Just like that, in a stunning change of events, Chase Sexton is about to become the 2023 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Champion. Eli Tomac led the series coming into the next-to-last race in Denver, but ruptured his Achilles tendon over a jump while leading the race, and that’s a season-ending injury.
Sexton later rumbled into the lead of the race and with it took the points lead from Tomac. With Eli out for the finale, Sexton will certainly maintain the lead and win the title.
It all happened so fast, Sexton couldn’t even process it. He spoke in the post-race press conference.
What are you thinking when you saw what happened to Eli?
Chase Sexton: It’s definitely tough, not to swallow, but to comprehend. I didn’t know what was going on, I didn’t know if his bike was broken, or maybe he broke a wheel, I didn’t know. I just heard after the race that he hurt his ankle, I know there’s a lot of speculation on what actually happened as far as muscle damage wise, but for me, I just wanted to capitalize when I saw him going backwards. It’s just not the way you want to see someone go out, especially not Eli, he’s been super gnarly, especially these last couple years he’s been so tough. Obviously he’s a great competitor and I love racing him. For me, my game plan remains the same and that’s what I’m looking at right now.
Chase, we just had this conversation a few nights ago. I asked you what your motivation was with these last couple races. You said to win, and it’s not over. I want to go back to the heat race. You caught and passed Eli, and Eli actually kind of seemed like he caught back up. Talk about that. Eli seemed like he was able to match your pace once you went by. Were you concerned at all?
Yeah, the heat race with Eli was fun. Him being out front, I kind of had the opportunity to look at lines and just sit back a little bit and take my time. Once I kind of got into a flow, I caught him and got by him. Then he just kind of got behind me and followed my lines and was able to stick with me. Then I got into a few lappers. It was an interesting race. Like I said, I love racing Eli. He’s super clean. He’s a bulldog, man. He won’t give up. It was a good heat race. Obviously, if I’m in a race I want to win and having Eli in the heat race, not that points matter, but it is nice to go out there and get in front of the guy you have beat. So, that was a positive. It’s never over until it’s over. That’s something I’ve said for the last three or four races. So, obviously we have another round and we’ll see what goes on.
It’s announced that Eli suffered a ruptured Achilles and he’s out for the final round. You are the champion elect. Are you just being respectful of the process or has that not sank in yet?
Yeah, it hasn’t really sank in. Like I said, you never know until it gets to the last race. I haven’t heard anything, obviously. I’ve obviously been saying that it’s just never over until it’s over. It’s 17 races. It’s tough to see Eli go out like that, like I said. It’s definitely a little bit weird coming in being so far down and just, not hoping that anything would go wrong, but hoping I would just go out there and put my best foot forward and win these last few races and see what happened. I guess really the mindset stays the same, but we’ll see in the coming week what goes on. I don’t really know what to say at this point.
A lot was written, a lot was said, and you acknowledged the mistakes that happened in the middle part of the season. The last three races, not counting the mud race, you have been flawless. Can you talk about the mental toughness it took to reverse that?
It definitely was not easy at all. I said before, it’s tough when those were going on to even go on my phone, just between people texting me trying to help. Everyone had their own opinions on what my problem was. Then going on Instagram, social media, just seeing the comments, it was tough, honestly. It kind of weighed a toll on me, and it got a little bit negative the middle of that season. Some of those crashes I think were caused just by being negative and not having confidence in myself and knowing that I can win these races. I think just having that break after Seattle, having another crash while leading, I needed something just to clear my head. I didn’t ride really at all that week. I didn’t train. I just told myself I need a break. Then I went and hung out in Santa Barbara where my trainer is, and I just kind of reset and came back to some testing. From here on out, it’s been super solid. This race wins definitely helped the confidence. You got to push through it. Like I said, when the stuff was going on, you got to try and stay positive. I knew I could dig myself out of it. It was just a matter of time.
So with Cooper’s issue last week, with Eli’s issue this week, it doesn’t take away from the fact that you have been so strong. Is that emotional whiplash?
