Saturday Night Live: Atlanta

Behind Lawrence was veteran Jordon Smith. After Deegan was passed by Lawrence the final time, Smith and Deegan battled. Clean racing between the two this time around. Smith clicked off his fourth podium of the season, as rookie Deegan earned his third.

“Yeah, it was pretty good, “Smith said. “This track is pretty gnarly. The speedway races, you never know what you’re going to get. It was different. …This one had a lot of thinking to it. …Everything was a little different. I liked it. It was good. The whoops were pretty gnarly and the track got pretty broken down. I felt good about my ride in those conditions.”

“Yeah, I think I’ve been excelling on outdoors a little more, and I’m just getting a little bit bigger,” Deegan said with a laughs. “Not too much but I did grow a little bit. Just excelling on outdoors a little more, training wise, so I think coming to these races where it’s a little bit to that side, yeah, I’ve been excelling on those tracks. Keep on just trying to get better, especially in the stadiums. But the speedways have been good.”

Behind the Smith/Deegan battle was Nate Thrasher. Thrasher had high expectations for himself coming into the race—having won here twice, both in 2021—but his day went south when he had a huge get off in the first whoops section on the eighth lap. He got bucked from his bike and slammed down hard face first, with his left side (knee, hip, shoulder) hitting the ground first. He crawled a few feet off to the side of the track where he was tended to by the Alpinestars medical crew. The Tennessee native was taken off on a backboard. Unfortunately, there is no update on him at this time, but we will provide more information when it becomes available.

With Thrasher’s crash and 19th-place official finish, it moved Deegan up to second in the standings.

In his 2023 season debut, Jo Shimoda rode home a fourth-place finish. Shimoda came out strong in qualifying, taking P1 in free practice before qualifying fourth overall to start the day. He had a mistake early in his heat that cost him to fight from the back of the pack, but he was solid all day long. He said after the races his nerves were high, but he was happy with his riding. For his first gate drop since the 2022 AMA Pro Motocross Championship finale.

“High on the nerve, today,” Shimoda said. “Yeah, I haven’t raced for half a year, so it was pretty stressful in the beginning. But I’m just pretty happy with not making super dumb decisions and yeah, get through the day. You have to build this confidence, you know. It doesn’t come in one second, so you have to go race by race. Main goal is for outdoors. My goal is to be stronger mindset for outdoors. Hopefully we do that.”

Max Anstie brough home a fifth-place finish, a little distant from Shimoda and the front trio.

“Ended up P5, I’ll take it,” Anstie said. “I didn’t feel that comfortable all day, to be honest. It was a lot faster and bumpier than I expected. …It was just a really fast, aggressive track. I spent the last month riding supercross, I didn’t even bother riding outdoors cause I’m like, ‘Ah, I don’t have to do outdoors.’ And now I look back on it and think, ‘Man, I should have maybe at least done a few days of outdoors.’ But you live and you learn. …A fifth on a day when I didn’t feel too great, I’ll take it 100 percent.”

“Ended up still back in third in the championship, which is kinda cool, cause guys were all over the place,” Anstie added. “But it is what it is. I know it’s anyone’s game. We’ll keep pushing and see where we end up next week.”

Henry Miller claimed sixth, earning a new career best after a ninth-place at the Detroit Supercross was a then-career best. Two his best supercross races in a row had the #66 feeling great.

“Today was a great day, went well from lap one of practice and just knew I put in the extra work with the [Alex Martin’s] Troll Training squad during are off time and just felt great all day!” Miller said. “It’s awesome [getting these two results back-to-back]. It feels like everything is finally coming together after a long few years of injuries.”

Chris Blose, Talon Hawkins, Cullin Park, and Caden Braswell rounded out the top ten. Blose said in the media scrum he was bummed he finished seventh as he was running sixth through most of the race. Hawkins finished third in his heat and then brough home a new career best for his first ever top-ten finish. Braswell did the same.

“It was a sick day,” Hawkins said. “That was my best finish of the year, so I’m really pumped to do it at this [venue]. It was pretty cool. It was definitely different. Felt a little like Daytona, a little bit not like it. It was interesting. It was a fun day.”

Park said he had a rough day from the get go and would not usually be satisfied with a ninth-place finish but he struggled with comfort throughout the day so he was glad to get through the day.

