WadeRaynor
Welcome back for our third installment of the Vurb Roundup, the weekly column where I highlight a few things I found notable accompanied with a few posts from social media.
Slaw Dog did not let attend the race again this weekend, but since I did not go, my car didn’t get broken into like our buddy Adam Cianciarulo. I also thought it was a good idea to go riding last week and I ended up breaking my femur. 0/10 would not recommend. Slaw did ask me why this column has taken so long this week since all I have been doing is sitting in my recliner. But, let’s get into it.
[Ed note: This column may or may not be switching gears to amateur coverage going forward. Stay tuned!]
The Gnarliest Track We Have Seen So Far
This was absolutely the gnarliest layout we’ve seen to date. Those who designed the track mixed it up from your typical baseball stadium layouts with the addition of the rhythm lane that banked right with the form of the stadium. In addition to that, the rhythm lanes were long, there were a ton of whoops, a dragon’s back that looked all kinds of awkward, and a single that proved to be way tougher than it looked. Claiming RJ Hampshire and almost taking down Eli Tomac toward the end of the 450 main event.
Jett Lawrence Starting His 450 Career
After putting on a clinic in the 250SX West Region main event, Jett made a few comments in the press conference about starting his journey into the 450 division. It sounds like he will be doing some supercross testing on the 450 to start getting ready for the Supermotocross Championship rounds, which Jett has qualified for. While it would be awesome to see Jett on a 450 in supercross before then, it does not sound like that is going to happen until the end of the season. We can always wonder where he would have ended up though. Also, I would be careful high fiving that man.
The Curious Case of Chase Sexton
This is something that has had everyone scratching their heads all season. Sexton crushes practice, qualifying, the heat races, and 90% of the main. Once that 5-minute mark hits and Chase is leading the 450 main event, you just sit there waiting for something to happen. I hate to say it that way, but we’ve seen it happen too many times with Chase. We saw it last season and we have seen it this season especially the last two weeks with Tampa and Oakland. Both of which were looking to be wins for Chase—in rather regular lines on the track and in places on the track where he was basically by himself. You have to feel for him at times. This pic from our buddy Adam Merrow says a lot about how he feels.
BamBam Gets Probation…. Wait, he didn’t?
Just as Slaw Dog pointed in his column earlier this week, no penalties were given this past weekend. I remember reading that and wondering to myself, why has Justin Barcia not ended up with the same probation that Jason Anderson has. First of all, I do not believe any of the moves done by Jason Anderson or Justin Barcia were bad enough to receive any sort of penalty all season. I do not advocate for riders hurting each other on the track, I also do not mind some bar banging and aggressive racing. It’s one of the things that make our sport so exciting. While I do not believe their moves were that bad, it is ultimately not up to me to decide and I understand that. Nor do I have a problem with penalties being handed our when necessary. But be consistent. Anderson had a few run ins with Barcia this season and he has hurt himself more than anything else unfortunately. But in Oakland we saw Justin Barcia have similar incidents with Adam Cianciarulo and Colt Nichols. I would have thought we would have seen a similar punishment as Anderson, but we didn’t. If you are going to hand down penalties for aggressive riding, be consistent with them.
The boys bounce back east this weekend to Arlington which means we are one step closer to Daytona. A race I will finally get to attend. Unfortunately, this whole broken femur deal has put a damper on my situation. See you next week.
Main image: Suzuki
