Wow. The 2021 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship is a wrap. When this series was announced it seemed like it could derail here or there for COVID-19 reasons but I have to say, it all went rather smoothly. None of the top riders tested positive (unlike in other sports), no races had issues, only a few people in the industry got in trouble by not following the rules, and it all kind of worked. Not what I thought, to be honest, but I’m glad I was wrong on this one.

I think we’ll be back to a normal SX schedule/series in 2022 so that will be cool. I do wonder what the guys at Feld Entertainment will take from this weirdo series and put it into a “normal” series. That to me is pretty interesting but we’ll have to wait and see.

This weekend was the lone 250SX East/West Showdown of the year and it was awesome. I was genuinely excited to see the best versus the best (well, except for the rider who took a dive but more on him later). I know in pre-COVID-19 times we saw more than one of these and I hope like hell we get to see two or three of these in 2022 like before. They’re awesome, they are something to look forward to, and they’re different. Bring Showdowns and Triple Crowns back, please and thank you.

Let’s get into the results, shall we?

250SX Dave Coombs Sr. East/West Showdown Results

1st | #18 Jett Lawrence | Wesley Chapel, FL | Honda CRF250R

I heard THE JETT was under the weather a bit coming into the race and that might explain some of the low energy interviews I saw. But he certainly got better as the main went on, like last week, and he grabbed the win with a late pass on Colt Nichols. Great race and yeah, he’s the title favorite in 2022 no matter what coast he’s on. Also, may I also present to you there’s no one that Feld seems to like more than THE JETT. It’s gonna be a lot of THE JETT for the next few years everyone, buckle up.

2nd | #64 Colt Nichols | Murrieta, CA | Yamaha YZ250F

Colt 45 clinched the title in impressive fashion with leading a bunch of laps and then ending up second. He told us on the PulpMX Show that he thought THE JETT had gone down and when his mechanic put on the board “let 18 by” he thought because he was a lapper. It was a miscommunication because the team wanted him to stay away from pressure and ride this thing home and Colt thought he was a lapper. So he was a bit bummed because he felt he could’ve held the kid off. Anyway, Nichols is a champion and has come a long way from Crossland Honda taking his bikes back, having to go race in Costa Rica for money, and racing AX. Now, he’s one of the best 250 riders in the world. Cool deal!

3rd | #41 Hunter Lawrence | Wesley Chapel, FL | Honda CRF250R

Very impressive ride for “Huntah” out there as he was catching Cameron McAdoo for a podium spot and fell. That seemed like it would be it for him and his second overall in points, (and his Honda bonus—nothing for third!) but he charged hard, put his head down and got took third away from RAM IT. It was a great ride for sure. Lawrence brothers become just the second set of brothers on a podium after Tyson and Tallon Vohland in 1991.

4th | #31 Cameron McAdoo | Sioux City, IA | Kawasaki KX250

RAM IT’s heat race was amazing. It was everything that encapsulated Cam’s season. Blazing fast, some sketchy moments, aggressiveness, block passes, and just complete disregard for his own safety. It was epic and I loved it.  

5th | #150 Seth Hammaker | Temecula, CA | Kawasaki KX250

New nickname for Seth…”The Hammer”…thank you.

6th | #30 Jo Shimoda | Menifee, CA | Kawasaki KX250

Steady ride for Jo and this got me thinkin’. Not only is he the first Japanese rider to ever win a pro SX, he’s also 180 degrees different from basically any other Japanese rider who’s ever raced in the USA. The guys that Jim Holley brought over, Akira Narita, and whomever else I forget, they were a tad…errrr…sketchy. Jo is far from that.  

7th | #45 Pierce Brown |Sandy, UT | GasGas MC 250F

Brown was very good last year at SLC and being a native Utahan, Ute, or whatever the word is, you would think that Pierce would be good in SLC, and he was really. Steady riding for him at the shootout. He got seventh but really, it’s a fourth, as he was the fourth place West rider.

8th | #47 Jalek Swoll | Clermont, FL | Husqvarna FC 250

Swoll needs to do nothing next year but line up and just do whoops for eight hours a day back and forth, back and forth. He puts that together with the rest of his package and he’ll be a title contender in 2022.

