On the injury front, unfortunately we’ll be missing  a few key players. Chance Hymas, who has been dealing with some painful knee issues, will sit this weekend out. RJ Hampshire is still feeling the effects of a big crash in Texas will also miss the action in Las Vegas. Jalek Swoll, Carson Mumford, and Nate Thrasher are also out. For a look complete look at who’s in and who’s out, check out our Injury Report.  

The track here looks pretty good. There are some supercross style rhythm sections that have a few options, including a really interesting over/under bridge that riders can sky over and pick from several different landing slopes, or they can jump to the top and shoot off. It’s going to be fun to see how that section plays out. Deegan was launching it yesterday, while Jett Lawrence was opting for the on-off route. The track also has some big jumps right out of corners, and the back section has a ton of wood chips/mulch mixed in with it. There’s also a sand section and another split start.

Qualifying – First Sessions

World All-Stars
This is technically an amateur class, but if you’re going to judge it on skill, it’d be hard to call some of these guys amateurs! Cole Davies was fastest initially, but Drew Adams, who’s sporting a prominent #1 on his Kawasaki, took over a few laps in. Not to be outdone, Davies then proceeded to launch the double-quad-quad combo in a rhythm lane, something we didn’t see any other riders in this class do, to log a 1:46.024. Nobody would be able to challenge that time, but Davies went ahead and lowered it himself a few laps later, busting out a 1:45.931.

250 Class
Jett Reynolds was fastest with a 1:42.576 in the unseeded group, roughly two seconds faster than Cameron McAdoo, who never looked like he was pushing especially hard. No real surprises in the seeded group, as Haiden Deegan was fastest, although only by about two-tenths over Ryder DiFrancesco. For most of the session Deegan didn’t really seem like he was pushing it. He didn’t set a fast time until about halfway through, and then after that he just cruised for a few laps. Deegan is known for finding lines nobody else sees, so perhaps he was looking for those unique opportunities during this session. Check out the fastest lap times though, positions one through six are only separated by about half a second!

450 Class
There were some interesting moments on the double-quad-quad option in this one. First Jett Lawrence over-jumped the first quad, nearly facing the next launch, then Eli Tomac did the same thing, but jumped even farther. The result was a hard hit into the jump face and Tomac went down. Fortunately he was okay and rejoined the session. It’s possible the jump was starting to get worn, because it didn’t seem like as many 450 guys were opting for this option, while a large percentage of the 250 guys were going for it.

As the session progressed it was Ken Roczen who held the top position, but then Chase Sexton dipped into the 1:36-range to take over. He set another fast lap, a 1:36.115 shortly after. When the checkers came out, however, it was Hunter Lawrence sneaking in a 1:35.572 to take top honors.

Hopefully the double-quad-quad option stays usable tonight, as it has the potential to be a separator. Not everyone is doing it, and it requires absolutely perfect timing. It is insanely tight, and if you over-jump it just a little, or come up just barely short, you’re not going to able to quad out. Plenty of guys went for it and didn’t grease it perfectly, which resulted in having to slow up and not hit the next section. In Tomac’s case it even resulted in a crash.

Qualifying – Second Sessions

250 Class
Not a lot to report on in the unseeded group, as Jett Reynolds was as dominant in the second qualifier as he was in the first. McAdoo was a bit faster in this one though, and was able to close the gap from about two seconds in the first to about a second-and-a-half.

In the seeded group you’d be forgiven if you mistook the first couple laps for an actual race. The qualifier got underway with a gate drop, followed by a Levi Kitchen holeshot, and Kitchen hammered down hard, with Haiden Deegan a bit behind, and Ryder DiFrancesco right on Deegan’s tail. Kitchen built up a gap on that first lap, but when the lap times started popping up on screen it was actually Deegan who’d recorded the fastest one, a 1:38.465. Deegan took it down to 1:37.208 shortly after that, then backed down his pace. Julien Beaumer would make a run on it, and would nearly take over the top spot, posting a 1:37.259! DiFrancesco, who looked fast and aggressive out there, put in a push on his final lap to jump to third place with a 1:38.146.

