Hell of a racing season we had in 2022, wasn’t it? A recharged Eli Tomac under the Star Racing/Yamaha tent made for some incredible racing, even though ET would eventually win both the supercross and motocross titles in 2022. As He makes his transition out of the sport, I hope everybody is appreciating what we are witnessing, because when Eli gets into a flow, he is truly incredible to watch. After supercross next year he might be calling it a career, and what a career it’s been.

Chase Sexton served notice this year that he is going to be doing a lot of winning in the coming years. His supercross season was a little sketchy; when he crashed in the stadiums it wasn’t a tip-over… it was an over-the-bars adventure with assholes and elbows flying. I don’t understand how he stayed healthy, but he certainly showed some grit. Outdoors, Chase figured out the consistency thing and he pushed Eli Tomac to the absolute brink, taking the title chase down to the final moto of the year. Considering Eli Tomac is at the peak of his career and easily one of the best racers our sport has ever seen, this is an incredible feat. Nobody ever did that to Carmichael during his reign, and Eli has never been pushed like that during one of his motocross title runs. Chase is the real deal and he is coming of age.

Christian Craig blocked out the haters [and Moto Memess content], who said he was too old to be in the 250 class, to win his first professional title. The story he is writing in his career is going to be fascinating and I can’t wait to tell it on the Whiskey Throttle Show. He went from highly touted amateur and son of a factory racer to a broken back to retirement and a job in construction. Then, after he realized swinging a hammer for the rest of his life was not that fun, he made a comeback that culminated [at this point, anyway] in a 250 supercross title and subsequent factory ride with Husqvarna. It was a banner year for Craig.

And then there is Jett Lawrence, who is lucky to be alive after nearly being buried in bonus checks and panties after each race weekend. This kid has put together one of the most impressive seasons in recent memory and he has both SX and MX titles to show for it. Jett rode with a level of patience and experience that is uncommon for a rider his age, and the only question at this point is how high his ceiling will be. I’m guessing pretty high… Like, Hunter Biden in Vegas with several Ukrainian hookers and a Kilimanjaro-sized mountain of crack.

Justin Barcia got his kills in for the 2022 season. Maybe they should start putting skull and crossbones on his gear for every rider that gets blown out of his boots by JB? They could run out of space though.

Jo Shimoda was a revelation this year. The quiet kid from Japan had some great rides in supercross, followed by some big crashes. But when the outdoor season got started, Jo put the pieces together and by mid-season he had found his form. Jo was either on the podium or winning motos regularly from Red Bud onward, putting himself in a great position moving into 2023.

Honorable mentions to Jason Anderson, Hunter Lawrence and RJ Hampshire for their wins and solid 2022 efforts.

We are on the cusp of some massive changes in the next few seasons. Retirement or career shifts will be commonplace in the coming years from so many legends in the sport: Tomac, Roczen, Musquin, Bogle, Dungey, Wilson and others. With the World Supercross Series ramping up, it creates a pathway for all of those riders, and more, to transition out of the meat grinder that is US racing. Time will tell, but the sport could certainly start to have a different look and feel here in the States.