the number-one plate above his
head following yet another calcu-
lated fourth-place ride at the
Cedar Lake Short Track.
That development allowed
room for a statement perfor-
mance at the Volusia Half-Mile
doubleheader finale. While his
rivals had gotten in some licks
when they were desperate and
Kody was effectively the only
rider on track with something
tangible to lose, Kopp
was eager for a return
to level ground.
"Even at [Cedar
Lake] Wisconsin,
the day we actually
locked up the cham-
pionship, I felt like I
was back in my form.
'Man, we could win
this thing and win the
championship.' But I
got a little bit of a bad
start and just played it
safe. I probably could
have forced the issue
and got by [Trevor] Brunner, but
you never know. Throw it down
and break a leg and your cham-
pionship is over. Instead, I played
it smart, and it worked out.
"But then we went to Volusia
with the pressure fully off. We
were just a racer again, ready to
fight back."
Prior to the main event on the
opening night at Volusia, there
was little evidence for what was to
come. After Kopp had
earned just the eighth
pick on the grid, Antti
Kallonen, KTM North
America's Director
of Off-Road Racing,
approached him and
asked him, "Are we
here to ride or are we
here to win?"
VOLUME 59 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 13, 2022 P117
"Seeing the effort
the Red Bull KTM
team was putting in
pushed me to be a
better person and
rider. Everyone
worked every day
to get better."
Taking training seriously for the first time prior to
the 2022 season proved to be a smart move.
Kopp recently signed
a two-year contract
extension with Red
Bull KTM. He'll be on
orange through the
2024 season.
