Good, Bad, 'n Ugly: Fox Raceway 1 4

Welcome to the Good, Bad 'n Ugly from Fox Racway! It's the first of 2022 AMA Pro Motocross season and we're here to give you our thoughts on who did good, who did...well, Bad and who had a night to forget forever (the Ugly). Staff member Grant Dawson is sharing his thoughts this weekend.

Do you agree with our picks and opinions, or do you have thoughts that differ? Let us know in the comment section below.

250 Motocross Class

The Good | Jett Lawrence - 1st Place Overall

Oh boy, right now it's looking like this 250 season could be absolutely dominated by the Lawrence brothers. Austin Forkner doesn't look to have the speed to contend for the title as of now, and Justin Cooper is clearly still bothered by his ankle that just recently healed. RJ Hampshire has the potential to contend for moto wins, but he'll also throw some of those chances away with bad starts and crashes. I don't think any of us are surprised that Jett looks strong enough to dominate, but I am hoping that his brother is able to challenge him throughout the entire season. It would be quite the storyline for the two brothers to legitimately go to battle for this title, and it would be very interesting to see if it would affect their relationship when they're at the race track at all. Now, we are only one round in and things could always change, but I think Saturday provided us with some pretty clear indicators of how this season will go.

The Bad | Justin Cooper - 12th Place Overall

Like I mentioned above, it's pretty clear that although Justin Cooper is healthy enough to race he is definitely not at 100% yet. It's a bummer as this will be his final year in the 250 class, and the title will most likely be far out of his reach by the time he's back to full speed. And at the end of the day, there's no guarantee that he would've been able to challenge Jett even if he was healthy, but he by far would've had the best shot of doing so outside of Hunter. I fully expect for him to slowly get better as the season goes on and win some motos down the line.

The Ugly | Cameron McAdoo and Jalek Swoll - DNF

There's nothing worse than when a couple of riders have all of the hard work they put in preparing for the season wiped away in the first moto of the season, but that's what happened to Cameron McAdoo and Jalek Swoll this past weekend. Cameron McAdoo had a nasty spill that lead to him sustaining a broken sternum as well as some bleeding in his lungs. What a bummer, man. Cameron had just worked his way back from an injury that caused him to miss half of the Supercross season, and now he's hit with another injury that most likely will keep him sidelined for the majority of the motocross season. There is a group of riders in this sport that just seem to have the worst luck imaginable when it comes too injuries, and Cameron is definitely a part of that group. I'm unsure if he has a contract with Pro Circuit Kawasaki sorted out for next year, but he definitely deserves another deal with the team. 

Jalek Swoll took a hard hit to his shoulder area early on in the race, and he definitely looked to be favoring his arm/shoulder as he walked off the track. He wouldn't line up for the second moto, but I haven't seen an update on his condition since Saturday. The Husqvarna press release only briefly addressed the crash and didn't provide any injury information, and I haven't seen anything from Jalek on social media yet, either. I hope some info is released soon and it isn't something that will keep Jalek out longterm. He already has a deal in place with Husqvarna for next year, but 2022 has been less than stellar for him, and I'm sure he's looking to log some better results this summer. 

450 Motocross Class

The Good | Ryan Dungey - 5th Place Overall and Chase Sexton - 1st Place Overall

The impressiveness of Ryan Dungey's return to the sport cannot be overstated. This dude was retired for five years, and although he stayed in shape while he was retired, he was still retired for five years. Then he comes back and in his first race he scores a top five finish in what is a relatively stacked 450 class. Dungey has had his fair share of critics over the course of his career, but I fail to see how anyone could have a single bad thing to say about his performance on Saturday. This was just the first round, too. He's going to get better as the season goes on, and, hell, I wouldn't be surprised to see him win an overall at some point. 

Chase Sexton looks dangerous, folks. He has had the skills to contend for titles ever since he moved up to the 450 class, but he also has a tendency to lawn dart himself a few times each season. It has been very clear to anyone watching that if he is ever able to get his crashing tendencies under control he's going to be a 450 champion at some point. Could this be the season where he puts it all together? Maybe? I mean, we're one race in. He does look damn good, though. 

The Bad | Jason Anderson - 6th Place Overall

Not a bad performance at all for Jason Anderson. Really, his performance is very encouraging for how the rest of his outdoor season could go. His longterm pace was solid in both motos, and he absolutely sliced through the field despite having two very poor starts. The question is whether or not these bad starts and ending up on the ground will be a regular occurrence for him this season. If he's constantly starting around the back of the pack, it won't matter how much effort he gives because he will never be able to win a race starting from that far back. It's easier to recover from a bad start in motocross, but bad starts can still kill a championship contender just like they can in Supercross. 

The Ugly | Dylan Ferrandis - DNS

I absolutely hate whenever a the defending champion of a series doesn't even get a chance to run the red number one plate. Dylan's injury may not sound serious (it's a thumb injury), but it involves a torn ligament that will not heal unless he gets surgery. I'm not a doctor so I'm not sure what the recovery timeline will look like for him, but even if he is able to return at some point this season...I don't really see why he would. Who knows, though, that'll be for him and his team to decide. I just hope his recovery goes well.