Monster Energy AMA Supercross stops in Detroit this weekend, where the air is the same temperature as Phil Nicoletti's perpetually cold mood. Filthy's icy temperament didn't prevent him from replying to your questions, however, and this week there are some good ones! Read on for Phil's thoughts on Jason Weigandt's singing voice, Chase Sexton's mental fortitude, and the current state of track design.
And of course, if you have any questions or thoughts to share with the grumpiest man in racing, send them on over to phil@racerxonline.com.
Hi Phil,
Have you ever read an intro about a podcast and thought, ‘That’s,interesting I would like to listen to that.’ Then you open it and hear Jason Weigandt screaming over and over, ‘Podcast, podcast, podcast,’ and you can’t find the volume control on your computer? I almost didn't survive this experience. Has anyone ever told him he sounds terrible on that? I think he does a great job announcing and writing and in interviews, but he cannot sing, please let him know. My guess is that so many more people will not immediately turn it off and actually listen to the show. Maybe it’s just me. Thanks Phil,
-Old Guy
Old Guy,
Poor Weege. Some of the things Weege does are just unexplainable. You just have to nod your head, and carry on. I can almost guarantee you though, if you could make it past the screaming, the podcast would be good!
Weege is one of the best in our sport. I wish we could get him in the booth much, much more than he's in there. He should be in my own personal opinion. He knows everything about everyone. He's the only analyst who has ever came to the semis that I was in to see what was new, and what happened during the week. The only one. So I’ll give Weege some slack in his shitty podcast intro, because he makes it up for the effort he puts in on a Saturday when he’s in the booth!
-Phil
Phil,
I can't take it anymore, I'm a big fan of Chase Sexton but if no one else is going to say it then I will. What does he have to do to become mentally tough? Watching the Tampa race last night I told my non motocross buddy, 'Watch as Sexton feels the pressure from #27 he'll make a big mistake that will cost him the win.' We've seen it in how many races over how many seasons? He chooses not to train with Aldon Baker but Aldon has a track record of getting inside a rider’s head and turning them into big time winners. Is Chase not taking advantage of a most valuable resource by not letting Aldon train his mental side of racing?
Trying to stay a fan of the #4 but...
-Jim
Jim,
Well, let’s hold up. I have hard time saying, "Chase Sexton isn’t mentally tough." He’s a supercross and motocross champion. If you’re mentally weak, then you aren’t able to pull that shit off. Has Chase made some mistakes that have cost him? Sure has. Do you think he likes that happening? Come onnnn.
I’ll be honest here: I don’t think Aldon Baker is the key to help Chase with that. I’m not sure what happens. He hasn’t had to many of those mistakes lately. Chase hasn’t had massive ones either. This one this weekend seemed really really weird to me. It doesn’t makes sense. Chase is unreal in the whoops. UNREAL! To me, there was something else going on with it. That's my personal take.
But I think Chase not being mentally tough enough is an extreme. I’d pay money to see you walk up to a two-time 250 champion and a two-time 450 champion, and tell him he’s not mentally tough. Do the mistakes happen? Yes, but not at the rate the used to. They have slowed down substantially.
-Phil
Hello Mr. Filthy Phil,
Love your blunt honesty and realistic input into everything. So with that said I want to see where you land on the supercross track debate. Like many, I watch old seasons on SMX video pass, and some of the old long whoop sections are awesome. But I notice not a lot of people crash in them. I'm not sure where Feld or the AMA or whoever, got their data, but anyway we now have short whoop sections, but yet in San Diego there's a Mother of God big quad that multiple riders wrecked themselves over. Where is the logic? I know the riders are crazy fast and people are going to push the envelope, but I'm in favor of more technical obstacles being built safely that could perhaps cause the riders to slow slightly in order to get through them. What do you think? Also, why now are the corners more rutted than back in the day? Seems to reduce the cutting back under people opportunities.
Thanks,
-Andrew
Andrew,
Everyone knows the story here. Feld says they have data about the whoops. Saying most of the riders crash in the whoops after the ninth whoop. How accurate is that? I have no clue. Anytime I crashed in a big set of whoops back in the day it always seemed to happen around whoop five. I’ve hit the deck in a lot of rhythm sections too. And I wish they would take a few of those jumps out too!
But to your point with the technical tracks. I do believe the more technical tracks like Glendale keep guys in check a little more. It puts the guys on the edge so much it makes them scared, which blows my mind because every SX track is scary AF. But the rhythms and jumps and Glendale had a vibe that made guys second guess things. Which to me, is good because not EVERYONE does those jumps. But it does make it gnarly for when something does happen, because in our sport there is this saying, 'It’s not if it happens, but when it happens.' This sport is insane. End of story.
-Phil
