T-Dog’s Hot Takes, Arlington: Tuff Blox vs Everybody, Tomac vs Anderson and More

Hey, it’s T-Dog here once again giving you (our amazing audience) my weekly “Troy Dog’s Hot Takes” column. I think at the end of the year I’ll go through all of these and give some insight into how correct I was in my Troy Dog’s Hot Takes predictions.

T-Dog, why do you keep saying “Hot Takes”? It’s called branding…learn about it. Maybe I can get Cheeto’s Hot Fries to sponsor this “Troy Dog’s Hot Takes” column? That’ll surely make Ginger Dog happy, because my girl vibes out with that snack. I think this column has been a hit so far. I haven’t seen numbers yet, but I’m pretty sure it’s the most least [Slaw note: fixed it for ya] read column of 2022. Thanks for that!

Here are three things that stood out to me in Arlington. 

Tuff Blox

Mark me down with 100% agreeing with Steve Matthes’ long time rant about Tuff Blox. If we can’t change them, then at least we can not put them on the takeoffs of jumps, ammiright? Not only did they help cause a gnarly crash between Jett Lawrence and Austin Forkner, but they took down my guy Grant Harlan in the LCQ. When I see that Tuff Block in Indy that took Har Doggy out, it’s on sight! My hot take is that we haven’t seen the end of the injuries due to riders hitting them. However, Tuff Blox have saved far more riders than they have hurt, so I’m not really sure how to make them better. Maybe we just take them off the takeoff and landings?

Anderson vs Tomac 

The race of the night for me (I’m sure like many of you) was between the two title contenders. I mean, good googly moogly were those two on a different level. The back and forth racing, as well as them pacing one another, was worth more than the price of admission. Those two are going to finish up this season strong and finish one-two, but it’s hard to “Hot Takes” the order. My heart is telling me that Anderson will bring this home, however my brain is telling me that Tomac is too damn good this season to not be the champion. I see this title going down to Salt Lake, ultimately with Tomac winning it all. 

Jace Owen 

I wrote about Jace before the season started. Usually I will make my rounds on riders who have shown me respect over the years and I do an update on them. Owen is one of those riders on that list. After overcoming torn ACL, meniscus and a  broken ankle this past year, Owen was hungry heading into the season to show what he could do on his Muc-Off/ClubMX Yamaha. At the Arlington Triple Crown, Jace went 14-13-4 for 11th overall. The third race was the break out ride that the he needed. From here on out he will be a 5-10 guy and given a great start possibly even more. 

It’s time for Spring Break in Daytona!

Written by Slaw Dog

Just a dog trying to find my special bun.

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