450 Class
Nothing crazy or much out of the ordinary took place in this one, but if you were watching the lap times, it was pretty entertaining. Cooper Webb was fastest in the opening stage with a 1:40.007, but it was clear that time would be surpassed, and quick. It was too, by Chase Sexton, who took it all the way down to a 1:36.076. At first it seemed like that might be enough to hold strong, but then, out of nowhere, Jett Lawrence threw down some heat, recording a 1:34.628! His brother, Hunter, who hadn’t been pushing it at all up to this point, proceeded to nearly match Jett with a 1:34.957. At this point the qualifier was ending, and it seemed unlikely anyone else would be able to make on run on Jett’s time. But then on the final lap, Jett himself uncorked some crazy speed. Just by watching him you could tell he was trying extra hard, so you knew this lap was going to be something special. It was, too. When he crossed the line he became the only rider to dip under the 1:34 mark, posting a 1:33.875! Talk about sending a message!

250 LCQ
There wasn’t any pressure for the 250 LCQ, as all riders would advance, but that didn’t stop Cameron McAdoo from pinning it once the gate dropped. The Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider took the early lead and led every lap to win the LCQ.

450 LCQ
The stakes were a bit higher in this one than the 250 LCQ, as only two riders would advance. Jerry Robin did himself a favor by getting the holeshot, and he was followed by Dean Wilson. As the race started to unwind it almost seemed as though Wilson had fallen into Robin’s pace, as Wilson appeared content with taking the final qualifying spot. But then Colt Nichols started closing up on Wilson, which prompted Wilson to pick it up a bit and he soon found himself a length or two behind Robin. Robin must have felt the heat because after that he didn’t let Wilson get any closer, preventing Wilson from putting any kind of move on him. Nichols, despite catching up to the lead duo, wasn’t ever able to get quite close enough to Wilson to put a wheel in on him, and he’d finish just one spot outside of qualifying. Robin and Wilson advanced to the main.

World All-Stars Main Event
Landen Gordon kicked off this race with a holeshot, but it didn’t last long—Cole Davies knifed past within a few corners and set sail. And when we say he set sail we mean he straight checked out and was never challenged. By the time the checkers flew he’d built roughly a six-second lead over Avery Long in second place. The surprise performance in this one came from Alexander Fedorstov, who displaced Gordon for second early before dropping back to third. He battled briefly with Gordon but something happened to Gordon out of view, likely a crash, and Fedorstov was left all by himself in third. Gordon finished 13^th.
Drew Adams got buried on the start in this one and there wasn’t much he could do in a short race. Credit to Adams, however, for coming from way back to finish sixth.

250 Moto One

Haiden Deegan got the night going by immediately jumping into the lead. Pierce Brown, Ty Masterpool, and Tom Vialle gave chase. Brown was riding incredibly well early and refused to let Deegan check out in the initial stages of the race, but after a few laps Deegan started getting away. Something out of view happened to Masterpool around lap five and he dropped back to seventh. He’d later go down and drop even more spots.

With about seven laps down it looked like a battle for third would develop between Vialle, Jo Shimoda, Jordon Smith, and Levi Kitchen. Vialle wasn’t having that though, and when Shimoda started creeping up on him he responded and inched away, leaving Shimoda to deal with mounting pressure from Smith. But, as the laps continued to click off, Shimoda was able to inch away form Smith and tighten back up on Vialle. With one lap left Shimoda needed to make up about one second to get close enough to make move on Vialle, but Vialle locked in and refused to let Shimoda get within striking distance, and even stretched the gap back out a bit.

Deegan took the win, although Brown didn’t let him completely check out, finishing just 2.894 seconds back. Vialle took third, with Shimoda and Smith rounding out the top five.

450 Moto One

As the pack thundered into the first turn the crowd erupted when they saw Eli Tomac narrowly slicing his way to the holeshot ahead of Jett Lawrence. Chase Sexton, meanwhile, had a bad start and when he drifted toward the inside exiting a rhythm lane Justin Barcia landed on him. Sexton didn’t go down, but he was in obvious pain and it looked like he was favoring his right hand. He was unable to continue and rode back to the pits.

Up front the battle raged between Tomac and Lawrence, with Hunter Lawrence about three seconds back. The crowd was loving it, and if you lost track of Tomac and Lawrence, all you had to do was listen to where the cheers were coming—the noise was literally following them around the track! After about four laps Tomac actually started opening up a gap on Lawrence.

