I have been thinking about this for a few weeks now, but has Roger or someone at KTM had a talking with McElrath before the nationals began? Seems like someone told him, "hey if you do well outdoors, Factory KTM will sign you for a 450." and he has stepped it up outdoors vs the past.
HIs supercross skills are up there with I would say HIll, AC, Plessinger, and Osborne. 2017 SX he was on it, and this past last year he won A1 then kind of dropped off, but came around at the end of the season.