Gage Linville made his second career 250SX main event and bested his 19th from Detroit as the #602 brought home 13th in the speedway.

Although I did not catch it happen, Jeremy Martin suffered a crash about halfway through the main and was rolling with his goggles on his handlebars. Martin would pull into the mechanics' area as his night would be over. The #6 officially recorded 21st. Initial word is Martin is okay.

Tom Vialle and Jace Owen also had early ends to their days. The KTM rider accidently made contact with Coty Schock over the double after the finish line and it would case him to crash hard. The downed #128 machine would catch Jace Owen, who had nowhere to go. Owen would remount and complete five laps before pulling off, but Vialle would not continue on. We checked in with Vialle's mechanic Richard Starling, who said Vialle escaped injury.

The #128 said the following in a post-race release from KTM:

“Today started well for me in finishing second in the Heat, which was a good result, but unfortunately I fell on the first lap of the Main Event and I wasn't able to continue. It was disappointing to have the afternoon end like that, so we will will regroup and look forward to the Showdown next weekend."

After entering the day with a 35-point lead, Hunter Lawrence leaves the seventh round with a healthy points lead of now 45 points with only three remaining 250SX East Region races (two of which are East/West Showdowns). The 250SX East Region will be back in action again next weekend at the East Rutherford Supercross on April 22 for the eighth round of its championship, as well as the first Dave Coombs Sr. East/West Showdown. If the #96 is able to get the gap back to P2 up to at least 52 points by the end of next week, Hunter Lawrence could clinch the 250SX East Region Championship two rounds early. Tune in next week as the two 250SX divisions square off.

Lawrence, Barcia, Smith, Deegan & More Recap 2023 Atlanta SX | Racer X Films

In the premier class, Eli Tomac claimed his seventh overall win of the season at the Glendale Supercross last weekend and took sole possession of the 450SX points lead. He entered the day seven points ahead of Cooper Webb. Glendale has been good for Tomac previously and that was again the case this year. It was not ideal for Webb to lose seven points on one night, but next came the Atlanta Motor Speedway race, where both Tomac and Webb have each claimed a win and rode well in the four previous starts here. Could Webb cut back into Tomac’s lead or would Tomac extend his gap? Would either of these two stand atop the podium in a statement ride?

But the man that claimed the win this weekend was the man who had been unable to seal the deal here in previous years: Chase Sexton. Sexton did what he had done in 2021 and 2022 here as he got out front early. But this go round, Sexton would get that win at Atlanta Motor Speedway he had yet to claim, after a last-lap incident in 2021 and a crash in 2022–both while leading. Sexton would claim his third race win of the season–the fourth of his career in his Chase Elliott -inspired Alpinestars gear.

His result paired with a fourth and fifth from Webb and Tomac would give the #23 an eight-point swing in the standings. He entered the day down 25 points to Tomac but will leave only 17 points behind Tomac. While it won’t be easy for the #23 to get his title by any means, he showed he is still in the fight. Sexton become the fifth different rider to win a 450SX main event in the five Atlanta Motor Speedway races to date.

“I woke up this morning and I felt super tired all day,” Sexton said. “I just kept waking up more each session. For the night show I felt pretty good. It was a little bit to get used to, I didn’t change my schedule or wake up extra early this week. But it was good to change it up. Maybe this is what I needed!”

“This week I pretty much did all motos, no heat races,” Sexton added. “I was reading my pit board the whole main event, and when it hit ten minutes, I was like, ‘Okay, this is make it or break it.’ That was my mind set. Then as soon as I crossed the finish line it hit me. I was like “Alright, we got through that one, now we can start clicking one off.”

Ken Roczen got the holeshot in the main event and held down P2 after Sexton quickly passed to the lead. But later in the race Justin Barcia bested the #94 after they yo-yo’ed back and forth some.

"Atlanta was a really good day,” Barcia said in a team release. “I'm stoked on the team and myself and my riding. I had the family here and it was awesome. I qualified P5 and had a good heat race. I was riding really well, battling with Jason, and he went off the track. So, I took the heat race win by I believe you say, default. In the main event, I got off to a pretty good start, charged hard, and made some passes, Chase and Kenny were riding really well. I was able to get around Kenny. He pushed me hard the whole race. It was great. I wasn't able to catch Chase, but I had a really good ride for second. I'm really looking forward to New York next week. It's my hometown race.”

