SX and MX "what if's" bench racing

Presley155
Posts
321
Joined
6/4/2012
Location
Littleton, CO US
I've often thought about some of these hypothetical scenarios looking back through the history of the sport. It's fun to bench race about the "what if's"

-If Hansen doesn't get hurt in 82, does he win in 83'?
-In 83' O'Mara and Bailey have talked about how Hannah was the fastest that year but he broke his wrist. If he doesn't break his wrist does Bailey still win the title?
-If Bailey doesn't get hurt does Johnson win 7 titles? I think Bailey gets at least one or more of those titles
-If Johnson doesn't break his wrist in 89' I think he wins a few more titles both indoors and out and both Stanton and JMB's careers look a bit different (I still think JMB wins titles but maybe doesn't win all three in the same year)
-If Bradshaw wins in the SX title in 92', does MC still win the title in 93'? There's no doubt MC still becomes the King of SX but I think a confident and defending champ Bradshaw maybe holds him off for a year. Remember MC is actually older than Bradshaw
-If Honda doesn't go to the aluminum frame in 97' and MC stays there, Emig doesn't with the 97' SX title. Pains me to say because Fro is my favorite rider
-If MC doesn't break his wrist and rides the whole outdoors in 98' I think he wins the MX title that year. I also think he could have won the 99' outdoor title if he didn't go SX only
-If Kawi had a 450 for Bubba in 05' (remember he was on the 250 2 stroke) does he beat RC in the outdoors?
-If RC doesn't retire in 07' he wins the outdoor title that year (Stew went out injured and Langston ended up winning it)
-In 08' if Stewart doesn't pull out of the SX series with a knee injury he wins that title. Sorry Reed fans.
-In 08' Stewart goes 24-0 in the outdoors and is at his peak. If RC is still racing does Stew still win that title? RC would have been around 28 at that time and Stew was in his prime
-If Stew stayed with Kawi and never got on the Yamaha how different does his career look?
-Dungey picked up a few outdoor titles while Villo was injured. If Villo isn't hurt those seasons how different do their careers look?

What are some other "what if" scenarios you guys can come up with?
7
2
|
brocster
Posts
4548
Joined
6/9/2009
Location
Aliso Viejo, CA US
6/4/2022 12:12pm
If Windham had’t broken his femur on the Zook how different does his career look?
Presley155
Posts
321
Joined
6/4/2012
Location
Littleton, CO US
6/4/2022 12:17pm
brocster wrote:
If Windham had’t broken his femur on the Zook how different does his career look?
I actually think him breaking his leg on the Zook was the best thing for his career. He was so burnt out at that point and didn't want to race. It gave him a chance to reset and realize he had it pretty good.
7
6/4/2022 12:33pm
If your grandma had wheels she would be a bicycle. Cool
3
1
rhargrave431
Posts
856
Joined
12/7/2010
Location
Kalispell, MT US
6/4/2022 12:41pm
Chad didn't chadapult, he cruises to that title.
Also, 2012, if he doesn't endo in Dallas and hurt his knee, what happens?
6
2

The Shop

6/4/2022 12:56pm
Brandon Jesseman without the head injuries.
2
davis224
Posts
7453
Joined
8/15/2006
Location
Cornland, IL US
Fantasy
6/4/2022 1:07pm
Broc Hepler made of steel instead of glass?
6
Dirt.Squirt
Posts
1433
Joined
1/5/2022
Location
The Low-Dez, OR US
6/4/2022 7:12pm
What if forkner was more like Dungey and less like Ricky Bobby
2
tomlopez
Posts
1184
Joined
5/2/2021
Location
Saint Petersburg, FL US
Fantasy
6/4/2022 7:25pm Edited Date/Time 6/4/2022 7:25pm
What if Reed didn't go down in the whoops in 2014 and prematurely end his last season as a rider with winning speed? Does he compete for the title?

What if Tomac didn't blow out his shoulders at Thunder Valley in 2015?

What if Tomac didn't forget how to ride a dirtbike in East Rutherford in 2017?

