Cooper Webb has done it again. Saturday's Arlington Supercross saw Webb and Chase Sexton both with red plates on their race bikes in a pivotal round of Monster Energy AMA Supercross. And on a night where the win was in hand for another rider, the North Carolina native somehow managed to pull out a win of his own.
Webb's 6-1-2 finishes had him setup for second overall in the three-race Triple Crown format, with Sexton 3-2-1 finishes. Then, Sexton made a mistake, stalling his bike. Still, the #4 was in the driver's seat for the overall win. Even with the overall win still in hand while in second place, Sexton went for it on the final lap...and went down. The #2 machine, like he has done in the past, positioned himself perfectly and took advantage when the opportunity opened.
Webb was able to take the race win AND the overall win AND the points lead. It is also the seventh win for Webb in the last nine 450SX races at AT&T Stadium! After the race, Webb spoke with media in the post-race press conference.
Cooper Webb: Obviously, yesterday was a bummer. I had that little crash, get off and a little sore wrist, but, you know, it's dirt bikes. You get back on it and you go from there. But yeah, overall it was a great day. There was a lot of noise this weekend with the red plate and the talks of how well I've done here. You're quickly reminded of all the hype you get when you put yourself in these positions, but that's what you thrive to do. Overall, as a weekend, it was great. I had some of my nieces and nephews here. Overall, yeah, we rode good all day. I base my weekends now on my overall riding and I felt like all day I rode really well. So I was happy with everything.
You've won two premier-class championships before, and I'm sure when you debrief from the season as a whole in both of those years, you can pinpoint a night where things maybe went your way, and that really helps towards the championship. Do you think that tonight could potentially be a night like you for that, or do you think maybe one of these last three weekends could kind of be one of those nights?
Cooper Webb: I mean you have highs and you start to think of the good side. Obviously I've been in a similar position before and you think of those years and you see the trend, but it's motorsports, right? I think yesterday in press day was like a quick reminder, you can get put back to reality really quick. So, I think staying in the moment is important, obviously, and tonight was huge for just overall, leaving with the red plate. After the first main event, I dug myself a big hole, so I didn't see that happening. But last weekend, I think was a good just getting the first one, get the confidence, have a good week, come in here, like, the ball's definitely rolling. I'm definitely in a in a great spot mentally, physically, everything, and definitely ready to charge for this championship.
![Webb and Roczen battling, just like last weekend in Detroit.]()
Webb and Roczen battling, just like last weekend in Detroit. Align Media ![]()
Align Media ![Webb wins again! Two consecutive wins for the #2 as he takes over sole possession of the 450SX points lead.]()
Webb wins again! Two consecutive wins for the #2 as he takes over sole possession of the 450SX points lead. Align Media ![Webb and his daughter join Justin Brayton and Adam Cianciarulo on the post-race SMX show.]()
Webb and his daughter join Justin Brayton and Adam Cianciarulo on the post-race SMX show. Align Media
What are your current thoughts on the championship point standings, and how does that affect your strategies for the upcoming races?
I'm pretty stoked on mine! [Laughs] I'm not gonna lie, but yeah, I love being in the championship hunt, right? That's what we thrive to do, so yeah, I'm gonna try to keep doing the same thing.
Can we dig into that sixth-place finish in race one just a little bit more? What were you going through at that time and did the winning race two change that momentum? Did you, did you think you were gonna get it up until the very end of race three?
The first one was honestly just a bad start. I rode great, just went way too wide in the first turn and got pushed and came out, I think to 11th or 12th and you just can't do that in a Triple Crown, especially the first one when everyone's really going for it and the track's fresh and there's not much time. So, I knew to get on the box tonight, I needed to have low scores in the last two. So that was my game plan was to ultimately try to win the last two and see where it put me. I mean, I even knew going into the last one, even if I won the race, I was likely to not win, so that's when all this craziness happened. It was like “Holy cow!” It swung a totally different way than I was anticipating.
Arlington - 450SX
February 23, 2025| Rider | Hometown | Motos | Bike | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Cooper Webb | Newport, NC  | 6 - 1 - 1 | Yamaha YZ450F |
| 2 |  Ken Roczen | Mattstedt, Germany  | 1 - 5 - 3 | Suzuki RM-Z450 |
| 3 |  Chase Sexton | La Moille, IL | 3 - 2 - 5 | KTM 450 SX-F Factory Edition |
| 4 |  Justin Cooper | Cold Spring Harbor, NY | 2 - 3 - 6 | Yamaha YZ450F |
| 5 |  Justin Hill | Yoncalla, OR | 4 - 4 - 8 | KTM 450 SX-F |
We hear a lot that you don't have the raw speed, but you have the race technique. But if you look at your lap times, a lot of times you are the fastest or the second fastest, so I, I don't think that is a fact. Does that bother you? Do you hear that? Do you think about it?
I mean, it doesn't bother me. I think it's been something that, that's been said for a long time. I mean, I do rarely qualify first in practice. I think that's a fair statement, and you can fairly say sometimes I don't have the speed. I mean, I wouldn't say tonight I was the fastest guy. I was close, but I don't think I was the fastest. But with that being said, what we did 60 laps? You know you've got to put yourself in good positions and we work on it [speed] at the farm. I’ve got great teammates and riders and training partners and the speed is always there [with teammates during the week] so it definitely helps me there. But yeah, I mean sometimes it's fair to say, sometimes I would say it's not fair to say.
It always feels you're somewhat counted out come into these championships. Does that motivate you? It seems to have happened for a number of years, but does that still motivate you, even now, even though you're a two-time champion, but you're still being counted out sometimes?
Oh, for sure, I think it's no question, rarely am I the title favorite, but like I said, sometimes rightfully so. These competitors are insane, you know? They got a lot of speed, a lot of talent, and a lot of championships themselves, but I just kind of always try to put myself in a good position. I know what I can do on a dirt bike and with my team behind me, I always never count myself out. Sometimes it's a little annoying more than frustrating, just kind of like, "Hey guys, I don't know why I’m not in the conversation sometimes,” but it is what it is. It definitely fires me up and keeps me in it, no doubt.
So obviously we all know you're good at this venue. You've had the wins and you backed it up tonight. Heading into Daytona, I feel like you're kind of underrated there. You've been really close. I think you have six podiums there. Do you feel like going into that one, obviously Jett [Lawrence] and Eli [Tomac] are gonna be out, do you feel like this is a good venue for you coming into Daytona that maybe people are gonna look past you next weekend and that's gonna kind of fire you up as well?
Yeah, it's a great venue for me, you know, statistically, and yeah, if it wasn't for my teammate [Tomac], you know, I'd probably be a four-time winner there or so! Yeah, it's definitely encouraging. Obviously, for all of us, it's an opportunity to get our first one there. So, it would be sweet, but you know it's a gnarly track. You never know what to expect, but definitely feeling confident and feeling good going into that race. It'd be sweet to get that trophy added to the collection for sure.
