Monster Energy AMA Supercross enjoyed its first off weekend of the season last weekend. At least that has given some riders time to heal up and join up. Benny Bloss is making his season debut for team Monster Energy Team Tedder KTM. Adam Enticknap is back on his Twisted Tea/HEP Suzuki. McElrath and Anstie would have been back, but, well, you know. Cooper Webb crashed this week at home, however, and he's out for at least this weekend.

All of this injury new combines with Eli Tomac's 52 point lead in the series (exactly two full races worth of points) to make it seem like an uncompetitive season. Yet, the race for tonight's victory could be hotly contested, with the likes of Jason Anderson, Malcolm Stewart, Marvin Musquin, Justin Barcia and Chase Sexton who all surely believe they could win. 

By the way, this is the final Triple Crown event of the season, which means we will have three main events in each class with the results combined to create overall results at the end of the night. Tomac won both Triple Crown races held so far this year.

One thing that definitely does not suck here is the dirt. Wonderful St. Louis supercross dirt is a tradition in this series, and the good stuff is back just like it's supposed to be. Expect plenty of traction and a few ruts, but a better overall traction-to-rut ratio than maybe any track this year. That's what makes this one a favorite of the riders. You can get a bigger track preview courtesy of Jason Thomas' Staging Area.

Free Practice

The dirt is sweet but the build here is basic, only one rhythm has options. However, that's not how races are often won or lost at this level anyway, we think the soft dirt will get chewed up as the night goes on, and the difference between winning and losing will be adapting to the bumps, holes, ruts and more. When the track is fresh, though, it looks quite simple. RJ Hampshire was tops in the 250 seeded group, Eli Tomac was tops in 450 seeded in the "free" practice which does not count for qualifying.

RJ Hampshire is feeling it today, he was fastest in free practice and was fastest again early here. Jett Lawrence took the top time away but then Hampshire got it back and held it to the end. Hampshire has mentioned being uncomfortable on the bike earlier this year, it appears they’re headed in the right direction today. Also, how about Kyle Chisholm making his fill-in ride with Monster Energy Yamaha Star racing work with the second-fastest time? Chiz is not known for blazing qualifying laps. Lawrence ended up third.

Justin Barcia was out front early in the 450 practice with the first fast lap, Eli Tomac eventually took top time away. Then Marvin Musquin grabbed it, pushing Tomac and Barcia to second and third. Marv had a slick line over the whoops, landing a table and then taking a single jump and jumping into the whoops. This appears to save some time because the whoops have a big gap between whoop one and two, and everyone on the ground has to check up to time it right. Musquin just jumps over the first whoop to prevent checking up. Marvin was already on top of the board before he hit that line. It appeared his time would hold until a late lap by Malcolm Stewart knocked him off. Malcolm has been collecting fast qualifying times on the regular here.

“Same goals as when I started in the beginning of the season, just be consistent,” said Stewart. “This is just the first timed qualifying practice, so let’s just keep this momentum going. For me, it’s an overall package with me, my team, my trainer my new motorcycle.”

Benny Bloss is looking good in his return to racing with Monster Energy Team Tedder KTM, he dominated the 450 B group, over a second quicker than second and third, Logan Karnow and Fredrik Noren.

Without tricky rhythms, where do people make up time? The sand turn is changing quite a bit and the off-camber after it is, as well. So those are the areas that have changed the most throughout the practices as the ruts and berms develop.

RJ Hampshire told us they made a ton of bike changes over the brief break and so far it seems better for him. He told me he’s more confident and comfortable, and he can change lines better. He’s not sure yet if this means he’s solved all of his problems, as the track gets rougher in the night show things will change. Still, this is much, much better for him.

Josh Varize was the first rider around turn one but then he veered sideways in a rhythm lane and went right into Mitchell Oldenburg, and Oldenburg went down. Oldenburg was super heated about it, but he did get up okay. Oldenburg getting fired up actually had to help, because he ended up third-quickest in this session. Up ahead, Hampshire was fast again and he and Jett Lawrence tussled over the top spot, which ultimately went to Lawrence. Pierce Brown and Jordon Smith were next.

