McThoughts: Daytona SX
By Jeff McConkey
Jeff gives us his thoughts on the Daytona SX…
Daytona is a special place when it comes to racing and Saturday night’s race was one to remember. The track was technical and turned into its expected gnarly self. There were ruts on ruts and it looked super tough! Team Red Bull KTM once again showed their dominance by collecting the W in both classes. Marvin Musquin looked so smooth on the nasty Daytona track and made it look easy. In the 450 class, we got to witness fantastic battles all throughout the top 10. Let’s take a look at the results and see my thoughts:
250 East
Marvin Musquin took another 250 East win in Daytona. – Bigwave photo
1st Marvin Musquin: Marvin, once again, got a great start and checked out. This guy is so full of confidence right now, I don’t think anyone could beat him straight-up. A racer usually spins his best laps when he is having fun, and Marvin is having a blast out there.
2nd Justin Bogle: Bogle looked very good at the tough Daytona race, but he just doesn’t have the speed of Marvin or Jeremy Martin. Just like last year, Justin will be ready to strike if anything happens in front of him in the standings.
3rd Jeremy Martin: Jeremy looked very good, but almost looked to me like he was using too much energy over-jumping and scrubbing everything. He really needs to start with Marvin if he expects to steal a win.
4th Joey Savatgy: Joey battled hard and never gave up. He is still off the pace of the top 3, but not real far off.
5th R.J. Hampshire: Great ride for the rookie. This ride has got to boost his confidence, and with a little more experience, he will land on the podium.
6th Jimmy Decotis : ‘Jimmy D’ got a great start and rode fantastic. This guy hangs it out and goes for it, and it’s nice to see the little guy battling with the factory stars.
7th Kyle Peters: Good ride for Peters. With his experience, he should have rides like this every week.
8th Anthony Rodriguez: Another solid ride. After getting a few more solid finishes, he will need to pick up the pace and fight for top 5’s. Nice to see him on 2 wheels though.
9th Mitchell Oldenburg: Good ride for Oldenburg after sitting out last week.
10th Martin Davalos: What’s up with Martin? This guy has so much talent, so much speed and even more experience (it is his 10th year in the class). He didn’t look like himself and went backwards.
Biggest Stud: My stud is R.J. Hampshire. He won his first heat race, and it will give him a well-needed boost for the remainder of the season.
Biggest Dud: Martin Davalos is my dud…or whoever was wearing his gear and riding his bike. It sure as heck didn’t look like him!
Biggest Surprise: I was shocked to see Savatgy move forward that much. He is much better than I expected.
450 Class
Ryan Dungey is gathering steam and took another win Saturday night. – Bigwave photo
1st Ryan Dungey: ‘RD5’ is a bad man! Dang, this guy is good! I love that he is going for wins instead of being safe, and the new-found aggression is great. I honestly think he’d be beating Villopoto right now if Ryan were racing.
2nd Eli Tomac: If only Eli could get a start. He rode great and I loved watching him wheelie through the rollers. You have got to love when you see a top guy having that much fun.
3rd Blake Baggett: I had called Blake for the win, but after watching the top 2 ride, you can’t be disappointed with a 3rd from the rookie. Great ride by Blake.
4th Cole Seely: Cole looked really good. He just needed to be a little less aggressive and he may have had a podium.
5th Chad Reed: Chad looked like he was on his way to a podium when he made a big mistake. He fought back nicely and got a solid top 5. He has been riding so much better since hitting the East and as crazy as it sounds…I still think he is getting better.
6th Trey Canard: Trey isn’t helping himself in this championship with his starts. He has the speed to win, but you can’t win from the back. I just hope he doesn’t push too hard for wins and start crashing.
7th Jason Anderson: Anderson had another solid top 10 after starting 12th. This guy is having a very good rookie season.
8th Weston Peick: Yes, Peick is riding hurt, but I’m sure he isn’t the only one. His fitness is way off the pace and he looks ‘squirrelly’ in the final laps.
9th Davi Millsaps: I didn’t see Davi out there, and I wasn’t really looking. I’m still waiting for the real Davi to show up and battle for podiums.
10th Broc Tickle: 22nd to 10th! Great ride after being dead last.
Biggest Stud: Dungey is my stud once again. He is just too good!
Biggest Dud: My dud is Peick. You don’t go from battling for the lead to finishing 8th without crashing.
Biggest Surprise: I was shocked and bummed to see Ken Roczen bow out after practice due to an injury. That had to kill the young German.
See you next week in Indy.
