Troy Dog
Welcome to the Vurbmoto Roundtable! It’s a feature we had in the early days and now it’s such a legend that it makes a return. Our panel of experts, Bird and T-Dog, give their best opinion on hot topics in the sport. We also let Slaw give his opinion, but no one cares what he has to say. Let’s get to it!
Who has been the most underrated rider of the 2024 Monster Energy Supercross Championship?
Bird Dog: I’m going with Jalek Swoll here. Not that he’s underrated, per say, but I’ve been impressed with him this year. First, let’s take the fact that he’s not only on a new team, but a completely unproven bike. Triumph has surrounded themselves with the best, but racing against proven brands with a long history ain’t easy. So kudos not only to Jalek, but to Triumph as well.
The back injury early in the year had me questioning Swoll. Sure, he’s shown flashes of speed throughout his career, but he’s not known for his staying power. To compete you have to be able to line up. He blew it in Philly, but he’s sitting 6th OA in points and sans a few mistakes he could have been looking at a top four or five overall finish this season. I personally think he still has a chance to put his Triumph on the box this year, which would be an astounding accomplishment.
I’m not sure how he’ll fare outdoors, but for SX, he’s definitely been one to impress me this year.
Troy Dog: Slaw took my pick. So, instead of agreeing with him I’ll choose another worthy rider. Let’s go with Henry Miller on the Ti Lube Honda in the 250SX East Region. Hen Dog has put together another impressive run against the factory teams this year and his best finish was a seventh at the opener. He’s currently 11th in the standings and could potentially finish in the top ten. He would need to make up four points on Seth Hammaker at the Salt Lake City Showdown. Miller has been a really solid rider his entire career. I remember when he turned pro in 2016 he told me he was driving to the races alone in his van and that always stood out to me. He was only like 12 then.
Slaw Dog: Coty Schock. He was dropped by Phoenix Honda prior to the start of the season, had no ride, went to Club to regroup, ended up getting signed and has gone out and put in seven top 10 finishes through eight rounds. Oh, and he was awarded with a new three-year deal from Club. Oh, again, he’s currently tied for third in points with Pierce Brown. No one—not even Schock himself—had him doing this well coming into the season.
What are your expectations for Joey Savatgy in the Pro Motocross Championship?What are your expectations for Joey Savatgy in the Pro Motocross Championship?
Bird Dog: Man, this is a tough one. He hasn’t raced since Arlington in 2023, which really puts his success this year into question. To make me even more skeptical, he hasn’t raced an outdoor since August of 2022 at Ironman. Where he finished 43rd. And to put a cherry on top, he hasn’t raced a 250 outdoors since 2018.
While Joey has unbelievable talent and experience, and will undoubtedly be out to prove something, I think the cards are stacked against him. I’m going to say he’s a top 10 guy to start the season, but will make improvements as the year goes on. Top 10 overall in points with some flash finishes inside the top 5. I’m like Nostradoumus, so you can go ahead and bank on this prediction.
Troy Dog: Joey Savatgy won’t ever respond to me for some reason, but I know he will be a 5-10 guy in this field. He has the potential to podium and even win some races, but man he’s had so much time off from racing, so I’m concerned that it may take him a few rounds to get acclimated to the gate drops and pace of the 250 class once again. One thing that is for sure is that I will never count Joe Dog out. Oh, and breaking news, I trust him with food safety after Zach Osborne’s most recent poll on Twitter (X).
Slaw Dog: While the Joe Dawg hasn’t raced 250 Pro Motocross in a long time, I think he’s a title contender. Jalek Swoll has shown this bike can contend, and Joey has had months just pounding laps outdoors while his competition has been heavy into Supercross. He will get wins. Stamp it.
Which rider do you think will race the longest? Justin Barcia, Jason Anderson, Cooper Webb, Eli Tomac, or Ken Roczen?
Bird Dog: Oddly enough, and I don’t think I would have said this a few years ago, but I think it will be Jason Anderson. He’s at a point in his career that he’s still competitive and really seems to be enjoying the journey. I could see him joining back up with Bobby Hewitt once Triumph is ready to field a 450 team and finishing his career with the Team Manager he had the most success with.
Troy Dog: I was going to say Kyle Chisholm because he just told me that he wants to race until he’s 91, which I think is next year for him, but he’s not on the list. I’ll go ahead and choose Jason Anderson because I think he will end up at Triumph when the 450 is available to reunite with Bobby Hewitt. Bird Dog is onto something here. Tomac is already year-to-year. This injury to Roczen may have just rejuvenated him, but it also gives him a bunch of time at home, and he will enjoy that. Cooper Webb will go until he can’t contend for a title anymore, but I don’t know when that will be. Barcia may only have one more year left. Anderson will get that Triumph deal and will have a second run into his thirties.
Slaw Dog: Gotta go Webb here. He’s the youngest of the group and is second in points. Why would he leave now?
Side note: Once all these dudes retire, we are all officially old as shit.
Main Image: Octopi Media
