Saturday Night Live: Anaheim 2

The first race in the 450SX class saw Sexton launch out to the holeshot as he and Ken Roczen took off from the rest of the field. Eli Tomac and Cooper Webb were buried early on but Tomac would methodically make his way back into third while Webb made it up to fifth. Webb was looking to pass Dylan Ferrandis for fourth down the stretch when Jason Anderson sent it down the inside of Webb on the last lap after the whoops and they got together, sending Webb to the dirt. Sexton would cruise away to the win while Roczen cruised to second behind him as both riders looked incredibly solid early in the night.

In the second race, it was Jason Anderson who got right out front and had Ken Roczen and Aaron Plessinger hot on his heels. Plessinger was actually pushing Roczen early on for second but then fell and that allowed Tomac up into third. Tomac slowly inched up on Roczen throughout much of the race and caught him at the end to make the pass. Cooper Webb came from just inside of the top 10 to get on Roczen's rear wheel but it was not quite enough. Anderson led every lap to take the Race 2 victory just ahead of Tomac, Roczen, Webb, and Sexton. That left one point between Tomac, Roczen, Anderson, and Sexton going into the final race.

The final race would feature the first big moment that will certainly be remembered from 2023. Jason Anderson grabbed the early lead ahead of Sexton, Webb, and Tomac. Tomac started doing a huge line after the whoops where he would three onto the table, three over to the next table, and step off. He tried to pass Webb a few times doing that line but almost went down once. Then he got off line on the takeoff of the first three and went down huge when he landed on some Tuff Blox. He was able to remount but was laboring to do so and only got back to 13th to end up sixth overall. Sexton eventually caught and passed Anderson for the overall win as Anderson also slipped behind Webb. 

Chase Sexton would claim his first win of the year and the second of his career as he claimed the Triple Crown in Anaheim. After a dominant day leading into the night, a 1-5-1 wasn't the more orthodox way to nab the win, but Sexton claimed it nonetheless.

"Super big night for me," said Sexton. "After last weekend being a struggle, I had to stop the bleeding tonight. Second main I had some adversity and I had to push through. Third main, I was just having so much fun out there. It’s a great feeling and I definitely don’t want to stop doing this!"

Behind Sexton up top, Jason Anderson parlayed a 5-1-3 night together to just nab that second overall position. For Anderson, who had started the year with a pair of seventh place finishes, Anaheim 2 was a huge rebound. The win in the second race appeared to show much of the same Jason Anderson we saw at the tail end of 2022 and that is a welcomed sight for a championship fight that needs Jason Anderson in it.

"I always like the track here in Anaheim and I like the stadium," explained Anderson. "I had a tough few rounds getting over that Anaheim 1 crash and last week I fumbled a little bit. Tonight was cool, I have this gear for Ken Block, this was for him. I’m trying my best, and tonight it was second, but let’s hope we get a win soon. Last week I was in a solid podium position and I just lost the front end. Even that last moto, I had some PTSD when I make those mistakes. But I want to be where Chase is. I want to win."

Wrapping up the 450SX podium was Ken Roczen who has gone one better at each of the first three races to start the year now. As mentioned, it was a froggy version of Kenny all day long as he looked comfortable in practice and that rolled all the way through to the final checkered flag. Getting Suzuki back on the podium certainly delighted Roczen and it seems like those steps forward are continuing to come along.

"I'm speechless," exclaimed Roczen. "This was hard earned. I completely botched the start and I had to make a last lap pass to get on the podium. The team has done a huge job pulling strings and giving me everything I’m asking for. What a night, this was hard earned. I want to thank myself, I’ve been doing all of my training on my own. I’m staying engaged with it, and I’m really happy to be in this position."

Cooper Webb was fourth overall on the evening just edging out Dylan Ferrandis. Webb seemed to have the speed of the top guys all night but was bit by poor starts in the first two races especially. Regardless, the shuffling around now has him just four points off the championship lead which is still Eli Tomac.

Tomac finished up sixth overall which was a big help of the Triple Crown format as one bad race didn't completely destroy Tomac's night. What still lingers is Tomac's health moving forward from this as he did take a big hit and wasn't particularly comfortable once he got going again as he sat behind Fredrik Noren for much of the final race after remounting. He'll have a week to rest up before we get back at it in Houston, but for now, the plates remain red on Tomac's Yamaha for another week.

In the 250SX class, Jett Lawrence paved a similar path to Eli Tomac through the first two rounds of the season. The Honda HRC man had led every single lap in both main events that had been run heading into Anaheim 2, but he too had another man who had finished second two times in a row hot on his heels in the form of RJ Hampshire.

Both Lawrence and Hampshire looked solid all day long but the real story was that of Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Cameron McAdoo. McAdoo at one point was fastest in Q1 but moments later, he was on the ground in the whoops. His hand had slipped off the bars and send him over the bars hard in the whoops. He would be carted off with an apparent shoulder injury but he was also limping as well. Incredibly, he came back out for the next qualifying session and rolled around to feel everything out. His time from the first session was plenty to still qualify for the night show and it was determined that he would give it a go. McAdoo entered the night sitting third in points with two third place finishes so the need for solid points was a necessity heading into a short break in the series after this round.

