Good, Bad, 'n Ugly: Salt Lake City 2

This might be the Unplugged version of Supercross, but that doesn't mean any less action.

450 Class

Good: Malcolm Stewart’s Heat Race Win

The battle between Cooper Webb and Malcolm Stewart sure was a fun one to watch. You just knew that if Malcolm could get close enough before they hit the whoops, that he’d go rocketing by the KTM rider. Sure enough, Malcolm got him with a lap to go, and he scored his first heat race win in the 450 class…on the same night that Cooper took the main event win. What does that say about Mookie’s chances of winning a main if he gets out front? Hmm…

Malcolm Stewart and Cooper Webb battling it out in the heat race.

Good Bonus: Zach Osborne Running Up Front

Cooper came back in the 450 main to play spoiler to Zach Osborne’s chances for a win. But given the Big Bag of Injuries that Zach sustained earlier in the SX season, it’s good to see him healthy, back up to speed, and fighting up front.

Zach Osborne and Cooper Webb battling in the 450 main.

Bad: Blake Baggett

We’re not sure what happened between the daytime qualifying and the night racing, but watching Blake Baggett set the fast time in the afternoon, and then end up with a 14th to show for it at the end of the night was a bit of a head-scratcher. The good news is that he’s shown great speed. We’ll just have to see if he can turn that into some solid results.

Blake Baggett.

Ugly: No Fans In The Stands

We understand why they're not there, and stoked to get back to racing. But so far, covering this in the Covid-19 era has been a little surreal… sort of like Supercross Unplugged. It has been stripped down to the basics, and no fluff. Rider intros? Well, that's unnecessary. Who are they going to wave at? The empty seats, or a handful of industry or team people in the stands? No bass-thumping music? For a lot of the time in the stadium, it was eerily quiet. You could hear the race staff talking amongst themselves, or an occasional outburst from a frustrated rider. Or maybe one from a rider who wanted to try and psych out the rest of the guys on the gate. It was also stripped down on pyro, and structures (like the scoring pylon). Add the masks that everyone is wearing, and social distancing, and it just feels odd. We also know how loud it would have gotten when Malcolm Stewart and Cooper Webb were battling in their heat race. Or when Cooper got by Zach Osborne in the 450 main. But at the same time, we’re thankful to be there, and that racing is going on. Two down, five to go.

Another odd site is seeing the riders prepping their own gates.

250 Class

Good: Colt Nichols

Colt’s first outing after returning to action was a little rough, but he looked great on Wednesday. He grabbed the holeshot and led a six-pack of laps before Shane McElrath got by. The Monster Energy Star Yamaha 1-2 was also a good moment.

Colt Nichols (far right), Shane McElrath, and their masked hoodlums...er, mechanics.

Bad: Chase Sexton’s Crash

It looked like Chase was hustling to try and reel in the lead duo of Colt Nichols and Shane McElrath, and it looked like he got a little kick in the rear end, which caused him to miss the rut and wash the front end as they started the second lap. Unfortunately, that led to…

Uh-oh. Here's the start of the problem, as Chase is behind Jace Owen.

Ugly: Pierce Brown With Nowhere To Go

Yikes, seeing Chase Sexton take the hit in the back from Pierce’s front wheel was tough to see. They got tangled up awkwardly, with Chase pinned under an unbalance Pierce. Once they got untangled, they both made a lot of forward progress, but Chase was on a mission to minimize the damage to his points lead, and he made it all the way back to fourth. He and McElrath will share the red plate this coming Sunday.

Ouch. We hope Chase doesn't have any lingering affects from that hit.

Pierce Brown and Chase Sexton wrestle for balance, and to get back upright and into the action.


0 comments

The Latest