After finishing third in the Arlington Supercross, Cooper Webb was clearly frustrated. The three-time and defending 450SX Champion got the holehot and had the early race lead before Ken Roczen quickly passed into the lead. Webb would later battle with Roczen and Eli Tomac in the later stages of the race. Tomac made a pass and bumped Webb off the track, putting the #1 from second to fourth. Eventually, he passed Roczen back to take the final spot on the podium. In the post-race media scrum afterwards, Webb talked about the aggression from both Roczen and Tomac, plus Hunter Lawrence’s ride, and more.
Webb’s highlight quote was this: “I think we just all knew whoever got Kenny first could break away and that was going to do the job and I think that's what happened.” Enter Lawrence, who Roczen fought off lap after lap after lap until finally the #96 got by and snuck away for the race win!
If there were any opportunities out there to be found, you were seeing them and you were going for it. At times it seemed like there might've been frustrating situations out there. What kind of emotions were you battling throughout that main?
Cooper Webb: Just cat-and-mouse. You're trying to make the move on Kenny, but then you got someone behind you and he's going fast, but then it felt like we were kind a little bit faster coming through. So, pick your lines and basically, I made two mistakes all night or one really big one on the on-on-off and that's where Hunter got me. And then I just was bummed at myself. I feel like early in the race I should have made something happen. But with that being said, it is what it is. We were all really close and just later, like I said, when Eli made his pass on me, I had just got around Kenny and then obviously had to get back by or when I came on the track, I was behind him. So just kind of got shuffled around and kind of lost that tow at the end when I had to get by around 94 late and they just had that gap on me. So, happy with the riding, just needed to be more aggressive at the beginning.
You mentioned the aggressiveness at the beginning, I think it was the second turn there, you guys were... Kenny, you right next to each other. I guess, how do you manage that fine line of not being too aggressive two turns into the race but knowing something like that's coming here and there?
Yeah, exactly. Yeah, it's hard. You want to solidify yourself and I should've shut the door maybe in the first rhythm and I didn't, I kind of wanted to give him a little bit of room and he took advantage of it. As we know, Kenny's really good at the beginning of the races, so that's where you don't want to get cat-and-mouse and slow the race up. So, I was happy with kind of settling in, slotting in behind him. But then there was a certain time where I was like, "Hey, it's time to go and the guys are coming." And I think we just all knew whoever got Kenny first could break away and that was going to do the job and I think that's what happened.
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On a bit of a lighter note, you had a different helmet and different kind of gear during the opening ceremonies. How cool was it for you to pay tribute to so many people who have served in the Air Force and to represent them on a stage like this?
Yeah, man, that was great. It's obviously a special weekend as always with the military appreciation, but especially opening ceremonies with the lit kit. I got a legit Air Force kit with the patches, everything legit. It was in battle use, so that was pretty cool. And it's always an honor to race hard for them, but also, as everyone knows here, they go through, so it's the least we can do to give back. So it was really cool setup for opening ceremonies.
You were kind of known for the king of being on one-on-one battles. Now that we're in this situation where all four guys that are in the title contention, were all top four in that race and were all battling for the entirety. How does that change your mentality when it comes to racecraft and your tactics when it comes to finding your position in the race?
It doesn't change much. You just kind of read the room as is. And like I said, it was going to be who didn't make mistakes and, like I said, I felt like it was going to be whoever got Kenny first was going to be able to break away and that's exactly what Hunter did. Obviously, Eli's smart, Kenny's smart, Hunter's smart, I'm smart. There was clearly tonight I think it was just like slot car, it felt like we were at the [Daytona] 500 just drafting each other there, honestly. [Laughs] So, like I said, I think I'll rewatch it and see where I could have been better. But the one mistake I know on-on-off cost me by Hunter getting by. But other than that, I felt like I had a solid race and it's one of those would've, should've, could've.
When you got Kenny, I'm sure you knew Eli was right there, but did you expect him to make such a hard attempt on you and then when you went on the concrete, how did you kind of not panic too much and maybe lose it right there trying to get back on the track?
Yeah, I really didn't only because obviously I had just gotten him, so I was kind of protecting that inside a little bit. But then I had kind of been going wide and cutting down and so when I kind of heard someone there I was a bit surprised. And then when he really put me off, I was like, "Oh, okay." And then, like I said, that allowed Kenny to get back by. So, that kind of sucked in that sense. But when you're off the track on the concrete, it's scary. You don't want to get on it hard, you don't really know what to do. So, I just kind of did what I felt was, which was I think the clear place. But I ended up getting kind of passed twice. So, like I said, the turn before you make a pass, I'm ready to set still and got shuffled back from that. So, that was a bit of a bummer. It wasn't dirty or anything, but it would've been nice to not get behind 94 again.
| Position | Rider | Hometown | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Hunter Lawrence | Landsborough, Australia  | 171 |
| 2 |  Eli Tomac | Cortez, CO  | 170 |
| 3 |  Ken Roczen | Mattstedt, Germany  | 151 |
| 4 |  Cooper Webb | Newport, NC | 151 |
| 5 |  Chase Sexton | La Moille, IL | 122 |
Naturally the top guys you're racing with are the main competitors, but what was the second biggest piece of competition tonight, the lappers or that track?
Like Hunter said, the lappers were bad, but it's just there wasn't much you could do, to be completely honest. We're all doing the same lines and the same thing. So, they tried their hardest, but the track was gnarly. I mean there's no doubt. I love that. I love when it breaks down, but as we saw the whoops claimed a lot of people, so I stuck to old reliable jump line, which I think was the best approach. And same thing, I saw Hunter get all side plates a few times and I thought that was going to be the crash and it wasn't. So, tip the cap for him. But track was gnarly. It was tricky as always, but it was fun.
You may have answered it kind of, when you said you didn't think there was anything dirty about the past, but do you feel like you got used up just a little bit? Maybe there could have been a little more patience on that one pass the Eli made on the two of you guys?
I mean obviously, yeah, on my end I'm hoping it didn't happen, right? But I mean I think Eli had the same mentality as me. Like we all needed to get with Hunter if we wanted a chance at winning and I think that's where he saw his opening. I can't fault him for that, but, like I said, going off and then losing that position, like I said, just getting kind of eaten up in that way was a bummer because I felt like I wasn't holding [#]3 up at all. We were all riding good, but like I said, should've, would've, could've. And if I see an opening, I'm going to be sure to take it.
