1. Kenny Owns Cleveland
Progressive Insurance Cycle Gear Suzuki’s Ken Roczen took the overall win in Cleveland and moved to within one point of the series lead. Roczen went into race three tied with Justin Cooper for the overall win but delivered in the clutch. He pulled the holeshot, put in some of his trademark opening laps, and dominated the race. Roczen has now won three of the last four races and it is a coin flip on who is going to win this championship between himself and Hunter Lawrence.
Roczen’s trip to Cleveland was not only successful on the track, but off-track as well. Via their relationship with agent Steve Astephen, Roczen has partnered with superstar musician Machine Gun Kelly in the Shooters Restaurant and Bar located on the Cuyahoga River. Ken joined Adam Cianciarulo and Justin Brayton for a live AC & JB Show at Shooters on Friday Night. He also made an appearance at MGK’s 27 Club Coffee, which hosted a Ken Roczen Merch Pop-up Shop Friday afternoon. Ken Roczen fans came out in droves, selling out the merch within an hour. He returned the favor with a win on Saturday. Safe to say Kenny would like to see Cleveland become a mainstay on the Supercross schedule.
2. Hunter’s Fumbles
Hunter Lawrence led every lap of race one and it appeared that Cleveland would be business as usual for the Championship leader. As the rain began to fall inside Huntington Bank Field, Lawrence’s day began to unravel. In race two, Hunter started in the back half of the top ten and only made his way up to fifth.
Race three is where things completely fell apart. Lawrence got off to another mediocre start. He struggled to move through the field early, and then on lap four had a big crash in the whoops. It is noteworthy that before the crash, Hunter was tampering with his goggles a lot, so maybe the crash was caused by poor vision. Nonetheless, he remounted without his visor, and without a gas cap hose. The broadcast was able to clearly show fuel splashing out on Hunter as he tried to regain valuable positions. Lawrence took one final blow late in the race when he tagged the back wheel of Garrett Marchbanks and went down a second time. He finished the race in fourteenth, but with the triple crown format, he was able to salvage sixth overall.
This race was eerily similar to Detroit in that things went sideways while Hunter was positioned to give himself a comfortable points lead. Instead, we have a three-race showdown between he and Ken Roczen, both of whom have never been in contention for a 450 SX title this late in the season.
3. Eli Down and Out
Red Bull KTM’s Eli Tomac has stolen headlines over the past month for all the wrong reasons. After winning four of the first eight rounds, Tomac’s season took one of the most bizarre nosedives the sport has ever seen. Things came to a head in Cleveland when Eli went down hard in the whoops during the first qualifying session. Eli was slow to get up, and the session was red flagged.
Tomac eventually got up under his own power and walked himself to the medic mule. He was complaining of right shoulder and hip pain, but X-rays at the Alpinestars Medical Rig did not show any fractures. He attempted to go out for the second session, but the pain was too much, and Eli was forced to call it a day.
Eli posted an update on an Instagram story on Tuesday saying, “Taking it day by day, not broken, bruised and beat up. Muscles need to chill out and I’ll be back soon.” Despite the positive news, the fact of the matter is that Tomac’s supercross season has been impeded by injury for the fourth consecutive season. It is difficult not to overreact and question what the future holds for one of the greatest the sport has ever seen.
Recommended Reading
Wed Apr 22 Steve Matthes' Observations From Cleveland SX 
Tue Apr 21 Tomac After Cleveland SX Qualifying Crash: "Taking it day by day, not broken, bruised and beat up...I'll be back soon" 
Mon Apr 20 Cleveland SX Review Podcast: Three Rounds to Go, One Single Point Separates Lawrence/Roczen 450SX Title Fight 
Sun Apr 19 Thomas: "It had to be a horrific experience. Wearing fuel is not a comfortable existence" 4. Thrasher Keeps the Streak Alive
The season got off to a bleak start, but in Cleveland, Nate Thrasher finally put his Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing machine on the top step of the podium via 2-1-4 finishes. It was the third triple crown victory of his career, but first with a race win. The win keeps his streak of getting at least one 250SX win in every season since turning pro in 2021.
At Friday’s press scrum, Nate explained that he is looking for a ride, and that there had been zero discussions about an extension at Star Racing. Maybe a win is what team manager Bobby Regan has been waiting for. Maybe we will see Thrasher on a different color for the first time in his career next season. Either way, finding someone with the ability to win races is rare, so it is a matter time before Thrasher finds a home for 2027.
5. Landen Gordon is Legit
Landen Gordon was impressive in his pro debut last weekend in Nashville, but he did not get a fair crack at it in the main event due to taking a footpeg to the spokes in the first turn. Well, he more than made up for it in Cleveland, getting on the podium in just his second professional race. Gordon went 4-2-2 for second overall and it looked like he had been there before.
