Frid’Eh Update #51 | Josh Cartwright | Presented by Race Tech
By Billy Rainford
Welcome to Week #51 of the DMX Frid’Eh Update, this week presented by Race Tech. #51 means we are only one week away from the end of another year. Eric Jeffery, we’re looking at you for the final week!
It’s Christmas Eve and Josh Cartwright from Tennessee is our focus. Josh is the rider who we adopted as one of our own over the past few years. He’s been a staple at our races since he first came up to test the waters several years ago.
He’s been a member of the Canadian PRMX Team with Julien Perrier and this relationship took Josh across the USA for Monster Energy AMA Supercross, Canadian Triple Crown, and the Quebec Arenacross series.
It’s been a good run. Josh also really liked staying in our basement in London as he prepared for the Supercross portion of our series a couple years ago. It’s pretty safe to say, he’s one of us.
Now, Josh is about to set off on his new journey as a full-time worker, Supercross racer, and new home owner in Texas. We’ll talk about all of these things in our chat.
Direct Motocross: Hey, Josh. I think this is the longest I’ve gone without seeing you since we met! You sort of became an honorary Canadian the past few years. You were able to earn yourself a career #51 but we didn’t get to see you this past summer. Had the whole COVID thing not happened, were you planning on coming back last year?
Josh Cartwright: I know, right! I found Canada as my second home there for a bit and I was loving it. I just wish I actually learned French since I was living in Quebec. But, unfortunately, yes, COVID hurt our sport pretty bad and it just wasn’t financially smart for me to go up there to make money.
I was really bummed I couldn’t make it work because I wanted to rep the #51 (which was my amateur number my entire amateur career). I talked to Kyle (Thompson), and he said I get one more year with it without coming up, so hopefully next summer I will be able to figure out a way to come up and do at least 1 round to be able to gain some points to keep it.
What do you miss more, the Canadian MX Nationals or the Quebec Arenacross series?
Honestly, they both have their own positives. I have always been an indoor guy so racing those Arenacross races was so much fun and the vibes were so extraordinary with the small, local towns. They would sell out each venue, it was so amazing to experience those. But, it was also fun to get back into the great outdoors after not racing them at all since my amateur career and battling it up there with some of the Canadian greats!
And I have to ask, what’s Julien Perrier like to live with? You called his place in Quebec home while you did the Challenge Quebec series, right?
Yup, I lived with him both summers and I couldn’t thank him enough for that. It was awesome from a team standpoint because anything I needed was already right there and if I came across a mechanical problem that I didn’t know how to fix he was always there to help out. He was cool to live with, we watched a lot of the same shows so we got along great and Veronique was the sweetest and was always a fun time to have around. They introduced me to their friend group and I would have dinner with all them even though I couldn’t speak French. Hahaha. They spoke English so we were good. And of course I fell in love with their dog, Nelly. I miss her.
You and Logan Karnow were sort of staples on the PRMX team and now you’ve both moved on. But first, you’ve graduated University and are in the working world, right? What is your 9-5 job when you’re not at the track? Where do you live?
Yeah, it was cool being on the same team as Logan because we have been good friends for a while. We keep making jokes because it’s like I am following him from team to team. First PRMX and now International SX Race Team.
Yup, I am a working man now. I am a BI Analyst for UT Dallas in Fort Worth, Texas. I just moved here in August. Currently, I am living with a great family friend, Todd Glass. He has been our Texas moto family for ever so he is letting me stay with him until I get my own place.
Speaking of that, I see you’re now a home owner, too. Congratulations. Have you found the place you want to lay roots or could this be a rental property in the future?
I am. I just closed on a house last week and I couldn’t be happier. This probably won’t be where I will live forever, but it will for sure be my house for the next 5-10 years. I have found the perfect house for me. I couldn’t be any happier with the purchase. We bought it from some fellow moto people so we get along great and will be friends in the future.
And now you’re on a new race team for the Supercross season. Can you tell us a little bit more about how it came up and what it’s all about? I see you’re on a 250. Which coast are you racing?
