Episodes
Mike Webb tells more behind-the-scenes stories from working with Ryan Dungey and James Stewart with Team Suzuki. Plus, how it all shut down. Mike Webb lived the dream life, moving to the top of the racing food chain, as Suzuki team manager for the off-road squad and then transitioning into the top of the motocross and supercross team. From tons of GNCC championships to working with Ryan Dungey and James Stewart, Mike saw it all. However, it's not always as glorious as it seems, as Mike's...
Published 05/02/24
Mike Webb lived the dream life, moving to the top of the racing food chain, as Suzuki team manager for the off-road squad and then transitioning into the top of the motocross and supercross team. From tons of GNCC Championships to working with Ryan Dungey and James Stewart, Mike saw it all. However, it's not always as glorious as it seems, as Mike's time in the supercross paddock came after Roger De Coster and Ian Harrison left for KTM, and Suzuki's support budget was starting to wane. Mike...
Published 04/25/24
Published 04/25/24
Jason Weigandt and Jason Thomas got some time this week to talk to Cooper Webb and quiz him on how he approached the final stretch of the season and got the points lead back to a tie with four races to go. Also, he reveals what he's learned about Jett Lawrence's riding style, why things work so well for him with Monster Energy/Yamaha Star Racing, and why he always had such a tough time keeping the weight off -- he has Hashimoto's disease, which impacts the thyroid. With a lot of research and...
Published 04/18/24
There was so much anticipation for Adam Cianciarulo's pro career when it began a little over a decade ago, and now we can look back at it in full because he's announced his retirement. Jason Weigandt has a few thoughts from Adam to share (via the SMX Insider show's exclusive interview) and then Weigandt adds his own thoughts. Hardly anyone had expectations to live up to like Adam did, because he was entering the ranks right on the heels of a 15-year run of Kawasaki Team Green prospects going...
Published 04/08/24
Should dirt bikes get faster or slower? Better might not be better. Carson Brown has top-five supercross speed but prefers to rip on old bikes, minis, two-strokes and more. He knows slower and simpler is definitely more fun, and ultimately, probably better. Even if it's worse! While today's bikes posses an amazing blend of power and traction and undoubtably better than old stuff from an engineering standpoint, that capability means more speed, bigger jumps and more cost. Brown has legit...
Published 03/28/24
Jason Weigandt calls up Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX Yamaha's Coty Schock to of course ask about his miraculous collarbone recovery in one week, but also to get his back story. Coty was absolutely, positively not on the motocross radar when he was younger, but he's gone from barely making the fast 40 night show qualification in supercross to on the verge of a podium. A lot has happened a long the way. Here's Coty's story. The Racer X Exhaust podcast is presented by Yoshimura and Racer X Brand. Check...
Published 03/21/24
Randy Hawkins is a member of the AMA Hall of Fame partially for his success as a racer, with seven AMA National Enduro Championships, and also for helping carry the load for American off-road racing in general. This is Randy's 28th season running the Am-Pro Yamaha off-road squad, which is Yamaha's factory program in the Progressive Grand National Cross Country Series and basically anywhere Yamaha races in the woods. Randy has seen the ups and downs for factory off-road racing, from "getting...
Published 02/22/24
Former WMX Racer Sara Price fought, battled, and clawed her way to a driving career, and nearly won Dakar in her first attempt. She was once a WMX racer with support from Kawasaki Team Green, but when her moto career, and the factory support for WMX racing, went away, she had to find a new way to stay competitive. She set her sights on off-road racing in trucks, but the process of succeeding on four wheels is far different from motocross. Sara joins Jason Weigandt to explain truck and car...
Published 02/14/24
Acclaimed international journalist Adam Wheeler took a quick trip to California to check in on Monster Energy AMA Supercross, so Jason Weigandt and Jason Thomas found some time to ask him what his thinks about topics he's covered for a long time: Jorge Prado, Ducati and the Lawrence brothers. Enjoy a good conversation with one of the best journalists in motorcycle racing today. The Racer X Exhaust pod is presented by Yoshimura and Racer X brand.
Published 02/01/24
The 250SX East Region Championship kicks off this weekend at Ford Field in Detroit. A Tuesday night press conference allowed the media (and now you) to check in on the top riders. Hear from Triumph principals including race team manager Bobby Hewitt, then hear from 250SX class Athletes Haiden Deegan & teammate Daxton Bennick, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing; Tom Vialle, Red Bull KTM; Austin Forkner & Cameron McAdoo, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki; Pierce Brown, Troy Lee Designs...
Published 01/31/24
After a wild mud race at round 2 of Monster Energy AMA Supercross, hear from podium riders Chase Sexton, Eli Tomac, and Ken Roczen (450), and Jordon Smith, Levi Kitchen, and Garrett Marchbanks (250) in the post-race press conference, hosted by Dan Hubbard. Sexton and Tomac were happy to go 1-2 in these conditions, but they were just as happy with the improvements they felt they made during the week, and they think they would have been much better in the dry, also.   The Racer X Exhaust...
Published 01/14/24
Justin Cooper isn't one to draw attention to himself, so he's actually okay coming into his first full 450 season under the radar. There's less pressure that way, especially considering Cooper Webb and Eli Tomac are his teammates, and the standards for those guys are very high. But JCoop knows how to ride, he's been up front for his entire 250 career, and Anaheim proved he could be good on a 450, also. When Ken Roczen and Malcolm Stewart got collected and went down early, Cooper got claimed...
