Swapmoto Live Podcast

Presented by Pro Taper Can you believe that we're already halfway through November? Before you know it, we'll be waiting for our passes at Angel's Stadium at Anaheim One! This week on the Pro Taper Kickstart Podcast, co-host Alex Ray phones in from the California high desert, where he's three weeks deep into pre-season boot camp with Carson Mumford, Derek Drake, and. their trainer, Davi Millsaps. Anton talks about the Hoosier Arenacross he attended last weekend, Chase and Donn discuss last week's grueling 250 shootout, and we all predict how many hours (or minutes) ARay's new Honda CR250R two-stroke build will last before he blows it up.

Presented by Pro Taper Last weekend, we were all at the 2021 Mini Major West, the largest all-minis motocross race of the year. With nearly 1000 mini racers signed up, it was a wild four days of action that never seemed to end. With Alex Ray in boot camp in the high dez, big Dominig Gaytan filled in on this week's show!

Presented by Pro Taper Man, this off-season stuff is getting old! We are ready to go racing...how about you? ARay's dad Ronnie is in town and he sat on the couch and watched today's podcast recording with a smile on his face, but he was also shaking his head quite a bit, too! Haha!

Presented by Pro Taper The off-season is in full effect but we have still been busy regardless of whether or not there are races to attend. Anton about drowned at Ironman Raceway last weekend swap got his butt kicked at LACR, and ARay ruined one of our brand-new test bikes in 30 minutes of riding last week. See? Always a lot to talk about with our cast of characters! Enjoy!

Presented by Pro Taper Another off-season weekend has passed but just because there was no racing to bench race about, that doesn't mean we didn't have a good time! Chase Curtis was busy working on our 2022 450 Shootout video, so Bar X Motorsports/Ecstar/Chaparral/Suzuki's Derek Drake filled in for him, joining Michael Antonovich, Donn Maeda, and Alex Ray on the mic today. We had a good time. Enjoy!

Presented by O'Neal It's been a few weeks since Malcolm Stewart was announced as a full-time member of the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna team through 2023, and Mookie has been so busy getting ready for the new season that it has taken us this long to track him down! We finally got Malc on the phone today for a quick podcast, to see how he's liking his new FC 450, adapting to the Bakers Factory program, and much more! Above is a video version for those who prefer YouTube, and below is the podcast player. Enjoy!

Presented by Pro Taper It's another off-season Monday, but this one is special because we have our whole SML family under one roof as Michael Antonovich is in town for a wedding. Furthermore, ARay's big team news has finally dropped so we get to hear about all of that, plus a whole lot more in this installment of the Pro Taper Kickstart Podcast!

Presented by Pro Taper In spite of there being no racing last weekend, there was a lot to talk about on today's Kickstart Podcast presented by Pro Taper. Our very own Michael Antonovich got to the bottom of the Supercross Vaccine Mandate rumors over the weekend so we discuss the ins and outs of that, as well as cover all of the surprising silly season switches and empty slots that we know about. ARay went home to Tennessee over the weekend so we got to hear about home cooking and all the weight he's put on in the off-season, and swap talks about the rope between two trees that he got taken out by last week. Haha!

This is the audio-only version of the SML Show starring Jo Shimoda, following his excellent 2021 season with the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team!

Presented by Pro Taper We had fun this morning recapping what we saw at the 2021 Motocross of Nations, but more than that; we had an awesome time sharing stories with each other about our individual motocross experiences. Why do we love it? How did we get started? What do dirt bikes mean to each of us? Please drop us a DM or comment on social media to give us your feedback or ideas about future show talking points!

Presented by Pro Taper The off-season is in full swing, and you'd think we had nothing to talk about in this week's Pro Taper Kickstart Podcast, but the non-racing shit is arguably even more fun to shoot! Anton was in Kansas last week for the Red Bull Imagination 2.0 event with 12 of the gnarliest free riders in the world on hand and had lots of stories to tell. ARay, meanwhile, spent last week in Punta Cana on vacation with two other couples. If you saw any of the Instagram stories last week, you'll wanna hear his stories, too.

Presented by Pro Taper Well, that's a wrap! The 2021 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Nationals came to a close at Prarie City OHV Park in Sacramento this weekend, and we go over all of the exciting things that went down on the track and behind the scenes. We also had the Seven MX Mini Major East at Monster Mountain MX in Alabama this weekend, and we touch on that as well; including Chad Reed and his three kids coming out for their first big motocross race!

The big news in the hours leading up to last weekend's Fox Raceway Two MX National was that the FXR/Chaparral/Honda team would cease to operate following this weekend's Hangtown series finale, leaving team riders Carson Mumford and Coty Shock without rides. There are multiple sides to every story, of course, but we asked team owner Michael Lindsay to give us his reasons for shutting down the team after two successful seasons of competition.

