Cooper Webb Can Clinch His Second 450SX Title On Saturday Night At SLC1

Red Bull KTM’s Cooper Webb has the opportunity to clinch his second 450SX Monster Energy AMA Supercross title on Saturday, April 24, at the Salt Lake City 1 Supercross in Rice-Eccles Stadium. While two races remain and Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac are still mathematically in the championship, if Webb wins and puts a gap of 26 points or more on Roczen, the #2 will claim his second premier class supercross title. Here is a quick breakdown of how the supercross titles might play out—check back to the website next week for a full look at the championship scenarios.
450SX Points standings through round 15:
1. Cooper Webb | 339 points | 7 wins
2. Ken Roczen | 323 points | 4 wins | -16 points
3. Eli Tomac | 299 points | 3 wins | -40 points
With the current points scale that was implemented at the start of the 2018 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship, 52 points remain available in the last two rounds (26 points per main event win times two main events remaining). If Webb is able to have a gap of 26 points or more over Roczen by the end of Saturday night, he will clinch the title early (having a 26-point gap would mean Webb would win the tie breaker of season wins and anything more than 26 would be mathematically impossible to makeup at the final round).
So if Webb wins and Roczen finishes seventh or worse, then Webb would officially clinch the title because the gap would be 26 points. If Webb is not able to gain ten points or more on Roczen during Saturday's main event, then the title will be decided at the finale.
If Roczen Wins on Saturday Night
If Roczen wins and receives full points for the win, then Webb would have to wait until the final round to put a #1 plate back on his KTM 450 SX-F. Long story short, if Roczen finishes higher than Webb, or finishes close behind him, then the championship will come down to final race next weekend.
The 250SX Championships
250SX East Region
Next Race: Saturday, April 24 at the Salt Lake City 1 Supercross (round 16 of 17)
1. Colt Nichols | 166 points | 3 wins
2. Christian Craig | 158 points | 2 wins | -8 points
3. Jo Shimoda | 138 points | -28 points
Monster Energy/Star Yamaha Racing’s Colt Nichols has an eight-point advantage over his teammate Christian Craig prior to Saturday’s round 16. Nichols has three wins on the season to Craig’s two and with such a small gap, the title will more than likely go to the Dave Coombs Sr. East/West Showdown on May 2. BUT if Nichols wins and is able to put together a 26-point gap on Craig, then the #64 will get a big old #1E on his Yamaha with one round to go. A 26-point win by Nichols would put him at 192 points, meaning Craig (currently 158 points) would need to get at least 14th (nine points) or better in order to keep the gap below 26.
250SX West Region
Next Race: Saturday, May 2 at the Salt Lake City 2 Supercross (round 17 of 17)
1. Justin Cooper | 180 points | 3 wins
2. Hunter Lawrence | 160 points | 1 win | -20 points
3. Cameron McAdoo | 158 points | 1 win | -22 points
Monster Energy/Star Yamaha Racing’s Justin Cooper has a 20-point advantage over Honda HRC’s Hunter Lawrence and a 22-point advantage over Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Cameron McAdoo with only the Dave Coombs Sr. East/West Showdown at round 17 remaining. As long as Cooper is able to finish ahead of both Lawrence and McAdoo in the final main event of the year (including winning the showdown), the title is his. Through the first eight rounds of the 2021 season, Cooper has not finished outside of the top ten in a main event in his career. In Cooper’s 27 250SX main event starts, he has finished inside the top ten in all 27, with his worst main event finish being a ninth (both at the 2018 Anaheim 1 Supercross opener and at the 2020 Glendale Supercross Triple Crown). Barring a complete disaster, the title is Cooper’s and he will be handed the #1W plate.