00:00both needing a point miracle
00:02and the mud and chaos here tonight
00:04might be their best and last
00:06chance to get back in their respective
00:08championship fights
00:10Today, weather-wise
00:12went well for the
00:14qualifying sessions, for the whole
00:16lead-up, for the day portion
00:17of this Philly round
00:20of the SMX World Championship
00:21but boy, look at these conditions
00:23I mean, just absolutely
00:26incredible yesterday and today
00:28and then unfortunately Mother Nature has
00:29came down and it is about survival
00:32here tonight for a lot of these
00:34riders, keeping that bike upright
00:35First team of the 250 East
00:38Division, third year in a row here in
00:40Philadelphia, let's go
00:41in muddy wet
00:44treacherous conditions and the guy
00:45who's got the most momentum at the moment
00:47Nate Trasher, what a start
00:50Yeah, coming off that win
00:51last week in Cleveland
00:54picking up where he
00:56left off, getting another fantastic
00:58start and
00:59oh, he messes up
01:00comes up short on that double
01:02Nick Romano goes to the lead
01:04aboard the 141
01:06Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki
01:08Marcelisi there in the third position
01:10check out these riders right now
01:13this is about as good as the track
01:15is going to be for the rest of the night
01:19Nick Romano with the best view
01:22of anybody
01:23this is a guy who had to go through the last chance qualifier
01:26a week ago
01:27in Cleveland
01:27now he leads this opening heat
01:29oh that's right
01:30and he was in the last position
01:32of that last chance qualifier
01:34this is somewhat of a home race for Nick Romano
01:37see right there
01:38hometown Queens, New York
01:40a lot of family and friends here
01:42and surely that is a big help
01:45looking really good right now
01:46again this is the best track it's going to be
01:48all night long
01:49oh
01:50whoa hang on
01:52that was a good job
01:54he saved that nicely
01:56and he's got
01:58he did have one and a half seconds over Nate Thrasher
02:00but now that's disappeared
02:02really good job being done by Marcelisi
02:04and Phelps and Devin Simonson
02:06and then Landon Gordon fresh from his podium a week ago
02:09runs in sixth
02:10the championship leader Davies in seventh
02:12yeah I was really looking forward to seeing
02:14how Landon Gordon would do
02:16after that fantastic finish
02:17last week only his second race
02:20as a professional
02:22and unfortunately with these
02:25conditions and it being wet
02:26like this we won't get a fair shake
02:28and just see if he was able to back it up
02:35let's hear some words
02:36from the man who leads this race
02:38here's Nick Romano
02:41I think it kind of stands out to everything
02:43I think believers
02:44is you can just read it and see it
02:46so for me it was
02:47it was huge because throughout my process
02:49of being injured and all that kind of stuff
02:51you just have to keep believing
02:53so you know I want people to know that
02:58well wise words there from Nick Romano
03:00and just thinking about the mud here
03:01it's a great equalizer
03:03the reason it gets that moniker
03:05is look at the results throughout the top nine here
03:07there are a lot of names that we're not used to seeing near the front
03:10Marc Luisi as you guys mentioned
03:11Marcus Feltz, even Bucheri there in ninth
03:13that great equalizer means that
03:16it doesn't matter if you have factor equipment
03:17it doesn't matter if you are the most talented racer
03:20on the racetrack
03:20these conditions command a different skill set
03:23you're going much slower
03:25and you have to ride the racetrack in a different way
03:27I spoke about unliker results off the top of the show
03:30this is what I mean
03:32you get unliker results because they're different
03:34a completely different ask from the racers
03:36than a normal supercross race
03:39JT I was just talking to the teams
03:41less than two hours ago
03:42when it's absolutely pouring down outside
03:45to ask them what's your prep
03:47what's your thought process going into this
03:49and you just matched it perfectly
03:50but from the mechanical side of things Ricky
03:52this is a big challenge too
03:54because they have to make these bikes last
03:56so they go from strategy to just thinking
03:59let's get through the night
04:00what are the biggest hazards here that they faced
04:02well I think the biggest hazards right now
04:04is now keeping his vision clear
04:06and protecting his eyes
04:09you see he took his goggles off
04:11so that's going to be very difficult
04:13especially if he closes up on the rider
04:15in front of him which is Simonson
04:19so I mean keeping it up two wheels
04:21looking at big picture right here
04:23and I'm trying to think of the last time
04:24that I've seen Cole Davies race the mud
04:26so I don't know that he has a whole lot of
04:30supercross experience in these type of conditions
04:33so big challenge tonight
04:34a lot like what JT was telling us about
04:36there's a QR code about to pop up on your screen
04:39and you can scan it for your chance to win
