Chase Sexton Wins Supercross Final, Jett Lawrence Takes Title in Rookie Year
May 11, 2024
Image from Feld Motor Sports, Inc.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Chase Sexton took the win, his second of the season, at the final round of the 17-round 2024 Monster Energy AMA Supercross season. Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's Justin Cooper delivered his season-best performance in his rookie year and took second place inside Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah. Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's Cooper Webb, riding injured yet with a mathematical chance at the championship, finished in third place, netting him second overall on the season. Team Honda HRC's Jett Lawrence, after racking up eight wins in his rookie 450SX Class Supercross season, rode near the front early, but appeared to back it down to finish a safe seventh place and secure his first Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship in the 450SX Class. Lawrence became only the third rider in the sport’s history to take the title in his rookie season. In the 250SX Class, both Regional Championships battled in the Dave Coombs Sr. East/West Showdown. Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's Haiden Deegan grabbed the holeshot and defended the lead against several challenges to take the win, the third of his career and his first East/West Showdown victory. “It definitely means a lot. I had to kind of claw myself back to where I felt like I was riding good. It’s been a tough journey. The team and I have put a lot of work in. It’s taken us about, I don’t know, 16 rounds to get it good, but we’re in a good spot now. Today was a big day for me. I feel like I had really good speed and a really good start in that Main Event. I tried second gear [on the gate] for the first time all day and it paid off. I needed a good start and just rode a solid race. But overall, I’m looking forward to outdoors. I’ve been doing a lot of outdoor riding and testing and [I’m] ready to start a new championship. It’s a good way to end this one and head into that new season.” – Chase Sexton “I was looking for this podium all year and it just happened to come at the last round. We saved the best for last. I just have to give it up to the whole team. Yamaha, they gave me a chance this year and really took me under their wing and worked hard with me. I had some great teammates this year and they pushed me the whole way. I’m glad to end on a high note. I just gotta give it up to the whole Star Racing Yamaha crew, Monster Energy, Alpinestars, Oakley, Dunlop, Toyota of Escondido – we lost a great one there, Damian, this one’s for him.” – Justin Cooper “It’s been a great year. Second in the championship’s not what you want, but as we can see Jett’s a once-in-a-generation guy and he’s the real deal. I’m proud of my year, I’m proud of my team, I’m proud of my family. I truly know what we’ve been dealing with these last few races and rounds, I don’t know if there’s many guys that would’ve finished this season, so I can hang my head high on that. And I know I’ll be back stronger next year, and with some fight, and we know what we need to work on. Congrats to Jett and [that] whole team, they killed it this year. I just want to give it up to my team; they really invested a lot into me this whole year and they believed in me from the start, and I got back to championship form this year and probably the best version of myself. So, I’m super proud of that, super proud of the way I held myself in there all year. And it’s going to be a great thing, we’ll get surgery Monday on this thumb and enjoy my second baby coming and some down time. So yeah, we’ll be back next year, I know that’s for damn sure.” – Cooper Webb, referencing his torn UCL thumb injury. “I think it hasn’t fully sunk in yet, but, I mean, we had times when we sucked really bad this year then also times when we weren’t too bad, so, nah, [I’m] super happy for the team and doing it for them. They’ve been awesome. They’re family now and to give them another title is just the biggest ‘thank you’ to them, I feel like. So thank you to them, to everyone around me… I couldn’t do it without the team around me, I’m just super happy… [when asked to look back on what it took to get to this point] There’s so many hard moments that we’ve had that you can’t even put it in an interview, it’s just so long. No, I’m just super happy just for my family and the team and yeah, I’m just going to leave it at that because it's too much.” – Jett Lawrence The Western Regional 250SX Class and Eastern Regional 250SX Class each wrapped up their seasons with the Dave Coombs Sr. East/West Showdown. Haiden Deegan grabbed the Holeshot and led every lap to end the season with his third win. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing's RJ Hampshire crossed the line in second and secured his first Supercross Championship by taking the Western Regional 250SX Class title. Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's Jordon Smith crashed late in the race attempting to take the lead, but he remounted and landed on the Utah podium in third. Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Levi Kitchen took fifth place after going into Utah tied for the lead in the West. