It’s not like Josh Grant hasn’t been down before, it’s just that he’s always bounced back up, too. While never quite consistent enough to knock down a championship, JG has always been known as the guy who, anytime, anyplace, or anywhere, can find the mojo to run with and beat anyone. We’ve seen the flashes before, and we’ve seen them, often, when he was bouncing back from a tough race, or a crash and injury. But this time, it looked like he might have finally gone through too much.

He missed the entire 2010 SX season with a shoulder injury, then his 2010 outdoor tour was cut short with another injury. He missed nearly all of 2011 with a pair of torn ACLs, then his comeback this year was cut short with a broken shoulder blade. He finally returned a few weeks ago, but he wasn’t riding anywhere near his old form.

Finally, in New Orleans, we saw another flash. Grant got a good start—second—and found some of the old mojo again, pulling away from the riders behind him and holding strong for 20 laps. He finished second on his DNA Energy/Jeff Ward Racing Kawasaki, with only Monster Energy SX Champion Ryan Villopoto in front of him. With JG, you never know when he’ll find the magic, but at least we now know it’s still there.

And for that, his first supercross podium since 2009, we reward him with this week’s Racer X Outstanding Performance Award. Congrats, Josh. Let’s hope the next one doesn’t take as long to get!