9th | #32 Justin Cooper | Menifee, CA | Yamaha YZ250F

J-Coop did what he had to do to win his first title and that’s awesome. He and his teammate, J-Mart, were set to battle it out but after the opener when Martin crashed out of the series, Cooper had a couple of just “eeehh” rides. I wonder if he took it a bit easy after his dominant opener win, you know? Either way, I thought he’d walk to this title and he kind of did. He was the best guy in the class all year long and looked great. The future is bright for Justin. He’s got the potential to win the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship and build a Ryan Dungey-type of 450 career, in my opinion.

10th | #56 Kyle Peters | Greensboro, NC Honda | CRF250R

KP is gonna KP. It is what it is. Moving along…

11th | #48 Garrett Marchbanks | Coalville, UT | Yamaha YZ250F

Marchbanks was down in the first turn with Michael Mosiman and others and rode real well to get up to here. Late in the race he was noticeably charging pretty hard. His lap times were just a tick off the leaders and he was in traffic.

12th | #50 Enzo Lopes | Huntersville, NC | Honda CRF250R

Lopes got hurt at the first 250SX East Region round, came back on the other coast probably too early and didn’t ride too well. Then he got healthier and rode much better these last two weeks.

13th | #59 Jarrett Frye | Mechanicsville, MD | Yamaha YZ250F

I mean, whatever on Frye—he had a bad year but I’m here to talk about how his teammate, Nate Thrasher, won two races this year but his team had him sit out of the showdown so he wouldn’t hit the points limit and use up a year of his eligibility. I highly doubt it was Nate’s idea so I’m not coming down on him. I’m upset about a broken system that the AMA/Feld Entertainment and the teams can’t seem to do anything about. But yeah, let’s give 250SX guys national points!

14th | #773 Thomas Do | Murrieta, CA | KTM 250 SX-F

The Frenchman had strong series for sure and again, some of it was due to the weakened class but at the opener, when everyone was there, he rode well.

15th | #42 Michael Mosiman | Minneola, FL | GasGas MC 250F

Mosiman should’ve won this thing. Or at least get on the podium. He smoked his heat, looked amazing all day long but fell in the first turn and that was it for him. He fell later as well. Never in the history of SX has a 250SX rider been this fast and ended up with no podiums for two races in a row like Michael did. Congrats!  

16th | #95 Joshua Osby | Valparaiso, IN | Honda CRF250R

I went MTB biking this week with Osby and Peters. Pushed him to the limit as well with my Tazer e-bike…maybe that was why he didn’t have as good of a race as I would expect. It was definitely NOT the cracked wrist he got a few rounds ago. Nope, it was my athletic prowess.  

17th | #241 Joshua Varize | Perris, CA | KTM 250 SX-F

I met Josh and his dad on Friday night at this Scott thing and both were way cool. I didn’t realize Josh was as slight as he was! He needs a few cheeseburgers but not as many as I’ve eaten…somewhere between none and maybe half of my number would be good I think. Great ride and season for the kid that was really supposed to still be in amateurs and was sort of given a try-out in SX. Well, I’d say it worked!  

18th | #72 Coty Schock | Dover, DE | Honda CRF250R

Either Schock or Varize were the biggest eye openers of the 2021 250SX series and because Schock’s coast was more stacked, I’ll go with Cody. He was very solid and even when the pressure was on in a few LCQ’s, he came through looking like he belonged and had a chip on his shoulder. He’s riding 450s again in Pro Motocross this summer and keep an eye on him, as MX is better for him.

19th | #125 Luke Neese | Jamestown, NC | Kawasaki KX250

Neese taking a spot into the main through the LCQ was not expected. He was back in sixth not really doing too much when the top guys decided they just didn’t want to qualify for the main and crashed their brains out.

20th |#88 Logan Karnow | Amherst, OH | Kawasaki KX250

What a season for Karnow! He’s been getting better and better and ended up tenth in the 250SX East points. He’s one of those guys who is technically pretty good and I think his fitness was better this year. Great season for him and his team, although he looks a lot like he did on his old team. 

21st |#90 Dilan Schwartz | Alpine, CA | Suzuki RM-Z250

I like Dilan, he’s got a bright future, but why couldn’t the only Suzuki in the main event be his teammate John Short? Some of us were HEAVILY banking on John getting in on the weaker East Coast field. Anyway, SX was rough for Schwartz but watch out for him in MX—don’t forget how strong he looked late last summer.  

