Saturday Night Live: Detroit

“Yeah, I think that’s safe to say,” Lawrence when he was asked if he is currently the best he has ever been. “It’s cool because I’ve had two healthy years of compounding work. I’ve never really had that. This is my third full supercross season. There were days were it felt like a lifetime away to have it, you know, that flow, that mojo, all that stuff. So it’s pretty cool.”

“The weeks are tough, me and Jett go back and forth, and that’s good, iron sharpens iron,” he continued. “It’s good, I haven’t had to step outside of my comfort zone too much. Just two years of compounding work.”

While it was a big night for Lawrence, who executed on all ends of his race day, the unpredictability is and now storylines leaving the track in Michigan are about the chaos behind the #96. Literally behind him, as the championship standings saw some shuffling from the top contenders. Or now, former contenders.

First off, teammates Jordon Smith and Haiden Deegan were battling for the race win in the first heat race of the night. A few bumps and block passes later, Smith ends up on the ground. It is tough to say who is at fault, but Smith went to the outside three times and was blocked by Deegan all three times. Then once Smith had the inside line, Deegan cut across and took away his line–and his front wheel. Smith had two more crashes and was forced to the LCQ. While in the LCQ, he ran into more trouble, but still somehow almost pulled off transferring to the main despite being dead last. But then finishes seventh in a last-turn pass attempt for the final transfer spot. Entering the night, Smith was fourth in points, 33 points down from Lawrence. Smith left the night 59 points down in sixth place.

Smith posted the following on Instagram at the end of the night.

Veteran, and second-place in the standings entering the night, Max Anstie was hoping to get back on the podium and contend for a main event win against the #96 himself. But his main event was essentially over just as quickly as it started. In the second rhythm section, Anstie and a few other riders got collected with one another and went down. Anstie got up to a struggling bike and was basically a lap down from the get go. He had to led the lead lap riders by immediately, then gave it a lap, pulled into the mechanics’ area, and gave it another lap before calling it a night. He was only 22 points down entering the night. He left in fifth, 47 points down.

Nate Thrasher rode home another solid podium finish in P2, moving himself to second in the championship. Still, Thrasher left the night down 35 points to Lawrence, whose lead of almost a race-worth of points is now over an entire race lead and then some.

“It’s gonna take a lot [to beat Lawrence], he’s riding really good right now,” Thasher said. “I feel like I’m riding good, too, but he’s a little bit better in some areas. I feel like I have my areas, too. A better start would help. We have four races coming up and hopefully we can take that championship down to the last round. That’s the goal right now.”

Following his drama with his teammate in the heat race, Deegan rode home the second main event podium of his career as he finished third. The #238 moves back into third in the standings. But his moves against his teammate in a non-points paying race were the talk of the night. Because they were part of why Smith missed the main event and is essentially out of the standings.

“I don’t even know what happened I wasn’t paying attention really…no I’m just playing,” Deegan said on the heat race incident with Smith. “It was just good racing, it was fun and I had some fun doing it. It was all cool, it was just racing.”

“I wasn’t trying to be dirty on the start, I was just sending it,” Deegan said about almost running Lawrence off the track in the first turn of the main event. “Hunter’s doing good, I have no reason to mess with him at all he’s faster than me. We’re out here racing and even though I’m the rookie I still gotta go stand my ground a little!”

Jeremy Martin, who capitalized on the Deegan-Smith incidents in the heat race to claim the race win, was running second in the main event until Thrasher and Deegan both got around him. Still, Martin was content with his night.

“The night was wild, man,” said Martin. “I was sixth-fastest qualifier. Then the heat race gate drops and I’m up front. Then the Star boys man…it was just like fireworks. I was like, ‘It’s just a heat race!’ But yeah, I capitalized on that. And was able to get the win. I was stoked on that, it’s been a long time. Then lined up for the main event. Great jump out of the gate. Tried to run with Hunter for a little bit. Then I started to get a little bit tight about eight minutes in. And then I kinda got ate up by the Star boys and I was like, ‘Damnit, man!’”