Behind the lead trio Jason Anderson and Aaron Plessinger were locked in a battle for fourth. Anderson had enough breathing room that he didn’t have to worry about Plessinger showing him a wheel, but he couldn’t afford to make a single mistake or Plessinger would zip right by. Fortunately for Anderson he was able to put some great laps together and get away from Plessinger. It wouldn’t end mattering though because Anderson would make a mistake in the double-quad-quad rhythm lane and go down with two laps to go. He ended up scoring seventh.

One of the best battles on the track was between Justin Barcia and Ken Roczen for eighth. The two were absolutely locked in a duel of death, with neither rider willing to give the other an inch, but Roczen was eventually able to get around Barcia and motor away with the spot.

Up front the battle between Tomac and Lawrence was starting to heat back up with just a few laps left. Tomac made a mistake in the double-quad-quad rhythm lane that prevented him from hitting the combo correctly and just like that, Lawrence was back on Tomac’s rear wheel. The two went at it like crazy for about a lap before Lawrence was able to pull alongside Tomac and make a move stick. This time it was Lawrence’s turn to pull a gap, and he wouldn’t be giving it back up, either.

Injury Update

Chase Sexton will not be racing the second 450 moto after an unfortunate incident in the first moto left him with a banged up hand. For more details click here.

250 Moto Two

Ty Masterpool took the holeshot in the second 250 moto but he had Tom Vialle all over him in turn two. For a second it looked like Vialle would slice up the inside, but Masterpool squirted forward and held on. From there he did his best to sprint away, and at first he was able to put some distance between himself and Vialle. After a couple laps, however, Vialle started closing back in and was soon right back on Masterpool’s rear wheel. Just when it looked like he was going to make a move up the inside of Masterpool, Vialle made a mistake and crashed, dropping back to sixth.

Haiden Deegan, meanwhile, didn’t get a great start and was in roughly seventh place, but moving forward. By the time Vialle crashed Deegan was already up to fourth, and Vialle’s crash bumped him up to third, just three seconds back of Masterpool. Pierce Brown, feeling the heat from Deegan, turned things up a notch and gambled on a risky move that saw him jump to the inside of Masterpool in a lefthander. It had the potential to put both of them in the dirt, but fortunately that didn’t happen and Brown took over the lead and pinned it, leaving Deegan to dice with Masterpool. That turned out to be a tremendous battle, with Deegan trying everything he could to sneak by Masterpool. Finally Masterpool made a mistake and couldn’t hit the double-quad-quad rhythm, and Deegan sailed by.

Next up on Deegan’s hit list was Brown, but there was work to do with about seven minutes left in the race, as Brown held about four seconds on Deegan. We’ve seen this situation before, and it almost always results in Deegan reeling in the rider in front of him. But tonight would prove different, and Brown, who was brilliant in the first moto, started putting time on Deegan. With two-and-a-half minutes left, he’d increased his lead to over seven seconds! As the laps continued to fall it became apparent that Deegan wasn’t going to catch Brown, and on the last lap the crowd started showing their approval of Brown’s outstanding performance. Brown took the moto win, which earned him the overall victory, while Deegan’s ride still handed him the championship. Jordon Smith, Max Anstie, and Jo Shimoda rounded out the top five.

450 Moto Two

The final moto of the night kicked off with a holeshot from Jett Lawrence, followed by Hunter Lawrence and Eli Tomac. Hunter Lawrence found himself under attack from Tomac right away, but Tomac also had to worry about Aaron Plessinger, who was close enough to reach out and touch his rear fender at times. After a few laps Tomac was able to distance himself from Plessinger, but by that time Jett Lawrence had already put about three seconds on him. Hunter Lawrence had also built a small gap, leaving Tomac alone in third.

Back in the pack the guys were somewhat spread out and there wasn’t much battling going on inside the top ten. Anderson was in seventh, but a small crash sent him over the side of a berm. It didn’t look like a hard crash, but something happened that was enough to cause Anderson to DNF the moto.

Jett Lawrence would race to the uncontested win, the championship, and the $1 million that comes with it. Hunter Lawrence rode all by himself to second, while Tomac held down a lonely third all the way to the checkers. Plessinger and Cooper Webb rounded out the top five.