22nd | #914 Geran Stapleton | Cape Schanck, VIC | Honda CRF250R

For sure Geran was the “Who’s that?” guy of the E/W showdown. Great work for the Aussie who, looking at the lack of depth in the East Region class, has to be ruing the day he was injured and couldn’t race the start of the series. He was very good at the last two SLC rounds, and improved over last year.

450SX Main Event Results

1st | #2 Cooper Webb | Newport, NC | KTM 450 SX-F

Coop won his second 450SX title. That’s amazing and so was this ride. The dude is just an animal! He’s determined and he’s kind of DGAF out there. It’s something else, I don’t think that I, nor many others, kind of fully appreciate Cooper Webb and his grittiness. He’s my favorite for the 2022 450SX title BTW. Already calling that.  

2nd | #25 Marvin Musquin | Corona, CA | KTM 450 SX-F

Musquin said that he’s felt like his speed has been good for most of the season and that, yes, he was getting frustrated with the crashes and bad starts but he said he felt as good as he ever had out there. Well, the last two races have been vintage Marv and that’s great for him and KTM with his contract coming up. He’s a sleeper for Pro Motocross ICYWW.

3rd | #23 Chase Sexton | Clermont, FL | Honda CRF450R

Sexton led a lot of laps until it looked like, to me anyway, he got a bit tired out there. Still, another podium for him is awesome and also, 24 total laps led in 2021 is strong. It’s also four more laps than his training buddy Adam Cianciarulo, which is bragging rights for him when they’re together at Chipotle.

4th | #14 Dylan Ferrandis | Lake Elsinore, CA | Yamaha YZ450F

Ferrandis was great out there and really rode well yet again. He just can’t put everything together yet. He gets a start but doesn’t ride well, he crashes or gets a bad start and rides great. Anyway, this was “good” Dylan and that also had to feel good for him to get Jason Anderson back in a slam fest that he came out on top of.

5th | #27 Malcolm Stewart | Haines City, FL | Yamaha YZ450F

Mookie was solid and yes, he was SO FAST in the whoops yet again. Great ride for Mookie and after being dormant for a long time, these last two races saw a high dose of MOOKIE FEVER hitting me hard. Also, Stewart put on his IG that he was leaving the Star Yamaha team after just one year. That’s weird and also troubling that he can’t seem to stay or want to stay with a team for more than a year.

6th | #17 Joey Savatgy | Clermont, FL | KTM 450 SX-F

Joey was great last week also but an early crashed screwed him up. He backed that speed up with this speed and season best finish. If I know Joey, I guarantee he’s sort of happy about his ride but thinks every other ride he had all year sucks. I don’t agree, I think he’s ridden mostly pretty well in a stacked class this season. This was a great ride and I’m sure he wishes there was another SX this weekend.  

7th | #51 Justin Barcia | Greenville, FL | GasGas MC 450F

I’m SO here for the Barcia/Anderson battles that we saw out there. Barcia is like a honey badger where you just want to leave him alone, don’t irritate him, let him just ride around out there. If you jack with him, as Anderson did, he immediately goes into Honey Badger mode and you don’t want ANYTHING to do with Honey Badger Barcia because he will end himself just in order to end your race. That my friends, is a lose/lose proposition.

8th | #7 Aaron Plessinger | Hamilton, OH Yamaha YZ450F

Quiet night for AP who’s really becoming a fan favorite, in case you haven’t noticed. He’s been locked up with his two Yamaha teammates the last couple of races but has come up third best. Look for AP to go to Red Bull KTM in 2022.

9th | #1 Eli Tomac | Cortez, CO | Kawasaki KX450

Has there ever been a rider who looked as good as ET in practice and heat races to then have poop results in two races in SLC? Weird cause he was so good here last year (he did have a title to go for though). Looks like Eli will be taking his talents to Yamaha for 2022 if my sources are correct. I had heard that he agreed to a two-year deal with Kawi a little while ago but obviously something went sideways there. This is a big 450 Class series for ET this summer.

