Tuesday Toolbox: Josh Strang

Josh Strang is on fire in the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series. The FMF Makita Suzuki rider has had an impressive start to the season, three-for-three in the victory column and sitting 30 points ahead of the rest of the XC1 field so far. Before Strang went back to Australia for a "recharge" during the off-season,  he moved from Hickory, North Carolina to Murrietta, California. Now that he's back and racing again, it's obvious the change has been good for him. The sole Pro rider under the Suzuki tent, the focus is on Strang to bring in the wins.
Check out his story in this week's Tuesday Toolbox.

Hey Josh, did you have a good Easter weekend? Did you get into anything exciting?

Nothing really too exciting. I kept forgetting about it, actually, because I'm not over with with mom and dad. I just hung out and did the normal stuff. It was a good weekend.

Did you at least get any good candy? Oh at home, we don't do much candy, but we have chocolate Easter eggs and bunnies. I got a parcel on Friday from my parents with chocolate so I was super happy about that. I don't mind chocolate really, but Easter chocolate is the best.

Easter chocolate tastes better than regular chocolate then? How's it different? I don't have a clue, but I think it tastes better.

You've had a spectacular start to the season, I'm sure you're feeling on top of the world.
It's been good. I can't ask for much more. I have three wins and everything's going really good. I'm really happy.

Let's talk a little bit about the changes over the off-season, you went back to Australia right? What did you do while you were there? I went back, for awhile actually, about a month. It's always good to go home and recharge the batteries and it was just good to go back.

Did you do a lot of racing while you were home? I barely even rode. It was summer at home when I got back and it's hot and miserable and dry. I had a bike and rode with some friends, but just at my house. I just hung out really. It was good to recharge.

When you came back you moved from Hickory, N.C. the mecca of GNCC racing to California. What's it like living on the coast opposite of where you're racing?
It's a good change and I'm really happy where I'm at. I actually moved my stuff here the week before I went back to Australia. Some people wanted me out on the West coast and I had a feeling it would work out well for me. But Jason, Glenn and Charlie, all those guys are living in Hickory, still. We're still good friends, and it was hard to leave good friends like that to move. I only told some people at first and kept it quiet. I just jumped in the car and headed West. I'm happy I did, because I'm having a good time there.

I saw that you rode at Glen Helen last week, are you living near there? Actually I'm pretty close, in Murrieta, California. Lots of moto guys live out here.

Where are you staying between races? I'm staying in California. I'm at the track getting ready to go ride right now actually. I fly back and forth for the races and I'll fly out on Friday to the race and fly back home on Monday. It works out really well.  It's almost like the same driving time that I had last year, flying, except, of course, for the North and South Carolina races. I don't have to clean up the van either so it's actually pretty good.

You've been trained by Rodney and Lori Smith for quite awhile now,  and Rodney is really tearing it up out there in the morning. Yeah, it's good. He's out advertising that RMX450Z. He's out there having fun. It's nothing serious for him, really. It's cool having him at the track again. Rodney and Lori are like parents to me and they're full of advice.

Is there any added stress now that you're the only Pro rider under the Suzuki tent? It's actually pretty good. It was good having Charlie and those guys under the tent. But now the focus is on me winning. The whole team works really hard, which makes it easier for me to win. I get along with everyone under the tent. I like getting on the plane and getting to the track and hanging out and telling stories and laughing. So it's definitely good times.

You've got 30 points on the rest of the field right now; did you think you'd have such an awesome start to the season? I didn't, but I worked hard and I was riding a lot, so I was hoping to get good results and at least some wins. But to win the first three, I was a little surprised at my consistency, and to have that much of a lead already. I'll keep working hard and working on the lead to stay up there.

You had a win last year at Big Buck, are you feeling pretty confident? I love that track. It suits me pretty good. I think it's going to be warm, too, so I'm looking forward to it. I'm excited to get back to GNCC.

Ok and now... Josh Strang is on Twitter. Are we going to have to enact the same rules the NFL did to get you to stop tweeting? I don't even know what the means, actually.

Oh, well, I was just trying to be funny. Last year the NFL had to ban football players from using Twitter before, during or after games. Well, I know I can't carry a cell-phone on my bike. I think I'm going to put it on the website, though on the sidebar. It definitely gives me more exposure.

Alright, Josh. We'll see you this weekend then. Yeah, see you this weekend!