Vince Friese – The Biggest Loser?

If you clicked because you thought this was an article full of Vince Friese insults and memes, you’re going to be sorely disappointed. Friese has made 105 450SX main events in his career. That alone makes him a top Supercross talent. But the title isn’t UN-true. Vince Friese is the biggest loser in Supercross. Read on.

Friese has made the news a lot this season. At round five in Glendale, there was a silly line choice, a bit of contact, and two riders on the ground. I’m not going to talk about that here. Instead, I’m going to dive into one key stat that Vince has dominated for almost a decade and one that explains why we see so much of him on television: lost positions.

Lost positions is a rider’s first lap position minus finish position. For example, if a rider is in 10th on the first lap and finishes in 8th, they gained +2 positions. Conversely, if a rider is in 10th on the first lap and finishes in 12th, they lost -2 positions.

Friese is the lost position champion. He’s had the most lost positions in the last 4 of 5 seasons. The only season in the last 5 years that he didn’t have the most was (2019). He missed 11 races due to injury. 

Vince Friese: Lost Positions 2013-2022

Here’s a more detailed breakdown going back to 2013. You have to go all the way back to 2013 before there’s a season where Vince gained positions overall in a season.

• 2022: -19* positions overall, the most of anyone so far. -25 positions in 3 mains; gained +6 positions in 2 mains.
• 2021: -64* overall. -59 in 9 mains. +5 in 4 mains. 
• 2020: -82* overall. -92 in 12 mains. +10 in 5 mains.
• 2019: Missed most of the season due to injury.
• 2018: -61* overall. -65 in 14 mains. +4 in 3 mains. 
• 2017: -49 overall. -59 positions in 11 mains. +10 positions in 5 mains.
• 2016: -33 overall. -48 positions in 9 mains. +15 positions in 7 mains. 
• 2015: Partial season in both the 250 east and 450.
• 2014: -19 overall. He lost -21 positions in 7 mains. +2 in 2 mains.
• 2013: +13 overall. +22 in 6 mains. -9 in 4 mains. 

 *Denotes he lost most positions in his class.

For context, other riders have had single seasons where they put up a high negative number (Reed, -49 in 2019, Malcolm Stewart, -49 in 2017, Justin Hill, -36 in 2020), Friese has just put up big numbers consistently. 

If I was to compare Friese with one other rider, it would be Justin Bogle. 

• 2021: -17 (7th worst)
• 2020: missed most of season
• 2019: -32 (2nd worst)
• 2018: missed most of season
• 2017: -44 (3rd worst in partial season)
• 2016: -21 (7th worst in partial season)

Vince has made 157 main events (as of 2/8/2022) in his career and more than two thirds of those have come in the 450 class. He is clearly and currently one of the best Supercross riders in the world and he’s made a living on being really, really good at starts. The morale of the story: you can make a career out of consistently good starts. 

Kyle Chisholm: LCQ Champ

If Vince Friese has made a career of consistently nailing good starts, then Kyle “Chiz” Chisholm has made a career of making main events via the LCQ.

This past weekend in Glendale, Arizona, Chiz won the LCQ to make his 135th main event. It was his 3rd consecutive LCQ win and 4th final of 2022. In the process, he broke a tie with legend Ryan Dungey and is now the sole owner of 13th in all-time main event. He trails active rider Eli Tomac by one but he can set his sights on Andrew Short, who only sits six main events ahead. 

Since 2013, Chiz has successfully transferred to main events in 33 of 40 LCQs. He’s successfully transferred in LCQs 83% of the time. Think about that for a moment; he has transferred to the main from the LCQ more than four out of five times for the last decade. He’s won seven LCQs, and finished 4th (final transfer spot) eight times. He simply gets himself into a qualifying position in LCQs and puts it into the main.  

ALL-TIME 450SX MAIN EVENT STARTS

Random Chad Reed Stat: 14 consecutive Anaheim podiums

I was doing a bit of research in preparation for the upcoming Anaheim 3 race and came across this gem. Thought it was worthy of inclusion in Fast 3. We Went Fast has some Chad Reed fans so I thought you guys would appreciate it.

This Anaheim 3 will be the 14th time we’ve run 3 Anaheim races in a season. From 2001 to 2015, it was pretty common to have 3 Anaheim races. There were only 2 years (2011-12) during where they didn’t. This also happens to be during Chad Reed’s prime years along with a few other all-time legends (Stew, Windham, and RV come to mind). 

What’s amazing is that Chad Reed was on the podium 14 consecutive races from Anaheim 2 in 2005 all the way to Anaheim 3 in 2009. It’s especially amazing when you see that the 2nd longest podium streak in Anaheim is exactly half that length. 

Anaheim Podium Streakers: Rider / Consecutive Podiums / Years

• Chad Reed / 14 / A2 2005 – A3 2009
• Ricky Carmichael / 7 / A1 2005 – A1 2007
• Jeremy McGrath / 6 / A2 1999 – A3 2001
• Ryan Villopoto / 5 / A3 2010 to A2 2012
• Ken Roczen / 5 / A1 2014 – A2 2015
• Ryan Dungey 5 / A2 2015 – A1 2017 

I guess we shouldn’t be surprised. Chad Reed was on the podium in 132 of his 265 main events! 

Hope you’re enjoying Fast 3. If you’ve got any stats questions, send me a message @3lapsdown on Instagram and Twitter.

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