080
Out of work and literally coming off the couch to join the Kawasaki effort,
Grant packed up his gear bag and headed to Detroit for his first assign-
ment. Right from the onset, things looked encouraging. “I didn’t know what
to expect,” Grant said. “I hadn’t done any training or anything and I wasn’t
in shape, but I was still getting results and I was getting starts and I was just
riding. I wasn’t pushing it and I was still able to win a couple semis and be in
the top 10 every single weekend. I was like, ‘Wow!’”
Grant would finish out the Supercross season with Kawasaki and then con-
tinue on to ride the first four Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championships before
calling time on the year to attending to something that he felt, as did those
around him, was hindering his overall performance.
“I think the main thing that changed for me before this season even started was
when I was able to finally get my ankles fixed. That’s honestly been the biggest
change that I’ve noticed in my career. I mean, I couldn’t case a jump or even
put my foot out in a turn and roll it over or whatever and not be in horrible pain.
After the High Point National, I sat down with Bruce and said, ‘Look, I’ve done a
couple of fill-in rides. You guys have expressed interest in me moving forward
for 2017. If we lock in a deal, I feel like doing this is going to help me out. If I can
go and take the rest of the summer off and get my ankles fixed—I’m going to be
in a wheelchair for two and a half or three months—it’s going to be serious, but
I really feel like I can do better if I have this done.’ I was already having some
good results and putting things together when we agreed on it, and Dan and
Bruce said, ‘Yeah, let’s do it. Let’s pull the trigger.’ To be honest, it was probably
the hardest two months I’ve really had. I’ve done ACLs and I’ve done shoulders,
but doing full ankle replacements on both feet was just something else.”
“You can’t race at this level 30-something times a year if you’re not right.
I mean, every single time he put his foot down, there was concern about
his ankles,” Stjernstrom said, speaking on the collective decision Grant and
Kawasaki made to invest in what would ultimately be the 2017 season. “It
was severe pain for him, so we said, ‘Hey, you need to get this done. We’ll
take the time.’ We gave him a contract for this year based on the confidence
we had in him. What we see in him is a guy with a tremendous amount of
talent, which is kind of in short supply right now. I think you’ve seen with the
end of Supercross now, and with the Nationals, which he’s more comfort-
able with, Josh is starting to show some consistency. And that’s kind of why
we’ve tried to pull back that crazy, wacky side of him where he takes big
risks. We want to reduce the risks and develop a consistency, and I think
that has helped him.”
Reed also commented on his friend’s form in 2017: “Josh is a really good
friend. He’s somebody that I respect a lot. I think that the most important
thing right now is that he’s happy. I think with getting his ankles fixed at the
end of last year, that allowed him to be in a better position to train and to
do the things required to race at that level. I think that as an athlete, there
is nothing better than a company having your back and allowing you to go
get something fixed and then bringing you back on board and then just be-
ing there for you. I think that’s what you’re seeing; I think you’re seeing Josh
happy with the role he has at Kawasaki. It’s pretty clear he’s not the lead guy;
Eli is the guy that has the pressure of the world of having to go perform and
winning. Josh is, in my opinion, your best backup guy. He’s solid. I think he’s
great with the fans and great with the sponsors. I think that you’re just seeing
a happy Josh Grant. I’m really happy for him.”With the 2017 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship now up and running
and moving into its summer stretch, Grant has been a consistent top-five
finisher in the highly competitive 450 MX class. In the fray with Tomac, Marvin
Musquin, Blake Baggett, and all the other usual suspects, for the most part,
all is going according to Grant’s master plan.