Since stepping up to the 450SX class in 2021, it’s been a rocky road for former 250SX standout Shane McElrath, but in 2025, he’s found a new home and newfound success in the premier class with Quad Lock Honda. Entering Foxborough sitting 11th in the standings, McElrath mastered the mud to claim a second-place finish – his first-career podium in the category – which elevated him into the top 10 in the standings. The 30-year-old shared his Fast Thoughts on that breakout result in this latest interview feature.

Image: Octopi Media.

I kind of grew up riding in the mud, it’s not unfamiliar to me at all. I think there are times when I’m a really patient racer, sometimes a little too patient, and that’s something I’m trying to work on, but on a track like tonight, patience is really important. Tonight was really tough, San Fran last year I’d say was equally as tough, but tonight once the rain stopped – the heat race was pretty good – but it was getting worse with every lap and my bike was getting heavier. It was pretty similar in the main, but they actually did a fair bit of track work, which definitely helped. It was only the second lap and we had ruts that we were paddling through. This whole week leading in was really about mentality, trying to go into the deep end a little bit and keep growing and learning. This class is really tough, but coming into today, it was a new mindset. Then when I saw it was for sure going to be muddy, I knew there was a good opportunity here, and it was time to put it to work. That was really the culmination of it all.

Emphasis on the start in mud races…

Last weekend I had a really tough race all around. I was struggling in those conditions a little bit, but in the main I had a really good start, but got pushed off the track in the first corner. That was something where in hindsight, it was a little bit of a mental mistake to take the gate that I did. I’m a good starter, and I need to believe in that and put it to work, so this week we were working on that a lot. Then coming into today – especially after qualifying – I had a pretty good time, so I was trying to work out what was the optimal starting gate for me. Getting second gate pick for the main, my mentality was trying to find the gate that the holeshot was going to come from, and kind of breaking the mold of how I’ve done things in the past.

Image: Octopi Media.

What it means to get first 450SX podium…

It’s good. It’s confirmation, it’s encouraging. I said on the podium tonight, this is really the first time in my 450 career that my whole program seems to be working together. At this level of the sport, it takes a team, and all of the teams ahead of us are full factory-supported teams with full personnel. We’re kind of the little engine that could, so it’s really good. Tonight is a different opportunity, it does feel the same as it does in the 250 class, but tonight was all about opportunity. That’s where it can go either way, so I put my best foot forward today, I knew that was going to be a big part of the battle. I’m pretty pumped on it, we’re going to keep working on it. It’s been a tough road, my 450 career has been, really sub-par, to me. I feel like I can still race a dirt bike good, and that’s what I’m going to continue to work on.

The next step for you and the team…

Honestly, this year has been a really big year of building. Working with the Quad Lock Honda team, as a racer, I want things to happen quick, and this year we’ve had super steady growth. The communication is getting better, our resources are really good, and we’re just a small team. We don’t get to do things as fast, so I’ve been trying to be really patient with the changes that I’m requesting. Sometimes it might take two weeks for something to get done, and that we’re working on, but that’s also something that we’re dealt with. For me, we’ve got four or five more rounds this season, we’re still picking up momentum, and that’s I’m normally good in the second half of the season. We’ve really been looking at the next little steps that we have to take, and that was like this week where we really worked mentally on unlocking a few more tenths. That next group, those guys are just getting better, and I believe I’m one of those guys. We just have to continue striving. I want to do this in a normal Supercross, too.