Troy Dog
Notice that this column now has a sponsor? That’s right! Troy Dog joined the Blu Cru and you should too! I have one in my garage right now and I can’t wait to go shred it this summer! Thank you to Yamaha for believing in my ELITE columns on this dirtbike website enough to sponsor me. What a dream come true!
It’s my favorite time of year! We’re gearing up for the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship and the vibes are amazing! I love the summer, but these early summer Nationals really get me going. With so many storylines shaping up I figured I would do my best to hype up this series even more. Below are four BIG topics that you’ve surly heard about, but I have not given my take on, which is all that matters, right?
Note: I had a fifth one that was devoted to Grant “Har Dog” Harlan racing the series on his new Kawasaki gig, but Slaw Dog edited it out. Shame. [Slaw Note: Not true.]
Dungey IS BACK
I had a feeling that when Dungey announced he was racing the first two rounds that he was actually going to race all of them. Then I listened to his PulpMx Show interview and that’s when everyone twisted his words around and somehow now he actually is racing all of them? Did I miss the part where he actually said, “Yes, I’m racing everything?” He did say he’s looking forward to racing all of the tracks, so yeah, no, for sure. Anyway, count T-Dog in on being super pumped that Dungey is back. The Dunge and I are really close in age. It’s weird to think that we are the “old guys” now even though Tomac, Barcia, Anderson, and crew are only a few years younger than us. Dungey says he’s racing this summer for fun, but we all know that he wouldn’t be committed unless he felt that he could podium and win. What if he comes in and whoops up on everyone and wins the title? I’m here for that and it would be an incredible moment in motocross history. No matter what happens it’ll be great to see RD back on the gate again, for us “old guys”.
Cairoli IS RACING
KTM really has made some roster moves heading into the outdoor season. They’ve added Dunge and also Antonio Cairoli is racing a select amount of races too. I always like when the MXGP guys come over to race. They have such a unique style and usually run up inside of the top ten. I was at Ironman the day that Jeffrey Herlings put on a clinic and went 1-1 (one moto from last to first) so I’m hoping to see Cairoli in person before he calls it a career. To me, I don’t care how Cairoli does. The fact that he is even racing this summer in America is a treat. I wish more riders did this. Or even have our top guys go over to do some GPs? If I have to speculate, I’m saying that Cairoli gets on the podium at a round or two, but it depends on how many races he lines up for.
Roczen IS IN
Anytime Ken Roczen is on the gate we all benefit from it no matter how you feel about him. The guy has been through a lot with his body in his career. In short, he doesn’t owe us anything. He could quit the sport tomorrow and just sit at home raising his son and hanging out with his wife, Courtney. Kenny is not a quitter. I personally am excited to see him contend for this title. Is this the summer that he gets the job finished? He can become a three-time 450MX champion this summer and break the Factory Honda Carmichael curse in the process.
Craig MOVING UP…FOR GOOD
Christian Craig has officially raced his final 250 class race. He’s moving up to a 450 for outdoors, which he’s done so many times before in his career. I, for one, can’t wait to see the damage that he can do with his added championship confidence and knowing that he has a Rockstar Husqvarna waiting for him in Supercross next season. Did you know that Craig doesn’t have an overall podium in 450MX? I know he will change that this summer as well as add to his long list of top fives and tens. Count me all in on CC28. Craig can and probably will win a moto and I will stamp that on Slaw Dog’s dumb forehead because I want to talk about Har Dog now, but he won’t let me.
Main image: KTM Images / Ryan Dungey in 2016