Yeah, I called Bubba Pauli (the owner of the team) up at the beginning of the off season and asked him if he was interested in another 250 rider for the other coast that Logan doesn’t race. Unfortunately, they were not looking for riders, but then something came up and Logan found an opportunity for himself to do his own thing so Bubba and Ryan Koontz (the manager) called me up and we had a great long conversation, and the rest was history.
I am really happy about this opportunity. I like how the owner of the team is a racer so he understands the team side of it from a racer perspective. Ryan was also a racer so it is a great collab to put together a great team. The vibes with the whole team is very uplifting and I get along with my teammates really well, Bubba and Joan (Cros). They are fun group to be around.
I will be racing the east coast. I am excited to be back on a 250, that was my plan for this upcoming year. I am excited to bring my experience from the 450 class into the 250 class as a vet in the class now. It is crazy to say I am a vet now (kinda). Lol.
And how are you feeling these days. Is your injury all healed up and ready to go?
I am feeling great on the bike. I have been putting in a lot of work this off-season and we still have little over a month to go. My trainer, Drew Whitehead with DW Performance, has been helping me get to where I need to be and it is all coming together nicely. My ankle is completely fine now, so I am 100% and ready to put in the work.
How will your season look? Do you work through the week and then go to the races or are you full-time SX guy through the season?
So, I will be still working through the season. I am 50% in office and 50% remote at home so it works out pretty good. I have a great balanced schedule right now where I am still able to get my riding and off-the-bike training in. It’s not like I haven’t been busy like this before. I feel like I am back on the college schedule, but honestly, a little easier now because I have no homework.
Could you be talked into making a return to Canada in the future? Are you interested in racing MX or is that the time to put the shirt and tie back on?
Maybe. It will just have to fall into place if I ever come back up for a full season. My focus right now and in the future is AMA SX and then play it by ear when it comes to the summer stuff.
Let’s ask you another Canada-related question before we let you go. What’s your favourite track up here?
Oooooo, that is a tough one. Canada has a lot of amazing tracks. I have always loved Walton with The Natural Double and the fun roller section. But, I am a big fan of Deschambault. That track was so fun and flowy on the national day. A lot of the Quebec tracks were fun as well such as Sanair, Notre Dame, and X-Town. I was always impressed by a lot of the Canadian tracks.
What’s something you miss most about Canada?
DOUBLE-DOUBLE!!!! I would have one of those almost every morning! I loved Tim Hortons. I wish we had some down here. I think there are a couple up north, but we need to open one up in Texas.
[I have to call him out here. I also asked him about the Tragically Hip and he said he’d never heard of them. His “honorary” status is now in jeopardy…]
What’s the goal for this upcoming SX season?
My goal is to not miss any main events this year, but I want to be in the top 10 by the middle of the season. My best finish ever is 11th so I am hungry for that top 10. With this team and crew, I really think we will be able to achieve that.
OK, I’ll see you at a race very soon! Good luck with this season. Wait…speaking of “season,” what’s your favourite Christmas movie?
I am going to go with “The Night Before” with Seth Rogen. I can’t go with any of the basic picks, need to be different.
OK, OK, we’ll let you go. Who would you like to thank, Josh?
I would like to thank the whole International SX Race Team for giving me this opportunity this season: Bubba, Ryan, Jake, Jason, Joan, Julie and everyone else who will be a part this season. Also, all our great sponsors: MADD Parts, Circuit Equipment, Namura Tech, Kawasaki, Jonesboro Cycle, SeaGems, FXR, MX Tech, Blud, DedicatedRideCo, TopSecretDesigns, LS2, Devol, GrantsSiding, T3 Civil, PriceHomeRenovations, Pirelli, Flow Vision, Phoenix Handlebars, RynoPower, FMF, Atlas Brace, DirtTricks, Rekluse, Euromoto, Asterisk, Ride Engineering, Polar, JPR, Notoil, RonniePradoCompany, DirtSquirt, WilliamsMotowerx, GateDropDesigns, MotoTape, Holiday Mowing.