One thing to keep in mind with the Triple Crown format is the top 18 fastest riders are automatically seeded into the night show, everyone else goes to the LCQs. Red Bull KTM’s Max Vohland didn’t make the top 18 so he’s headed for the LCQ.

The whoops have gotten tough on the 250s now, they’re long and by the end rough enough for the 250s to loose momentum and start to hang a wheel. It’s not an issue for the 450s.

Jason Anderson jumped out first in this practice for 450s but Malcolm Stewart had the early speed and went by him, then also took the top spot on the qualifying board. There’s a new line forming in the big rhythm, which we believe Justin Barcia did first in the previous practice. Now Eli Tomac and Stewart have joined him. Now we have all sorts of riders trying it. Good to see! Tomac and Anderson then put in heaters and went to the top two spots. The hot new line is tripling onto the table, then tripling off and quadding out. It looks very difficult, and what’s more, Marvin Musquin didn’t do it and his lap went to the top spot! Then Eli Tomac absolutely DESTROYED the whoops and took the top time back.

“The dirt’s a little different than it used to be, I think there’s a few more ruts, so it’s going to get technical,” said Tomac.

250 LCQ

Jack Chambers got to the early lead in the 250 LCQ ahead of  John Short, Ramy Alves but then Short dumped it in a turn, moving Hardy Munoz, Marshall Weltin and Chase Marqier up a spot. Max Vohland’s bad day continued when he crashed under the tunnel jump and got up in last…the factory rider is not going to make the main. Short then rallied back to make some passes, and he brought Suzuki man Derek Drake with him to the transfer spots, passing Weltin. Then Drake got Short as well. It was Chambers, Alves, Drake top three, then Munoz came back to repass Short and get into fourth. Weltin went down in the same corner that claimed Vohland. Short didn’t give up and came back on Munoz, and they went at it on the last lap, side-by-side battling for the final spot in the night show. Short got the edge to take the final spot with Munoz just short. Chambers took the win.

450 LCQ

Bubba Pauli looked to have the holeshot but he drifted wide in turn one and Justin Rodbell snuck through to take the lead. Alex Ray got around Pauli, then Pauli crashed in a corner and took Kyle Bitterman with him. Bitterman was very….bitter. It was Rodbell, Ray, Kevin Moranz in the top three and then Joan Cros, Deven Raper and Adam Enticknap battled for the final transfer spot. Then Moranz tucked the front in the sand and crashed a transfer spot away. This left Enticknap, Raper and Cros battling for two final spots in the show. Enticknap used his whoop speed to get to third. Raper was holding off Cros as the last lap began, but Cros had a triple-triple in a rhythm lane, and he used it to get next to Raper and square him up as they went under the bridge. They collided and Raper went down, classic 450 LCQ last lap warfare. At the checkers it was Rodbell, Ray, Enticknap and Cros.

250 Race 1

The Husqvarnas of RJ Hampshire and Josh Varize led the field into turn one, Hampshire came out with the lead and Mitchell Oldenburg moved into second, while Varize made a mistake and dropped back. A lap later Varize went down before the tunnel and his flipping bike caught Pierce Brown and took him down, also. Brown had to visit the mechanics’ area for repairs. Enzo Lopes went flipping in the whoops early and got extremely lucky, he was upside down headed to the concrete but a tuff block took part of his fall. He managed to get up and finish the race two laps down.

 Up ahead there was no challenging Hampshire who had a huge lead and was gone, showing the same speed he had with P1 in qualifying. And then, all by himself, he veered sideways in a rhythm and landed on tuff blocks and crashed. This left Oldenburg with the lead, but Lawrence caught him and made a pass after the whoops and the stadium roared. Lawrence pulled away from there. Hampshire dusted himself off and managed to reel in Oldenburg and pull off a second, he got lucky crashing on the concrete. Oldenburg was third, then veteran Kyle Chisholm held off veteran Phil Nicoletti for fourth and fifth.

