Which has more carnage: A 250 LCQ, a train wreck, the Detroit 450SX Main Event, or SX Survivor Round 10? If you guessed the Detroit 450 SX Main Event you were close, but SX Survivor Round 10 definitely tops it!
Who would have predicted that Cade Clason, Brandon Hartranft, and Justin Bogle would all have been better picks than Chase Sexton, Cooper Webb, and Dean Wilson?
No way anyone could have predicted the absolute destruction that laid in store for SX Survivor Round 10 in Detroit. Who would have predicted that Cade Clason, Brandon Hartranft, and Justin Bogle would all have been better picks than Chase Sexton, Cooper Webb, and Dean Wilson?
18 teams entered with the most popular pick being Dean Wilson with 50% of team managers selecting the 8th fastest qualifier. Coming off a couple of solid weeks of keeping it on two wheels inside the top 5, Chase Sexton was the next highest pick trend with 3 teams selecting Team Honda HRC's lone soldier in the 450 class.
Let's face it, if you hadn't taken a risk earlier in the year taking a Plessinger, Savatgy, or already selecting McElrath, Brayton, or Wilson then more than a handful of teams were left with choosing between Wilson, Brayton, Friese, or McElrath as likely top 10 candidates.
Whether it was due to being the best qualifier of the group or his consistent 9-12 finishes in every race except 1 coming into the race; a majority went with Grandpa Earl. Heart rates had to spike in the heat race when it looked like Dean Wilson was headed to the LCQ, but he reeled it in and put it in the main event from the heat.
As if Dean Wilson cleaning out half the field wasn't enough, Cooper Webb decided he wanted in on some of the dementia...
At the start of the Main Event, Brayton ran 10th with Wilson trailing in 11th and a lot of racing to go. Plus, while it was cool to see the Twisted Tea Suzuki of Bogle leading the way, though I was bummed we didn't see a Nac Nac first lap on the triple; it was likely he was going to fade out of the top 10 moving Brayton and Wilson up. Then... well, I'm not sure because we didn't see it on TV, but it appears Dean Wilson forgot how to ride a dirt bike. Perhaps it was Grandpa Earl's old age catching up with him. Regardless, even when half the top 10 grenaded themselves out of the race; Wilson couldn't manage better than a 14th place finish crushing 8 SX Survivor teams in the process. OUCH!
As if Dean Wilson cleaning out half the field wasn't enough, Cooper Webb decided he wanted in on some of the dementia and jumped two and three quarters of a jump into a rhythm section and becoming a landing strip for Chase Sexton who was left with nowhere to go. While title hopes for Webb and Sexton were already pretty dark, the lights were completely knocked out of those dreams and took 4 more SX Survivor teams with them.
Finally, all the chaos had to be over right? Nope! After getting out to the lead and fending off Tomac for a bit; Jason Anderson gave way to the #3 Star Racing Yamaha who was putting on a dominating performance. Anderson seemed to find some better lines and reeled Tomac back in before an extremely slick finish line landing made Anderson look like his teammate Adam Cianciarulo and lost the front end taking a slam to the soil. A third case of dementia was present when Anderson tried to remount and he crashed again trying to exit the course (I believe) grabbing one final SX Survivor team. That one really had to sting as Superior Hepp came into the race with both Jason Anderson and Cooper Webb still available. He was a clear favorite in my mind coming in, and all was lost within the span of a 20 minute main event. This game is brutal sometimes.
THE DAMAGE REPORT
18 teams entered Detroit
72% of remaining teams were eliminated
50% of remaining teams were crushed by Dean Wilson
69 teams started the game
7% of teams remain in the game
5 teams are now competing for the 3 money spots
0 teams from last year's podium remain
LOOKING AHEAD - Round 11 Indianapolis
It is crunch time for the 5 remaining teams! The wait is on to see which riders who hit the deck will be healthy enough to still line up in Indianapolis. Should 3 or 4 riders who are staples in the top 10 join Ken Roczen on the sidelines, the game could definitely be extended a couple more weeks. If all the riders are able to line back up in Indianapolis, picks will definitely skew towards McElrath, Wilson, Brayton, and a lone Ferrandis pick still is available. Of course, guys like Vince Friese, Hartranft or maybe even Bogle may get a look as things are thinning out past the halfway point. One thing is for sure, it has been a wild ride so far and you never know what curveball is around the corner with SX Survivor.
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