Shane McElrath SX 2023 ????

Kenny and Shane are two very different caliber of riders.

Could be bike. Some chassis fit one rider better than the next guy.

Could just be that's all the better he is?

Not everyone who is able to run upfront in the 250s at one time in their career is able to translate that to the big class.

He's been on a lot of different 450s at this point and the results are pretty much the same.

Sounds worse than it actually is. He had a really slow start but has sorta turned it around in the P11-15 area

Ehh, barely. His season-best results are two 13th-place finishes and two 15ths...with his last two finishes being outside the top 15.

16, 16, 15, 17, 16, 15, 13, 13, 17, 16.

As riders drop out his results should be 4-5 spots better.

He should be around Justin hill and infront of Josh Hill.

Could he just be playing it safe to do world sx?

McElrath and Chisholm’s struggles to be competitive on a vintage bike in Supercross this year further demonstrates just how phenomenal a talent Ken Roczen is.  Flame on.

You would have to think Kenny is getting most of the attention for bike setup

I believe Kyle has posted in another thread that that’s not the case. 

He is just not good enough to run closer to the front.  His results haven't been that great and even on the 250 were meh for the most part.  He had flashes of speed and then would get hurt or change teams and just never had all the pieces to put it together on the 450.

Chisholm is the test rider that has been helping him set the bike up.

Shane’s career has certainly been interesting the last few years. I wasn’t expecting him to blow the doors off the competition, but certainly better results than what he has shown. We have also lost some really good main event riders which should be moving him up in positions at the rounds which hasn’t happened. Just goes to show how tough that 450 class is, but also how talented some of these dudes are like Starling, Clason, Karnow, Moranz, etc who can run with a guy who almost won a lites championship not that long ago. 

McElrath is a bit of an anomaly to me. He battled for a 250 championship with Sexton in 2020. He's won 250 national races. He won the WSX 250 "title". I guess that he either doesn't gel that well with a 450, or there are that many better 450 guys ahead of him. 

Mcelrath at  A2 2019 Triple crown straight up beat Cianciarulo. He has the speed.

This should maybe say "had the speed"...

Something is definitely off with Shane right now.

It's crazy how he was batteling sexton for a 250 championship in 2020 and now sexton is winning 450s an mcelrath is getting 15th and beat by guys like harlen bloss an noren 

I think part of it is his build and the ergos of the Zook but there is definitely something wrong.

It’s all mental 

Shane had some big get offs a few years ago that did some damage. We had a capacitor fail leading up to the 2016 season and the bike shutoff on the face of the finish line at the test track and that destroyed his wrist. Then later that summer while battling with A-mart at Southwick he had that nasty wreck on the last lap on the fast straight a couple turns before the finish and jacked his shoulder up good and broke his sternum and some other things. Then the wreck at seattle 2017 with Chris Aldredge was a good one too. I think between musical chairs and trying to get comfy on a 450 has been a rough go. Could be possible some of his injuries are bringing up issues on the 450 that weren't as apparent on the little bike. He just doesn't have that loose good looking flow like he had on the 250. Ultra talented guy that works really hard so I believe he's got more in the tank when he can get the pieces together. 

Side note. Isn’t it crazy how some dudes who battle with future top 450 riders in the 250s just never get to that level their rivals do? And we all just expect it and know it’s going to happen. McElrath battled Sexton right down to the wire on a 250, yet we all knew Sexton would be a star while McElrath would be a guy battling for top tens. Which is still amazing of course. It’s just odd that we all know this and yet they’re nearly the same exact speed on the 250.

ya'll realize how many fast guys are in the 450 class?

Take last weeks race... top 6 in main are 450 sx winners... 4 of the top 6 are 450 sx/mx champions... and 10 riders are former 250 class champions. 

I'd say he is doing very well. but as a friend and fan I also am hoping for some top 10's.

Pretty obvious statement, a few years ago Shane was battling for a supercross title down to the wire with sexton, and motocross wins. He should be way more competitive than he is. Bloss, Harlan, etc shouldn’t even be close to him. 

I guess the "lord" just figures it's his time to be a lapper...barf!

And it was time for you to make yourself sound like a complete fuck. Hope you aren't such a calous loser in person. 

It is what it is.  Why isn't AC killing it...he has the speed.  Injuries, age, life events, etc, lots of things have to be "right" to get on that box.

Shane is decent human being.  I mean the type of guy you want as a friend or neighbor.  If he could get better results...he'd do whatever it takes.  Only he knows if it's possible.  I'm a fan.

I doubt that is what he meant.  Interviews with Shane always sound like he is preaching and the "we" is super annoying too.  Interviews about dirt bikes don't need to be about religion, politics etc. and "we" didn't get lapped, "I" did.

It's his time up there to say what he wants. Anybody who has to poke fun at religion and what someone believes in is a tiny person.

For clarification, I am complete opposite of religious, but if that's all you can poke fun at, yes you are a pea brained moron. 

I'd be mad if i was you to living in the zombie apocalypse of North America. Damn Portland is depressing.

You are a sad person bro, get some better material. Good luck to you!