Vital MX Pit Bits: 2023 Arlington Supercross - Part One 6

Welcome back to your favorite feature, Pit Bits! Dive into part one from the 2023 Arlington Supercross.

Spare race bikes means it's triple crown time again. Sadly, AC's weren't in use after he aggravated his hand/wrist on press day. We'll be awaiting more AC news this week.

Alpinestars dropped a new LE Tech 10 this weekend.

The Vision LE is one of our favorites they've dropped in a while, and available now.

Joey Savatgy has finally gone from the back nine to factory row again, with his put being parked right in front of the Kawi factory trucks.

We had to do a double take on the two number 30s. No, Jo Shimoda wasn't in for the weekend but it sounds like he may make his return by Indy.

Keeping with the trend, Pro Circuit's under fender sticker is inspired by the local sport team. In this case, the Cowboys.

It always seems to be cold when we race in Arlington, cold enough that a few teams broke out the tire warmers this morning.

Chicken Hawk is a brand you would commonly see in road racing.

Suspension cases are common on Fridays for the HEP team, as their 450 riders still seem to be changing their setups each week.

This week, Ken Roczen was still aboard a set of suspension tuned by in-house technicians of the team. However, we were told he's still working with Factory Connection in some capacity and we may see a return of their suspension on his bike in a few weeks.

The pits aren't the most level in Arlington, quite a few drivers were blocking up their trailers.

Shane McElrath couldn't let Aaron Plessinger have all the cowboy fun.

The old-school gold rims and blue seats under the Phoenix Honda rig are getting a lot of compliments this year. Your thoughts?

Dasa has been around the block for many years, doing different projects for factory teams over the decades, and was a mainstay in the YOT program back in the day. They're responsible for the cylinder heads and other engine components found in the Phoenix Honda team's 2023 package.

After his tunnel incident at Houston, Coty Schock damaged his air forks beyond use for the main event. He had to use his teammate's spare forks, which were a set of spring forks belonging to Jace Owen. After racing with them, he stuck to the system and is still on them in Arlington.

Cullin Park is the last member of the team aboard KYB PSF1 and we also noticed one other difference while looking at his machine. His bike featured titanium bolts in a few key places that would make a difference. 

What we mean by that, is his teammate Jace Owen is running steel bolts in his triple clamps...

Along with his engine hangers, front engine mounts, and other load-related locations. Chasing comfort.

Moto Clown Designs whipped up some new ARMA-themed 6D lids for the Phoenix guys.

Similar to the HRC crew, the Phoenix guys are running the stock 260mm front rotors, paired with a Nissin billet brake caliper.

Jace Owen has some aggressive pegs with some extra height added in. 

Pirelli is staying strong with their Supercross presence, with the Phoenix crew being their premiere team in 2023.

Heath Harrison was quite stoked on his all-white Moose Racing gear. It's actually sample test gear but we love the simplicity. Would you rock it?

Motion Pro isn't the only brand in moto with a digital tire gauge.

Some of the items you'll find stashed in the top of a Supercross team's hauler.

The Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX team rocked a more traditional Yamaha blue theme this weekend. 

It's fairly simple compared to some of their more normal liveries they run, but we like it. 

The Luxon clamps are one of the last parts in their old signature light blue.

The team debated between running a blue or black seat. They ultimately went with the blue.

At most Supercross rounds, the teams just scrape after each session and stay away from full-on pressure washing.

Speaking of blue liveries, Dax Bennick's amateur spec Star bike is one of our favorites. Wish the pro bikes had more blue like their am bikes.

Star's pro team had all matching helmets this week, but Dax had something a little different for his Alpinestars SM-10.

Alex Ray's bike sitting and waiting aboard the Rock River truck...

After a big push the last couple years in Supercross, Alex Ray is one of Maxxis' last riders left in the field.

Alex Ray says he hopes to return to action by the Indy Supercross but in the meantime he's our competition, handling some media duties for SwapMoto Live.

Truck drivers always at work...

Luke Neese had the right idea for the cold conditions in Arlington.

Mitchell "Freckle" Oldenburg came out to watch for his hometown race with the family. He said taking kids to a Supercross is almost more stressful than actually racing. He'll be back in action when West region returns at Seattle and he also has some merch available...like the Freckle hat he's rocking here. Check out ShopFreckle.com

Kyle Chisholm is dealing with a knee injury he's trying to improve each week. Keep on Chizzing.

Julien Beaumer impressed with pure speed at the first round of the Futures. Enough so that Orange Brigade KTM locked him down immediately. We heard in his first week aboard the bike he turned laptimes similar to if not better than Max Vohland at the KTM Supercross track. We also heard he's locked down for four years and we could see him aboard a Red Bull KTM in 2025 if all goes to plan.

The engine package is in-house from KTM and very similar to the pro team's setup. While the suspension duties are WP kit components tuned by Factory Connection.

Julien "JuJu" Beaumer and his trainer Davi Millsaps, having a chat with Red Bull KTM's Roger Decoster. His potential future boss.

The walk from the pits to the floor access tunnel at Arlington is quite the hike...so we saw a few teams hauling their pit carts down in mules instead of walking.

Interesting sponsor placement from our friend Jeff Crutcher's CycleZone KTM team. Normally an Arenacross team, they're competing in their first-ever East region Supercross series with riders Cheyenne Harmon and Carter Biese.

The team runs Just1 products head-to-toe.

Including their first-ever high-end boot, the JBX-R. We should haver our hands on a pair soon for a first impression and test.

Marvin Musquin was back in the paddock for a visit, after some bad news this week that he'll be out indefinitely as his wrist heals naturally from his last injury. Get well soon Marv and see you all next week!