450 Race Two

Chase Sexton pulled an absolutely massive  holeshot and led Marvin Musquin through turn one, while Eli Tomac got blocked by traffic in the first turn and lost a few spots. Vince Friese was third which led to a mad, aggressive dash to get around him, this led Malcolm Stewart to try a hard cut inside in a corner, and he bumped into Justin Barcia, and that slowed Barcia enough for Tomac to sneak up and pass him. This set the order as Sexton, Musquin, Stewart, Tomac. Sexton pulled away but the rest of the pack started to tighten as Stewart caught Musquin and Tomac caught Stewart. Next came Barcia and Anderson until Anderson went off the track and lost time. He got going just in front of Friese and Justin Brayton, who were battling. Anderson never found his early pace, as Brayton and Friese were pushing each other and stayed on his wheel all the way to the end.

Up front there was no challenging Sexton, who dominated. It looked like a battle was brewing for second, but Musquin never let Stewart get to him. Tomac caught Stewart with two laps to go and nearly made the pass in a bowl turn, Stewart was able to triple out while Tomac’s tight line left him only able to double, so Stewart escaped still in third. Tomac wasn’t able to remount a charge and had to settle for fourth. Stewart was third and Musquin second, then Tomac, Barcia, Anderson, Brayton and Friese.

250 Race 2

Wow, a lot of carnage tonight. The second 250 race started with Hampshire getting another great start ahead of Oldenburg and Lawrence, but there were several tangle ups, first one that claimed a few riders under the bridge, and then another that left Kyle Peters and Jordon Smith flying. Smith was able to remount but Peters was hurt, and that led to a red flag and restart. Peters had to take a ride off on a back board in the Alpinestars Mule, however he did give the crowd a thumbs up.  Let's hope he's okay.

On the restart Hampshire again nailed it, with Oldenburg second and Jordon Smith third.. Lawrence was about fifth but started making tracks toward the front, he was very fast in the whoops and got Oldenburg, then tracked Hampshire down. Hampshire tried to play defense in the turn after the finish but Lawrence played it perfectly to knife back inside and secure the lead. He pulled away from there, with Hampshire settling for second. Oldenburg was alone in third most of the way with Chisholm steady in fourth, he closed the gap but couldn’t quite get in striking distance. Jordon Smith was fifth.

 Lawrence now holds a 1-1 heading into the final. 

450 Race 2

Marvin Musquin nailed the start ahead of Friese, Sexton, Anderson, Stewart, Barcia and Tomac was buried in about 11^th. On lap two Stewart crashed awkwardly in a corner and hit the ground hard, it looked like he twisted his knee. He was trapped under the bike, as well. It looked bad but he eventually went to the mechanics’ area and got his bike straightened, and returned to the track for a few laps. Then he called it a race.

Up front, Anderson started closing on Musquin, with Sexton in third a little bit further back. Tomac kept working forward methodically, eventually getting Barcia in the whoops for fourth. Anderson’s charge stalled and Musquin was free to go ahead and grab the win.

“This is huge, even though it’s a 12-minute main event. I’ve been doing. really good. This track is amazing and the dirt, it’s really technical.”

Anderson was second and Sexton third, so this leaves Musquin with an edge for the overall with a 2-1 to Sexton’s 1-3. In this second race, Tomac took fourth over Barcia. Then it was Friese, Brayton, Hartranft, Bogle and Noren in the top ten.