Presented by Pro Taper The Fox Raceway Two National went off this weekend and the whole Kickstart Podcast crew was on hand to see what went down. With Michael Antonovich in town, we had the whole team together for this morning's recording, and it was a great time! Listen in for some things we saw and learned at the penultimate race of the season!

This is the audio file from the SML Show, presented by OGIO Powersports and Yamaha Motorsports, with Ryan Hughes. This is part one of two.

Presented by Pro Taper The heat was on at Ironman Raceway in Indiana last weekend! Michael Antonovich and Alex Ray spent the day sweating their asses off in the infield and had plenty of insight about what went down on today's Pro Taper Kickstart Podcast. COVID-19 absences, big crashes, spectacular rides...you name it. Enjoy!

Presented by Pro Taper The staff of SML was all over the map today and we were so conflicted with scheduling that Alex Ray couldn't even come on as he was kidnapped in Las Vegas. swap is on vacation in Whistler, Canada, and called in between downhill runs, joining Michael Antonovich and Chase Curtis for some good ole bench racing about last weekend's race!

Presented by Pro Taper Technica difficulties prevented us from bringing you the Kickstart Podcast on Monday, but we got the crew together today from four different locations to get the deed done today! Unadilla was a wild one and there was plenty to talk about. Join swap, Anton, ARay, and Chase as we bench race about the who, what, why, and where of Unadilla!

The Mini Major East presented by Seven MX is only a few weeks away. The September 10-12 event will be held at Monster Mountain MX in Alabama, and it's one of my favorite events of the year. I got CMXRS Race Director Aaron Cooke on the phone to find out more about the Mini Major East, and also to chat about the AMSOIL Swapmoto Race Series.

Presented by OGIO Powersports and Yamaha This is the audio-only version of today's SML Show for all you podcasters out there! Wil Hahn is the new Team Trainer of the Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/Gas Gas Factory Racing team. We speak to the little guy about his big career change and lots more!

Presented by Pro Taper Anton was in Hurrican Mills, Tennessee, all of last week at the annual AMA Amateur National Championships. We shoot to poop about everything that he saw down at the ranch and more, on this week's Kickstart Podcast presented by Pro Taper. Our show is actually early today because swap had to get home to wait for a refrigerator repairman. Lol!

Presented by Pro Taper This week's installment of the Pro taper Kickstart Podcast is a few days late because we were all spread across the United States on Monday for different reasons. Even now, Anton is at Loretta Lynn' with zero cell service, so we invited SML Senior Test Rider Pat Foster to fill in. This week we get the lowdown on all of Alex Rays surgeries and he talks about pooping a lot, and then we cover the 2022 Honda CRF250R media launch that we attended this past Sunday through Tuesday. Not a lot of pro racing talk, but still a good time!

Brady Sheren is a former professional motocross racer who wanted to give back to the sport that he loves most. In addition to helping launch Matrix, the popular motorcycle stand, and accessory brand, Sheren was the leader in the development and production of the Atlas Air Brace, which was largely regarded as the easiest neck brace to grow accustomed to. Sheren and Atlas Brace dropped a big one on the motocross industry a few weeks ago when they introduced the Vision Anti-Compression Collar, which is by far, the most comfortable and least restrictive protective device for the neck that we've ever ridden in.

Presented by OGIO Powersports and FMF Racing Josh Hansen joined us for a second time on the SML Show, and this is the audio-only version for our friends who listen on the road!

Presented by Pro Taper Washougal MX was a barn burner last weekend and we had plenty to shoot the shit about on today's Kickstart Podcast. Sadly, it was the last race of the year for our co-host Alex Ray as he is currently in Colorado preparing to have both of his wrists worked on. From Jeremy Martin's amazing second win in a row to Chase Sexton's breakthrough victory to Jalek Swoll's scary concussion-inducing crash, we flapped our lips about it all. Enjoy!

Presented by Pro Taper The Millville MX National was amazing! Justin Barcia earned the first National victory for Gas Gas, Jeremy Martin raced through the pain of two broken fingers, a broken navicular bone in his wrist, and a banged-up shoulder, and a ton of other exciting thing went down. Our man on the scene Michael Antonovich was there to see it all unfold, and Alex Ray earned three more National MX points, and we talk about it all in this week's Pro Taper Kickstart Podcast. Enjoy!

Presented by OGIO Powersports Red Bull KTM's Maximus Vohland joins us in studio for this weeks SML Show. The youngster is quite the talent on the track, and very well-spoken off the track. Enjoy!

