MENTAL: To be chaser, or be chased?

With the lead in the 450 points race being so tight & half the series still to go, who do you think is in the most favoured position right now- Eli or Hunter? Does Eli prefer to be chasing in points? Does Hunter like the 'pressure' of being the points leader? Or would he prefer to be chasing Eli? It's unlikely these two guys are going to be 1-2 in every main event for the remainder of the season, we have witnessed Hunter's ability to stay in the top 4 every week- will that continue? Who is going to crack first? I think its safe to say that Eli has been the fastest & most aggressive, but Hunter has been the most consistent. What is it going to take to make a points gap? Tell us how you'd like to see it play out. Personally, Id like Eli to make a mistake again & be chasing Hunter down right up to the last round where there's one point in it going in to the last main event. I really don't mind who wins the championship out of those two. Although, Eli has won it before & Hunter hasn't, so it would be nice to see him get one. We must not forget that Webb considers he 'owes' Eli a 'love tap' from 2-3 weeks ago when Eli pushed him off the track. He said in interview "One things for sure, If I see a gap, Im taking it." This could spice things up a bit. But then again, Kenny might think the same about Hunter.
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jmo443
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3/7/2026 12:22am

One thing I wouldn’t want to be right now is Chase. 

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Dr Wario
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3/7/2026 5:19am

in general, I think it depends a lot on the riders involved. Hunter seems mentally strong enough to do either. Rides his own races, pushes where he needs to, doesn’t make big mistakes. These 2 are both riding incredible right now. Hope Tomac doesn’t have one of his “weirdo races” where he randomly ends up 9th

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sumdood
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Fantasy
3/7/2026 6:54am

Me personally ? I'd rather be chased, the goal is be in front, the further away the better, the more points ahead the better.  

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3/7/2026 7:36am

I’m not a pro or elite, but I’d like to chase until round 15 or so, then blow it wide open. And when I mean chase, I mean staying within 3-7 points, not a race down haha 

The Shop

uncledaddy69
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3/7/2026 7:47am

When I’m running or riding it’s way more motivating when I see someone in front of me and I start to catch them. It definitely gives me a boost and if they look back or I know they know I’m coming, it really makes me push harder. 

However, nothing feels better when you know someone is behind you and they’re catching you but you wick it up a little and ride or run away from them. 

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3/7/2026 7:59am

Depends. If we are talking points I would always rather be ahead. If it’s one on one and nobody else on the track I’d rather be right behind the person I need to beat and make a move late. If others are on the track I would rather be in front and use the others on the track to my advantage to gap the guy behind me. 

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3/7/2026 8:23am

As a long time Eli fan, I think he always does better chasing.. the majority of those weird wtf rides he had the red plate.. I like the position he is in now, no room for error

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3/8/2026 11:27am

So it comes clear that Hunter doesn’t mind being chased. 

Also it looks like he has closed that advantage that Eli had in speed & aggression. 

It feels like going in to the break as the points leader was a power move. 

I really can’t decide which one of those two is gonna win this. 
I can’t believe that they’re both going to continue going 1-2 for another three months. What is going to ‘give’ first?

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ShipLap
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Moab, UT US
3/8/2026 11:52am

People from outside the United States seem to have the strongest mental game (other than RC & Dungey).

Ferrandis was absolutely unfazed by AC being on his tail for 20 minutes.  Like he didn't care one bit.
Hunta holeshots at least half the races, and makes almost zero mistakes.
Cole Davies seems completely unfazed by people behind him.

RJ and Sexton are more emblematic of US racers in the last decades.  Fast but can't keep it off the ground.

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Falcon
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Menifee, CA US
3/9/2026 4:33pm

At this point in the season, I wouldn't care. As long as I am reeling the points in, I don't mind being behind. I'd like to be at least a few points ahead by the time we get to 2-3 rounds to go. 

philG
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GB
3/10/2026 3:07am

In a race, you can argue that you can sit on a guy and hope you have him covered,  but for a series, you cannot beat having points on the board. 

While they add pressure, they cant be taken away. 

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