Quinn Amyotte is the 2021 LRX Alberta AX Champion
While there isn’t much riding or racing going on in Canada, lately, we did have some racing in Alberta over the weekend. The 2021 LRX Alberta Arenacross Championships were held in Brooks, AB last weekend and Blackstock, Ontario, rider #19 Quinn Amyotte came away with the Pro titles.
We called him up on the phone on Thursday to talk about it and other things. If you haven’t had a chance to listen, here is is on Spotify. You can find it wherever you get your podcasts. Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to Direct Motocross while you’re there.
ADRA President Chris Bauman Interview about LRX Alberta AX
We’d been talking with Alberta Dirt Riders Association (ADRA) president Chris Bauman all weekend long about the LRX Alberta Arenacross, so we decided to give him a call to talk about how it all went and what the future holds for the event/series:
Indoor racing returned to Alberta this past weekend for the LRX Alberta Arenacross Championships at the Silver Sage Community Corral in Brooks, AB. Lots of racers and families turned out and the event was a huge success. We grabbed Alberta Dirt Riders Association (ADRA) President, Chris Bauman, to talk about how it all came together and what the future holds for AX in the Wild Rose Province.
Direct Motocross: Hey, Chris. Thanks for taking some time to talk with us today. Let’s let everyone get to know you a little. Can you tell us where you’re from and where you live?
Chris Bauman: I am from central Alberta and currently live by Devil’s Lake, which is just west of Edmonton.
It seems everyone involved in our sport is an ex or current racer. Can you give us a little insight into your racing history?
Very minimal. I raced ATVs (I know, dirty words) for a short time in the early 2000s. Then I did some UTV endurance racing in Northern Alberta. I do not currently race but enjoy watching my two boys on the track.
How long have you been with the ADRA and what is your official title?
My boys have raced with the ADRA for 7 years. This will be my 5th year on the board and all 5 years as the President. I was a 50cc parent at my first AGM ever and decided change was needed. My wife, Danielle (Bauman), was not impressed when I came home.
How was the racing scene out there in Alberta for 2021?
Just like every where else, it was a challenge. COVID delayed us in the spring as we were shut down. We did happen to get a short 3-round series going and had very successful events.
This year was big as the ADRA and AMSA (Alberta Motorsports Association) joined teams to have Alberta under one umbrella again, known as the Alberta Championship Motocross (ACM). We are very excited for the future of moto in Alberta as our numbers have been on the rise every year.
Were people out there upset that the Canadian Triple Crown Series was forced to miss the western rounds the past couple season?
Definitely! We received many emails telling us about how disappointed they were. A lot of kids do not have the ability to travel out of province for racing and look forward to having a chance of making the motos at a National.
And I assume everyone is pumped that Drumheller is on the schedule for 2022?
Absolutely. It is great to have a true National series happening again.
Moving on to this past weekend, how did the idea of having an Alberta Arenacross Championship come up in the first place?
I believe Paul Lavoie with LRX Performance was at the (Future West Moto) AX in Chilliwack, BC and wanted something in Alberta. When he got back he started looking for a venue and the Silver Sage Community Corral was available. He then reached out to me at the ADRA and Charlie (Johnson) at Wild Rose MX to help put on the race.
Let’s talk a bit about the actual racing. First off, who designed and built the track? How long did this one take?
Charlie from WRMA (Wild Rose Motocross Association) and his crew designed and built the track. It took them 1 day to build.
And was it a pretty easy sell to the Silver Sage Community Corral? Were they open and happy with the idea?
From what I hear and from talking to them during the event, they were excited for it. They are hoping for it to come back. But the original conversation was with Paul and Charlie, not myself.
Who was the race director? Sanctioning body? And how about Head Referee?
It was an ADRA/MRC sanctioned event which Paul requested to make it a true Provincial. Between the ADRA, Paul and Charlie, we worked together to make the event happen. We all wanted this event and with less than 6 weeks from when Paul approached the venue until race day it was a scramble. We had long time head ref Paul Pukey.
I saw that the entries were really good. Can you tell us about that? Did you get a lot of late entries or were you set early?
