T-Dog’s Takes: My Pick for the Motocross of Nations

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! Thank you to Yamaha for believing in my ELITE columns on this dirt bike website enough to sponsor me. What a dream come true! BTW: Have you seen the all-new YZ450F? OH. MY. GOODNESS. I can’t wait to test that bad boy.

I dropped the ball on this Motocross des/of Nations. I really should be attending as Vurb’s editor. As a kid my dad would tell me stories about his trip to the 1987 event at Unadilla and how scary it truly was for him. He went in a motorhome with like eight other dudes who loved to party and some were pretty sketchy I believe. Although the people my dad traveled with spooked him, he still witnessed Bob Hannah (his hero) wringing the piss out of his RM 125 to a Team USA victory. 

I swore in my life that IF the race EVER came back to the USA that I would be there. Well, I got my wish in 2007 when the race was held at Budds Creek. I was 17 years old in high school and I had just gotten my license. For some reason, my dad and I didn’t go. We would have witnessed a Team USA victory and Ryan Villopoto’s famous 1-1 on a 250.

In 2018 the of/des Nations returned to the United States at RedBud. I didn’t go. Ginger Dog was a little less than a month away from giving birth to Bub Dog, so that one was super easy to sit out for me. I was about to become a dad for the first time and that was way more important to me. The event looked incredible and the weather that weekend would have been all-time for me as a fan. This year we return to RedBud, which I’m sure will be the last RedBud of/des Nations event for quite some time. This year I just can’t swing it. That’s the reason. I need to be home to take care of Bub and Sam Dog and we have prior events scheduled for that weekend. I would love to make it, but I can still cover it from some aspects at home. If this event occurred in 2023 everything would be setup to go, no problem. 

Now, for the most important part of this column, my announcement of which country I think will win the coveted Chamberlain Trophy, named after Wilt Chamberlain of course for all of his motocross accolades. Wait…that’s not right. It’s the Peter Chamberlain Trophy.

I’m going to stand here on my pedestal and yell it so that all of the people in the back can hear this! Your 2022 MXoN winning team will be the United States of America. I feel very strongly that we will get the job done this year. I spent the entire summer watching Eli Tomac and Chase Sexton push themselves to be a minute ahead of third place. You can’t sit here and tell me that all of a sudden that speed will be forgotten. It’s RedBud and on our home soil. Although, we just had an MXoN at RedBud in 2018 and said the exact same thing. I think this year will be different. It’s going to be more of a summer RedBud national prepped track opposed to the rainy, sandy, quagmire it was last time. Justin Cooper will be great in the qualifying moto and he will get fantastic starts all weekend on his Star Racing Yamaha and will do just fine as the MX2 rider.

It’s also important to point out that this will be Eli Tomac’s final MXoN appearance as a racer. Tomac has signed a Supercross-only deal for next season and he will not race outdoors. ET will want this accolade added to his long list of career achievements. It’ll be the chef’s kiss onto his outdoor career.

For those of you going enjoy an epic weekend. Team USA should dominate the MXoN pit bike race as well with Ryan Villopoto, Carson Brown, and the great Willy Browning.

Go USA!!!

Main image: Yamaha

Written by Troy Dog

Faster than Slaw Dog. Editor-in-Chief

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