Photos by: Todd Gutierrez
Some things in life get better with age, but generally speaking, motocross and supercross racers are not among those things. It is not often that we see guys in this sport who have been absent from the podium for four years suddenly have a resurgence after turning thirty, getting married and having two kids, but that is exactly what Monster Energy / Kawasaki’s Josh Grant is doing at the moment.
Just shy of turning thirty-one, the Californian scored his first SX podium since 2012 two weeks ago in Las Vegas, and he backed that up with his first motocross podium since 2013 at Hangtown over the weekend. Back at the place his career started thirteen long years ago, Josh put in two solid motos and put the #33 on the podium.
In moto one, Josh started in fourth, moved up past Monster Energy / Yamaha’s Cooper Webb into third and rode a lonely moto alone there. In moto two, Josh pulled everyone into the first turn and tried running away from the field. Early in the moto, I found myself flashing back to the 2009 Josh Grant—Josh won Red Bud in ’09—but around the halfway mark, he was passed by his teammate Eli Tomac and Red Bull / KTM’s Marvin Musquin. In the end, Josh finished the day with a 3-3 score and now heads to his home base, Glen Helen, with a head full of confidence.
After the press conference was over, Josh and I talked about his first professional race in 2004 at Hangtown, his resurgence as a podium threat and more.
Josh, 3-3 today for third overall at the Hangtown National. You’re back on the box at the place where it all began for you way back when as a rookie.
Yeah, this is where it all started, man. What was it? 2004 was my first rookie year and it definitely feels that long ago, for sure. Coming back year after year—at least trying to, you know what I mean—it’s been good. I’m looking forward to the rest of the summer.
It’s kind of crazy because I think that day at Hangtown stuck in a lot of fans’ minds. You holeshot your first race and runaway from a field that included James Stewart with the three digit number. Then with a huge lead, the bike stalls and you’re kicking the bike forever trying to get the bike going. That’s a memory most fans have, but was that a race that stuck in your head as well?
Yeah, but it only kind of resurfaces once in a while. It’s definitely one of those ones I look back on, but it’s how I got there was more what I look back on, stuff like not being able to race as an amateur. Coming up through and getting some help from Honda of Houston and a lot of those people really influenced how I came into the professional ranks. I look at the story more than I look at the race, but the race is definitely a reflection on all that leading into it.
I think a big reason fans remember it was because nobody could touch James at the time, and this kid comes out of nowhere and lays it down in his first race. This three digit kid just comes in and checks out. (laughs)
It was cool. I was able to pull like an eight or ten second lead. I didn’t know anything. I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know how it all was going to work, but I just knew what I needed to do was to get a start and go as hard as I could. Looking back at it, you know that’s not really the way to do it. (laughs) It was cool and definitely a good memory to look back on.
How different is the track from then to today? It seems a lot rougher today.
It changes. I think a lot of it comes down to the series and who’s managing the tracks. I feel, for me personally, it’s a battle of whoever the track guys are, you know what I mean? Like, “Oh, how can we make it the gnarliest, roughest place,” and sometimes it’s not safe. Honestly, watching the first and second practices you would have thought it rained here overnight. It was kind of ridiculous. Unfortunately, I think that’s something that needs to change. If they want to have better racing for TV and all that type of stuff, they need to groom the tracks to make it fair and give us lines to choose from. We’re all going down into a single file line, because we start the day off with everybody in the mud. So it doesn’t give a chance for the track to open up and change. Then it comes down to it being a start based race. I think it makes it tough, but I hope they change that. It’s not going to hurt anything to have the track groomed up a little bit for better racing. Maybe they will now with Ryan [Dungey] out; they don’t want Eli [Tomac] to run away with it. There’s only a handful of guys really racing outdoors. It’s a little bit different, but I’m looking forward to it.
Talk about this resurgence of Josh Grant. You’re like a new kid out there and you’re a 31 year-old man. Your fitness and speed is on point and you’re fighting for podiums. It’s really impressive to watch.
It’s cool. A lot of it’s been about rebuilding myself. I’ve had a lot of injuries over the years, and it took a lot out of me mentally, physically and emotionally. And then having kids on top of that. I definitely have a lot of odds against me in that type of scenario, but for me, a lot of it drives me to go out and do better and prove people wrong. Dude, I’m going to be 31 in a couple of weeks, and it’s not getting any easier. These guys are 18, 19, 21, and it’s tough. But I really feel like there’s a lot left in me. I feel like, when I’m riding, there’s always something I can improve, whether it’s fitness or bike setup. I have a really good team that believes in my ability to ride, and that’s really what it is.
Are you putting more time into your fitness? Is it something like where you’re realizing stuff now that you wish you would have realized when you were 22 years-old?
No, not really, ’cause I did pretty much the same amount of stuff. For me, mostly right now—like I said in the press conference—it’s all about recovery. I need a chance to have my body be fully recovered. Being older now, you can’t really go out on Monday and hit a 50-mile bike ride. For me, that’s not where I’m at right now. I’m just stoked.
We are heading to Glen Helen next weekend and that’s your spot. Is it something where you feel a little more pressure because people expect you to do well there while they might not have those lofty expectations of you at other tracks?
Yeah, a lot of people expect me to do good, and I expect to do good myself. I look at it like, just put all the pieces in the right spot and everything should play the way it should. I’m not expecting to go out and go 1-1 at all. These guys are really good. Marvin [Musquin] and Eli are on a really good pace. It just comes down to getting a good start for me and being able to manage my race. If I can do that like I did today, then I think I’ll be in a good spot.
I appreciate your time, and congrats on your podium today.
Thank you.