“I’ve been taking a beating this year,” Martin continued. “I haven’t gotten a piece of that podium pie. And it’s not fun to get beat by someone that is 17 years old, that’s for sure. But I love to compete. I’ve missed a lot of racing. And for me, I’m paying my dues right now. He was pulling the trigger on two rhythms and I didn’t do that. I was like, ‘Damnit, man, that’s where he’s getting me.’ But I didn’t have the—I don’t know if we can say this or not but—I didn’t have the balls to change it up and go full send and just hit it first go.”

Chris Blose rounded out the top five in his best finish of the season. Tom Vialle, Cullin Park (new career best finish), Coty Schock (ties season-best finish), Henry Miller (new career best), and Michael Hicks (new career best) rounded out the top ten, respectively. Caden Braswell (12th) earned a new career best in his third main event start, Brock Papi (14th) earned a new career best, and Gage Linville (winner of LCQ, 19th in main event) made his first main event ever in Detroit.

As mentioned, Hunter Lawrence leaves the sixth round with a healthy points lead ahead of the four remaining 250SX East Region rounds this season. The 250SX East Region will be back in action again at the Atlanta Supercross on April 15 for the seventh round of its championship.

In the premier class, things were shaping up to be Aron Plessinger’s night. He was second to Chase Sexton in the second heat, and got out to the lead early in the main event after a quick blitz through the whoops gave him P1 over Adam Cianciarulo. Plessinger clicked off lap after lap as the riders behind him engaged in battle. He led five laps. Then 10. Then 15. Then had led 20 laps consecutively, the most in a single 450SX race of his career and he was three turns from getting the white flag. But that is when it all ended for the #7. Then, the track reached up and bit him.

Plessinger went to jump off the single-table-single that had ruts up the face of the jump when his right foot caught the dirt and ripped him off the back of his machine. Holding on for dear life, Plessinger had no chance of saving it so he let go, tucked, and slammed into the face of the single after the tabletop.

This was the breakthrough ride we have been waiting for Plessinger to have. If only he was able to finish the job. He did manage to get up and ride his KTM through the checkered flag, albeit one lap down from Sexton. The crowd cheered for a visor and goggle-less Plessinger as he rode off the side of the track dejected. 

"That one hurts, that one hurts a lot,” Plessinger said to trackside TV reporter Jason Thomas afterwards. “I was riding so good and, man, I didn't stand up in that rut the whole moto – I sat down and put my foot out... The one time I think it's alright to stand up, it catches my foot and rips me right off the bike. I couldn't believe it, flying through the air like that and I just tried to tuck, because it was a hard hit. I tried to get back up – I probably could have finished – but man, that hurts. You know, get back up on the saddle and I'll get back up there in Seattle. I love it there, so don't count me out, I'm not done yet. I was riding so good, I'm so proud of my riding and I love these fans. I could hear them the whole way! You know, it happens, we'll be back with a vengeance. My starts are good, I'm good, my fitness is good... I've just gotta stay on the bike next time. Thank you to the fans, I wish I could have won it, but we'll get them next year!"

One thing to note is last weekend we saw how many competitors stopped and congratulated Ken Roczen following his win. Although it did not end with a victory, most of the riders we talked to at the end of the night gave praise and thoughts for Plessinger. He is one of the most liked and fun guys in the pits. Sexton especially expressed his thoughts on how much a late-race crash sucks. He has been there before and had those heartbreaks. Even as recent as a few weeks ago.

But not tonight. In the end, it was Sexton who took the win, capitalizing on another rider’s mistake, not vice versa.

The last three years we have seen Sexton have those “win or crash trying” results, but tonight he was on another level. Not only was he consistent and mistake free, but he had to go through Eli Tomac, Cooper Webb, Adam Cianciarulo, Justin Barcia, and Ken Roczen in order to do so. Yes, Plessinger crashed away the win, otherwise Sexton might not have been able to get to P1. But this was a statement ride for Sexton. No mistakes and charge through some experienced champions in the process. He alluded to afterwards this was the first time in the premier class he ever charged through the field to get a victory. But it very well might not be the last. This time it was not Sexton who made the huge mistake that cost a race win. Sexton stated afterwards he knows what Plessinger was going through after his crash.

