11th for the Hunter
At the Atlanta Supercross, Hunter Lawrence claimed his sixth win of the 2023 250SX East Region Championship as he has podiumed in all seven rounds of the championship so far. The #96’s win was his 11thcareer 250SX main event win. He has a 45-point lead over P2 in the standings and could clinch the East Region title this weekend if he leaves with a gap of 52 points or more back to P2.
Smith’s 4th Podium of ‘23
Jordon Smith claimed P2 on the day to earn his fourth podium finish of the season, taking his career total to 18 250SX podium finishes.
Deegan’s 3rd P3
Haiden Deegan earned his third third-place finish of the season. Deegan now has beaten his father’s total of two podiums and the supercross rookie sits second in points after Nate Thrasher suffered a hard crash in the main event and did not finish.
Sexton’s 3rd of 2023, 4th
Chase Sexton claimed the 450SX main event, his third win of 2023 and his fourth career 450SX win. Sexton’s win paired with Cooper Webb and Eli Tomac finishing fourth and fifth allowed the #23 to cut his points gap from Tomac down eight points, as he sits 17 points back in third place. Sexton becomes the fifth different rider to win a 450SX main event in the five events raced so far in Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Two & New Two for Barcia
Justin Barcia claimed P3 in the main event to earn his fifth podium finish of 2023—and his third consecutive. Barcia has not finished outside the top five since the Arlington Supercross Triple Crown, when he finished 4-7-7 for seventh overall.
Despite his strong day, the big news for the #51 coming out of the weekend was his new contract: he signed a new, two-year deal with Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GasGas Factory Racing team that will see him on the team for 2024 and 2025.
“Well I signed something, so they’re stuck with me, for sure! [Laughs] 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. 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 happens. But yeah, I’m stoked to be a part of the whole Troy Lee Designs family. Troy Lee honestly, psh, the dude is a legend. He takes care of so well. He loves the sport. Max [Lee] is team manager now. Olly [Stone] moved up from a mechanic to crew chief. Cody's [Champagne, mechanic] absolutely…he's from New York. I’m from New York. He's crushing it. There's just so many good bonds right now on this team and I'll forget someone, I'm sure, but everybody, Hunter [Falk], suspension guy. I love 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.”
Kickstart Kenny
Ken Roczen picked up a third-place finish on the day, his third podium finish of the season. It was the first time the #94 landed on the podium since he won the Indianapolis Supercross on March 11.
Other Random Stuff
13 for 13
Either Honda HRC or Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing has claimed all 13 250SX main event wins so far this season: 11 from Lawrence brothers (Hunter has six, Jett has five) for Honda and Levi Kitchen and Nate Thrasher both earned one Triple Crown overall win apiece for Yamaha.
HRC’s Double-Double
No, Honda HRC did not pull off the well-known basketball stat, but they did pull off their second 250SX and 450SX main event win sweep of the season with Hunter Lawrence and Chase Sexton (the first was the Detroit Supercross in March with the same duo).
Congrats to El Hombre
Jason Anderson and his wife Kenzie welcomed the birth of their first child ahead of the race. Congrats to the Andersons!
Dadcross
With Anderson becoming a father, 16 of the 36 riders to score a point in the 450SX Class so far this season are fathers—more to come on this tomorrow.
Long Laps
Check out the fastest lap times from the main events this year, compared to years previous.
2023 Atlanta SX main event fastest laps
250SX: 1:30.079 | Hunter Lawrence (race winner)
450SX: 1:28.244 | Chase Sexton (race winner)
2022 Atlanta SX main event fastest laps
250SX: 1:20.850 | Jett Lawrence (third)
450SX: 1:21.279 | Chase Sexton (third)
2021 Atlanta SX 3 main event fastest laps
250SX: 1:39.631 | Hunter Lawrence (fourth)
450SX: 1:36.129 | Cooper Webb (winner)
2021 Atlanta SX 2 main event fastest laps
250SX: 1:37.747 | Cameron McAdoo (third)
450SX: 1:35.068 | Ken Roczen (winner)
2021 Atlanta SX 1 main event fastest laps
250SX: 1:44.070 | Nate Thrasher (winner)
450SX: 1:40.058 | Aaron Plessinger (sixth)
It’s Miller Time
Henry Miller claimed sixth place in the 250SX main event, earning a new career best after a ninth place at the Detroit Supercross was a then-career best.
Atlanta Hawkins & Caden Rideswell
Both supercross rookies Talon Hawkins and Caden Braswell brought home new season bests for their first ever top-ten finishes.
Benny’s Bounceback
Benny Bloss went down on the opening lap of the 450SX main event and was pretty far back of the second-to-last rider early. It was tough to keep track of all the riders with the speedway track’s wide distance from end to end, but Bloss did come through 13th by the checkered flag (his second-best finish of the season). Pretty impressive charge to the end. Good stuff by Big Benny!
A-T(wo-Stroke)-L(esher)
Jared Lesher qualified for the 450SX main event—aboard a Yamaha YZ250 two-stroke! By doing so, Lesher became the first 250cc two-stroke to make a premier class main event since we believe Mike Brown did so in April 2006 at the Houston Supercross. Lesher and crew were pumped as he hit a big heel-clicker as he took the checkered flag in fourth in the LCQ! The Pennsylvania native was riding well all day and brought home 20th in just his second ever 450SX main event.
![Jared Lesher]()
Jared Lesher Align Media ![Jared Lesher]()
Jared Lesher Align Media
Post-Race Penalty Report
Bobby Piazza Penalized at Atlanta SX, Suspended 1 Race & Placed On 6-Month Probation
Vlogs
Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX Yamaha
James Stewart’s Atlanta SX Rewind
Weege Show with Chase Sexton at MotoGP
Our Post-Race Rider Reaction Video
Videos Worth a Watch
Tom Journet caught footage of Nate Thrasher’s crash. Heal up, Nate!
Barcia showed us what his bike sounded like in the whoops?
Lesher’s last lap in the LCQ, which ends with a big heel clicker.
We published post-race rider quotes in a separate post yesterday. Check those out here if you missed it.
