Where Are They?

If you're anything like me, you're missing a few riders. Not because they're injured or in some other country racing, but because they just didn't have any way to get to the races. More specifically, I'm missing some riders because they couldn't managed to get a ride. So for guys like Nick Paluzzi and Weston Peick who just can't seem to attract sponsors' attention at the races, they spend all of their time trying to get the attention of team managers at the practice tracks.

It's easy if you live in Southern California. With so many moto headquarters located in the SoCal area, it's obvious that teams go to tracks around that area to practice and fix some settings on the bike before heading to the next round. These tracks are the perfect place for proven riders like Paluzzi and Peick to show that they have what teams are looking for. And with it starting to come up on contract season, these guys are pushing like crazy.

Sometimes, riders find it easier to go their own way. Several privateers have been known to ride their way into a factory gig. But for Paluzzi, this didn't work too well. He tried during supercross to scrape up some attention, but fell short when he broke his scapula at the end of the season. This took him out of the beginning of the outdoors and now, he's been putting all his energy in training, hoping to get a call.

The same goes for Peick and rookie Chris Plouffe, who had been picked up for the last two outdoors last year by J-Star/JDR KTM. Though they've all considered racing abroad for experience, none of them have managed to work anything out. For now, they're all playing the waiting game.

Will we see any of these guys with a ride for 2013? I hope so.

Check out Chase Stallo's full article, including interviews with riders, HERE.