Houston 1 450 Recap:

Well, I guess I was somewhat right in claiming Barcia got his mojo back via quadding in my pre-season report. He got into the lead very early in the first lap and basically went wire-to-wire to be the first rider to win the first round three times in a row since McGrath did it 25 years ago.

He looked really comfortable on his new bike and almost seemed like a completely different rider. He had Roczen following him the whole race as well. He wasn't able to pull away but Roczen has pace and he handled the pressure well. Roczen was maybe being a little too nice in my opinion. He made a few pass attempts but was reluctant to make contact with Bam-Bam. I feel like he could have made the pass if he was a little more aggressive. If the roles were reversed, I know Barcia would have forced the issue.

Roczen followed Barcia home for 2nd and was followed by Musquin who rounded out the podium. For a race with no lead changes (save the first straight-away), I still found the full-race pressure from 2nd entertaining. The three former champs are already in a points hole, with placings between 9th and 15th.

Other notable placings include Stewart getting 5th and Dylan getting 7th in his 450 debut. Malcom didn't make my list of ten championship contenders but he would have been a wild card pick and I nearly included him on my list. With Dylan's strong start, I wouldn't be surprised to see him get another top ten...or even cracking the top 5.

Houston 1 250 Recap

Riders on those blue 250s have really had a lot of success recently (Ferrandis/Webb/Plessinger/Martin). Christian Craig crushed his Yamaha debut and ran away with 1st. I didn't see this one coming but he really looked impressive. It was Craig's first win in 5 years which has to be one of the longer gaps between wins. I don't think it'll be another 5 years - let alone 5 races - till he gets his next one.

Austin looked strong and worked his way up into 2nd with Craig's teammate Nichols rounding out the podium. Lawrence got a solid 6th but I'm sure he's looking for more. I expect to see these three battling all year and am really excited for the 250SX each championship this year. With no former champs on the gate, someone's going to claim the championship for the first time.

Houston 2 250 Predictions

My podium choices are Lawrence (1), Forkner (2), and Craig (3). Considering my fantasy league is 450-only, I don't stress too much on these choices. I just want to see some good throttle-twisting battles.

Houston 2 450 Predictions

My fantasy picks for the 450s are Roczen (1), Eli (2), Zac (3), Adam (4), and Marvin (5). With the lap times so close, it's really a toss-up tonight (and likely every race) as far as who's going to land on the podium. I think a lot will depend on the start or getting through the pack quickly. I'm going with more veteran choices and am excited to prep for Houston 2 myself with a local whiskey.

I'd write more but got to get my crypto keys sorted before the gate drops for Houston 2. It's on (the season) and I couldn't be more excited. I may have to prep some TX-style BBQ for Houston 3 and pair it with some local pale ales. Twist that throttle and leave the brakes.