Presented by Pro Taper The Southwick MX National was a gnarly one! Rain preceding the event made the sandy course even tougher than normal, and the action that unfolded on the MX 338 track was nothing short of extraordinary! Alex Ray scored his first National point of the series, and he joins us in studio to go over everything that happened over the weekend.

It's been a few weeks since we'd seen or heard from our pal Cameron McAdoo of the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team. After an eventful 250 Supercross series, "Madoo" regrouped, took a deep breath, and showed up healed, rested. and ready for this summer's 250 MX Nationals. Sadly Cameron's summer came to an end in the second moto when a came into contact with another racer and injured his knee severely enough to need surgery and a lengthy recovery process. We caught up to see how Cameron has been doing, get an update on his recovery, and much more. Enjoy!

Presented by Pro Taper The Fourth of July weekend Red Bud National never disappoints, and this year's race in Buchanan Michigan, was jam-packed full of events to bench race about. From our very own Alex Ray casing the crap out of LaRocco's Leap to Dylan Ferrandis earning his third win of the season to Aaron Plessinger driving the crowd nuts with his stars and striped shirt on the podium, we discuss plenty! Enjoy.

For the second time this summer, we had an off-weekend break in the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Nationals, and the SML Crew was spread across the country living our lives on two wheels. With the Red Bud National this weekend, there was plenty for us to chat about. Who do you have winning the 250 and 450 classes this weekend?

Presented by Pro Taper The Lucas Oil MX Nationals headed back East last weekend and visited the famed High Point Raceway in Steel City, PA, and riders were expecting the worst as the forecast predicted a 100% chance of rain with as much as one inch of rainfall. The Moto Gods smiled down upon the racetrack, though, and all that fell was a light misting during one of the 250 motos that made the racing surface ideal. We were all treated to some spectacular racing action, and we go through it all in this week's Pro Taper Kickstart Podcast. Still waiting for ARay to score a point, though...

Presented by Pro Taper There was no AMA Pro MX this weekend, but that doesn't mean that the world stopped turning! Swap got back on his road bike, Chase bought a Harley, Alex fried from clutches, and Anton has been trying to make a baby. Catch up with the SML crew in this week's Kickstart Podcast, presented by our great friends at Pro Taper.

Presented by Pro Taper Round two of the Lucas Oil MX Nationals went off last weekend at Thunder Valley MX in Colorado, and the racing action was even more intense and exciting than at the opening round! As usual, we gathered to shoot the poop about what we saw and heard, though this week's Kickstart Podcast is a day late thanks to a mini vacation I took in the Pacific Northwest to do some mountain biking with some friends. Enjoy!

Presented by Pro Taper Last weekend's Dirt Bike Kidz Fox Raceway MX National kickoff was one for the ages. With a brutally rough track, great racing, and four different moto winners; what more could a motocross racing fan ask for? Our co-host Alex Ray survived without any big crashes and with his muffler intact, so he was anxious to tell us just how scary and challenging the track was today in this week's Kickstart Podcast covering the Fox Raceway MX.

Presented by Pro Taper This week's Pro Taper Kickstart Podcast comes to you on a Wednesday as we wanted to check out the action at yesterday's Fox Raceway National Media Day first. The track was brutal yesterday and the four riding sessions were very telling about who's ready and who's not. Our very own Michael Antonovich joined us in-office this week, making it a great panel with the three California locals; Donn, Chase and ARay.

Presented by Pro Taper There are two weeks left until the gate drops on the 2021 Lucas Oil MX Nationals, and we are starting to get pumped! Tracks all over SoCal are abuzz with activity, and it is definitely a tough time to be an amateur motocross rider because the Nation's fastest pros are out here getting their laps in. Alex Ray spent the morning riding with 10 of the top 20 racers in the world at State Fair MX this morning, and we talk about that and a lot more nonsense in this in-between series version of the Kickstart Podcast. Enjoy!

Presented by Pro Taper The 2021 Monster Energy Supercross Series just wrapped up a few days ago, and we're already wide open into the silly season rider/team changes. We go through all of the news we've heard, plus a few more new rumors that we heard just this morning, as well as give Alex Ray our normal Monday barrel full of crap. Enjoy!

Presented by Pro Taper Whew! The SML team is back home after an extended stay in Salt Lake City, Utah, for the final two rounds of the 2021 Monster Energy Supercross Championship Series, and we had a lot to talk about in today's Kickstart recap. From the action on the track, to ARay's action in the pits, to mountain biking, to Las Vegas; we cover it all. Enjoy!

