Monday Morning Coffee

It’s time for another Monday Morning Coffee where we talk about some of what happened in Motocross and usually much more…

By Billy Rainford

With all my driving around this continent, I’ve never actually been to Philadelphia. I can’t even think of any other big city in North America that I haven’t been to, so it was cool to check this one off the ever-shortening list.

Since I drove across New York State on the I-90 Thruway last week on the way to Foxborough, I clicked the other option on Google Maps that took me through Buffalo and then south before cutting across to the east to the usual Interstates and I’m glad I did.

At first, I was concerned that I was on 2-lane roads for the first couple hours, but Google kept reassuring me I was “still on the fastest route,” so I didn’t panic.

Quick aside: Back in the early 1990’s, a friend of mine won $10.8 million on Lotto 649. Ya, it was a pretty big deal. To celebrate with his friends, he booked a massive place in Killington, Vermont, and said all we had to do was get there and he’d take care of the rest for an amazing 3 days of skiing.

I hopped into my friend Pete‘s Chevy Blazer and we headed out. It was Pete who reminded me that everyone poops on people’s lawns in Hopkington before the Boston Marathon, if you remember from last week. Anyway, on that drive we played a game we called Up or Down? In the passenger seat, I couldn’t tell if we were going up a hill of down a hill. It was driving me nuts! Pete could tell, of course, because he was the one pressing down or letting off the accelerator. Anyway, I’m always reminded of this when I head across NY State. In fact, on the way home on Sunday morning there was one spot on my drive where I couldn’t tell, and I was driving!

Where was I…

As I made my way down and across New York State and neared Pennsylvania, I couldn’t believe there were this many mountains so close to Ontario. It was beautiful and I’m glad I took this route on my way east.

As I kept cruising along up and down massive hills and beside and over little rivers and streams, I messaged Emily that she would have really liked this drive but that I couldn’t believe I was still driving through mountains. No, not craggy, glacier-topped mountains, but definitely more than “hills.” These are mountain.

Then, I rounded a bend and saw the answer – a sign for the “Endless Mountains Information Center.” OK, so I wasn’t crazy. I felt validated.

All I could think of was how amazing the road and mountain cycling must be anywhere in this area. In fact, I think I’ll try to find a MTB event sometime later in the summer or fall to hit. Honestly, it’s beautiful over there. It’s the Pocono and Blue Ridge Mountains in that area, by the way. There may be more, but those are the signs I noticed.

It’s weird because you make your way back to Buffalo, cross the border and head towards Niagara Falls and the hills just seem to stop and you’re back in farmland. Wild stuff.

I pulled over Friday night leaving myself about a 45-minute drive into Philly and Lincoln Financial Field where the race was being held. We were running another modified schedule due to the rain that continues to fall in the north east.

I made my way into the big city and was surprised at how many people were out and about before 7:30am on a cloudy Saturday morning. Oh, did I mention the van actually had snow on it in the morning? I was not looking forward to anouther mudder like we suffered in Boston the week before.

I got my bearings close to the track and then decided I’d better find a McDonald‘s for a couple breakfast burritos and a coffee. The closest one was a couple blocks away on Oregon Street, so off I went.

This photo doesn’t do Oregon Street in Philly justice for my story, but it was the only one I could snap.

Um, I don’t want to judge, but what the hell is going on over on Oregon Street?! Like I said, it was 7:30am and it looked like a bomb had gone off! There were cars parked on the sidewalk, in the turning lanes, and on some grassy areas. It was complete chaos!

As I made my way through the area, there were menacing-looking people standing in shop doorways that were already open for some reason. Interesting people were milling and mulling all over the place. I snapped a photo through the front window but it just doesn’t do it justice.

The burritos were actually pretty good (for McDonald’s burritos) but the coffee was undrinkable; it got poured out onto some grass.

I made my way back the way I’d come but found out that you couldn’t make a left so I had to go farther along Oregon Street. I was fascinated now and enjoyed the experience. It took me through the neighbourhood and like I noticed before there were cars just left where they….died? I’m talking half on the road half on the sideway, all the way on the sidewalk, on lawns, on shop lawn, pointing in every direction. I’ve literally never seen anything like it.