Yeah. I really think having 17 races, all the training that I do during the off-season is to be durable and try and be able to last through 17 races. For me, that’s been the biggest thing. I’ve had some big get-offs in the last few years. I don't think honestly without my training program I’d be able to get up from those and keep racing. You got to be durable. That’s like I said why I do the hard work during the off-season and go to the gym. People say I’m too bulky, too big, but it’s what I do. I try and do my hard work and try and be durable in those situations. In 17 races, you need that.
You guys all three kind of had that never give up mentality. You guys have raced each other for a couple years now, but you guys have trained with each other during the week. Can all three of you just kind of touch on being around each other and helping each other through hard times?
Ken: I think we can all agree. I think the biggest thing is putting your ego down. We push each other, but we’re friends also. I think me and Chase have been hanging out a lot. Adam and I are a lot on the phone. I’m just genuinely stoked. Once you accept that there are young guns coming up, it was just like how I was. I came up and then I was at times on the 250 I was faster than Dunge. It bugs you a little bit, but I think once you accept that… And honestly when we’re together, we don’t even talk about dirt bikes most of the time. Friendship comes first. I think that’s why we’re all gelling together at the moment.
Adam: Yeah, it’s been an interesting dynamic. I feel like kind of the start of my pro career, before I even bought a house, I was staying with Ken. He was kind of big brother to me, and then at one point I felt like I was kind of big brother to Chase when he came up. I remember he was like, fifteen, sixteen years old coming and started riding with me. I think you were a couple seconds faster than me during the week in like 2017. I’m out there trying to get ninth on a weekend. But I think for me, and really if I’m going to be real, I think something that maybe doesn’t contribute to my results and a personality trait of mine is I love seeing my friends or just other people do well and succeed. I don’t feel any type of… Obviously Chase is probably the supercross champion. Ken in Indianapolis I felt like I won the race. I genuinely just love seeing my friends succeed. It’s cool to kind of have a brotherhood. We’ve all kind of walked the same road. It’s hard to get here, whether you’re winning or in tenth. It’s difficult. These are the best guys in the world. Stoked to have these guys as friends and always stoked to see them succeed.
Chase: I moved to Florida in 2016. Moved to Claremont obviously which is pretty much the hub of moto at this point. I started riding at, it was called The Nest at the time with these two. That was when Kenny in 2016 won a few races that year. I felt like I was closer with Adam at the beginning, just because him and I had similar interests. We played golf a lot together. So, Adam and I hung out a lot. Honestly, I looked up to both of them. I was really intimidated of Ken just because he was winning every race, pretty much. It was a little bit hard to come up to him and start talking to him. Adam and I were close. So, it was kind of cool to see Adam 2019, obviously the outdoor championship was so gnarly. To see him do that was awesome, especially after how that supercross series ended. Obviously with Ken and his injuries, I’ve seen a lot. I’ve seen these guys go through a lot. I’ve obviously had my own ups and downs. Now with Kenny… Adam moved to California and went to the dark side, [Laughs] so Kenny and I are in Florida and we’ve been hanging out a lot. It’s pretty cool just because we don’t talk about dirt bikes. Every time I go down to the line, one thing I look forward to is talking to either Adam or Ken. It’s just nice to have friends down there. It feels more comfortable, relaxing.
You’ve had four wins in the last seven races, so is it important to you at this point of your career just to kind of get those repeats of getting to the checkered flag first and having that celebration and just building up the experience of race wins and main event wins in the premier class?
Definitely. Middle of the season when I was having those mistakes, I was like, man, can I even win a race? I know I can go fast enough to win, but can I put it together? It was tough. Like I said, it was a lot of hard times with myself at night just by myself and being negative, but I think I turned around after Phoenix and I won Atlanta. That was a huge race for me, just being solid that whole main event. Then it’s kind of just flooded over into these wins. It’s never easy. Winning races in this class is super, super tough. I’m really happy with how I’ve been riding. I just feel complete as a rider at this point. At least more complete than I have been. I want to get better. Seeing all those stats with Eli having 50 wins, that’s super motivating. Got a long road ahead of me, so that’s obviously something I want to kind of chase and try to get as many wins as I can. Every win means a lot to me.