Troy Dog
Well, we did it! Troy Dog Enterprises and vurbmoto pulled off the greatest sponsorship of all-time! Before I get too far into this recap, I would like to apologize for my tardiness. I blinked one time on Sunday and now it’s Thursday.
On Friday I wrote you a masterpiece on how everything came together for the race and our sponsorship of the Chiz for Indy 1 Supercross. You can mostly thank Chili Dog for everything, however I still had to execute my job as team manager. We knew the weather would be brutal as Ginger Dog and I left the house around 1 p.m. on Saturday. The day had been a cluster as any parent with two kids two and under would know. Nevertheless, we started our trek knowing we might have to head home soon if the weather got too bad (more on that later).
Once we arrived in Indy I knew I still had to fill out SO MUCH PAPERWORK to even get down in the pits. I walked 17 miles to Will Call and another 25 to get under the stadium to the rider pit area. I was getting strange looks from several riders and it was probably because I was wearing my Troy Dog merch. They knew I was there as the best team manager of all-time and they probably felt a bit threatened by that.
I got to the Chiz and his father Gary—er… crew chief Gary to you—in a record 45 minutes from truck to pit. As you would assume Chiz immediately lit up like a Chizmas tree when he saw me. Is it a bromance, I’m not sure, but the good vibes were flowing. I could tell it was going to be a great night no matter what.
I gave my star athlete his exclusive Troy Dog hoodie and it immediately dropped his lap time by a few tenths. We put my stickers all over his helmets and bikes and he used at least ten, so if you do not end up getting a sticker blame Chiz Dog. Also, I dropped off Ginger Dog’s basket of treats. Yeah, so that comes standard with all Troy Dog sponsorships.
Chiz went out for second practice after we snapped some photos together and we had a “team meeting”. As you know I cannot tell you the information I told Kyle during the top-secret meeting, but I’m sure you can imagine it was strict.
What followed in the second 450 Heat will forever go down in history. Chiz gets his classic, “not the best jump, but I’m going to hug the inside”, start and comes out in sixth. To make matters way better he crushes the first lap and at one point is challenging for fourth place! He Chizzed the rest of the way home for a decent gate pick for the main event. I was ecstatic. Chisholm had his finest heat race in maybe forever, and I’m taking full credit for my incredible pep talk before the night show.
After that second heat, Ginger Dog and I decided to hit the road as the storm was getting bad outside. We left Indianapolis around 9:30 p.m. and didn’t arrive home until 1:30 a.m.. Yep, it was the gnarliest storm I have ever driven in and it took us four hours to complete what should have taken an hour and a half.
I watched the main event around 3 a.m. when Sam Dog was up and crying after his bottle. We were both crying by the end of it when Chiz uncharacteristically crashed. He still Chizzed on and finished, but I think he would have done better had I been able to stay at the event longer. No matter what, my rider gave it his all like he always does and that is all I can ask for. I had fun being his team manager for a week and that is all that matters. Oh, and Chiz rebounded on Tuesday to grab 15th. What a hero!
Nothing worth anything ever comes easy. Kids, if you took the time to read this please continue to have a big imagination. That weird idea you had? Run it by someone else who can help you make the idea a reality. One day you might find yourself with a brand. You can put that brand on a dirtbike rider in the main event if you want. I just did… with a little help from my friends.
Thanks Chili Dog, Bird Dog, Fish Dog, Les Dog, Aub Dog…and I guess Slaw Dog too. You helped in making this event very fun for me.
Main image: Octopi Media