I made it back to the stadium and got parked. Like last week, I layered up to the point I could barely move and carried all my camera and computer equipment along with all my rain gear toward the photo den.

There was a big line to go through the metal detectors and bag check, so I knew I was going to be late for our mandatory safety meeting. There was nothing I could do, so I just rolled with it. Would I be even later than Brown Dog Wilson?! I was. But I wasn’t last!

When I got my first look at the track I was very impressed. I don’t think it stopped raining the two days leading up to the race, but when they pulled back the tarps the track was dry! Even the new plywood around the edges of the track was in good shape. The only problem you could see during track walk were some of the transitions were mucky meaning they were likely going to get pretty rutted up, but that was it! Kudos to the track crew again this week.

Last week, the guys digging and pulling bikes out of the mud got the MVP.

Not only was the track in good shape but the rain had stopped and we didn’t see any for the rest of the entire event! I never once had to put the clear plastic bag over my cameras. The only negative part was that it was cold. I don’t think it made it over like 7 Celsius, so I had to borrow BDW’s scooter to go back to the van for gloves and then everything was perfect.

MMC isn’t where I usually do any sort of talking about the racing, but I’ll be sure to post up a race report a little later. I usually try to focus on things you likely didn’t see on the broadcast, so watch for that.

250 podium: Cole Davies, Haiden Deegan, RJ Hampshire.

250 Main Event Results

POS	#	RIDER	INTERVAL	BEST LAP ^{(LAP #)}	TOTAL TIME	HOMETOWN	TEAM
1	100	COLE DAVIES	19 Laps	48.322 ⁽⁵⁾	19/16:09.993	Waitoki, New Zealand	Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha
2	38	HAIDEN DEEGAN	1.211	48.823 ⁽⁹⁾	19/16:11.203	Temecula, CA	Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha
3	24	R.J. HAMPSHIRE Holeshot	6.289	48.958 ⁽⁸⁾	19/16:16.282	Hudson Florida	Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
4	56	SETH HAMMAKER	6.829	49.013 ⁽³⁾	19/16:16.822	Bainbridge, PA	Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki
5	30	JO SHIMODA	11.853	48.572 ⁽⁴⁾	19/16:21.846	Suzuka, Japan	Honda HRC Progressive
6	1	TOM VIALLE	12.401	48.907 ⁽⁵⁾	19/16:22.393	France	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
7	36	GARRETT MARCHBANKS	28.029	49.807 ⁽⁵⁾	19/16:38.022	Coalville, UT	Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki
8	92	MAXIMUS VOHLAND	30.652	49.779 ⁽⁷⁾	19/16:40.644	Temecula, CA	Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX Yamaha
9	19	JORDON SMITH	33.433	49.669 ⁽⁴⁾	19/16:43.425	Belmont, NC	Triumph Racing Factory Team
10	10	CHANCE HYMAS	36.007	49.305 ⁽⁵⁾	19/16:46.000	Pocatello, ID	Honda HRC Progressive
11	37	COTY SCHOCK	37.966	49.618 ⁽³⁾	19/16:47.959	Dover, DE	Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX Yamaha
12	23	JULIEN BEAUMER	39.455	49.667 ⁽⁴⁾	19/16:49.447	Lake Havasu City, AZ	Redbull KTM Factory Racing
13	166	ENZO LOPES	42.973	50.007 ⁽⁴⁾	19/16:52.967	Brazil	Toyota Redlands BarX Yamaha
14	41	NATE THRASHER	44.461	50.197 ⁽⁶⁾	19/16:54.453	Livingston, TN	Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha
15	59	CULLIN PARK	47.179	50.539 ⁽⁵⁾	19/16:57.171	Clermont, FL	Phoenix Racing Honda
16	83	AUSTIN FORKNER	52.829	49.928 ⁽⁸⁾	19/17:02.822	Richards, MO	Triumph Factory Racing
17	55	HENRY MILLER	1 Lap	51.232 ⁽⁴⁾	18/16:34.588	Rochester, MN	Storm Lake Honda Buddy Brooks Racing
18	93	MICHAEL MOSIMAN	1 Lap	50.072 ⁽²⁾	18/17:07.260	Sebastopol CA	Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha
19	63	HUNTER YODER	2 Laps	50.926 ⁽⁴⁾	17/16:27.025	Menifee, CA	Partzilla Blaster Power PRMX Racing
20	115	GAVIN TOWERS	9 Laps	50.285 ⁽⁴⁾	10/9:41.415	Pittsburgh, PA	Phenix Racing Honda
21	87	HARDY MUNOZ	17 Laps	52.680 ⁽²⁾	2/2:21.800	Temuco, Chile	Munoz Racing
22	34	DAXTON BENNICK DNS	19 Laps		0	Morganton

