{"id":816999,"date":"2026-07-22T17:40:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T17:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/816999\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T17:40:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T17:40:10","slug":"steve-matthes-observations-from-2026-spring-creek-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/816999\/","title":{"rendered":"Steve Matthes’ Observations from 2026 Spring Creek National"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There were lots of talk in my shows and group texts about how Cole Davies<\/a>, with 38th pick, was able to line up for the second moto beside the guy that got ninth (Hymas). It really shouldn\u2019t have been possible. Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250 team manager Wil Hahn<\/a> says nothing weird happened and he couldn\u2019t believe no one took that gate either. Mmmmm, hmmm. Look, Star is known to push the boundaries with stuff so pardon me if I\u2019m a bit skeptical of my buddy Wilbur\u2019s protests.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been down on the line a time or two and in this stuff, what usually happens is \u201csomeone\u201d from a team sort of lingers around a gate and everyone assumes it\u2019s taken so they move on. That\u2019s a common move although the AMA has been tightening up their gate pick process over the years to stop this. But back in the day, it happened A LOT. How do I know? Well, I used to help do it! Hey man, if you\u2019re a privateer three-digit guy, you\u2019re really gonna tell Chaparral Yamaha\u2019s Larry Brooks<\/a> to beat it?<\/p>\n

In Wilbur\u2019s defense, they DID give the riders starting this weekend less time to pick a gate so maybe in the confusion, the guy with the 38th pick was able to get a gate that good?<\/p>\n

Also, IDK man but the rider with the 23rd pick (Carson Wood<\/a>) who has nothing to gain or lose at the race seemed to be way outside on the second moto (still pulled a good start). So perhaps the team that\u2019s known to push the boundaries made the kid go outside while giving the title hopeful the 23rd pick which is, while still a bit odd, possible that he could get gate next to Hymas?<\/p>\n

Stay tuned for next week\u2019s episode of \u201cUnsolved Mysteries!\u201d<\/p>\n

–Chance Hymas<\/a> won moto two (250MX class is drunk!) and I think, although it\u2019s been a tough summer for Hymas, this will propel him forward more. Not saying he\u2019s gonna win motos again but also, not NOT saying that, you know? Our sport is all about confidence and I think Chance, a past winner, will get some from this moto win.<\/p>\n

-My postrace interview with Hymas was great. He went deep into the psychological process of being a rider, getting hurt a lot, dealing with pressure and getting it all back. Good stuff from a young man and made me think about how, because I\u2019m old as dirt, these guys are still not fully mentally developed adults, you know? Tough sometimes to be a pro athlete and be young.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There were lots of talk in my shows and group texts about how Cole Davies, with 38th pick,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":817000,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[383862,64,63,806,805,803,804,85],"class_list":["post-816999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-2026-pro-motocross2026-supermotocross-world-championship-racer-x-motocross-magazine-supercross-dirt-bike-mx-racerx-illustrated-dirtbike-motorcycle-racing-freestyle-video-news","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/816999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=816999"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/816999\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/817000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=816999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=816999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=816999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}