Moto in Alberta is exciting right now. Our mini classes are exploding with almost 60 entries in the three, 50cc classes. We have allowed the 50cc classes to race for free the last 4 years in outdoors and it has really helped bring new families into the sport.
We had a lot of entries hovering around 180 to 200 within the first 2 weeks. But as with every event, the numbers always shoot up in the last 3 days. We ended up with approximately 640 entries over the 2 days.
I wasn’t able to be there but noticed there were, obviously, some timing and scoring issues? What happened?
Ya, everything tested well on Friday practice but on race day Saturday our timing loop was picking up transponders on the bikes in different lanes if they came to close or came down the safety lane. It was very sporadic and is not something we were used to looking for. We did not catch the issue soon enough and affected a lot of results.
Saturday after the race we moved the finish line and timing loop to the outside lane and did multiple test runs early Sunday morning and felt the loop was working excellent.
We checked after the first couple motos and everything was on point. We were excited.
Around moto 5 we had a power failure and disconnected the system. We were hand scoring as well and were using the results to keep going to stay on time. Unfortunately, after 2 hours and changing multiple components we could not get the timing loop to reconnect.
We decided just to move forward the rest of the day on manual scoring, which worked, but it was a hectic day inputting almost 700 riders by hand.
But we made it.
Were you guys able to do podium presentations or did you skip that with all the restrictions?
No, we did not do podiums as we allowed the riders to pick up their trophies 30 minutes after their races to allow them to get on the road if they were done for the day. We had a lot of people that traveled a long way to race and wanted to let them leave as soon as possible Sunday.
And did you give out 1 or two Pro championships? Was there one for Pro Am Lites and one for Open or was it an overall title?
The plan is 1 Championship for the weekend. There was a separate one for the Pro Open and Pro Am Lites. With the great turnout of Pro riders we decided to add money to the payout over the 100% payback.
You had some riders there Saturday that weren’t back on Sunday – Keylan Meston had to work, Josh Penner crashed, and so did Shelby Turner. Was everyone OK? Did you see what happened?
Unfortunately, I did not see the crashes. I was head down adding up score sheets trying to keep up. Sorry, I do not have an update on them.
Overall, were you happy with how everything went? Do you already know what you’d change for next time?
It was a great event. Overall, we are extremely happy. I feel the riders really enjoyed themselves. We already have a new timing system on the way and we try to do things better at each event.
Will there be a next time? What’s the plan moving forward? Will I be in Alberta next December?
I definitely think so. This event has brought a lot of great attention to Alberta Moto and we have the passionate riders and families to make it successful. We hope you will be in Alberta in November, December, January and February. Hopefully, big things are coming!
OK, we really appreciate your time. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Do you have some people you’d like to thank?
I have to thank Paul with LRX for taking a chance as he took all the risk, Val in timing was under the gun all week at no fault of her own and she made it happen, every rider, staff, volunteer, sponsor or parent that helped us out, it was a huge team effort to get through the day. But I have to especially thank my wife, Danielle, she does so much for the club and is pretty much on her own during race events. My boys are so patient and understanding when I miss their motos due do issues and never complain. But the smiles on all the little rippers make it worth it!
Ex-Teammates Going Head-to-Head in 250 SX West
Let’s get something going here! We’ll have ex Red Bull Thor KTM teammates Cole Thompson and Jess Pettis going up against each other in 250 West Supercross when the series starts in a couple weeks in Anaheim on January 8th.
I’m sure we all remember just how good Cole is in SX, but he hasn’t raced it on a 250 in a few years now. Does he still have the aggression to push it against all the youngsters in this class?
Jess Pettis should have been in the top 5 last season until his knee injury took him out of action. He’s shown he belongs racing down south and should be turning heads when the gate drops.
Well, who do you think wins the battle for Top Canadian in the class?
Jess is now the top dog on the factory KTM Canada team while Cole finds himself on the outside looking in with an axe to grind and a ride to find.
Will Cole’s smoothness and speed be enough to give him the edge or will Jess’ new school style get the nod over wisdom and experience?
