Vital MX Pit Bits: Glendale

The roof was open at the University of Phoenix Stadium during practice. We'll see if that extends to the evening.

Benny Bloss was ready to rock on Friday night last week...and then woke up on Saturday morning before A2 with a bad case of food poisoning. The good news is, he's back in action this weekend.

Justin Bogle is returning after a pair of bad concussions. It's good to see The Captain back on his Autotrader/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing 450. That made it a full house under the 450 truck tent, as it also housed Weston Peick, and Malcolm Stewart.

One thing that's always in place it Justin Bogle's style...

Josh Hansen was almost ready to race this week, but he should be back soon...and yeah, he'll be sporting number 72 when he hits the track.

This is the first race of the season for Jake Weimer, so there's a full complement of riders under the Smartop MotoConcepts Racing tent.

Henry Miller has been racing all season, but his first ride with the H.E.P. team was a tough one. He dislocated a hip, broke the hip socket, and had some vertebrae damage in November. He's still working his way back up to speed, but did make the 450 main in Houston.

Apparently Marvin Musquin made some progress on his shoulder rehab this week. While he didn't finish the final main, it sounds like he's ready to roll here.

Ken Roczen's new helmet? Yeah, we dig it.

We caught Tom Carson making some deliveries to his riders early in the day.

The Rocky Mountain ATV-MC/KTM/WPS guys got some new pit boxes last weekend.

Racers love racing...and racing technology. The NASCAR season ramps up next month, but we spotted Kurt Busch hanging with the Monster Energy Kawasaki crew here.

The electric wrench? That's in case the Monster Energy Kawasaki team needs to make a speedy wheel change. The starting blocks are new on the cart this year.

This pooch knows which bike he belongs to.

We have the unusual situation of a tie in the 250 class, which means two bikes with red plates. Shane McElrath has a set on his bike.

Joey Savatgy is the other co-leader. Looking at his pit board you might think that the red tape is a points leader thing, but actually it's more to help pick out his board as he goes by.

The red master link on Joey Savatgy's bike (as well as the rest of the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki squad) is also a standard issue deal.

Happy Australia Day! Reedy's rocking the home country colors.

Weston Peick and Buddy Antunez talk over the track after one of the practice sessions.

Dean Baker plugs in to check on Justin Bogle's bike. The data port is mounted on the frame spar for easy access.

We last saw Rene Zapata wrenching on a Suzuki for James Stewart. This weekend, he's working on Malcolm Stewart's bike, with some assistance from Malcolm's usual mechanic, Jason Montoya.

Keep those sprocket bolts torqued.

Christian Craig gets a fist bump from his father-in-law, Jeff Majkrzak.

This race featured the second round of the Toyota Triple Crown for BMX Dirt Jumping. The final round will be in Atlanta.

Adam Cianciarulo scored second spot in 250 qualifying.

Hmm...has anyone ever seat-bounced a tractor? This rhythm section was a muddy mess during practice, but should be dialed for racing.

Poor Big Bird...

BYOP (Poster). Is this the final round on the Autotrader/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing squad for Malcolm? It was cool to see his deal extended for this week. At this point we'd guess that we see him on a privateer Kawasaki next weekend.

Freddie Noren's also back...as of last weekend.

Doc Bodnar trying to find the owner of this wayward t-handle.

Mitchell Oldenburg gettin' it through the whoops.

So far, the whoops are hard-packed, and in pretty decent shape.

Last week's winner, Eli Tomac, is tenth in 450 times...but only about a half-second off of the fast time.

Here's some fine Spanish steel in the Legends and Heroes display.

Your 250 West co-leader, Shane McElrath, clocked in at fourth in qualifying.

Waiting to head out for the final 250 practice, these guys are getting plenty antsy. Normally they get some gate drops off the grid, but the start straight was wet enough today that they seemed to have skipped that part.

Justin Shantie dropping some pointers on Joey Savatgy. Joey grabbed the top spot in 250 qualifying.

Justin Hill is looking a lot friskier this week, and landed in third spot among the 250s.

Jason Anderson and Dean Wilson talking over the track before the final practice.

Ben LaMay has been looking good so far this season, and is housed under the TPJ tent.

Remember that chatter about about a beef between Justin Barcia and Cooper Webb last week? Yeah, there was some contact between the two, but after reviewing it later, any beef seems to have pretty well blown over this week.

Jason Anderson scored the top spot in 450 qualifying, but it's a very close field, with 12 guys all within a second of the top spot.

Ken Roczen laid down some heater laps, but ended up in second spot. Bring on the night action!

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Vital MX Pit Bits: Glendale 4

Lots of returning riders, tight qualifying times in the 450 class, and the usual assortment of pit nuggets highlight this week's visit to the Phoenix area.

View replies to: Vital MX Pit Bits: Glendale

Vital MX Pit Bits: Glendale 4

Lots of returning riders, tight qualifying times in the 450 class, and the usual assortment of pit nuggets highlight this week's visit to the Phoenix area.

View replies to: Vital MX Pit Bits: Glendale

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