Are Supercross whoop sections ruining the racing?

Now this is far from an original thought on my part. The subject has been kicked around by folks much more in the know on all things dirt than I. But coming strictly from a 100 percent selfish fan's perspective, it's kind of ruining the sport for me — or definitely harshing my Supercross vibe, at the least.

Starting with the A1 opening round this year, the 2021 250 East champ, Colt Nichols, was taken out with two broken arms in the whoops. The whoops also more than likely cost Chase Sexton a podium spot in the same weekend.

In round two at Oakland last weekend, red-plate holder and perennial championship contender Ken Roczen in the 450 class was almost decapitated by his teammate, Sexton, after a practice fall in the whoops. Or, as Roczen put it, "Chase kind of used my head as a whoop!" (See the video below.) Another get-off in the whoops during the main led to a 13th-place finish for Roczen.

To me, this results in a negative experience as a fan and viewer of the sport. While I understand these are the top-of-the-food-chain riders and the track is supposed to be challenging, at what point does this particular section of the track become too difficult? I mean, they could chuck some logs and rocks out there also, but this is supposed to be Supercross, not Endurocross. Yes, they are the best riders in the world and being pushed to the limit is part of the sport, but at what point does the difficulty of the whoops go from separating the talented from the slightly less talented and become a roulette wheel of potential doom? I just feel like the tracks have jumped the shark — and I hope that doesn't give them the idea of adding shark tanks between each whoop.

I'm by no means advocating for a complete removal of whoop sections. Just make them more manageable. Overall, I'd like to see a more "racey" race, so to speak. I want to see racers battle each other skill for skill. An easing of whoop sections could result in better racing overall and less chance of the racing action being ruined by some random disaster. If Ken Roczen is in 13th place, I'd rather it was because 12 other racers were better than him that day, and not because of a bad bounce off the top of a whoop.

Fortunately for our readers, I'm not the only Common Tread writer with an opinion on the subject. The very dirt-capable Jen Dunstan and Brandon Wise have an interest in the subject matter, as well.

Jen's take

While we all know that "getting a great start" and having the courage to hit the largest jumps in Supercross are requirements to win a race, the whoops are by and large one of the most defining separators between top contenders for the championship and the rest of the field. While mellowing out the whoops section might make for "tighter racing," does this mean racers might end up taking even bigger chances elsewhere on the track to make up the difference?

While some racers have undeniably suffered some pretty serious consequences in the whoops, what about the racers who conquered them? Don't they deserve the competitive edge for that skillset? Supercross is one of the most physically demanding sports on the planet, and the whoops section is part of that distinction. It separates the great riders from the greatest, like racing is supposed to do.

Brandon's take

At first glance, and from the comfort of your couch, the whoops on a Monster Energy AMA Supercross track might look like these fun little hills you can just blitz across and you'll be good to go. In reality, they're more like massive craters in the Earth. I never fully grasped how gnarly they were until I got a chance do a track walk on a pro Supercross track the day of the big show. I can't even begin to imagine trying to ride a dirt bike cleanly through that section with any notable pace. One minor mistake or one little bobble out of rhythm and you'll be singing "Jesus Take the Wheel" as you slam into the dirt. I don't think viewers or even many seasoned riders truly understand how intense those whoops sections can be.

Trust me, I'm all about exciting racing. I love it when the racers get scrappy and make some aggressive passes. I tend to agree with Patrick, however, that the whoops don't leave enough margin for error when they claim victims almost every weekend among the most skilled and fit riders in the sport.

I don't know what exactly, but I feel something should probably change here. Maybe just smaller whoops sections? Perhaps just deep sand sections instead? Maybe a sloppy mud bath section? Or — hear me out — Ronnie Mac with a paintball gun...

That last one is undoubtedly worse than the whoops, but you get my point. I don't have the answers but those whoop sections seem like they're getting a bit out of control.

Patrick's last word

Jen makes a great point that the racers who do conquer the whoops deserve to finish in the top spots, but I still might like to see a mellower whoop section tried out for a round or two. And I would like to go on record as being 100 percent in agreement with Brandon's suggestion of Ronnie Mac with a paintball gun.

There probably is no single right answer but one of the best things about motorcycle racing of all forms is the bench racing discussions to solve all the "problems," and I'm here for that.