Vital MX Pit Bits: Glendale

State Farm Stadium in Glendale hosts the NFL's Arizona Cardinals during the non-Supercross season. Robbie Wageman and the Nuclear Blast/Rockwell/Yamaha team made sure to take note of that.

They also had a bike and mannequin set up with Larry Fitzgerald Jr.'s number 11, and Cardinals graphics. You can see on the front fender that they also picked up a new sponsor with Ravencrest Tactical, why Ryan Clark said makes some really sweet knives.

Michael Leib scored 6D as a sponsor for the weekend, and he had a cool bike graphic/gear package.

Here's the whole deal inside the stadium. He's taken a unique approach to sponsorships, which are pretty cool.

After finishing off his wrist at Seattle last year, Carson Brown finally took some time off to get healed up, and it's paying off this year with the best finishes of his pro career. He had a tough weekend at A2, but he's been inside the top ten in points.

Uh-oh...when you see this stuff come out, you know something's up.

Apparently H.E.P. Suzuki's Ryan Breece has been racing with a broken hand. He qualified into the night show via the LCQ.

Brandon Hartranft qualified fifth in the 250 class.

Cody Gilmore is on the other side now, wrenching for John Short. John's doing a couple 450 races out here, getting set for a full assault on the 250 East series.

The Penrite Honda guys have a different graphic setup for this weekend to celebrate Australia Day. They feature Ayers Rock, and some 'roos.

Chad Reed also had a nod to Straya Day.

Christian Craig's bike getting a new set of front suspension. With Jett Lawrence on the sidelines, there was one bike, and a few extra hands to make quick work of the project.

With the Triple Crown format for this weekend, all the big teams had two bikes for each rider, since they're allowed to make use of the spare if there's a problem with the primary bike.

We spotted Justin Brayton's bike with a header wrap last weekend, and it's also aboard Kenny's bike here in Glendale. We joked with the mechanics that they're protecting the exhaust from the heat that the shock is generating...which of course resulted in some confused looks.

Brent Duffe wraps up a quick clutch tune-up on Justin Brayton's bike.

Hmm...we're familiar with FCP's engine mount kits, but their new titanium footpeg pins were news to us. They are on Benny Bloss's bike.

Hang around the pits long enough, and you'll realize that while a lot of the coaches (like Robbie Reynard) wish the best for their guys, they're also not afraid to give them a swift kick in the...er, motivation.

We said the same thing on Instagram, but we'll repeat it here, too. Regardless of how you feel about last week’s results, some of the crap flung around on social media to Dylan and his significant other was way over the top. C’mon, people. Let’s go racing.

Justin Cooper, Austin Forkner, and Dylan Ferrandis throwing down a practice start.

Speaking of Austin Forkner, he was third among the 250 qualifiers and doesn't look any worse for wear after last week's crashes.

Justin Cooper grabbed the second fastest 250 spot. He also had a big get-off in this sand section during the first timed qualifier.

Yep, Chris Blose is a local to the Phoenix area, and FXR did him up some sweet custom gear for the weekend that included the Arizona flag.

Here's another peek.

It's pretty obvious who did, and who didn't, change up tires after the free practice, as they headed out for the first 450 timed session.

Benny Bloss caused a red flag in this session after he was slow to get up from a bike crash on the jump after the finish line jump.

Leatt added some bling to the logo on the front of their jerseys for this weekend, with a holo graphic.

Ken Roczen was third in 450 qualifying.

Between practice sessions, Malcolm Stewart and their Showa tech like to have staring contests. These can go on for quite a while.

The TLD crew had about the most perfect helmet graphic possible for a race in the desert.

With the large number of bikes under all the factory tents this weekend, we almost expected a sign that said, "Fleet pricing available."

Weston Peick did some local trail riding with the Fly crew. He also discovered that when you get off the trail here, there's all sorts of cactus ready to provide you with some lasting souvenirs of your visit.

With a super-long start straight, expect some action in the first turn. Fortunatel, it looks extra-wide this weekend.

We don't think we've seen the best of Michael Mosiman this season...but we also saw him rubbing his neck as he pulled off the track. Here's hoping that all is okay

Dylan Ferrandis was the top 250 qualifier.

Christian Craig was fourth on the 250 time sheets.

Vince Friese taking a rocket ride down the start straight.

This was the site of Blake Baggett's big win last season. Can he pull off a repeat?

Alex Ray vs. the whoops. The whoops won this round. (At least during practice.)

Malcolm Stewart has already made it past where he did last season. He was fifth quick among the 450s.

Jason Anderson was one spot ahead of Mookie in qualifying, nabbing the fourth spot.

Eli Tomac was second-fastest behind his teammate...and we know how fast he can go here.

Ugh...Josh Cartwright was gutted after missing qualifying in the 450 LCQ. He was in a transfer spot and had to hit the eject button. He looked all right...