FXR Racing Presents the Fast Five From Houston

Words and Photos by Krystyn Slack

Monster Energy Supercross rolled out of Anaheim, CA and made the trek to Houston, TX for Round 2 of the season. Houston, which has been a staple on the Supercross schedule since 1974, took a brief hiatus after 2015 but made its much awaited return to H-Town this past weekend at NRG Stadium, home of the Houston Texans. Only two races in and this season is already off to an unexpected and exciting start. Here’s a look at the top five most memorable moments from Round 2 of Monster Energy Supercross. 

5. Mitchell Oldenburg Makes a Run for the Podium – The #52 of Mitchell Oldenburg really started to find his groove toward the end of the 2017 Monster Energy Supercross season, even claiming his career-first podium during Round 16 in Salt Lake City. The Texas native was incredibly fast all day in Houston, qualifying only 0.732 seconds behind the fastest qualifier, Adam Cianciarulo. During his Heat Race, Oldenburg battled with good friend and former teammate Shane McElrath in a cat and mouse chase that had the fans on their feet cheering in anticipation of who would emerge victorious. Shane McElrath ultimately won the heat race but Oldenburg looked very comfortable on his new Yamaha, and we should expect to see him on the podium in the Main Event here soon.

4. Justin Barcia Finishes on the Podium for the Second Week in a Row – Justin Barcia may be the best fill-in rider to happen to a team in a long time. Barcia is filling in For the injured Davi Millsaps for the first six races of the season, but if his speed and results continue at their current pace, we could possibly see Yamaha field a three rider team once Millsaps returns. Where the name Justin “Bam Bam” Barcia was once synonymous with dominating the rest of the field, the past two years haven’t been much to write home about for the #51. However, the 2018 YZ450F seems to suit the former champion quite well. Although the goal is obviously to have a consistent presence on the podium, I don’t think even Justin would’ve thought that he’d be back in this position after a tumultuous couple of years. Barcia followed up his third place finish in Anaheim with another third in Houston and now sits third in points in the 450SX class. Probably the most significant change for the #51 has been his mindset toward racing. Rising from a dark place like a Phoenix rises from the ashes, Barcia has stated that “Bam Bam” is now a thing of the past, so a fast and consistent Justin Barcia is hopefully here to stay.

3. Aaron Plessinger – Last off the Start, First to the Checkers – Aaron Plessinger – a really fast guy when he’s out front, but not known for having the most stellar starts in his class. Houston was no exception. In fact, Plessinger found himself in the highly unfavorable position of practically dead last heading into the first turn. The only worse position for a rider would be if he found himself on the ground in a first turn pileup. Even though his start position was far less than ideal, Plessinger kept his head down and started picking off riders right and left. The soft and rutted dirt of Houston was a perfect match for Plessinger to really find his groove on the very technical track. With a few bobbles and battles between other riders, Aaron was able to make the charge toward the front, eventually passing Adam Cianciarulo, Shane McElrath, Mitchell Oldenburg, and Joey Savatgy for the lead. While the very non-traditional way in which Plessinger won his first Main Event of the season certainly turned some heads, we can’t take his victory dance out of the equation either. Upon reaching the podium, Aaron busted out some much loved classics, like the sprinkler, to celebrate his well earned win. Plessinger now heads back to Anaheim with not only his first win under his belt but Red Plates in tow.

2. Championship Turns a Cold Shoulder to Some of the Top Championship Contenders – We’re only two weeks into the 2018 Monster Energy Supercross season, but already the championship has turned a cold shoulder to two of the top contenders in the 450 class. You may recall that Eli Tomac hit the dirt during last week’s season opener in Anaheim, resulting in a shoulder contusion. Adding insult to injury, literally, he nearly lost his pants in the process as well. After therapy on the shoulder all week, Tomac arrived in Houston with the goal of lining up Saturday night. Unfortunately for Tomac, his shoulder wasn’t strong enough to sustain race pace even long enough to put in a hot lap, let alone race a 20 minute + 1 lap Main Event. In another unfortunate chain of events, Marvin Musquin popped his shoulder out during his heat race. Although he tried to pop it back in and continue racing, a tiny mistake resulted in an early departure for the current points holder. With two potential title contenders already having to play catch up, that opened the door for the rest of the field for an exciting evening of racing.

1. Ken Roczen has a Podium Finish his Second Race Back – Obviously, the story that has been most talked about has been Ken Roczen’s return to racing. By now, I’m sure even Ken Roczen is a little tired of hearing about it. However, Houston marked a very significant achievement for the #94. Roczen has made it very clear that he was absent but not gone from racing, and his return has really shown how much work he’s put in to be able to hang with the rest of the field at race pace for an entire Main Event. Last Saturday night in Houston, Ken kicked off the day by qualifying second behind Jason Anderson. He followed up his hot lap with a Heat Race win – his first since January 21, 2017 at Anaheim 2. Kenny definitely found his rhythm in Houston and was on the path to domination all day. It’s truly impressive to watch him race in person after seeing his struggles over the past year. I don’t know that I’ve seen such tenacity or drive in any person I’ve ever met. Roczen went on to lead 13 laps of the Main Event on Saturday night, eventually getting passed by Jason Anderson around lap 15, resulting in a 2nd place finish.  Too many people have said that Ken Roczen would never return to racing, let alone return to the podium. Leave it to Roczen to absolutely annihilate the naysayers and prove without a shadow of a doubt where he belongs in that line up – right up front.

We now head back to Anaheim for Round 3 of Monster Energy Supercross. With an entirely different style of track and dirt in Anaheim, plus the addition of the Triple Crown format, we can expect another unexpected and surprising night of racing. Who will emerge victorious in Round 3? Tune in Saturday to find out!