Troy Dog
Look, I know Fox Raceway 2 is tomorrow, but I’m still way too hyped up about last weekend at Ironman! The Troy Dog Squad was well represented in both classes. This column will walk you through my half day at the track.
I left my house at 5:30 a.m. to make my two and a half hour drive. Sam Dog is teething and had me up most of the night anyway. I had a really easy drive in and other than Carrie Coombs scolding me for a parking pass we had no issues. Sorry Carrie, one day I will win you over with my charm.
When I got there, I parked right in the pits because Grant Harlan basically laid the red carpet out for me. I went and scoped things out. I walked around searching for the Ti Lube Honda truck. When I couldn’t find it I just went over and talked to my team manager Dustin Pipes. He asked how I was doing and I let him know I wrote about Brandon Hartranft a few weeks ago. He knew. I told him he was a cool dude and he agreed. Then I asked if he had seen the Ti Lube Honda truck and he basically benched me for the day… but invited me over for lunch and I assume Twisted Teas.
Then I walked past the Bill Dill/3D Racing truck where Chiz was getting in his pre practice toe touches in. I pointed at him and he gave me a bigger smile than my wife Ginger Dog has ever given me. I was like Ice Cube at that point and “today was a good day”.
Distraught by not finding Har Dog’s truck, I wandered down to the track where 450 Group A was in staging to go out for their first practice. I was impressed to find out that the place was empty and I had so much phone service. I said,”Lookout RedBud, Ironman is lowkey going to take the top spot on T-Dog’s imaginary list of favorite dirtbike tracks.”
I watched for my main bros Chiz Dog and of course Quarterback of the Pineapple Squad, Har Dog. Both of my riders were looking aggressive and were feeling the flow. I took a few instabangers and realized I had business to conduct. A few months ago I wrote a column on Luke Renzland and announced how he would be riding a 125cc at certain rounds this summer. While chatting I said it would be cool to have him wear my sticker at a few races. He said he would be down to run whatever because he loves vurbmoto so much. Then a couple weeks ago I tweeted that the Troy Dog Squad had big plans for the week leading up to Ironman, which was of course the announcements of the Harlan/Chiz/Troy Dog/MotoXpod collab and me going to the actual race. Chili Dog replied and said that the news better include Renzland, which then reminded me that I needed to talk to el Dozer.
Here is an EXCLUSIVE look at the very intense negotiations that we had to overcome. Also, note the double messages that were sent. RED FLAG #1 that my service was about to get choppy.
I walked on over to Renzland’s pit and handed him a luscious pineapple dog sticker. We’re running so low on these that I’m worried this might be the only run! Anyway, Dozer Dog and I agreed to terms and I told him I’d let him take his time to soak it all in. We never ended up taking a photo or anything and I didn’t realize he actually wore the sticker until Monday morning when I saw the photo gallery from the weekend. Dozer is cool. Everyone be like Dozer.
Finally I walked over and found the Ti Lube Honda truck…and to be honest it was like 10 vehicles away from where I had parked my truck when I got there. Har Dog and I were united and all the vibes were good. We bro’d down and I met Papa Har Dog. We all ended up walking over to see Chiz and we all got a rare picture together. It’s crazy how far this venture has gone already in less than a year. The squad is growing and it’s already full of so many great people that love to ride dirt bikes. It’s pretty cool.
At this point my phone service went to junk and I was over it.
I went and watched second practice with Papa Har Dog and we talked about so many things and the plan for them for 2022. It was refreshing to hear his point of view on the sport and he’s got some great stories from living in Alaska and Hawaii. After that I went and watched the first motos with my own dad and nephew who had driven up. I hadn’t seen my dad (Big Rick Dog) in quite a few months so it was nice to watch some motos with him like old times.
Harlan raced two awesome motos and he charged the entire time. In the first moto he didn’t get a good start and charged from around 35th to around 22nd and then he ran into Cade Clason’s back wheel and fell. He put his head down after that and came back to 18th. In the second moto he got a better start and charged to 12th. His 18-12 scores were good enough for 14th overall. This is what Har Dog is capable of and after a rough summer it was a breath of fresh air for the 20-year-old.
After the first set of motos I drove back home. I had to get back home to the little dudes. Although, I will say it was a nice day to be at the races again.
Shoutout to Har Dog for running my face on his helmet all summer. It was a cool deal and I think we made some noise. Also, thank you to Luke Renzland for running the brand as well. I’ll never be able to race at the top level but in a way you guys help me accomplish that goal. I don’t know what the future holds for the Troy Dog Squad, but I plan on it to keep growing. Hopefully Har Dog doesn’t forget us on his way to the top!
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