In winning three of the last four races in Monster Energy Supercross--and with championship leaders Eli Tomac and Hunter Lawrence suffering through bad races --Ken Roczen has climbed to within one point of the championship lead. A month ago he was down 31 points! How often has a rider come from this far back to battle for the title? Well, Ken's not quite all the way into the points lead yet, but he's close. Here are the biggest comebacks we can find in the history of supercross. Give us your memories of these crazy seasons below.
The comeback you remember: In 2002, Ricky Carmichael faced a 35 point deficit to David Vuillemin after three rounds. RC's famous OTB crash at Anaheim 1 left him with a DNF and a broken hand, but he grinded out 4-4 finishes at rounds two and three before a win at round four. He clawed some points back on DV, but the big switch came when Vuillemin got hurt doing a photoshoot before Daytona and wasn’t able to race. RC took over the points lead and won the title.
We recently asked Vuillemin about this season in an episode of the Fox Re-Raceables podcast, and he said he's not sure he would have held Carmichael off, anyway. Vuillemin says no one was ever able to hold off Carmichael for a title, so why would he be any different? That's a shocking level of humbleness from a great rider!
The quick erasure: James Stewart crashed out of the Anaheim 1 opener in 2009 and faced a 23-point deficit after one race. He came roaring all the way back to win seven in a row, taking the points lead by round eight in Atlanta. He and Chad Reed battled the rest of the way but Stewart emerged as champion.
The Improbable Run: Chase Sexton was third in points in 2023, down 25 to Eli Tomac after Tomac won round 12 in Glendale. Sexton won the next race in Atlanta and then Cooper Webb, second in points, went down at round 15 in Nashville, and Tomac tore his Achilles at round 16 in Denver. Sexton kept winning and took the title.
The DNQ swing: Chad Reed was third in points in 2011, down 29 points after round 10 in Indy. Two weeks later he had the points lead! The all-time king of the supercross podium went 2-2 at Jacksonville and Toronto supercrosses. Meanwhile the riders ahead of him in the standings, Ryan Villopoto and James Stewart, had disastrous rounds. Villopoto DNQed at Jacksonville after repeated first turn crashes in his heat and LCQ. Then Stewart crashed out of the main event in the first turn. The next week Villopoto and Stewrt collided in a corner, and Stewart finished fourth and Villopoto was ninth. Reed left that race up three points on Villopoto. Villopoto would come back, though, and win the title by four points over Reed.
The all-time comeback: In 1983 David Bailey was down more than 40 points on Bob Hannah and Mark Barnett after suffering through foot and ankle injuries. Then Hannah, who appeared en route to winning the title, broke his wrist on press day in Orlando. Barnett had bike problems in Foxborough, and Bailey kept fighting through pain, ultimately taking the points lead and the title.
