Hard to say if a win streak would have counted if it ran across two series, but it doesn’t matter now, because Jett Lawrence’s 450 win streak is over. He didn’t win last weekend at Charlotte. Seeing how much pressure he was under to deliver the 22-0 at Ironman, perhaps there’s actually a small sense of relief for the Honda HRC man to final go back to being the hunter instead of the hunted. Maybe less pressure? Maybe it’s refreshing?
“No, it friggen sucks! Losing sucks!” said Jett yesterday at the Chicagoland Press Conference.
“I don’t care who you are, if you think losing is a good refresher, no it ain’t,” he continued. “This thing sent me to hell, basically. For me it lights an even bigger fire. Going perfect in outdoors lit a fire, but I think losing puts a gas can underneath you and makes you blow up.”
Consider Jett pretty darn fired up for the weekend. And that creates a really nice storyline, because Chase Sexton comes in back on top after last week’s 1-1. There’s no better setup than two riders who not only want to win, but believe they can win. After Jett’s 22-0 campaign, it would certainly be understandable if he wanted to exhale through these three playoff races. Apparently, that’s not what’s going to happen. He wants to win these badly.
For Sexton, a win here would be pivotal because he holds a 12-point lead on both Jett and Aaron Plessinger, and with double points tonight, he could gain six more on the second place rider if he were to win. That could give him an 18-point lead heading into the finale, which is triple points, and pays nine more points for first over second. So, if Sexton can hold the pack at bay again, he’s taking a huge step toward the million dollar SMX bonus. To help him a bit, this is a home race for the Illinois native.
“I think this is about as close as you can get as a pro for a home race,” he said yesterday. “I grew up about an hour from here and used to race. Used to race at a track about 30 minutes from here, so it’s definitely special.”
This track is much different than Charlotte, with everyone talking about a more motocross-oriented bike setup because the track doesn’t have a gnarly SX rhythm lane. But Sexton will be staying with the braced chassis that he ran in supercross but chose not to run outdoors.
“As far as chassis, probably stay similar to what we had in Charlotte, but I tried riding outdoors this week on supercross suspension, and…it’s not the ticket. So probably make some suspension changes, probably more toward a more outdoor setting. Chassis, same as last weekend, but probably a softer setup.”
Many other 450 riders want to throw their hat in the ring this weekend and make a run for the win and this title. But the reality is that no one else outside of Sexton and Lawrence have won a 450 race since April. Will that streak continue? It appears they’re both very motivated to make it happen.