250 EAST POINTS

1 24 R.J. Hampshire 117 4 20 25 18 22 8 20
2 56 Seth Hammaker 117 18 5 20 25 18 13 18
3 1 Tom Vialle 115 17 18 22 22 20 0 16
4 10 Chance Hymas 103 16 16 18 1 15 25 12
5 59 Cullin Park 91 15 11 13 9 14 22 7
6 41 Nate Thrasher 89 14 17 14 8 25 3 8
7 31 Max Anstie 78 25 22 16 15 0 N/A N/A
8 34 Daxton Bennick 77 -5 22 0 15 11 17 17 0
9 92 Maximus Vohland 74 -3 1 13 17 12 16 4 14
10 55 Henry Miller 57 11 12 10 0 10 9 5
11 83 Austin Forkner 53 5 15 5 10 12 0 6
12 60 Carson Mumford 51 12 14 11 3 11 0 N/A
13 87 Hardy Munoz 45 9 10 12 0 13 0 1
14 75 Gage Linville 42 10 8 2 0 2 20 0
15 47 Levi Kitchen 39 13 25 1 N/A 0 0 N/A
16 192 Jack Chambers 34 3 7 9 0 0 15 0
17 89 Trevor Colip 32 6 9 6 0 0 11 0
18 195 Lance Kobusch 31 8 0 0 0 7 16 0
19 50 Cameron Mcadoo 20 20 0 0 N/A 0 N/A N/A
20 148 Justin Rodbell 18 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 18 N/A

250 WEST POINTS

1 38 Haiden Deegan 171 17 20 25 22 25 20 20 22
2 100 Cole Davies 154 14 18 20 20 15 17 25 25
3 23 Julien Beaumer 145 22 25 22 18 16 14 18 10
4 30 Jo Shimoda 136 25 15 16 12 18 16 17 17
5 37 Coty Schock 115 16 16 17 14 22 5 14 11
6 36 Garrett Marchbanks 110 13 14 N/A 16 17 13 22 15
7 19 Jordon Smith 108 20 22 18 25 0 N/A 10 13
8 93 Michael Mosiman 99 7 13 15 17 20 7 16 4
9 63 Hunter Yoder 68 9 12 12 8 11 4 9 3
10 65 Lux Turner 63 11 0 11 11 13 6 11 0
11 52 Anthony Bourdon 54 15 11 13 15 N/A N/A N/A N/A
12 302 Parker Ross 51 5 7 10 13 8 0 8 N/A
13 61 Cole Thompson 47 12 10 0 3 9 0 13 N/A
14 166 Enzo Lopes 43 N/A N/A 5 0 14 N/A 15 9
15 91 Tj Albright 36 8 6 8 10 3 0 1 0
16 25 Ryder Difrancesco 35 18 17 N/A N/A 0 N/A N/A N/A
17 115 Gavin Towers 35 3 4 7 0 5 2 12 2
18 54 Jett Reynolds 34 0 9 9 4 12 0 N/A N/A
19 101 Dylan Walsh 31 0 3 4 7 10 0 7 0
20 134 Avery Long 20 10 0 N/A N/A 4 0 6 0

450 podium: Chase Sexton, Cooper Webb, Ken Roczen.