Published 01/12/24
Get your Anaheim fix in the car, in your headphones, or however you listen to your pods with this audio version of our annual Monster Energy Racer X Preview Shows. This pod loops all five video episodes together so you can head the scoops, opinions and arguments from Jason Weigandt, Steve Matthes and Jason Thomas, as they talk about every rider and every story coming into 2024. The Racer X Exhaust podast is presented by Yoshimura, and don't forget to subscribe to Racer X to get the magazine...
Published 01/05/24
After a week chatting up riders out in California, Jason Weigandt tries to cut through the clutter. There’s an annual pre-season tradition of every rider feeling faster, fitter and stronger for the new year, but that actually won’t be the case for everyone once the racing season begins. Weege tries to cram in as many scoops and angles as he can in this podcast, summing up conversations with nearly every top racer, including Eli Tomac, Chase Sexton, Jett and Hunter Lawrence, Jason Anderson,...
Published 12/14/23
Phoenix Racing has been a championship player in a variety of racing series, including dominance in AMA Arenacross and AMA Pro ATV Motocross, and also operates Honda’s factory GNCC team. It has only been a side player in AMA Supercross and AMA Pro Motocross, however, until now. By adding Dylan Ferrandis to the team for the full 2024 season indoors and out, they've got a chance at podiums and race wins. How did this deal come about and how is the team preparing for this step? Jason Weigandt...
Published 11/24/23
Dylan Ferrandis’ 2023 season was filled with frustration, as more injuries mounted in Monster Energy Supercross, and he could not gel with his bike in Pro Motocross. The Frenchman was even considering retirement at one point because he was no longer having fun on the motorcycle. This is a rider who wears his emotions on his sleeve and always tells you how he feels. What he really wanted to try was a Honda, but it wasn’t easy to find a spot to race one. Enter David Eller of Phoenix Honda and...
Published 11/24/23
After a huge crash one year ago changed his life, The Brick is looking for purpose. Now he's teaming with Cooper Webb for a new online training program.   The news was grim back in March when Jason Weigandt called Brandon Hartranft for an update. In the 2023 pre-season, Hartranft's engine cut out in a rhythm lane, and he went down hard. He was lucky to escape without getting paralyzed, but the road back to normal life was still extremely painful and frustrating. From major concussion...
Published 11/02/23
Endurocross and Trials Champion Cody Webb has launched a new online training and coaching program to help climb those mountains.   Jason Weigandt checks in with AMA Endurocross, Hard Enduro, and Trials Champion Cody Webb. Endurocross has kicked off for 2023, and Webb is looking to regain the title. Cody talks about his transition from KTM to Sherco and the journey to get that bike and brand to the top, as well as his own struggles with injuries. Plus, he's launched a new online training...
Published 11/02/23
Looking at the life and very short times of the 1980 Honda CR250R, the one and only motocross bike that was built in America by the Honda Motor Company. Take a deep dive as Blake Wharton reads his feature article "Made in Ohio?" from the December issue of Racer X magazine. For more from DC, Weigandt, Matthes, and the rest of the Racer X crew, subscribe to Racer X.
Published 10/19/23
Jason Weigandt jumps into the discussion on the FIM Monster Energy Motocross of Nations, breaking down how the race was won by Team France (which has now won seven times in the last 10 years), as well as the performance of Team USA, Ken Roczen and more. This podcast also contains post-race audio from the Team USA trio of RJ Hampshire, Aaron Plessinger, and Christian Craig, as well as Roczen and Team France’s Romain Febvre, Maxime Renaux and Tom Vialle.   If Team USA doesn’t win, it usually...
Published 10/11/23
Now that fans, teams, and riders are truly experiencing the SMX playoffs firsthand, Jason Weigandt circles back to the story of how this all started, with a quick meeting between Feld Motor Sports and MX Sports Pro Racing at Daytona of 2020, then COVID soon after, then cooperation on a much higher level. Weigandt runs through how the two series worked together to form one uniform television package for the first time, where the idea of a unified championship with both series working together...
Published 09/20/23
You know that rookie on Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing with the dad who raced, did freestyle, and built a successful business? No, the other one. Meet Daxton Bennick. Get to know Daxton and his dad Todd as Jason Weigandt reads his feature article "Son of Anarchy" from the November issue of Racer X magazine. For more from DC, Weigandt, Matthes, and the rest of the Racer X crew, subscribe to Racer X.
Published 09/15/23
Welcome to a special episode of the Exhaust podcast, where Jason Weigandt brings you the SuperMotocross World Championship pre-race press conference from Charlotte in podcast form. Get ready to hear from the best of the best, as we feature riders from the 250 Class and the 450 Class, including the likes of Jett and Hunter Lawrence, Chase Sexton, Justin Cooper, Cooper Webb, and many more. They'll be sharing their thoughts, strategies, and expectations as they gear up for an intense SMX debut. ...
Published 09/08/23
Hard to believe this season started as a celebration of Eli Tomac's greatness and the new age limits for winners in the sport, and has ended with a whole new generation rushing to the top of the charts. Eli and his peers will be back, but it has very quickly become the dawn of Jett and Hunter Lawrence and Chase Sexton at the top, plus Haiden Deegan making immediate noise in his first pro season. It's the dynamic of these personalities, all with a never-give-up spirit, that will make the next...
Published 08/29/23