Our buddy Brian Lopes in a legend in mountain biking and BMX with 18 championship titles to his credit, and he's giving back to the sport of cycling by being involved with All Kids Bike, a national movement led by the Strider Education Foundation to place Kindergarten PE Learn-To-Ride Programs into public schools for free, using donations from individuals, businesses, and organizations. We checked in with Lopes to see what he's been up to lately and also get the scoop on the latest fundraiser that offers a few really great prizes up for grabs to donors. Visit www.allkidsbike.org for more

Presented by Pro Taper The next-to-last Supercross of the year went off inside Rice-Eccles Stadium last Saturday night and man, was the action insane! From Jo Shimoda's first=ever win to Marvin Musquin's surprise win in the 450 class over championship leader Cooper Webb, we couldn't have asked for more out of an entertaining race. We;ll, it would have been better if our guy Alex Ray had been in the main. We recap the race and much more from our AirBNB in Salt Lake City on this rainy Monday afternoon! Enjoy.

Presented by Pro Taper A lot went down at Atlanta Motor Speedway last week, and there's nothing better than getting together on Monday mornings to BS about the whos, whats, and whys, of the weekend's racing. Of course, our guy Alex Ray was at the center of some of the attention-grabbing action, and getting his take on things is always entertaining. We cover the Jason Anderson incident, the social media bullies and more, on today's Pro Taper Kickstart Podcast.

Today, April 17, Bell Helmets releases its newest off-road motorcycle helmet, the Moto 10 Spherical MIPS. Unless you're blind or do not pay close attention to the sport, you should have taken notice of the new Bell Helmet that has been worn by Eli Tomac, Cooper Webb, and the Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha, and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki teams since last year's Salt Lake Supercross marathon. Benny Tozzi from Bell Helmets stopped by the SML offices to share the story behind the helmets, which is hands-down the most sophisticated helmet Bell has ever produced. We've been riding in one for a few weeks now, and we can attest to the fact that it is super light, insanely ventilated, and supremely comfortable.

Presented by Pro Taper The first of three races at Atlanta Motor Speedway is in the books and though it started off muddy, it was hardly the quagmire that the forecast predicted it'd be. Our guy Alex Ray made it to the 450 main straight out of the heat race on the extra-long race track and Michael Antonovich was there to see it, and a whole lot more. We go over the who, what, why and what of Atlanta One on this week's KSP.

Presented by Pro Taper We're in the final stretch of the three-week spring break in the Monster Energy Supercross Series, and man we are ready to get back to racing! What we learned today, though, is that we don't need a race to bench race about to have a good time on the Pro Taper Kickstart Podcast! Our co-host Alex Ray shed a lot of light on training drills and such that can help with riding technique, and that bit alone makes the pod worth a listen! Enjoy!

They say that time flies when you're having fun and that is most certainly the case when it comes to working at SML. We launched on April Fool's Day in 2019 and since then it has been a wide-open party, covering races, testing bikes, and creating content. We sat down for a quick trip down memory lane. Thank you to everyone who supports us, from our advertisers to our test riders, to you: the listeners and viewers!

Presented by Pro Taper The best thing to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic? Without a doubt, it's the modified Monster Energy Supercross Championship schedule that has racing on Saturdays and Tuesdays! We've certainly become spoiled with the non-stop racing action as fans and now that we're one-third of the way through the mid-series gap, we really understand just how great it's been to have so much to look forward to. Our regular co-host Alex Ray joined us in our new HQ today to fill us in on his big MTB enduro racing debut and more, and we had no lack of things to talk about amongst the four of us...there's even some breaking news about new bikes for 2022...

Presented by Leatt This is originally a video interview for the Leatt Science of Thrill Thursday feature but our conversation with SmarTop/Bullfrog Spas/Honda rider Shane McElrath was so telling that we decided to make it available as a podcast as well.

Presented by Pro Taper Man, today's show was a fun one! Fresh off his Arlington 3 main event, our co-host Alex Ray was fired up and ready to talk about his exciting last-lap pass on Cade Clason for the final transfer spot of the night. Of course, we talked about a lot, lot, more, but that's what we were chomping at the bit to discuss. Supercross seemed extra exciting last weekend in Texas, as the stands housed the most fans that they have all season. The track featured some BIG booters, and racing was extra exciting. We've got two off weekends approaching...any subject matter that you'd enjoy hearing up flap our lips about? Drop us a line at [email protected]!

Presented by Pro Taper The first of three Supercrosses inside Arlington, Texas' AT&T Stadium went off last weekend and provided more than its fair share of surprises and excitement. Our co-host Alex Ray made the main event! We got together today to go over all the bumps, bruises, thrills, and chills that made up round 10 of the Monster Energy Supercross Series. Enjoy!