Good, Bad, 'n Ugly: Atlanta 3 3

250 Class

The Good: Hunter Lawrence | 4th Place

On paper, a fourth-place finish doesn't look super impressive for Hunter Lawrence, but he came from way back to finish in that spot and was absolutely hauling ass at the end of the race. Not only did he log the fastest lap of the race, but he logged it on the final lap of the race. It has been impressive to watch him progress this year. He has dealt with a lot of injuries these past couple of years, and his finishes at the few rounds of Supercross that he raced last year were not encouraging. However, he has kept it on two wheels this entire season, and I wouldn't be surprised if he's considered the title favorite for whichever 250 region he races in 2022. 

The Bad: Chris Blose | DNF

Of course, we never want to see a rider get airlifted to the hospital. It forces us all to jump to conclusions as we await an update on his condition. Luckily, things didn't turn out nearly as bad as they could've for Chris Blose. He posted an update on Instagram that revealed he only sustained a broken thumb and some fractured ribs from the crash. He still may need surgery, but at least he avoided major injury. 

The Ugly: Cameron McAdoo | 13th Place

McAdoo received a lot of praise for his ride at Atlanta 2, and it was well deserved. Since Saturday, however, the narrative has flipped on him. He looked sketchy all day and had multiple big crashes. I thought for sure his crash during qualifying would finally sideline him, but he still lined up to race...and then he was involved in the crash that sent Blose to the hospital. I don't agree with the people that are blaming that incident entirely on McAdoo, but I will acknowledge that the optics aren't great. He was also involved in incidents with Hunter Lawrence, Seth Hammaker, and Garrett Marchbanks. I think that McAdoo does have to take a decent portion of the blame pie for the incident with Lawrence, but his run-in with Hammaker was unavoidable, and Marchbanks just blatantly took both of them out. Do I think it was the best idea for him to line up after taking another huge hit in qualifying? No, I think he should have given his body a break. However, if he was cleared to race, it was his decision to make. Almost everyone lining up behind the gate at this point in the season is dealing with some sort of injury. We just usually don't know who is injured, or to what extent, since riders like to keep that stuff as secret as possible. I respect McAdoo's absolute refusal to give up on the championship, but I hope he learned some valuable lessons from the three rounds in Atlanta.

The Ugly Bonus: Garrett Marchbanks | 18th Place

Marchbanks absolutely destroyed himself and McAdoo during the Main Event, and it left many of us scratching our heads. In the Club MX press release for the week, Marchbanks said that what transpired in that corner wasn't what he intended to happen. With the angle he took into that corner, though, I think he definitely knew what was going to happen. I do respect the fact that he apologized in the press release, but I don't see how that was anything but an intentional take-out. Was it "revenge" for McAdoo taking Marchbanks' Pro Circuit Kawasaki ride? Maybe, who knows. It could have also been a move out of frustration or payback for something else we don't know about. All we know for sure is that Marchbanks ruined his own race, and it made McAdoo's go from bad to worse. I've been a fan of Marchbanks this season, but I don't think there's any way to defend him here. 

450 Class

The Good: All Three Races in Atlanta

Atlanta provided us with three great races and a track that I loved. Understandably, it sounds like the riders are ready to get back to a normal Supercross track for the final two rounds, but the fan in me wishes the entire Supercross series was made up of these Daytona-style tracks. With the way the COVID numbers are looking right now, I imagine that Feld will be able to return to a regular style schedule next year if they want to...but I sure hope that Atlanta Motor Speedway makes it onto the schedule for years to come. 

The Bad: Dylan Ferrandis | 7th Place

Ferrandis hasn't made as much progress as I figured he would by this point in the series. He still hasn't figured out his starts, and his tendency to find himself on the ground hasn't shown any signs of going away. He does have one podium on the season, but it was back at Houston 2, and he only has one top-five finish since then. I get that he's a rookie in the 450 class, but I had higher expectations...at least he has remained healthy. 

The Bad Bonus: Ken Roczen | 2nd Place

Roczen made one mistake that caused him to go down in the whoops, and while it wasn't a huge crash, it clearly took the wind out of his sails. He said after the race that his bars got bent in the crash, and it affected his ability to ride. I'm sure that it did, but I also think that the crash just took him out of the zone, and once Webb started to close the gap, it was all over. It seemed like maybe he still had an outside shot at challenging Webb for the title after Tuesday, but now I think it's pretty much undeniable that this championship is over, barring a huge mistake from Webb. 

The Ugly: Jason Anderson | 14th Place

Anderson had the speed to win on Saturday, but luck just wasn't on his side. He tagged the back end of Dylan Ferrandis early on in the race, and that was pretty much all she wrote. It is encouraging to see that he's reaching peak form at the end of the championship, and it would be a shame for him to not win a race this season with the way he has been riding recently. He has two more chances to get it done. At the very least, I'm hoping that all of the momentum he has built up in recent weeks will lead to a solid outdoor season for him. 

Words by Grant Dawson
Photos by Steve Giberson