Roundtable: 450SX Champion, Favorite Wes Moment, and What If The King Never Raced?

Welcome to the Vurbmoto Roundtable! It’s a feature we had in the early days and now it’s such a legend that it makes a return. Our panel of experts, Bird and T-Dog, give their best opinion on hot topics in the sport. We also let Slaw give his opinion, but no one cares what he has to say. Let’s get to it!

The points are tied up, so we have to ask (again), who will be the 2024 Monster Energy 450SX Champion?

Bird Dog: My gut still says Jett. But betting against Cooper Webb is like betting against Tom Brady in the Superbowl. Screw it, I’m going with Coop, and here’s why. In Foxborough Jett looked way too serious. I’ve always believed his lighthearted approach to racing kept him loose. Centered if you will. He just loves racing his dirtbike and that shows on the track and through his results. Now he’s got someone in his head. And not just someone, the master of all head games, Cooper Webb. 

Take that fact and add to it that I think Jett will be raced harder than Webb will be. Take the Barcia incident. I honestly don’t think that scenario plays out the same if it were Webb. So if Webb gets a bad start in Nashville, I think he has a better chance of making it through the pack unscathed, while Jett will have to ride super defensively. Cooper has also been here before. He knows how to pace himself at this point in the season. He’s a champion, and while Jett is also a champion, this title fight feels different. 

Troy Dog: I’ve been saying it will be Jettson all along, so I can’t just switch can I? Well, I’m going to. The champion will be Cooper Webb, but don’t act like I ever counted him out. I may be one of the only guys in the media that said that he would contend for the SX championship again this year. The proof is in my team preview column. I will never count out Coop. He’s on a roll right now and he’s a closer. He’s going to win his third Monster Energy Supercross Championship.

Slaw Dog: Jett has the speed, but Webb has the experience. What wins out? Webb, as he has proven time and time again, got that dawg in him, especially late in the race. Will he ever lose a lead late? Probably not. With all that said, I got Webb. He’s going to start those mind games, and I think they will work. 

We’ve all known VurbWes a really long time and Tuesday was his birthday. We’ve all had some great times over the years with him, but what is your all-time favorite Chili Dog memory?

Bird Dog: I’ve been Wes’s business partner since 2007, so most of the top memories probably aren’t fit for our younger audience. Picking the favorite is like trying to choose my favorite movie or song, it’s not that easy. 

The early days are still my favorite memories. Dead broke travelling around the country trying to build a brand. Being stuck in Walmart parking lots in the middle of nowhere because we didn’t have enough money for gas. Having Jim Fiolek (Ashley’s dad) take us out to eat in Las Vegas because he was worried we were malnourished. All the hard times that we suffered through but were dumb enough not to quit, those are the times I’ll always look back on. And believe me, there were plenty of them. 

Troy Dog: Oh man, where do I start? I don’t get to see Wes as often as Bird does and I’m not even sure if Slaw has met him in person yet. I have so many great times with Wes. He made sure that my first Loretta Lynn’s experience in 2010 was all-time. He put me on his film crew to Bremen for the Red Bull ReMX event. He took me to MTF. Also, who could forget the PulpMX Show debacle? His bachelor party in Nashville was insane and to this day I’ve never seen someone so happy.

If we’re talking favorite moment, it would have to be the time that he showed me around Atlanta and then we went to DMXS Radio with Kevin Kelly, David Izer, and Brian Johnson. The broski that Wes is even took me to The Varsity, which is an ATL staple and the food and experience was something I’ve wanted to do again, but I’ve never had the chance since. It’s been fifteen years! Looking back, we’ve had a lot of great times!

Slaw Dog: Help Wes overcome his Vegas hangover by purchasing new merch at shopvurb.com. 

What would have happened in 1990s Supercross had Jeremy McGrath chosen BMX (or managing the grocery store he worked at) over SX?

Bird Dog: Champions are champions. McGrath is the KING! He would have been the John Tomac of BMX and probably had a cameo in the movie Rad had he stayed in BMX. If he had stayed in the Supermarket business, he’d be the King of Grocery. He’d probably own 15 branches and be the CEO of all of them and write books about how to dominate the supermarket game. He’s a winner. Winners win. It’s that simple. 

Troy Dog: My best buddy Jeff Emig would be King Fro. I mean, he is to me anyway, but he would have a bunch more championships. I see that Slaw has this same answer, so let me switch it up a bit here. Mike Kiedrowski, Mike LaRocco, Larry Ward, Ezra Lusk, and David Vuillemin would all be Supercross champs! Those guys played the bridesmaid to MC in his championship dominating seasons and if he weren’t there, these guys would have filled the void. The 1990s would have been way more competitive had MC become the King of BMX or King of supermarkets.

Slaw Dog: We’d be talking about Jeff Emig being of the best all-time. Look, he kind of already is, but he also had to deal with that McGrath guy. Imagine if MC wasn’t there? Fro would have dominated. Would he have won 72 SX races? No, but he probably would have won 50 or more. 

Main Image: Octopi Media