450 Main Event Results

POS	#	RIDER	INTERVAL	BEST LAP ^{(LAP #)}	TOTAL TIME	HOMETOWN	TEAM
1	4	CHASE SEXTON	25 Laps	47.771 ⁽⁹⁾	25/20:53.803	La Moille, IL	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
2	2	COOPER WEBB	2.654	48.072 ⁽⁹⁾	25/20:56.458	Newport, NC	Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha
3	94	KEN ROCZEN Holeshot	24.040	48.620 ⁽³⁾	25/21:17.843	Mattstedt, Germany	Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki
4	27	MALCOLM STEWART	35.420	48.538 ⁽³⁾	25/21:29.223	Haines City, FL	Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
5	17	JOEY SAVATGY	37.803	48.943 ⁽³⁾	25/21:31.606	Clermont, FL	Quadlock Honda Racing
6	32	JUSTIN COOPER	41.670	48.888 ⁽²¹⁾	25/21:35.473	Cold Spring Harbor, NY	Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing
7	14	DYLAN FERRANDIS	42.917	49.549 ⁽¹¹⁾	25/21:36.720	Avignon, France	Phoenix Racing Honda
8	7	AARON PLESSINGER	48.523	49.065 ⁽⁷⁾	25/21:42.326	Hamilton, OH	Redbull KTM Factory Racing
9	57	BENNY BLOSS	1 Lap	49.409 ⁽¹³⁾	24/20:59.600	Oak Grove, MO	Factory Liqui Moly Beta Racing
10	46	JUSTIN HILL	1 Lap	49.566 ⁽⁵⁾	24/21:02.273	Yoncalla, OR	Team Tedder Racing
11	49	MITCHELL OLDENBURG	1 Lap	49.102 ⁽³⁾	24/21:11.070	Alvord, TX	Liqui Moly Beta Factory Racing
12	12	SHANE MCELRATH	1 Lap	49.577 ⁽⁴⁾	24/21:19.865	Oakland, FL	Quadlock Honda Racing
13	45	COLT NICHOLS	1 Lap	50.094 ⁽⁸⁾	24/21:21.539	Muskogee, OK	Twisted Tea Suzuki presented by Progressive Insurance
14	51	JUSTIN BARCIA	1 Lap	50.941 ⁽¹⁶⁾	24/21:26.603	Monroe NY	Rockstar Energy GASGAS Factory Racing
15	28	CHRISTIAN CRAIG	1 Lap	50.655 ⁽⁶⁾	24/21:36.085	Temecula,ca	Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha
16	86	MITCHELL HARRISON	1 Lap	49.782 ⁽⁶⁾	24/21:38.085	Brighton, MI	Partzilla Blaster PRMX Racing
17	15	DEAN WILSON	1 Lap	49.966 ⁽³⁾	24/21:46.127	Glasgow, Scotland	Honda HRC Progressive
18	11	KYLE CHISHOLM	2 Laps	51.493 ⁽⁴⁾	23/21:09.469	Valrico, FL	Twisted Tea HEP Suzuki
19	146	KEVIN MORANZ	2 Laps	51.929 ⁽¹⁰⁾	23/21:16.699	Topeka, KS	Champion Tool Storage Geebo KMR KTM
20	43	GRANT HARLAN	2 Laps	52.392 ⁽⁴⁾	23/21:22.776	Paso Robles, CA	Gizmo Mods RockRiver Yamaha
21	33	FREDDIE NOREN	2 Laps	51.443 ⁽³⁾	23/21:27.585	Lidköping, Sweden	ISRT/MX4Christ Kawasaki
22	68	JEREMY HAND	2 Laps	51.668 ⁽⁴⁾	23/21:34.478	Mantua Oh