Landen may not have a SMX Next win this season, but a deeper dive into his results shows that his speed has improved each round. Gordon is older for a rookie at nineteen years old and has been a top guy in SMX Next for a couple of years now. Sure, his teammates Caden Dudney and Kayden Minear may have shown more flash at times, but it is not shocking to see Gordon’s extra experience translate into some better immediate results in the pro’s. However, a podium is probably beyond anybody’s expectation. Bravo LG.
6. J-Coop Wins Again
If Monster Energy AMA Supercross had season-ending awards, Justin Cooper would arguably be the front runner for the 450SX Most-Improved award. He currently has one less podium than he ended up with last year, but the class is much deeper than it was this time last year and he is taking it to the top guy’s week in and week out. He won another Triple Crown race in Cleveland, dominating race two, and was tied with Ken Roczen for the overall lead heading into the last round.
Unfortunately, Cooper had a rough go in the third race including a close call in a rhythm section that sent him over a bowl turn. Justin joked about it afterwards on Instagram calling it a “little ride on Endonesia Air.” He was able to salvage a seventh which was good enough to land on the podium for the third time this season. He is running out of time in 2026, but it seems inevitable that JCoop is a future 450SX winner.
7. Justin Hill Backs Up Nashville
Last week in Nashville Team Tedder’s Justin Hill spent 19 laps in a podium position before finishing a season-best fifth. Hill credited the dry, slick conditions for his breakout ride, but he impressed once again in Cleveland on drastically different conditions. His eighth overall will not stand out on paper but his third in race three will.
Hill crossed the holeshot line in 13th but put on an impressive charge through the field. He was the fastest rider on track for the last couple laps and made a last lap pass on Chase Sexton for third. Not something anyone had on their bingo card at any point during the season.
Justin has been struggling with his starts, and after the race he admitted he even tried timing the gate in race two, which ultimately led to him hitting the gate. The last two weeks have been a huge improvement, but Hill is adamant that he has more in the tank, especially in the elevation of Denver and Salt Lake.
8. Davies Completes the Podium Sweep
Oddly enough, Cole Davies was the weak link of the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250 team in Cleveland. He finished fourth in race one after going down trying to find a way around Nate Thrasher, and he was all out of sorts in a rainy race two, finishing fifth. Although fifth is a disappointment for the most dominant rider in the series, it was a fortunate result after getting together with Drew Adams off the start. Adams got the worse end of the deal and was injured, causing the race to be red flagged.
He rebounded in race three to take the win. His 4-5-1 results gave him third overall, rounding out a Star Racing podium sweep. Despite the rougher day for Davies, he was still able to gain points on his closest championship contender Seth Hammaker and carries a 21-point lead into the penultimate round of the series this weekend in Philadelphia.
9. Coop Not Giving Up
Cooper Webb is not having a terrible season, but when you are a three-time and defending champion, one heat win and one triple crown overall win (via 4-2-3 results) is not going to make you happy. Coop and the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team have continued to put in long days, and Cleveland was one of his better races of the season. He topped the first qualifying session and was just a tenth off the top time set by Hunter Lawrence in Q2.
One of Webb’s biggest undoing’s this season has been his starts, and he struggled out of the gate again in the first two races leading to mediocre 4-5 finishes. He started second in race three and although he lost the tow of Ken Roczen in the early laps, he rode a solid, uneventful race to finish in the runner-up position. 4-5-2 was good enough for second overall, his seventh podium of the season.
Away from the track, it was a big week for Coop, as his wife Mariah, gave birth to their third daughter Revy. After the race he commented that he was happy to bring her home a trophy and credited Kenny for his ride in third race saying, “Kenny was on another level those early laps that last one, and I was just a good ole’ P2”. Coop is saying all the right things, but you know he’s frustrated seeing Kenny and Hunter ride away from him on a weekly basis.
10. Prado’s Bizarre Night
Red Bull KTM had a night to forget in Cleveland. If losing Eli Tomac and any hopes of a championship was not enough, Jorge Prado had his worst race of the season. He qualified fifth, and he started in the top five in race one. He found himself in a heated battle with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Malcolm Stewart. But once Malcolm made a pass that stuck, Jorge’s day fell off a cliff.
He faded back to 14th and races two and three were more of the same. Unable to get another good start, Prado straight up went 14-15-15 for 15th overall. It was the most uninspiring ride of his season, like what we saw last summer. As the KTM PR says, “It was a tough outing for Jorge Prado and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing in challenging conditions, with sights set to Philadelphia up next.”
