Jett Lawrence is
putting a stranglehold on the sport. The establishment doesn’t want to hear it.

WORDS: JASON WEIGANDT

PHOTOS: ALIGN MEDIA,
SIMON CUDBY, & FRAN KUHN

The series begins at Daytona, said Ricky Carmichael, famously, but in this case, what series are we talking about? This year’s Daytona Supercross not only started a win streak for 450SX rookie Jett Lawrence, but signaled a streak that could stretch well beyond. We could be talking about Daytona 2024 at Daytona 2025, ’26 and ’27. Will it ring as significant as famous races of the past? Well, such significance didn’t fade over the next few weeks, because once the kid tracked down and beat all-time Daytona master Eli Tomac, just as Eli appeared to be mounting a comeback, the race took on a symbolic look. Seven days later Jett held back a patented Cooper Webb late-race charge in Birmingham, and the next weekend he bested Ken Roczen three times to sweep a Triple Crown in Indy, where Roczen won last year.

That type of run gets people talking. How can one race determine the course of the next few years? Because we’ve seen it before.