Title Math – 250 Class
With just four motos remaining in the 2024 AMA Pro Motocross Championship, there are only two riders who haven’t been mathematically eliminated by Haiden Deegan—Levi Kitchen and Tom Vialle. Things aren’t looking good for their title hopes, however, as Deegan leads Kitchen by 70 points, and Vialle by 81 points. In order to clinch the championship at Budds Creek all Deegan needs is to hold a 50-point advantage when the checkers fly, so as long as he doesn’t give up 20 points to Kitchen (he won’t), or 31 points to Vialle (he won’t), he’s got this championship in the bag. -Aaron Hansel
Title Math – 450 Class
In the 450 Class Chase Sexton has an outside chance of wrapping things up, but he’d need Hunter Lawrence to have a pretty bad day (Aaron Plessinger and Justin Cooper are technically still in it but they won’t be after Budds Creek). Sexton leads Lawrence by 28 points, so he’d have to stack another 22 points on top of that to clinch the championship. Considering Lawrence’s worse moto result of the season is fifth (Washougal), a points swing of that magnitude seems pretty unlikely. Unless Lawrence DNF’s a moto for some weird reason, don’t expect the 450 title to be settled at Budds Creek. -Hansel
- Motocross
Budds Creek
Saturday, August 17- QualifyingLiveAugust 17 - 10:00 AM
- QualifyingLiveAugust 17 - 10:00 AM
- MotosLiveAugust 17 - 1:00 PM
- MotosLiveAugust 17 - 1:00 PM
- Motos (Re-Air)August 18 - 12:00 PM
- Motos (Re-Air)August 19 - 2:00 AM
Cooking the Competition
While Chance Hymas and Deegan both made references to cooking at Unadilla, it was, fittingly, Kitchen who roasted the opposition. The Chef went 2-1 on the day, withstanding incredible pressure from Jo Shimoda in the second moto (before Shimoda crashed out and broke his collarbone), to score his second overall win of the summer. The last time Kitchen won a race was Spring Creek, and he followed it up by struggling at the very next round at Washougal. Will we see a repeat of that at Budds Creek, or will Kitchen stay sharp and make it two in a row? -Hansel
Dazzling Debut
You wouldn’t expect a rider who just switched teams, bikes, and classes to do well in his first race out, but don’t tell Garrett Marchbanks that! The former Muc-Off FXR ClubMX Yamaha rider crushed it at Unadilla, riding his new Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki to 5-5 moto scores to earn fourth overall. That’s incredible! If he was that good in just his first race, how good is he going to be with another week on the bike under his belt? -Hansel
The Bounce Back
There probably weren’t many people who would have predicted that Hymas, who had been dealing with an injured ankle before Unadilla, would have qualified fastest by almost two seconds at Unadilla, then proceed to immediately take control of the first moto. But that’s exactly what happened! Unfortunately for Hymas it all came apart when he crashed hard in a downhill section, but before that he looked amazing. If he can bring that same heat to Budds Creek, minus the crash, it’ll be difficult for anyone to stop him. -Hansel
Confidence Boost
Dylan Ferrandis put in the best ride of his summer in the second moto at Unadilla. The Phoenix Honda rider ran as high as second place before surrendering the spot to Lawrence, but he’s still got to be happy with the way he rode. He was also startlingly good at Unadilla last year, which makes you wonder if his performance was track related. Either way, Ferrandis’ third-place finish in the second moto has got to have him feeling good coming into Budds Creek. -Hansel
Going for the W
A quick glance at the stats would lead you to believe Lawrence would have gotten an overall win or two this summer. After all, he’s second in the points, has won a couple motos, has ridden amazingly well, and has even led 70 laps. Yet still, that overall win has eluded him thus far. He’s definitely capable of getting it done, but that guarantees nothing. Will Lawrence be able to break through and score his first win on the 450 at Budds Creek? -Hansel
Return Of The Mac
After injuring his thumb during supercross that required surgery, Eli Tomac is back on the bike and will line up at Budds Creek. As with others who have returned from injury (Cooper Webb, Ken Roczen) the focus will be more on gate drops than results. Either way all will seem right with the world again having the #3 back out there. – Sarah Whitmore
Streaker
Although Hunter Lawrence put an end to Chase Sextons moto win streak at Unadilla, his overall win streak is alive and well at four. Which happens to be his longest one to date. Can he extend that streak to five this weekend? -Whitmore
Triumphant
Jalek Swoll and Triumph have got to be riding high after Jalek delivered them their first ever overall podium at Unadilla. The team has had their ups and downs this year, with some crashes and mechanicals (both of those things happen in this sport, not just to new bikes/teams), but a podium has got to be the icing on the cake. Can Jalek back it up this weekend? -Whitmore
