Justin Cooper is coming off a fourth-place finish inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. Losing out on a podium finish to Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing teammate Cooper Webb, it was still an eventful and profitable night in the Midwest for Cooper as he raced to victory in the second Triple Crown race of the program. Now in his third full 450 season with the Star Racing organization, the Triple Crown triumph marked the first 450SX race win (not overall) of J-Coop's career. Straight up stoked with the Indy score, the 28-year-old is using this off weekend to put his toes in the sand and reflect back on the season thus far.
"I'm back in Tallahassee, and I'm actually headed to the beach this weekend," offered Cooper on Friday afternoon. "It's our only weekend off in supercross, so I'm headed to the beach. We're back in Tallahassee, and we did some outdoor riding this week, and I'm just going to enjoy the weekend. I'm just going to relax, right? We don't get any off weekends anymore. Just going to take the most downtime we can throughout the weekend and reset a little bit mentally."
Cooper continued to reflect back on last Saturday's eventful night in the Circle City.
"Indy is one that always breaks down a lot, so I feel the Triple Crown was a little bit of chaos," he explained. "It was a lot for that track. We did a lot of laps, and the track broke down a lot. I was able to get my first race win in the 450 class, so that was pretty special for me. We had a solid night overall, and we just barely missed the podium, but it was a good, solid race for us. Cooper Webb and I were kind of dicing back and forth in the last main. We ended up tying on points, but that's how it goes. Everyone is going really fast right now, so the racing has been really good. And the win felt awesome. I feel like that was the first time I was actually in the lead in a race. I felt like my speed has been really good, but I just haven't been getting off the gate as well as I want. Yeah, I finally got out front, and that's what happened. I was pumped."
Following the Indianapolis round, Cooper now finds himself slotted in at fifth overall in 450SX points, with only Hunter Lawrence, Eli Tomac, Cooper Webb, and Ken Roczen up ahead of him.
"Yeah, I feel like it has been us top five the last few races, so we're definitely solidified there. The pace is fierce up there. I'm just doing my best to battle those guys as hard as I can and always be in that battle. It's fierce out there, but it's clean racing. They're very respectful when it comes to T-bones and block passing and all of that stuff. They're all pretty respectful about that, so they race clean. Clean and intense is the best way to describe it. They're definitely on it. No one is really showing much weakness. This is my third year in the 450 class, and it's finally feeling more comfortable for me. The 450 class is definitely tough as a rookie in the beginning. Yeah, it's just growing into the bike and growing into the class has been fun. Now I finally feel like it's home to me, so it's been really good. I've had two full seasons so far, and I've learned a lot, and the experience is now coming through.
"It really is a big step up to the 450 class," furthered Cooper. "In the 250 class, for the most part, everyone is striving to win, but no one has really won yet. In the 450 class, everyone has been there and done that. That's just what makes it so much harder. Everyone has already been a champion, and everyone has that experience, and everyone is old and everyone is looking to prove a point still. Yeah, just more talent. That's the best way to put it. It's a matter of inches. Everything is so close. You've got five, six, seven guys qualifying with half a second. Yeah, you've got to get every little thing you can out of the day and put it forward into that main event."
And Justin Cooper knows he can win at the 450SX level.
"Yeah, I feel like for me, I've done so many races, and I've been on the podium many times and I haven't gotten that win, so your mind can play games on you, and you start questioning stuff. You've just got to keep going where you're going and believe that you can. If you find yourself in the right position, you can go after it. It's just good to be in the mix. You know it's one thing to be way off the leaders and really not have any confidence about beating them, but to be riding and racing with them all the time gives you a lot of confidence to run up front. Yeah, I think we're going to win one of these things soon. And racing with Cooper Webb is really good. We've been teammates for two years now. He's done so many years in the 450 class, and I learned a lot from him in the beginning. We just continue to push each other and help each other. Just the training alone and just riding with someone like that just elevates both of us. We can kind of feed off each other, so it's all good. Sometimes if we're struggling, we're there to give each other some insight. If I'm doing something better or if he's doing something better, we see that in the film and just go over it. It's definitely good to have a teammate like that.
"For me, it's just been really learning," Cooper furthered. "At first, I was just trying to get into that lead group pace, and I feel like I've been inching closer and closer. I'm just learning what I can from that, so it has been a really good season so far, and I can't wait for the next gate drop."
Now 28 years of age, Justin Cooper is pleased with the career trajectory he has been on.
"I was a late bloomer," he explained. "I turned pro when I was 20, and now I'm 28. It's hard to predict the future, but if everything goes to plan, I could see myself going another five years easy."
Is there a championship in the New Yorker's future?
"That's the goal. That's what I work every day for, so that's the ultimate goal, for sure. To win at this level, there are steps that you've got to take. It's not just going to be thrown at you. It's obviously not easy in this class. I'm just doing the best I can to be stronger and learn from my past races and to be a better competitor the next time out. And as far as my goals, podiums are always awesome. Every time I get a podium, that's great, but I'm looking to win soon. The next thing on the list is a win. Let's see if we can get it done. Bring on Birmingham. It's not too far from us. The first year we went there, there was a lot of rain. It was really soft. Last year was a little bit more hardpack. I don't know what we're going to get from Birmingham. Yeah, I'm feeling really good on the bike, and I'm jelling with everything, so let's see what we can do."
