Troy Dog
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I AM IRRRRONNNNNMAAAAAAAAAAN!!!
Well, I would have been more Ironman had Ginger Dog and I’s original plan had gone through for the weekend. See, the original plan was that WE were going to set up a tent to sleep in for the night, but halfway there we decided that a hotel would be way better. So, we found a hotel with a Starby’s right next door and only about 45 minutes away from the track. Not a bad Friday night. We settled in and I fought through some sleep thanks to the kind neighbor of ours who had their TV cranked all night long.
We woke up, got our Starb’s and got on the road. I love the drive to Ironman because it truly encompasses what the Midwest is all about. Nothing says motocross like driving through small town America with rows and rows of corn on each side of you! I love it. This drive brings back memories of my dad taking me to Kenworthy’s all of those years as a kid. I’d always thought it was so cool to drive past all of these farms and then all of a sudden here is an oasis of a motocross track out of nowhere.
We got our media passes and Ginger Dog was complimented on her nails, per usual. Then we set off to watch practice, roam the pits, and film the vlog. My goal was to find a few riders with awesome personalities and go talk to them. For the most part all of the riders are really nice and will give an awesome interview, so it’s hard to choose who to talk to on race day. You just need to ask them the right questions. You also just have to go by the trucks and see who you can catch out and about.
First, we went over to the Rock River truck because I saw Shane McElrath and Foggy Llama. I decided to surprise them and invite them both on as honorary T-Dog Squad members for the day. Shane and Foggy are both a vibe, so I had to do it. They both agreed ecstatically and it truly set the tone for the rest of the day. I’ll have a full report on the #12 later on this week, but he took the power of the pineapple and ran inside of the top ten in the second 450 moto for a while.
It seems like these days I have just about the entire Rock River truck devoted to my squad. Ashton Bloxom, Shane McElrath, and of course Grant Harlan were all pitted out of there this weekend. Luca Marsalisi was probably feeling super left out, which I feel bad for, but Marsalisi did make my Guts Racing Power Rankings this week. He also finished his rookie 450MX season 22nd in points with a season high 11th in a moto at RedBud.
The Squad’s own Ashton Bloxom missed qualifying straight into the motos via a tenth of a second. He went to the LCQ and was making moves! Unfortunately he lost the backend in a turn halfway through the race. I’m proud of Ash Dog for making it through all 11 rounds of this series. He had some setbacks over the years via shoulder injuries and he’s never given up. I got the chance to meet his mom and dad for the first time too and his brother. His whole family was there rocking Vurbmoto attire and it brought a tear to my eye. We’re doing something here people!
From there I hit up HEP Suzuki to see my teammates Freddie Noren, Chiz, and my team manager Dustin Pipes. I was informed that Chiz had left after Friday’s Suzuki media day despite the fact that he himself told me that he would be there on race day. Feeling sad I went over to out-nice Freddie for some good karma and I succeeded…almost. I complimented Freddie’s gear and then he one upped me by offering me all the snacks, drinks, food, Twisted Teas in the world. It was like he was Oprah just handing out gifts.
“You get a tea, and you get a tea, and you get a tea”. I don’t think I’ll ever out-nice Fast Freddie, Oh, the next time you see the Noren fam, tell them that they do need that mini van. They will know what it means.
Freddie even offered me Chiz’s helmet from when he filled in at Star. It’s in his locker on the truck. Then Freddie told me that someone stole his starting blocks at Budds Creek. I asked if he thought it was Phil who had stolen them and he didn’t doubt it. Then (his wife) showed me the messages from Phil about sending Fred back to Sweden. Freddie had to fabricate a new pair of blocks out of resources that he gathered from the woods.
After that I had an important business meeting with Levi Kitchen around 11a.m.. WE decided that instead of telling Levi about my amazing marketable skills, I thought that I would show him. I brought Vurbmoto official chef hats to the party. It was fantastic and Levi’s mom and dad were excited about it too, or maybe it was the fact that Levi had just qualified first overall for the first time ever. I had never met any of them before this weekend, so it was very nice to put a face to a name/voice. Great people, those chefs.
Levi told me that he was going to try and get it onto the podium, however he had a rough go in each moto. The Chef fought hard, was in position to serve up a five star meal, and win the second moto. The moto scores were looking good for the overall podium before a crash took him out of the race. As of press I’m not sure of his condition, but he was absolutely on it all day. He came from outside of the top 20 in the first moto to 7th.
I visited Caden Braswell over at the HBI Racing truck. We had an awesome conversation that you are going to hear on this week’s Squad Pod and I wanted him to put a face to a name. Brasfunky is definitely one of the most underrated personalities in the sport and I think it’s safe to say that he’s going to be a friend of the show for quite some time.
After a year of supporting AEO Powersports KTM’s Derek Kelley we finally met in person. He joked that we are always in one another’s DMs, but we really are. It was cool to catch up with him and see him ride in person opposed to just his name on the TV. He’s fought through a ton of adversity this year too. Also, DK had his best finish of the motocross season with me in attendance. THAT’S NO COINCIDENCE.
Jett Lawrence isn’t real. His sub 1:50 lap times put him lapping into tenth place in the second moto. Chase Sexton isn’t real either because he kept him in sight all day and made the race interesting. Seeing some of the things these two are doing on a dirt bike in person is truly incredible. It was so cool being there for the completion of the perfect season. You could tell that it did mean a lot to Jett after he tried to downplay it all season. Will he ever lose? What do we do now?
Congratulations to Hunter Lawrence who won both indoor and outdoor championships this year. His road wasn’t easy to get to this point, which made it fitting that he was able to pull off the title with two DNFs. These playoff races should be the last 250 races of Hunta’s career.
I love being at the races because I hear everything. I was having a conversation about team USA with someone that shall remain nameless. We were going over some possibilities if Chase and Haiden can’t go. It sounds like AP might just have to go over and win it by himself for now. RJ told me last Monday that he hadn’t heard if he was in or not. I would assume if Deegan isn’t in, then RJ will be the MX2 choice. That leaves Open to Barcia probably, which is cool because Bam has never been on a winning Team USA before. He may get another chance.
Har Dog is back at Rock River next year and will get bikes and parts, which is awesome. At the beginning of this season I was talking to Grant’s dad Chris on the phone and he wasn’t sweating it. He bought two YZ450s and he said, “We will go out and earn the support.” Mission accomplished. Harlan is excited and it’s a great fit for both parties.
Kelley will be back at AEO next season, which is another great fit for both team and rider. I’m not sure if I was supposed to report this news yet, but oops if not.
Braswell is riding SMX on the HBI Kawasaki.
Ginger Dog forgot sunscreen and Darkside walked 24 miles to his car to get some, but it turns out that he forgot it too.
I could feel Stew’s greatness around me all day.
Larry Brooks threw away the HEP pool that I jumped into at RedBud last year. Apparently if you need a pool for the outdoors then you’re too soft and don’t belong on the team, or something like that. I didn’t need it Larry, I was simply doing it for the show…and the teas.
That’s a wrap on races for me this season. I’m not sure the next one I’ll be at, but we will have to see what 2024 brings. Until then just keep listening to the Squad Pod and read everything that I write.
Main image: Yamaha