Barcia said last weekend he was hoping to get his new contract with the Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GasGas team signed this week. After the race, he confirmed he did: the #51 has re-signed with the GasGas factory race team for two more years (2024 and 2025).

“Well I signed something, so they’re stuck with me, for sure!” Barcia answered on a contract update. “Yeah, it seems like I got the go-ahead to say I signed my contract for another two years.”

“I think it’s a great partnership,” Barcia continued. “I started when GasGas came [into the sport]. I think it’s a great partnership. I think they’re happy with me, obviously. I’m happy with them. I love the Austrian brand, the bike. They just spent a zillion dollars on that beautiful new [headquarters] building. They put in the effort on the tracks up there. And I give it 110 percent always. So let’s finish out my career here. And another two years, will I be done? I don’t know, maybe! Probably not though. I’m feeling good, dude! I want to keep racing let’s go! Maybe we’ll see what happened. But yeah, I’m stoked to be a part of the whole Troy Lee Designs family. I loved all these guys. It’s just a big family and I’m happy and I’m really proud and stoked to be a part of the team."

Sexton, Roczen, and Barcia all stopped on the takeoff of the double after the finish line, high fiving and hugging one another. Then the trio shared a brief burnout together on the Atlanta asphalt.

“Overall, a fun race, and I’m right there with these guys,” Roczen said. “The whoops were another level. I think Justin was really good through there and I felt like I lost a little bit there. But overall, a good race.”

From the first session of the day, Webb looked the best he had all season. He was strong in qualifying and not as far off, ripping of strong laps early in the day—which we do not often see from the #2. He won the first heat, holding off both Barcia and Sexton at the checkered flag.

But he and Tomac were both outside of the top five off the start. Then they found one another quickly. From that point on, it was a dual to the checkered flag. Webb came through fourth, Tomac fifth. ET3 was not ever really close enough for a pass attempt, and the #2 gained one championship point on the #1 on the day.

Tomac (292 points) leads Webb (286 points) and Sexton (275 points) in the standings with only four rounds remaining.

"Atlanta Motor Speedway was an up-and-down day,” Webb said. “Qualifying went really well for me, which was fourth, and then I won my heat race with a good start – I felt great! In the Main Event, I just didn't get a start, had to make some passes, and was a bit far from the lead group, so I didn't ride my best. I was a bit disappointed with that performance. At the of the day, we'll go back this week, get better, aim to get back on the podium, and try to win in these coming races."

Aaron Plessinger, who was forced to race—and won—the LCQ, ended up sixth. At one point it appeared he might join the Tomac/Webb battle, but the #7 lost some steam late in the race as the championship contenders continued to fight it out.

"Atlanta started out pretty good,” Plessinger said. “We got the bike dialed in practice, but there was something off with the feeling of my clutch in the heat – I ended up crashing and not making it directly into the Main Event. I went to the LCQ, won that and had some fun with the extra laps, but that led to me having the outside gate for the start. I had a decent start anyway, charged forward, and pushed hard, so it was a good end to a not-so-great day!"

Adam Cianciarulo escaped a wild heat race crash without any damage, then brought home a seventh-place finish in his first visit to Atlanta Motor Speedway. Cianciarulo posted on Instagram:

Dean Wilson brought home his second consecutive top-ten finish of the season. Colt Nichols and Justin Hill rounded out the top ten.

Jared Lesher qualified for the 450SX main event on his Yamaha YZ250 two-stroke by claiming fourth in the LCQ. Lesher finished 20th in the main event.

Cade Clason made his return to action after a practice crash two weeks ago kept him in a hospital for four nights. Clason completed six laps before pulling off.

“Body wasn’t able to go the distance in the main, and I didn’t want to risk doing damage to my progress for next week,” Clason said on Instagram after the race.

Jason Anderson, who took the win in his heat race but was penalized one position for accelerating while off track, was feisty early in the main event. However, after the halfway mark the #21 rode off the track and back to the pits. Anderson and his wife Kenzie welcomed their first child into the world, and in his post-heat race interview he said he was low on energy. Congrats to the Andersons!

With Anderson having a child, of the 36 riders to qualify for the 13 450SX main events so far this season, 16 riders are fathers. The only two riders in the top ten who are not fathers are Sexton and Cianciarulo.