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Tom Vialle, entering the race with a 15-point lead, cruised to eighth to take his first Supercross championship with the title in the Eastern Regional 250SX Class. “That was sick. That was my first East/West Shootout win. I came into this race, I’m like, ‘You know what, I’ve got nothing to lose. I’m just going to go out there and execute what I do,’ and that’s what I did today. I was top of the board all day long, so that was perfect. I kinda feel like I’ve come around now. At the beginning of the season, obviously [there were] a few things [an injury], no excuses though, congrats to Tom, congrats to RJ, that’s dope. And yeah, got the Dub, that’s awesome.” – Haiden Deegan “Man, [I’m] just so thankful. From the beginning, like my dad, the Grondahls, Kevin Keen, just so many people have helped me get to this point right here and just believed in me. So [I’m] thankful to my wife, my daughters, it’s truly special. This whole Rockstar Energy Factory Husqvarna Racing team from Nate to Murph to my mechanic Amos, Aldon, Throttle, all the guys back home. They know how much I put into this, so it’s truly special. Just a massive thank you to Salt Lake. Man, you guys are going to be one I’m always going to remember. It’s truly special tonight. Thank you.” – RJ Hampshire “It was a bummer how it went down [with the crash]. I felt good all night, felt like I had the speed to win, and yeah, we [Deegan and I] started playing games there about halfway through. I was just trying to be smart. I kind of backed off for a couple laps. I knew I was faster in the whoops, and kinda of catching him a little bit everywhere, so I was just trying to be smart and got a run on him in the whoops. [I was] just trying to stay low [in the following corner] and he came across and I think my fork guard got caught on his bike. It almost pulled us both down. It was a bummer, [I’m] not very pumped about how that went down, but we live to fight another day. Happy to be back on the box. Shout out to the whole Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team. Toyota of Escondido, a big shout out to those guys. We lost Damian this past week. He’s been a huge supporter of this sport and of us racers for a long time and this podium’s dedicated to him…” – Jordon Smith “I had a bad Heat race. I mean, the day was really hard. Actually, [before the Main Event] I was like, ‘Okay, this is the moment I need to do the start.’ I had a great start, actually. The last five laps I was really nervous, but I made it. I’m really happy. You know: coming from Europe, moving here to the U.S., and I’ve already got the Supercross title in my second year. It’s amazing, so I’m very happy. I want to thank everyone on the team who believed in me, my family, and I’m really happy about the day. Thank you.” – Tom Vialle After four qualifying rounds throughout the season that did not pay points, the Supercross Futures AMA National Championship wrapped up with one race in Utah. Troy Lee Designs GASGAS’s Cole Davies, who won the opening SX Futures round, took the win in Utah and the title. After leading for the majority of the race, Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green’s Drew Adams crashed exiting a turn. He remounted but had to settle for second place in the championship. Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Gavin Towers rounded out the season’s podium with a third-place finish inside Rice-Eccles Stadium. “It’s definitely cool to win this race. The track is gnarly at the moment. I was able to get a pretty good start. I made some mistakes at the start there, but Drew [Adams] made a mistake, and I was able to capitalize on that and yeah, I’m stoked.” – Cole Davies “The 2024 AMA Supercross season was one of the greatest in recent memory, with season-long battles for all three titles,” AMA President and CEO Rob Dingman said. “We at the AMA offer our congratulations to Jett Lawrence, R.J. Hampshire and Tom Vialle, and we’re inspired by the determination and tenacity they showed throughout the season. The AMA also appreciates the efforts of Feld Motor Sports, series partners, racers and teams who, along with the AMA, worked tirelessly to deliver incredible racing week after week.” With the 17-round Monster Energy Supercross indoor stadium season concluded, the racers now start the 11-round outdoor season of Pro Motocross, Sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing. In August, combined points from the Monster Energy Supercross season and the Pro Motocross season will seed the top 20 riders into the SuperMotocross League’s post-season racing. Riders in positions 21-30 will gain a spot on the starting line of the Last Chance Qualifier for a chance to fill-out the 22-rider gate at each of the three post-season races. Riders who earned a Main Event win in Supercross or a Moto win in Motocross in 2024 will also earn a spot on the LCQ line. The SuperMotocross World Championship will consist of two Playoff Rounds and one Final to determine an overall SuperMotocross World Champion in the 450SMX and 250SMX classes. All 31 SuperMotocross World Championship rounds are available live and on-demand through PeacockTV, with select rounds also broadcast or streamed domestically on NBC, USA Network, CNBC, NBCSports.com, and the NBC Sports app. CNBC will air next-day encore presentations of all 31 rounds of 2024 racing. Live audio coverage for each Supercross race can be heard via NBC Sports Audio on SiriusXM Channel 85. For domestic coverage in Spanish language, the final rounds of the Supercross, Motocross, and SuperMotocross championships will be available on Telemudo Deportes’ YouTube channel as well as on the NBC Sports app. For international coverage, the racing can be found at the SuperMotocross Video Pass (supermotocross.tv) live and on-demand, in both English and Spanish. The Love Moto Stop Cancer auction concludes this Monday, May 13th at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. Until then, fans can view and bid on incredible gear and bike parts from the sport’s top racers, as well as other great items. All proceeds help raise money for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital’s fight against childhood cancer. To participate in the auction or find other great ways to get involved, please go to SupercrossLIVE.com/St-Jude. Tickets are on sale now for the Pro Motocross season as well as all three SuperMotocross World Championship rounds. For tickets, event information, race results, and more please go to SupercrossLIVE.com.
