This past Saturday, August 16, Ironman MX in Crawfordsville IN played host to the inaugural running of the Indiana National for round 11 of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship series. Heavy rain throughout the day created extremely difficult conditions for racers, but Team Honda Muscle Milk's Trey Canard navigated the unfamiliar track impressively to score second overall for the day.

450 Race For the second consecutive week, Canard had a stellar showing aboard his Honda CRF450R, dominating the second moto once again to secure second overall. In moto one, Canard propelled himself down the sludge-covered start straight and rounded the first turn in third. He quickly moved into second and was making a charge for the lead when he went down in a deep rut. He remounted his bike in third, which is where he finished. The rain had dissipated by moto two but the track was still just as treacherous as before. Canard nailed down the holeshot and rode impeccably the remainder of the 30-minute plus two-lap race, going unchallenged for a wire-to-wire victory.

"I'm really happy with how today went," said Canard. "I was thankful to get a good start in moto one and was able to make some good ground right away. I pulled off one of my sets of tear-offs and had really clear vision so I tried to make a charge for Ken (Roczen) and fell over and stalled the bike. While I was kicking it, Ryan (Dungey) got by me and I made a few more mistakes but was able to finish third. Moto two was awesome! Man, it is a lot of fun to have races like that; I was pumped for every lap. I got a really good start and just tried to throw as much roost behind me as I could and put in solid laps."

Team Honda Muscle Milk's Fredrik Noren overcame adversity in both motos to post an impressive ninth overall with 9-8 scores. In the day's opening race, Noren got off the line to a mid pack start but went down halfway through the first lap, sending him back to 27th. He began navigating his way through the competition, taking the checkered flag in ninth. In moto two, Noren stalled right out of the gate leaving him last heading into turn one. From there, he put together an incredible come-from-behind performance that landed him eighth by the end of the race.

"Today was tough, but I am happy with ninth overall," Noren stated. "It rained so hard in the morning, which made practice a challenge. In moto one, I had a pretty good jump off the line but got out into the mushy stuff on the outside and fell back quite a bit. Since I got blasted with mud off the start I couldn't see much and went down half way through the first lap, letting the people I had just passed back by me again. Once I got going again I felt like I rode good and go up to ninth.  I pulled a rookie move off the start of the second moto. I got another good jump but as soon as I came out of the gate I stalled the bike and was dead last. From there I worked my way into eighth by the end. I'm happy but I really want to start getting better starts and improving my finishes."

It was a challenging day for Muscle Milk-sponsored GEICO Honda's Eli Tomac who finished seventh-place overall with 4-10 marks. "It was a rough day overall, which is weird because I usually get along with muddy conditions," explained Tomac. "Practice showed I really felt comfortable on the wet and slick track. I was fastest and felt confidant going into the motos. I had to pull off the track to get fresh goggles in moto one because I couldn't see anything. In the second race it was still hard to see but I crashed twice, which really messed me up. I just made a lot of mistakes today that caused me to not be on the podium."

250 Race Indiana's muddy conditions proved a challenge for the Muscle Milk-backed GEICO Honda 250 team, with all four riders encountering trouble throughout the day. Justin Bogle finished one position shy of the top 10 with 12-9 scores, while Zach Bell recorded a 17th overall for the day. Teammates Zach Osborne and RJ Hampshire suffered from mechanical issues that left them 35th and 36th.

It was a landmark day for Troy Lee Designs/ Lucas Oil/ Honda's Jessy Nelson who scored the first moto win of his career in the day's opening race with a dominant performance. His 1-8 marks landed him on the podium with third overall.

The Focus: Preparing for the Mud

Mud races pose a challenge not only to riders but also their mechanics, as they need to prepare their bikes differently for these conditions. According to Trey Canard's mechanic Brent Presnell, there are three main objectives when prepping Trey's Honda CRF450R for a mud race.

"First, keeping the air filter dry is very important in a mud race," stated Presnell. "We usually do this by sealing the air box with duct tape and channeling the water away from the filter. Also, we use an extra cover over the filter made by Twin Air. Second, keeping the function of the controls. We will put foam around the shifter and brake pedal to keep mud from jamming them up, and hand guards help keep the grips and levers clean. Third, it is important to try and keep the bike cool, by making sure the radiators don't get clogged with mud. We'll use Twin Air grill covers to help allow airflow but minimize the mud and debris."

450 Class Overall Results 1. Ken Roczen 1-2 2. Trey Canard (Honda) 3-1 3. Ryan Dungey 2-9 4. Ryan Sipes 10-3 5. Andrew Short 8-4 6. Chad Reed 7-6 7. Eli Tomac (Honda) 4-10 8. Josh Grant 12-5 9. Fredrik Noren (Honda) 9-8 10. Matt Goerke 6-11

450 Class Championship Points (after 11 of 12 rounds) 1. Ken Roczen 494 2. Ryan Dungey 474 3. Trey Canard 418 4. Brett Metcalfe 304 5. Eli Tomac 281 6. Andrew Short 278 7. Weston Peick 268 8. Josh Grant 243 9. James Stewart 226 10. Chad Reed 185