Sexton was a talking point on the night not only because of his win, but also because he received a seven-point penalty for jumping on a red cross flag. Sexton was running second mid-way through the race when he came upon the spot where Dean Wilson crashed (the two doubles over the first turn) and rolled the first two jumps before jumping the big booter double. The AMA penalized Sexton seven points (so he gets 19 points instead of 26 points), although he does get to keep the main event win. This follows exactly what the rulebook says—as this is an incident we have seen a few times in recent years. The rule was rewritten a few years ago and his penalty matches what we saw with Jeremy Martin at the 2018 Indianapolis Supercross and Marvin Musquin at the 2019 Seattle Supercross.

Watch Sexton’s reaction to the penalty just moments after is was announced and hear his explanation of what happened.

Webb brought home a second-place finish in his first race with the red plates aboard his KTM 450 SX-F. He, Eli Tomac, and Justin Barcia were all three jockeying for podium positions throughout the race. Eventually, the field was bumped up a spot when Plessinger went down, moving Webb into P2. It was his sixth consecutive podium finish and with Tomac right behind him, it allowed him to gain two points on Tomac in the standings.

“There were a lot of battles going on for sure,” Webb said. “Aaron pulled the holeshot and was gone, but AC was there in the mix at first, between me, Bam and Eli and Chase, there was a train of us going. Eli got around me and I tried to lock on to him, but it was tough. The whoops were super tough to get right every lap. Chase got around all of us. Then we all had to roll the jump and he got a gap, and from then on he rode well, and he held on. But it ended up being a good points night for sure.”

Tomac started the weekend with admitting to media on Friday’s press day that a strained neck was hindering him last weekend in Indianapolis. Following his eighth last weekend that cost him the points lead, Tomac rebounded with a podium finish this weekend. It appeared he might make a run at second or even possibly Plessinger for the race lead, but he was battling back-and-forth pretty hard with Webb and Barcia. Tomac rode well but said he used a few lines that were not helpful, especially some outside lines in the turns. 

“Decent position early on and then it was not smart to go outside in a 90 degree turn before the on-off,” Tomac said. “I thought it was fine but it didn’t end up working out. I just kinda sat there behind Cooper and Barcia, lost touch a little bit, made a little bobble behind Wilson. I kinda just rode around and honestly I’m just lucky to be sitting here [on the podium]. Overall, I feel better than last week, body wise. I’m not quite 100 percent, but not too bad.”

Barcia continued to show that speed he has been displaying the last two rounds. The #51 was not the fastest on track this go round, but he worked his way up and finished about three seconds behind Tomac. 

"It was a pretty good day,” Barcia said in a post-race statement. “In the heat race I worked through the pack and got up to second. I was chasing first but ran out of time. In the main event I got off to about a fourth or fifth place start. I was charging hard and made a couple mistakes, then rode a little bit tight after that. I was in fourth getting close to third but ran out of time and the race was over. I'm looking forward to Seattle, as it'll be my birthday weekend. I'm getting old and having a good time.”

Indianapolis Supercross race winner Ken Roczen rounded out the top five aboard his Suzuki RM-Z450. Christian Craig came through sixth, Justin Hill earned a season-best seventh, followed by Adam Ciancairulo and Jason Anderson, respectively. The Monster Energy Kawasaki duo both ran into issues of their own in the main event: Cianciarulo went down on the single-table-single before the dragon’s back and Anderson went down in the whoops while battling for sixth. Josh Hill rode home a season-best tenth place finish, but it took a trip to the LCQ for the older of the two Hill brothers. The PNW duo were both pumped on their season-best results in the main event.

Speaking of the PNW, next weekend the championship heads to Washington for the Seattle Supercross. Tune in next weekend for the 11th round.