What if Tomac didn't have a "what if" moment almost every season of his career?
4
2
Nighttrain
Posts
2771
Joined
12/5/2011
Location
Charleston, SC US
6/4/2022 7:25pm
What if Tomac had not destroyed his shoulders that one day and Roczen had not the gruesome arm injury?. Both had rare speed that was more than “generational talent” and they’d been lining up against each other every weekend.
7
agn5008
Posts
1978
Joined
3/8/2021
Location
PA, PA US
Fantasy
6/4/2022 7:40pm
tomlopez wrote:
What if Reed didn't go down in the whoops in 2014 and prematurely end his last season as a rider with winning speed? Does he compete...
What if Reed didn't go down in the whoops in 2014 and prematurely end his last season as a rider with winning speed? Does he compete for the title?

What if Tomac didn't blow out his shoulders at Thunder Valley in 2015?

What if Tomac didn't forget how to ride a dirtbike in East Rutherford in 2017?

What if Tomac didn't have a "what if" moment almost every season of his career?
Other than 2021 Eli Tomac has won a title in either SX or MX every year since 2017…he doesn’t get enough credit.
6
6/4/2022 8:17pm
What if Mike Alessi followed Hondas plan instead of Tony’s?
10
Titan1
Posts
9416
Joined
2/3/2010
Location
Lehi, UT US
6/4/2022 8:23pm
What if Travis Pastrana never heard of freestyle and took all that personality, charisma, talent, energy, creativity, fearlessness, and focused it 100% on racing?
9
DGE.532
Posts
74
Joined
8/20/2021
Location
Wichita, KS US
6/4/2022 8:37pm
What if Hannah never shattered his leg screwing around on water skis? Big what if here but what if JMB had been a hungry motivated disciplined type?
1
USA
Posts
2575
Joined
9/4/2016
Location
Richmond, TX US
Fantasy
6/4/2022 8:42pm
What if Andrew Carson never injured himself racing with his sister Andrea?
10
BS12
Posts
1085
Joined
1/13/2014
Location
AU
6/6/2022 6:03am
What if Reed scored like 8 more points total between 03 and 11 SX?

And what if Hunter didnt crash out of Anaheim this year? 😎
4
westeast
Posts
250
Joined
1/28/2017
Location
Bakersfield, CA US
Fantasy
6/6/2022 6:17am Edited Date/Time 6/6/2022 6:18am
What if Anderson didn't get landed on at MXDN?

What if Tomac's front brake doesn't break in Dallas 2017?

What if Savatgy doesn't pull over for Tomac at MC? I think Tomac was going to get him anyways, but we'll never know.
2
ElliotB16
Posts
1127
Joined
6/10/2019
Location
Cairo, GA US
6/6/2022 6:27am
What if Jeff Alessi never pointed the laser?
4
McG194
Posts
4120
Joined
9/7/2017
Location
Palm Coast, FL US
6/6/2022 6:54am Edited Date/Time 6/6/2022 7:01am
In my opinion Dungey retired in 17 because he wasn't willing to risk it like Eli was. If he would have raced MX in 17 he probably would have won pretty easy. Eli had an average finish of 3.75 that year with 3 oddball races where he took 9th place. Add in Dungey and that average finish goes down to at least 4th place. With Dungey being a podium lock every week the title would have been his easily.


To put the exclamation point on it Between 2010 and Dungey's last outdoor season in 2015 he never scored less than 507 points. Eli won with 470 in 2017.
2
6
tomlopez
Posts
1184
Joined
5/2/2021
Location
Saint Petersburg, FL US
Fantasy
6/9/2022 4:07pm
tomlopez wrote:
What if Reed didn't go down in the whoops in 2014 and prematurely end his last season as a rider with winning speed? Does he compete...
What if Reed didn't go down in the whoops in 2014 and prematurely end his last season as a rider with winning speed? Does he compete for the title?

What if Tomac didn't blow out his shoulders at Thunder Valley in 2015?

What if Tomac didn't forget how to ride a dirtbike in East Rutherford in 2017?

