Muddy Creek Motocross - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

In my opinion, this past weekend's Lucas Oil Pro Motocross round in Tennessee provided us with the best racing action of the season. There were some surprises, disappointments, and a few moments that had us scratching our heads. So with that being said,  let's jump right into the best and the worst of Muddy Creek..

250 Class

The Good: Cooper Webb | 1st Place

If we're being honest here, I thought that Cooper would eventually pull out of the championship because I didn't think his wrist would hold up. Well, I was wrong as his wrist looks to be functional (even though he's still wearing the proto Mobius brace) and he seems to be back to the Cooper Webb we all expect to see every week. That second moto charge he put on to catch and pass Shane McElrath for the win was awesome to watch, and I think this is the turning point of the season for the 250 class. So far this season has been all about the Martin brothers and Joey Savatgy, but I think Cooper will be the man to beat in the coming weeks.

The Good Bonus: Shane McElrath | 3rd Place

How about this guy?! Yes, it was Shane's home track, but his ride in the second moto was very impressive, regardless. He led the entire race! Well, short of the final lap. But how can you not be pumped for him and the entire Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM team? This was exactly what Shane needed to boost his confidence after a mediocre start to the season, and I hope this leads to him scoring a few more top five finishes throughout the year.

The Bad: Jeremy Martin | 5th Place

Something's off with Jeremy. We know he said he had a head cold at the first few rounds, but he still doesn't seem to be at 100%. There have been some rumors of him having a more serious illness that has lingered around, but we haven't heard anything out of Jeremy or his team so we really don't know what's going on. He still seems to be strong late in the motos, but his speed at the beginning of the moto is just not great. Granted, he also hasn't gotten the best of starts and he's generally been a slow starter throughout his career, but it seems to be taking him even longer than usual to get up to his race pace. I hope we find out more soon.

The Ugly: Adam Cianciarulo | 16th Place

Once again, Adam showed some flashes of speed but ultimately crashed his way out of a good finish. The first moto he was running up front, but three crashes pushed him all the way back to 11th place by the time the checkered flag came out. Then, in the second moto, he got hit by Cooper Webb while running up front and would go on to crash a few more times before finishing 22nd. I'm really pulling for Adam to stay off the ground for two motos and put in a solid overall finish. I mean, it's gotta happen some time this season right? He's got the speed, qualifying has shown that. He just keeps tipping the bike over while running up front or charging through the pack. I'm not even sure if he knows why he keeps having these stupid little crashes, but I can guarantee he's more pissed about it than any fan that keeps tweeting at him that he needs to stay off the ground. He'll figure it out before the end of the season. Just be patient, AC fans.

450 Class

The Good: Eli Tomac | 2nd Place

Eli made progress last week, but this week he finally showed what everyone expected to see at Hangtown. His starts weren't amazing, but he was able to slice through the pack and hang with Ken Roczen both motos. He even showed a flash of the 2015 Eli Tomac when he closed up on Ken late in moto two, and actually pushed Ken all the way to the checkered flag. He's made a ton of progress in the span of two weeks, so I wouldn't be surprised to see him standing on the top step of the podium as early as next week.

The Bad: The List of Injured Riders is Growing

This past week was not a good week for American motocross as far as injuries go. We lost Josh Grant and Jason Anderson to different injuries, and they will both be out for a while. This news combined with the losses of Trey Canard and Ryan Dungey has greatly thinned the 450 field and overall will make the racing less exciting than it could be. I hope all of these guys are healing up alright, and I look forward to seeing them back out on the track soon.

The Ugly: Justin Barcia and Phil Nicoletti Come Together

Justin Barcia and Phil Nicoletti came together during the first moto and they both hit the deck pretty hard. It took them a while to get going again, and Justin eventually pulled out of the moto while Phil was only able to get back to 10th. Unfortunately, there's no video of the crash so I can't say for sure how it happened, but I will say that there's less than a one percent chance Justin meant to take Phil out. It'd be nice if we had a camera and microphone in the JGR pits after the first moto, because we all know that conversation had to be interesting.

Photos by Steve Giberson

Article by Grant Dawson

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