Either way, it gives us fans north of the border something to keep an eye on and cheer for. Maybe it will be yet another thing to divide us in this country. Like that’s what we need right now…
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2022 Supercross Preview Show
ELLENTON, Fla., December 22, 2021 – The 2022 Supercross preview special airs Saturday, Dec. 25, at 2 p.m. ET on NBC. The one-hour program features reigning Supercross champion Cooper Webb,2020Supercross champion Eli Tomac, 2018Supercross champion Jason Anderson, plus a star-studded cast of Ken Roczen, Justin Barcia, Malcolm Stewart, Adam Cianciarulo, Aaron Plessinger, Chase Sexton, Joey Savatgy, Dylan Ferrandis, Marvin Musquin, and othersas they prepare for the Anaheim Opener set to take place at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on Saturday, January 8. An encore presentation of the program will be presented on Sunday, Jan. 2, at 4 p.m. ET on NBC.
2022 Canadian Triple Crown Series
Tickets to All 12 Rounds of
2022 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship Now on Sale
| Early Purchase Discounts to Select Nationals Still Available for a Limited Time |
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| MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (December 24, 2021) – With today’s conclusion of the “12 Days of MXmas” on the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship social media channels, tickets to all rounds of the 2022 season are now available for purchase. In conjunction with the holiday season countdown, early purchase discounts are being offered for a limited time to select Nationals. Interested parties should act now! |
| $10 off tickets to Fox Raceway I National; promo code FOX1MXMAS $10 off tickets to Thunder Valley National $10 off tickets to High Point National; promo code HIGHPOINTMXMAS $10 off tickets & $5 off pit pass to RedBud National; promo code HOHOHO MOTO 25% off tickets to Southwick National $5 off tickets to Spring Creek National $10 off tickets to Washougal National; promo code MOTOSANTA $10 off tickets to Budds Creek National; promo code BUDDSCREEKMXMAS $10 off tickets to Ironman National; promo code IRONMANMXMAS $10 off tickets to Fox Raceway II National; promo code FOX2MXMAS |
| These exclusive holiday offers provide an ideal last-minute Christmas gift for the moto enthusiast or an ideal opportunity for our passionate American motocross fanbase to get a head start on confirming their attendance to a round of the 2022 championship. Next year’s season will mark the 50th anniversary of the world’s most prestigious off-road motorcycle racing series, which is something no racing fan will want to miss out on being a part of. |
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 Dylan Ferrandis (450 Class) and Jett Lawrence (250 Class) will carry the #1 plates as reigning AMA Pro Motocross Champions. |
| Savvy Frenchman Dylan Ferrandis and Australian rising star Jett Lawrence will lead the 450 Class and 250 Class fields into action next summer as reigning AMA Pro Motocross Champions, signifying the first time over the span of five decades that two international riders will carry the number one plate into action. The season will once again consist of 12 rounds, visiting the most storied and iconic venues in all of motocross with legacies that span multiple generations. The gate drops on the 2022 season over Memorial Day weekend with the Fox Raceway I National in Southern California on May 28 and will travel all over the country before returning to Southern California for its conclusion on September 3 with the Fox Raceway II National over Labor Day weekend. |
| For information about the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, please visit ProMotocross.com and be sure to follow all of the Pro Motocross social media channels for exclusive content and additional information on the latest news: Facebook: @americanmotocross Instagram: @promotocross Twitter: @ProMotocross YouTube: AmericanMotocross Now available for download for both Apple and Android devices is the official Pro Motocross App. Fans of American motocross can have access to the world’s most prestigious off-road motorcycle racing series right at their fingertips on their mobile devices. Developed by AMA Pro Racing, the Pro Motocross App provides users with the most important information surrounding the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, from series news to schedule and ticket information, as well as broadcast schedule details and live timing & scoring. Download it now via the App Store or Google Play. |
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good weekend. I hope everyone gets the chance to be with some family and friends this Holiday season. Assuming they don’t close down the borders, I’ll be getting the #DMXVan packed up and ready for another trip to California!
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