10th | #94 Ken Roczen | Clermont, FL | Honda CRF450R

I have no idea what happened to Kenny at SLC SX2. He was leading for a bit and unlike last week when he crashed looking like me out there, this week he just dropped back to tenth. It was the weirdest thing ever, kind of like a couple of Tomac rides pre-2020 SX. Nothing outwardly wrong, just slowly dropping back to this spot. It’s bizarre for sure. Judge Weege must not have seen this race!

11th | #15 Dean Wilson | Murrieta, CA | Husqvarna FC 450

Dean didn’t have the SX season he wanted, I wonder with Jason Anderson looking like he’s leaving Husky if that opens a spot for Wilson to stay there alongside Zacho?

12th | #34 Max Anstie | Murrieta, CA | Suzuki RM-Z450

I was wrong about Max Anstie and SX this year. I fully admit that I was off on thinking he would struggle. He was good, and I’m sure Lewis Phillips is happy I admitted that.

13th | #37 Benny Bloss | Oak Grove, MO | Honda CRF450R

My Benny Bloss source, AKA Jeff Bloss, his dad, seems to always be saying how hurt his kid is and how it’s not good, which is true for most of this SX series, but the last two races, Benji has been much better as I’m sure his ankle is better. Shame he’s not doing Pro Motocross, where he’s so good.

14th | #44 Tyler Bowers | Lake Elsinore, CA | Kawasaki KX450

The Bear was quiet at SLC SX2, I didn’t notice him much out there but as I wrote last week, he was much better late in the year than he was when he started.

15th | #11 Kyle Chisholm | Valrico, FL | Yamaha YZ450F

The Chiz came back from injury to make the final round and I wasn’t sure how strong his shoulder was going to be. Early on in the first practice, he wasn’t exactly crushing it in the whoops and you had to think the shoulder was the problem. But no worries, Chiz was still gonna Chiz out there.

16th | #20 Broc Tickle | Holly, MI | Honda CRF450R

Tickle fell in the first turn and was wayyyy back. He got through the weekly main event group of Cade/Ray/Starling but wasn’t able to get high enough to the Chiz/Bear/Mad Max group, which he usually leads each week.  

17th | #81 Justin Starling | Deland, FL | KTM 450 SX-F

We had Starling on the PulpMX Show Monday and I told him his goal needs to be that he becomes the next Chiz. He’s talented enough, he’s not going to get a factory ride by any means but a guy like Chiz probably makes $100K a year by just being The Chiz. There’s no reason why Starling can’t be The Chiz but of course there’s only one Chiz and he ain’t done yet.

18th | #83 Alex Ray | Milan, TN | Kawasaki KX450

A-Ray has a line of merch called “Sketch,” so all you people he blocked on social media for calling him sketchy, I suggest contacting a lawyer.  

19th | #280 Cade Clason | Tucson, AZ | Kawasaki KX450

Cade was very good this year. SLC SX 2 didn’t go as well as he would’ve liked, he blamed me making him MTB bike with me where he was the only one NOT on an e-bike, but hey, my training program is intense. Anyway, he had a great year, there’s no doubt about it. The less said about his apricot one-off rims this weekend, the better.

20th | #43 Fredrik Noren | Indian Trail, NC | Kawasaki KX450

“FAST Freddie” got much faster as the series went on. Yeah, the injuries made the main events easier to get into but FAST FREDDIE seemed to get better as the season went on. Also, Freddie has the longest muffler out of anyone in the last five years in the 450 class, so there’s that.

21st | #848 Joan Cros | Manlleu, BC | Kawasaki KX450

Cros made his second ever main event with a good ride out there. It’s cool to see how excited he gets to get into the main events. It’s awesome.

22nd | #21 Jason Anderson | Rio Rancho, NM | Husqvarna FC 450

Anderson was exciting to watch at both SLC races. He and Ferrandis, and then later he and Barcia, were must-see-TV as they battled back near the top ten. It was awesome. Then he pulled off. Wonder why? Enter the Rockstar Husky PR:“Another rider came together with him on lap seven, dropping him back to 10th and from there he ran into an issue that would hinder the rest of his race."…Ah, great stuff. Thanks team!

That’s a wrap people! The 2021 Supercross series is done and once again, can we get more 250SX Showdowns, please and thank you? Thanks for reading this column all season, we’re onto the outdoors. You can email me at matthes@racerxonline.com if you want to chat about this or anything else.