04:42an Insta360 camera
04:44it's fast, it's easy
04:45scan it now, enter the win and good luck
04:47these are the conditions
04:48this is what's going to be difficult
04:50see how he's closed up to Simonson
04:53right here
04:54gonna have to take an alternate line
04:57again, big picture in mind
04:59get to that main event
05:00give yourself an opportunity
05:02speaking of that big picture
05:04Cody Shock
05:04has just got himself on the right side
05:07of that red line
05:08the cutoff
05:08the transfer
05:09for the main event
05:11you do not want to be doing any more racing
05:13than you have to tonight
05:14you don't want to go to that last chance qualifier
05:16well you don't
05:17and it puts a lot more pressure
05:18not only on the rider
05:20but the mechanic as well
05:22if you have to go back
05:24you don't transfer straight from the heat
05:26he's got to go back
05:26clean that motorcycle
05:28make sure that it's good to go
05:30for just a short time
05:31to where you have to line up
05:32for that last chance qualifier
05:34and again
05:34the mud being an equalizer
05:36I mean anything can happen
05:42so less than a minute to go
05:44plus a lap
05:44in these really tricky conditions
05:47Nick Romano
05:48who by the way has never won
05:49a heat race
05:50has done an outstanding job
05:52to maintain his 2 plus second lead
05:54over last week's winner
05:56Nate Thrasher
05:58this is an incredible story
06:00I mean
06:00having the opportunity
06:02to be a fill in
06:03at Pro Circuit
06:05Monster Energy Kawasaki team
06:06and I think he's done a fantastic job
06:09he didn't have a lot of time
06:10on the bike
06:10before the championship started
06:12so for JT
06:13to be able
06:14for this guy to ride
06:15as well as he is
06:16it's fantastic to see
06:20Ricky I was just going to add
06:21to your point there
06:21I love what you were talking
06:23about the mechanics
06:23it's such a difficult ask
06:25on them
06:25it puts so much pressure
06:26to go to the LCQ
06:27and remember
06:28different than the Triple Crown
06:30race last weekend
06:31in Cleveland
06:32they're only allowed to use
06:33one motorcycle
06:33so they had an issue
06:35in their heat race
06:36this goes for the 450 guys
06:37as well
06:37they're not able to use
06:38a second move
06:39JT down goes Nate Thrasher
06:42he thought he had a run
06:43he felt he had a run
06:45on Nick Romano
06:46and down in the whoops he goes
06:48well you gotta respect the effort
06:50like this is so hard
06:51to pick this bike up
06:52you can see
06:53he's on the wrong side of it
06:55leverage point
06:56is much different right there
06:57now here's the key
06:58and this is the thing
06:59about mud races
07:00is keeping that bike going
07:02because when these things
07:03build up
07:03a lot of engine heat
07:05have a tendency
07:06to not want to fire back
07:08quite as quickly
07:09and that is another thing
07:11about the mud
07:12is staying upright
07:13and preserving that motorcycle
07:15and when you fall down
07:16and you're not moving
07:17and going forward
07:18that builds more engine heat
07:20as well
07:22and that on this final lap
07:24has relieved what was
07:25a lot of pressure
07:26on Nick Romano
07:28how about Luca Marsalisi
07:30the 24 year old
07:31from Danbury Connecticut
07:32aboard his triumph
07:34of Harrisburg machine
07:36doing a terrific job
07:38Davies has worked his way
07:40a little forward
07:40several positions
07:42very effectively
07:45yeah going back
07:46to Nate Thrasher
07:47he was trying to blitz
07:48the whoops
07:48and started to lose
07:50control
07:51from the back end
07:52rear tire was probably
07:53spinning
07:53dropped the front
07:54down he went
07:55now this base of this track
07:57is really really hard
07:59and
08:00traction
08:01is going to be
08:05interesting
08:05and it's going to be a struggle
08:07to find it
08:07look how slick that is
08:09right there
08:09but the good thing about it
08:10being so hard
08:11is it won't get overly deep
08:13well look the conditions
08:14aren't ideal
08:15but he'll remember this
08:16for the rest of his life
08:18that's Nick Romano's
08:19first heat win
08:20well done
08:21and for Luca Marsalisi
08:23this is an awesome result
08:25as well
08:26second in the heat
08:27and going straight through
08:29to the 250 East Main
08:31yeah he's pumped
08:32alright
08:33that feels good
08:36showed some good speed
08:37earlier today
08:38and he's proud of that result
08:40and so he should be
08:42and Cole Davies
08:43slips and slides his way
08:46up to third
08:48well
08:48he'll probably have some relief
08:50right there
08:53knowing that he has an opportunity
08:55to lock that championship up
08:58let's remember Nick Romano's story
09:00yeah
09:01stepped away from the sport
09:02for several years
09:04got the call up
09:05to come back
09:06to Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki
09:08by Mitch Payton
09:10and boy
09:11he's been in the top 10
09:12in every race
09:13bar one
09:14and he now has
09:15a heat victory
09:17well done Nick Romano
09:18we'll hear from him
09:19when we come back
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