outstanding privateer rider in the 250 class in this region. He even lost a few teeth at Anaheim 1! I’m trying to get a hold of him for this week’s T-Dog’s Shack, so stay tuned on that. He’s got an incredible amount of Instagram followers too, which is awesome for a privateer. He is an incredible follow, so do it!
Mitchell Means Business
Dang Mitchell Oldenburg, maybe we should have moved up to the 450 class a few years ago! He’s been on great teams throughout the years and usually makes the most of the opportunities with factory equipment. This year with his SmarTop/Bullfrogs Spas/MotoConcepts Honda underneath him, it’s not any different. He did dabble in some 450 races last year. This year he’s currently right below the factory guys, but better than the next crop of privateers. He tied his 450 career best finish in Glendale with a 13th. He’s also gotten better at each round this season, so I’m not sure what his ceiling is quite yet. This is called “Hot Takes” so I think he’s perfectly capable of finding the top ten on more than one occasion, especially towards the end of the season if he can stay healthy.
Main image: Feld Entertainment