They would kick off the night of racing as well with 250SX Race 1 starting the night just after opening ceremonies and it would be RJ Hampshire sneaking up the inside to grab the holeshot. Jett Lawrence would get into second early on but then fell from second right when he got to Hampshire's rear wheel. The rest of the race would be catch up then for Jett Lawrence as he picked riders off and just missed passing Pierce Brown for second on the last lap. Hampshire would take the win ahead of them and Cameron McAdoo rode remarkably through the injury to end up in P8 for Race 1.

Things got turn upside-down in the second race as McAdoo grabbed the holeshot but then Phil Nicoletti took the lead. Lawrence and Hampshire got together in the middle of the pack and Lawrence went down and was dead last. Hampshire crashed later on with Joshua Varize when he was outside of the top 10 and it took him a while to get going before pulling off with a DNF. Nicoletti led several laps after McAdoo, Pierce Brown, and Max Vohland all went down while in second or third behind him. Eventually Stilez Robertson caught Nicoletti and passed him for the lead and win, but the overall results were completely wild after that.

The final 250SX race of the night saw Jett Lawrence trying to prove a point. He fired out to a big holeshot and never looked back from there. Unfortunately, a huge win would not be enough on the night because behind him for the entire third race sat Levi Kitchen. With his 4-2 scores coming into the final race, Kitchen only needed a third if Lawrence were to win for Kitchen to take home the victory. While Lawrence pulled out to a big lead and eventually took the Race 3 victory, Kitchen just sat in second and managed the gap the whole way home.

Levi Kitchen claimed his first ever 250SX victory by winning the Triple Crown with 4-2-2 scores. After being injured in only his second ever supercross race a year ago, few would have predicted how quickly he would still find the top step of the podium, but The Chef was not to be denied.

"This whole day man, this is unbelievable right now," said Kitchen. "I took a few good slams in practice and I was a little down on myself. First moto I got a good start and got shuffled back, and then I just knew I needed to be consistent. My starts have been amazing, the bike is hooking up great. I tried to just block out everything that was going on behind me and a lot of guys were falling and it just worked out. Consistency pays off."

Behind Kitchen was of course Jett Lawrence who erased two crashes from the night and brought home 23 points in the end. The third race ride from Jett was certainly the standout but it cannot be understated how calm he was making passes from the back in the second race in particular. Now boasting a 16-point advantage, Lawrence is aware that he doesn't need a perfect season to win the championship.

"I think I just am not a Triple Crown guy," said Lawrence. "But I want to give a shoutout to the team, Alpinestars and Anti Social Social Club. They came out with some sick gear today so at least my gear looked good today. It didn't look good on the ground. Congrats to Levi Kitchen and Stilez, they rode awesome. They had their starts dialed for sure."

It was an all around good night for Monster Energy Yamaha/Star Racing in the 250SX class. Stilez Robertson will rightfully hang his hat on the second race victory on the night, but to wrap it all up with an overall podium is just icing on the cake. Coming from a big crash in the first practice session of the year to where Robertson is now with his pace, it seems like he's just around the corner from his first win just like his teammate on the night.

"Getting that win in the second main meant a lot," said Robertson. "I wish I could have done a little better in the third one but we're still up here on the box and it's really good for the team to turn it around after our first two weeks. It was good."

Behind them it was solid nights from Mitchell Oldenburg and Max Vohland to round out the top five. Vohland will lament that he crashed in the second race whne he maybe had a shot to win the race, but a top five result is a welcomed sight anyway after missing the main event in San Diego.

Cameron McAdoo gets hero status from the evening for somehow pulling a sixth place overall result out from what looked a rather bleak situation after his practice crash. Thanks to that ride, McAdoo jumped Hampshire in the standings and still remains at least within some reach of Jett Lawrence atop the standings. With a break coming up, those points tonight could prove crucial.

As for Hampshire, the crash and DNF in the second race might have been more costly than just a result on the paper. Hampshire didn't look himself in the final raise and appeared to limp his way to a 13th to salvage 11th overall on the night. He sits 17 points back of Lawrence now and will certainly need the break as much as McAdoo to heal up and maybe reset before Oakland. Either way, we won't see these guys again for a few weeks as the 250SX East kicks off in Houston next week and then follows up with another round right after in Tampa before the West boys are back in action in Oakland 21 days from now. 

The Supercross Futures also had their first round of the year at Anaheim 2 and several key riders headlined including Haiden Deegan, Daxton Bennick, Talon Hawkins, Casey Cochran, and more.

Deegan was solid in the first set of qualifying sessions that were ran on Friday after press day but everyone got plenty of time to learn the track. When qualifying rolled around on Saturday, it was actually EBR's Julien Beaumer who was atop the sheets. Beaumer qualified fastest in both qualifying sessions on the day with Haiden Deegan just behind him in both.

The main event was a six minute plus one lap showdown which left the start as a crucial part. Neither Beaumer nor Deegan got great ones as it was actually the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna teammates of Hawkins and Cochran who got out front. 

Beaumer was in about fifth when he cased the supercross triple bad on the first lap and appeared to break some spokes in the process. That ended his night prematurely as he pulled off into the mechanics area and exited the stadium.

Deegan was moving his way forward and had just gotten into the top five when he high sided in the same exact corner that Jett Lawrence did and went down. He picked it up fairly quick but was left with virtually no shot of winning.

Deegan's Monster Energy Yamaha/Star Racing teammate Daxton Bennick then got things moving as he passed not only Cochran but eventually Hawkins for the lead and he took off from there.

Bennick would take the win in the first Supercross Futures race of the year ahead of Cochran, Hawkins, Cole Davies, and then Haiden Deegan inside of the top five.