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! 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.
There is nothing more exciting than a 250SX East/West Showdown! I’m a sucker for these and I wish the schedule had more of them. Obviously, having more than two would really mess up the coastal dynamic. Yet, I get so excited when it comes to the Showdowns because I seriously have no clue what is going to happen when that gate drops.
Combining the best 250SX riders truly moves the needle for me when it comes to racing, but it also changes everything for me, even practice times! Everything is unpredictable! Forget everything you know because at every Showdown there seems to be a full moon. I’m on the edge of my seat even when final practices are out on the track. Last week I even tried to guess what range each rider would be finishing and I was way off on plenty of riders. A few riders who are used to finishing inside of the top ten on their coast didn’t even make the main! The LCQs are always fuego as well and the last turn is just waiting for carnage.
I know this past weekend’s race was an absolute mudder, but it made for one of the best races of the season. The back and forth on time differentials between riders was fun to watch the entire race. Guys would make mistakes and the rundown would change every lap. Not to mention the last lap hustle for the win between Max Anstie and Jett Lawrence. It truly was a battle between coasts! RJ Hampshire was having so much fun that he decided to make his own water slide!
I don’t want to get rid of the two coasts by any means. I just think we need to add one or two more Showdowns to mix up the points a bit more. It adds a layer of excitement back in the series. Also, if you’re truly the best on your coast then you’ll have no problem racing the best on the other coast for points. The cream will always rise to the top, especially in a larger sample size. Maybe instead of Triple Crowns we could have a “Showdown Champion”? The most points accumulated by a rider in 4-5 Showdowns could have bragging rights and it would mean more than a Triple Crown trophy (which is a 450 only thing anyway).
We had to wait a bit longer for the Showdowns this year and we’re having two in the last four rounds of the series. It did add some suspense, but how about we spread about four of them out throughout the 17 rounds? Sure, it’d be a lot of money for small teams and privateers. As we saw, riders like Jeremy Hand and Devin Simonson made the most out of their opportunities and decided not to race the 250 class in East Rutherford. They went 450 for the weekend and made their first 450 main events of their careers. If you’re a privateer or small team you aren’t in a tight points battle for a position that will pay you a ton of money anyway. I’m not saying that these guys don’t matter in this situation, but if you’re a main event 250 rider you can usually make it to all of the rounds you need to.
Therefore people, let’s get the discussion going. Do you love Showdowns like I do? Do WE need more of them, or is my opinion wrong and the schedule is fine as it is? I want to hear your opinions, so email me at [email protected] or leave a comment below!
Main image: Jessica Reed
