Anaheim 2 Supercross - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly 2

Last week I pointed out that Justin's 2017 season has started exactly the same as his 2016 season, and that if the trend continued, he would win at Anaheim 2. Well, he went out and won. Now I will admit I was a little concerned during the heat race, as Plessinger and McElrath pulled a decent gap on him, but he showed up for the main event. He got a good start and checked out pretty quick. Plessinger tried to run him down for the first half of the race, but in the end he had to settle for second. Big win for Justin and Pro Circuit Kawasaki. Now, let's hope that Justin does not continue the trend of last year anymore and stays healthy for the rest of the season. 

Well, I'm disappointed. I was hoping that last week was just a one-time deal, and that we'd get to see the LCQ this week... But that's not what happened. FS1 once again skipped the LCQ in favor of showing a pre-recorded segment. And I'm not really sure why they have decided to go this route. Like I said last week, we tune in to watch the racing. That includes every race of the night, including the LCQ. Hell, the 250 LCQ is usually more entertaining than the semis! This decision just baffles me. Is the FS1 production team really that out of touch with the Supercross fanbase? 

Jeremy's season has gone from bad, to worse, to catastrophic in three races. He's had terrible starts every round, and this week he got tangled up in the first turn. He was able to charge through the pack and salvage a 10th place finish, but his chances of winning the title are extremely slim now. There's not much more to it aside from that. He's riding well, and the speed is there; he just hasn't had any luck this year. Look on the bright side, Jeremy, outdoors is only four months away.

 

Cooper's back! He looked completely different at Anaheim 2. He was flicking the bike around more, and overall he looked more comfortable than he did at the first two rounds. I'll admit it, I think I hit the panic button a little too early here. I should've given him a little more time to adjust to the 450 than I did, but you have to admit those first two rides were pretty damn concerning. Anyway, if Cooper continues to make some serious progress like he did between rounds two and three, we could see him on the podium very soon.

Malcolm was pretty impressive in his return to professional racing. He showed some serious speed in both timed qualifying and his heat race, but he crashed in the main event and finished in a disappointing 18th place. At least he gained some valuable experience this weekend and should come back stronger next week. Oh yeah, not that it is a huge surprise, but he was beating several factory riders before he crashed in the main event...just saying. Assuming he keeps it on two wheels, I think he'll finish inside the top ten next week.

The panic button is broken, smashed, shattered. This season has been an absolute disaster so far for Eli Tomac. 5-6-8 are his results so far, and that's not what he or really any of us expected. He's one of the only "title contenders" who has not grabbed a podium finish. Not only that, but he's gotten worse each week. It's just weird. It's pretty clear that something isn't clicking with his program. Whether it's the bike or himself, something is off. I mean, he started tenth and finished eighth! That's not what we expect out of Eli. He's been a hard charger late in the races for the majority of his career, but he's looked uncomfortable and cautious late in the races thus far in 2017. It might be best for him to take a day or two off to regather his thoughts and rest up. Then he can go into next week with a clear head and hopefully turn his season around, but I'm afraid it won't be that simple. Also, keep in mind that this is a contract year for Eli, and as of right now I don't think he'll be on a green bike next year. 

Ken Roczen is out for the season. He had a huge crash while charging through the pack and fractured his forearm, dislocated his wrist, and dislocated his elbow. So is the Supercross season over? Will Ryan Dungey now just walk away with his third straight title? I think it is a little too early to say that, but it is looking very, very likely. Marvin Musquin is our only hope now. He has to challenge Dungey over these next few rounds and make sure that he does not leave everyone behind. Now if Marvin has not won a race by round six, then I'd say the season is essentially over. I gotta say, this really sucks. We went from what was shaping up to be a nice championship battle between Dungey and Roczen, to hoping that Musquin can pick up the pace and make sure that Dungey doesn't destroy everyone. Please, someone, don't let this 450 season become a snoozefest.

How stupid was this whole deal? Anderson gets angry at Friese for a move that he pulled during their heat race (is anyone really surprised that Friese pissed off another rider? No.), so he follows him into the tunnel and slaps his helmet. (By the way, Friese's mechanic gets the Best Wingman award for getting Anderson away from his rider.)  Anyway, Anderson got disqualified for getting physical and as a result we lost another title contender. Did he deserve to get disqualified? He broke the rules, so yes, he did. Was this an incredibly dumb way for Anderson to ruin his title chances? Yes, it was. I understand exchanging words with another rider after a race, but slapping a dude's helmet is not the smartest move to make.  You aren't going to inflict any pain on the other rider by slapping his helmet, and you'll most likely get some sort of penalty for doing so (like Anderson did). I know some will make the whole heat of the moment argument, but whenever there is a possibility of getting penalized, you have to keep your head. Hopefully Anderson learned his lesson.