The Racer X Podcast Network Jason Weigandt and the Racer X Illustrated/Racer X Online editorial staff

Mike Webb lived the dream life, moving to the top of the racing food chain, as Suzuki team manager for the off-road squad and then transitioning into the top of the motocross and supercross team. From tons of GNCC Championships to working with Ryan Dungey and James Stewart, Mike saw it all. However, it's not always as glorious as it seems, as Mike's time in the supercross paddock came after Roger De Coster and Ian Harrison left for KTM, and Suzuki's support budget was starting to wane.
Mike inherited Ryan Dungey and the 450SX and 450MX titles, but Dungey wanted to leave with Roger, immediately. His Suzuki contract forced him to stay. Then Mike and company faced hard luck trying to defend the titles with Dungey, which left a mark. Mike eventually rebuilt with none other than James Stewart.
Years later, Suzuki would shut Mike's factory program down, not once, but twice. There are some deep, deep stories from behind the scenes in this interview you won't want to miss.
Enjoy part 1 of Jason Weigandt's interview with Mike Webb and be ready next week for part 2.
The Racer X Exhaust podcast is presented by Yoshimura and Racer X Brand.

Jason Weigandt and Jason Thomas got some time this week to talk to Cooper Webb and quiz him on how he approached the final stretch of the season and got the points lead back to a tie with four races to go. Also, he reveals what he's learned about Jett Lawrence's riding style, why things work so well for him with Monster Energy/Yamaha Star Racing, and why he always had such a tough time keeping the weight off -- he has Hashimoto's disease, which impacts the thyroid. With a lot of research and hard work, and his own special brand of grit, Webb has set up an amazing final four races in Monster Energy AMA Supercross. Here's how.
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There was so much anticipation for Adam Cianciarulo's pro career when it began a little over a decade ago, and now we can look back at it in full because he's announced his retirement. Jason Weigandt has a few thoughts from Adam to share (via the SMX Insider show's exclusive interview) and then Weigandt adds his own thoughts. Hardly anyone had expectations to live up to like Adam did, because he was entering the ranks right on the heels of a 15-year run of Kawasaki Team Green prospects going straight to the top immediately, through Ricky Carmichael, James Stewart, and Ryan Villopoto. Thus, the microscope was on Adam right from the start to see if he could be the next one, and for a brief moment, he delivered by winning supercross races immediately. Unfortunately, injuries then kicked in, leaving everyone wondering what might have been. Adam surely wondered this more than anyone, but was also able to gain perspective from it all. He might not have won all the races he would have won if he was healthy, but he might have emerged from the process as a better person. That's why his legacy is now not as one of the winningest riders ever, but one of the most liked. 
 
The Racer X Exhaust podcast is presented by Yoshimura and Racer X Brand.

Should dirt bikes get faster or slower? Better might not be better. Carson Brown has top-five supercross speed but prefers to rip on old bikes, minis, two-strokes and more. He knows slower and simpler is definitely more fun, and ultimately, probably better. Even if it's worse! While today's bikes posses an amazing blend of power and traction and undoubtably better than old stuff from an engineering standpoint, that capability means more speed, bigger jumps and more cost. Brown has legit speed, and was a top-five threat in 250SX West Region as recently as as 2022. But his real specialty is pit bikes, two-strokes and more, as evidenced by his unbelievable Instagram account where he rips modern-sized obstacles with modern style on bikes that were never intended for such. It's unreal to watch!
As part of the famous BBR (Brown Brothers Racing) family that has become iconic in pit bike performance, Carson has ridden more bikes than most. He's having a really good time. What has he learned about mins, two-strokes and more? He's learned that they can be more fun than the big, new stuff. What's more, racing them could be better, too. Is this a message we should be hearing?
Jason Weigandt chats with Carson in the latest edition of the Racer X Exhaust Podcast.
The Racer X Exhaust podcast is presented by Yoshimura and Racer X Brand.

Jason Weigandt calls up Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX Yamaha's Coty Schock to of course ask about his miraculous collarbone recovery in one week, but also to get his back story. Coty was absolutely, positively not on the motocross radar when he was younger, but he's gone from barely making the fast 40 night show qualification in supercross to on the verge of a podium. A lot has happened a long the way. Here's Coty's story.
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Randy Hawkins is a member of the AMA Hall of Fame partially for his success as a racer, with seven AMA National Enduro Championships, and also for helping carry the load for American off-road racing in general. This is Randy's 28th season running the Am-Pro Yamaha off-road squad, which is Yamaha's factory program in the Progressive Grand National Cross Country Series and basically anywhere Yamaha races in the woods.
Randy has seen the ups and downs for factory off-road racing, from "getting fired" by Team Suzuki as a racer, to setting up a fledgling Yamaha program in the early days, to developing four-strokes for off-road, and riding out the economic storm of the Great Recession. These days off-road is back in a huge way, from bike sales, to race entries, to factory budgets, and even the types of machines the manufacturers are now producing.
Randy, one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet, had a chat with Jason Weigandt to explain how things started, and how it's going.
The Racer X Exhaust podcast is presented by Yoshimura and Racer X Brand.