250 Race 3

Hampshire’s starts are unreal! He holeshot again and meanwhile Lawrence got his worst start of the night, about 12^th, and then crashed into the back of Jace Owen in the whoops. With that Hampshire, sitting on 2-2 scores, found himself in position to win the overall, which would also be his first-ever 250SX win. Kyle Chisholm and Phil Nicoletti were next. Pierce Brown has had a miserable night, with crashes that led to bike problems in the first two races. He was on fire early in this one, slicing from fourth to second immediately and then passing Hampshire for the lead. A few laps later he tucked the front end and handed it back over! This left Hampshire in control of the overall again. Nicoletti passed Chisholm and then started sticking with Hampshire, and even started closing for the lead. Phil! Hampshire was struggling with the whoops but was able to maintain around the rest of the track, and held on to win the race. Coupled with Lawrence’s fifth, Hampshire’s 2-2-1 scores led him to the first win of his career in supercross. Nicoletti and Chisholm ended up next. Chisholm was in position for a podium until Brown had yet another crash, and that shook up the order just enough to put Oldenburg back on the box.

“This is unreal,” said Hampshire, crying in celebration.. “I can’t even get words out. I bust my ass every day for this, I have to give it up to everyone on my team. My wife, and my daughter, I told her I’d have a good. So if she’s still awake this goes out to her.”

Lawrence said he “got lucky” with that crash in the final race, which could have been worse. He ended up with a hole in his pants but otherwise was okay and held on for second overall. “I was hoping for a clean sweep tonight but sometimes God has another plan.”

Oldenburg was great all night and edged Chisholm for the final podium spot.

“Man it’s unbelievable,” said Oldenburg. “Not a lot of people know my story, the last few years have been a lot of questioning if this is what I’m supposed to do in my life. Thanks to my wife for staying behind me, and thanks to Mike Genova and Tony Alessi for taking a chance on me. Everything lined up and it was just a great night tonight.”

450 Race 3 

Tomac nailed the holeshot over Musquin, Hartranft Anderson and Stewart. Sexton was the main rider Musquin had to worry about and he was only seventh on lap one. Then Anderson, in third, went down in the corner after the whoops. Sexton started to heat up, he made a move on Barcia for fourth. Musquin sat in second with Stewart between him and Sexton. Not for long, Sexton made short work of Stewart and got to third, but he sat 2.5 seconds down on Musquin. If he could run Musquin down he could steal the overall, but Musquin was just too quick, as he actually pulled away. Musquin even started closing on Tomac! He got to his rear wheel but took a bad line in the tight off-camber section, and Tomac pulled it back out. It didn’t matter, because Musquin was in position for the overall win.

It was good to see Stewart back after a hard crash in Race 2. He lost another spot to Barcia, and then Anderson, after his own crash, made a late move to get him for fifth. Stewart was sixth, then Brayton, Bogle, Hartranft and Friese.

Musquin collected his tenth career 450SX win with 2-1-2 scores.

“My starts were awesome and the riding was good, and I was trying to apply the best technique possible, all the things we work on during the week with [trainer] David Vuillemin,” said Musquin. “This was the most technical track of the year, I enjoyed it so much, even yesterday on press day I had so much fun. I’m so happy! I know I can do it, but I knew it would be tough. These guys are all so good. This reminds me of Monster Cup back in 2017, I knew I had to get a good start or a holeshot in that final race.”

Sexton couldn’t turn his win in Race 1 into the overall victory, but second was better than the run of hard crashes he’s had lately.

“Been through a lot, last five races I’ve been on the ground in three of them,” he said. “The weekend off, it was a good break and a reset we figured out a lot of stuff with the bike. I just needed better starts the last two race, but it was good. Congratulations to Marvin. Happy to be back on the podium and we’ll chase that win in Atlanta.”

Tomac’s 4-4-1 made him third overall, he also won the Triple Crown Championship for the best scores in the three Triple Crown events this year.

“It was a tough night, my competitors were just more on it than me in those first two races,” he admitted. “They started in front of me, but I felt more like myself in that last one, we made one small change and it felt good. I’m struggling just a little bit with front end traction, but we were able to get a little more front end bite and felt more like myself. I’ll tell you what, these wins, they might look easy but let me tell you, they don’t come easy.”