450 POINTS

1 2 Cooper Webb 278 18 20 14 22 22 25 25 22
2 4 Chase Sexton 266 25 16 18 25 17 20 20 17
3 94 Ken Roczen 240 22 18 22 20 1 22 22 25
4 27 Malcolm Stewart 204 12 15 13 12 25 18 13 16
5 32 Justin Cooper 203 15 11 16 9 18 17 18 18
6 7 Aaron Plessinger 184 13 0 0 13 14 13 15 20
7 51 Justin Barcia 181 16 14 12 10 16 15 16 12
8 21 Jason Anderson 151 20 9 20 15 20 16 11 14
9 46 Justin Hill 149 14 8 7 16 12 12 17 15
10 12 Shane McElrath 136 9 5 5 8 13 10 9 11
11 14 Dylan Ferrandis 135 0 13 6 11 0 14 14 10
12 49 Mitchell Oldenburg 103 6 3 9 5 11 8 10 9
13 57 Benny Bloss 101 0 6 10 3 9 0 5 6
14 17 Joey Savatgy 97 1 12 11 7 15 9 12 13
15 45 Colt Nichols 93 -5 0 4 8 6 10 11 7 7
16 3 Eli Tomac 80 17 25 15 18 5 0 0 N/A
17 1 Jett Lawrence 71 10 22 25 14 N/A N/A N/A N/A
18 96 Hunter Lawrence 62 11 17 17 17 0 0 0 N/A
19 11 Kyle Chisholm 52 2 2 0 4 7 5 2 3
20 86 Mitchell Harrison 47 5 0 0 0 6 6 6 5

This coming Saturday, our north east residency (I remember how much people loved that word during the COVID times…) takes us back to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. It’s another unavoidable drive across the I-90 through NY State that hopefully a few days at home will have me mentally ready to pull off. Luckily, I’ve got a short memory!

Devyn Smith Raced the Stumpjumpers Desert 100

From stumpjumpers.org:

The Infamous Stumpjumpers Desert 100

Since 1969 when this annual race began, the Desert 100, once known as Mattawa, has been the most prestigious off road race of the year. On Sunday morning the air is buzzing as 1000+ racers prepare to compete in the weekend finale. Riders of all ability levels will position across the longest start line in North America and await the cannon blast that signals the beginning of their 100 mile trek. Racers will make a mad dash to their bikes, get them fired up and finally take off in a drag race across open desert in this infamous sprint to the flags for the chance at the hole-shot. After that its a battle with each other and the desert through relentless channeled scablands that put the riders and their machines to the test over the next several hours to finish 100 miles. The proud racers that do finish will cross the stage as everyone cheers them on. A few will be going for the win but most will be just looking to finish the most challenging race in Washington.

Check out his post from his Instagram page:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Devyn Smith (@devyn_smith48)

Shelby Turner 4th at GNCC Round 5

WXC – Bike – Class Results
Place	Nbr	Name	Hometown	Brand	Laps	Elapsed
1	444	KORIE STEEDE	BELOIT, OH	HQV	5	02:10:45.190
2	713	TAYLA JONES	CHESTER, SC	HON	5	02:10:52.018
3	001	RACHAEL ARCHER	TE AWAMUTU, NA	KAW	5	02:15:02.037
4	550	SHELBY A TURNER	BARONS, AB	GAS	5	02:15:48.239
5	580	BROOKE COSNER	HONEA PATH, SC	KAW	5	02:18:49.978
6	525	ADDISON HARRIS	SMITHFIELD, RI	KTM	5	02:21:59.299
7	482	CARLY LEE	MILLVILLE, NJ	KTM	5	02:22:45.548
8	412	DANIELLE MCDONALD	PARKES, NA	YAM	5	02:24:23.256
9	215	ELLIE WINLAND	ZANESVILLE, OH	YAM	5	02:27:17.159
10	924	ADDISON J ELLIOTT	LASCASSAS, TN	KAW	5	02:31:14.691
11	715	ASHLEE M GAGE	SHOSHONE, ID	KAW	5	02:38:02.458
12	207	PRESTIN RAINES	TRAVELERS REST, SC	BET	4	01:54:48.300