What if Tomac didn't have a "what if" moment almost every season of his career?
agn5008 wrote:
Other than 2021 Eli Tomac has won a title in either SX or MX every year since 2017…he doesn’t get enough credit.
I agree. it's just crazy how many more accolades he could've had if he avoided his occasional weirdo races here and there. Don't get me wrong, 2 SX and 3 MX titles in the span of 5 years is nothing short of elite, but he's been a handful of bad races away from having 4 or 5 SX titles.
Sully
Posts
9361
Joined
8/24/2006
Location
JP
6/9/2022 4:47pm
tomlopez wrote:
What if Reed didn't go down in the whoops in 2014 and prematurely end his last season as a rider with winning speed? Does he compete...
What if Reed didn't go down in the whoops in 2014 and prematurely end his last season as a rider with winning speed? Does he compete for the title?

What if Tomac didn't blow out his shoulders at Thunder Valley in 2015?

What if Tomac didn't forget how to ride a dirtbike in East Rutherford in 2017?

What if Tomac didn't have a "what if" moment almost every season of his career?
The Eli at Thunder Valley what if is the most interesting one to me. With the speed he had that year, you could easily say he would have gone 24-0 without the crash. On the other hand, with the speed he had that year, you could also easily say that the crash wasn't a matter of if, it was when.
dingo
Posts
40
Joined
7/28/2019
Location
PA US
6/10/2022 8:27am
What if Jlaw never rolled that rental
1
1
Crash81
Posts
24
Joined
10/29/2021
Location
Dexter, MI US
6/10/2022 8:41am
Titan1 wrote:
What if Travis Pastrana never heard of freestyle and took all that personality, charisma, talent, energy, creativity, fearlessness, and focused it 100% on racing?
*orgasm*

What if Villipoto brought his peanut butter and jelly with him to the first GP race of the season? For that matter, what if he brought a nutritionist with him to keep his diet familiar while traveling the world?
Falcon
Posts
12383
Joined
11/16/2011
Location
Menifee, CA US
6/10/2022 3:29pm
If DV12 didn't get injured in 2002, would he have beaten RC for the Supercross title?
6/11/2022 7:35am
Falcon wrote:
If DV12 didn't get injured in 2002, would he have beaten RC for the Supercross title?
I recently rewatched that series. RC had him covered and would of won regardless imo.

My what if.. RC never crashed out of Glen Helen 06 and raced Matterly Basin a couple weeks later. We saw what Everts did to JS7, would Everts of had RC covered too?
1
Presley155
Posts
321
Joined
6/4/2012
Location
Littleton, CO US
6/11/2022 7:52am
Falcon wrote:
If DV12 didn't get injured in 2002, would he have beaten RC for the Supercross title?
I recently rewatched that series. RC had him covered and would of won regardless imo. My what if.. RC never crashed out of Glen Helen 06...
I recently rewatched that series. RC had him covered and would of won regardless imo.

My what if.. RC never crashed out of Glen Helen 06 and raced Matterly Basin a couple weeks later. We saw what Everts did to JS7, would Everts of had RC covered too?
Everts is great no doubt, but James was riding safe to protect the US lead and ultimately the win. If it's not the Des Nations on the line and just a straight up race, I put my money on James.
1
racin mason
Posts
881
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
Long Beach, WA US
6/11/2022 8:05am
dingo wrote:
What if Jlaw never rolled that rental
Or a fatty...
davis224
Posts
7453
Joined
8/15/2006
Location
Cornland, IL US
Fantasy
6/11/2022 8:31am
UpTiTe wrote:
What if Mike Alessi followed Hondas plan instead of Tony’s?
This might be the biggest. He was supposed to be the next RC. What would the record books look like if he kept up his dominance over RV? Would Dungey happen?

If he had kept a level head throughout his career and figured out SX early... that's a huge what if. He had a perfectly fine career either way, though.
2
Flatliner
Posts
4191
Joined
11/3/2009
Location
CA
6/11/2022 11:54am
Reynard without injuries could have made the 90's look a bit different.
1
Sideways
Posts
1879
Joined
9/8/2012
Location
SE
6/11/2022 12:13pm
What if Roczen didnt break his arm/arms.

Post a reply to: SX and MX "what if's" bench racing

The Latest