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CRUTCHER'S CORNER

Return To The Tiddler | Chapter One: Smell The Money

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INSTAGRAM | @rippinruts

Jeff Crutcher is one of a kind. Although we grew up a few hundred miles apart, rode all of the same Midwest tracks, and know most of the same people, our paths didn’t cross until 2015. In the time since Crutcher has become one of my closest friends, has come up with dozens of creative ways to profit off his passion for moto, raced multiple rounds of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship aboard a KTM 250 SX two-stroke, works a full-time job as a delivery driver, and wrote a now-gone blog for TransWorld Motocross. Because the basis of Swapmoto Live is something for everyone, Jeff is a perfect person to contribute to the site from time to time. 

Expect more of Crutcher’s work in the next few weeks, because as you’ll read below, he’s set to take a swing at the Spring Creek and Washougal rounds of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship on his KTM 125 SX. You can support his efforts with some of the merchandise he’s made with MUF.

To put one’s money where one’s mouth is can be an opportunity to overcome naysayers or more valuably, self-doubts. However, it also builds expectation and demand for repeat performances from days and years long past. I’m a heavy proponent of following through with talk and more-so private thoughts. Given that I’ve been racing and riding a lot lately and the thought has come through my head “Yeah I may have been beat today but if we were all on 125’s we certainly know who the winner would be,” which is an easy way to lick my self-image wounds while feeling good about myself.

I’m a two-stroke guy at heart and in early 2019 I picked up a 2018 KTM 125 SX from Cycle Zone in Topeka. It’s been since 2003 that I raced a 125 yet the feeling doesn’t escape me of sniffing out that tiny but rewarding peak power output that the tiddlers produce. The two prior years on a 250 SX were a blast, but I guess sinking deeper into martyrdom on a 125 was even more exciting. Now every time I practice, I am ghost racing either Primal Impulse Buddy Antunez or HRC Steve Lamson whom of which were high on my list of childhood heroes. Often times on the course I find myself thinking while entering a section “Would Lammy let off here?”

Humility aside, I’ve been railing on the 125. So much so that after not learning my lesson last year doing the Working Class Privateer tour at four outdoor nationals I now think I can be competitive, strike that, MORE competitive on this bike. 125s are closer to 250Fs than 250s are to 450Fs. With as factory a bike as I can get without modding out the engine, I decided Spring Creek and Washougal will be my two attempts (with a probability of Ironman) for premix glory. I’ll be joining Brent and Dane Rouse and pitting out of their red white and blue Bubba Burger-backed effort for the three races, and reporting to you the science on privateer road-dog life.

In the middle of last week, my dad sent me a flyer for a $1000 minimum purse at Spring Valley MX in Clyde, TX .. the payout going toward the 125 Pro class. I didn’t even hesitate, I knew I was going. Being a proponent of going racing would be an accurate way to describe me, and that adrenaline-fueled tunnel vision came racing into my mind of crossing the checkers on a hot July afternoon in West Texas. Though my glory days of cashing in at races across Anywhere, USA that offered large capital return- this 125 shootout was the perfect combination of nostalgia, adventure, and risk sloshed together for a potentially high paying Independence weekend.

In the spirit of ‘76, I went alone in my single cab Ram as man and machine, taking into accord no one else’s needs, making every travel decision and last minute call on my own behest. The original plan was to practice at Oak Hill Saturday and race Spring Valley on Sunday. After calling my buddy Brice Reed to invite him to ride with me Saturday, I changed course and headed to East Texas to race in Tyler at Swan for the 5th round of the Lone Star Series. Nin hours logged from Lawrence, Kansas to Tyler, I arrived at the track at 11 pm and dragged into Brice’s trailer for the night. Racing at Swan is always a challenge because the location of the track provides for a very competitive and large rider base with regular names like Hackley, Winnerstrom, Moeller, and plenty of upcoming to be established talent. Overall I ended my day with a 3-4 in +25 and 2-DNF in 250 Pro, after a hard crash while leading knocked my visor to the wayside and tore the left grip off the bike. Admittedly, my lil ego crept in and said “If we were all on 125’s…”

Lucky for me and the devil on my shoulder, I had the opportunity to flex my 125 vs 125 skills just 4 hours west. I packed it up and departed Tyler after collecting my winnings, pitted for Waffle House in Arlington, and meandered my way to the big sky country via I-20 WB. Gates at the track opened at 6:15 am and I planned my agenda to arrive on time and start the bike prep. I found a dark wayside about 20 minutes from the track, and camped across the buckets in my cab. In all transparency, had I not thrown away the lead in the second 250 Pro moto earlier in the day, I probably would’ve got a hotel. But I couldn’t justify the expense when I didn’t come through clutch during the race. Win and get a queen-size or lose and get cloth seats with a pillow made of rolled-up t-shirts.

Sunday’s race was at the aforementioned Spring Valley MX, a great family-club type track with a sandy base and safe obstacles. Bryan Jackson is the track owner, Guinness Record holder, preacherman, and hardcore two-wheel enthusiast. It takes a warm heart to put up large cash for a 125 Pro class, and his charitable personality is palpable as soon as you get a Texas-sized smile and handshake. Meeting race promoters who are this enthusiastic about local motocross brings a lot of hope into my admittedly bleak outlook on the future of action sports as a whole.

I raced two classes, Open Pro and 125 Pro. The handful of other local A riders participating in the day were average 10-12 years younger than I am- which gave me a very distinct advantage: racecraft. Yes, I have the ability to go fast, but I will sell the reason I won both classes on the back of my moto-PhD. Open Pro was a barn burner and riding a 125 against a gate of 450s required a lot of outfoxing. I had to come from behind in both Open contests for a 2-1 moto score and found inches on the insides akin to Sherlock with a magnifying glass. The tall money was in 125 Pro, which I scored a 1-1 for my biggest payday since the mid ’00s. Green to checkers was all 681 Lectron/Tubliss/ProX/Cycle Zone KTM, but understand the whole weekend amounted to 14 laps and those cycles around the course were nerve-wracking. I had to go fast enough to win, but ride smart enough to diffuse jeopardy, and after the dust settled I made enough to pay for my entire Spring Creek to Washougal run.

After my 125 Pro moto one win, Bryan asked me to come into the announcing tower for his Texas faithful regulars to get familiar with me. “Jeff why would you drive 9 hours, Kansas City to Clyde, and race at Spring Valley?” he asked chiefly. Without hesitation, I coined, “I could smell the money.”

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Michael Antonovich

Michael Antonovich has a wealth of experience with over 10 years of moto-journalism under his belt. A lifelong racing enthusiast and rider, Anton is the Editor of Swapmoto Live and lives to be at the race track.

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