XC1 Open Pro – Bike – Class Results
Place	Nbr	Name	Hometown	Brand	Laps	Elapsed
1	530	BENJAMIN M KELLEY	HARWINTON, CT	KTM	7	02:59:43.439
2	557	KAILUB K RUSSELL	BOONVILLE, NC	YAM	7	03:00:38.430
3	212	RICKY A RUSSELL	DUVALL, WA	OTH	7	03:00:40.558
4	342	CRAIG B DELONG	WAYNESBURG, PA	HQV	7	03:01:19.619
5	198	LIAM DRAPER	AUCKLAND, NA	YAM	7	03:01:59.490
6	007	JOSH V STRANG	DENVER, NC	BET	7	03:02:04.588
7	314	GRANT R BAYLOR	HONEA PATH, SC	KAW	7	03:05:07.211
8	514	STEWARD BAYLOR JR	HODGES, SC	KAW	7	03:06:03.859
9	003	JORDAN P ASHBURN	LIVINGSTON, TN	GAS	7	03:06:24.398
10	336	RYDER LAFFERTY	ELKIN, NC	HON	7	03:08:19.178
11	347	EVAN SMITH	JEFFERSON, GA	YAM	7	03:08:28.410
12	178	LYNDON SNODGRASS	AUSTRALIA, //	HQV	7	03:19:31.731
13	707	JASON C LIPSCOMB	PARKERSBURG, WV	YAM	7	03:27:23.178
14	008	MICHAEL WITKOWSKI	CATAWBA, NC	HON	3	01:16:03.955
DNF	001	JONATHAN S GIRROIR	BOONVILLE, NC	KTM	0	00:00:00.000

XC2 250 Pro – Bike – Class Results
Place	Nbr	Name	Hometown	Brand	Laps	Elapsed
1	922	GRANT W DAVIS	MESHOPPEN, PA	KTM	7	03:00:13.779
2	990	CODY J BARNES	STERLING, IL	HON	7	03:01:09.438
3	035	ANGUS J RIORDAN	AUSTRALIA, //	KTM	7	03:02:12.934
4	246	NICHOLAS DEFEO	MYRTLE BEACH, SC	KAW	7	03:04:33.053
5	235	BRODY JOHNSON	LANDRUM, SC	HON	7	03:07:07.075
6	719	JHAK WALKER	MORRISONVILLE, IL	BET	7	03:08:14.728
7	441	MICHAEL DELOSA	GILLETT, PA	YAM	7	03:16:40.290
8	293	HUNTER D BUSH	SCIOTA, PA	KAW	7	03:16:46.448
9	213	TOBY D CLEVELAND	ERIN, NY	HQV	7	03:18:32.930
10	454	LAYTON J SMAIL	COVINGTON, WA	KAW	7	03:19:12.279
11	382	KENNETH HELD	TABERNACLE, NJ	HON	6	03:03:27.935
12	199	ZACHARY N DAVIDSON	IRON STATION, NC	HQV	6	03:04:29.595
13	226	JASON T TINO	PHILLIPSBURG, NJ	GAS	4	01:46:28.859
14	206	JOSHUA M TOTH	HICKORY, NC	KAW	2	00:49:47.298
DNF	526	DAKODA DEVORE	UHRICHSVILLE, OH	HQV	0	00:00:00.000

Something I don’t always do but did this week is take a second to enjoy and take in the fact that it’s pretty rare to be able to wander around the bowels of all these amazing stadiums. Throughout the halls there were amazing photos from events held at Lincoln Financial Field over the years. There were some stunning shots!

One of my close buddies wore a #7 Eagles jersey for high school photo day way back in the 1980’s, so it reminded me to take a second to look around. I found an old #7 photo in a hall so I took a selfie with it and sent it to him.

This shot above is the actual hallway the team rushes out of their dressing room and onto the 50-yard line to start the games. My back is actually to the stadium entrance here. Like I said, it’s pretty cool to get the opportunity to do this every week!

It was great to see Partzilla PRMX rider #78 Cade Clason back in action after breaking his arm in Tampa. He was down and at the back of the pack early in the LCQ so he didn’t get to head to the Main, but it was great to see him back and representing the Canadian team with #86 Mitchell Harrison in the 450 class.

Speaking of Mitchell Harrison, did everyone see him up in 3rd place early in the Main after that first turn pile-up?

Have a great week, everyone. It’s supposed to hit 20 Celsius here today, so it looks like I’ll get out on the Scott Foil with Greg Poisson to try and get myself in some sort of cycling shape after this long winter. I hope that got you through another cup to start your week.