Ryan Nitzen | April 20, 2024
Welcome to round 14 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series. Tonight’s the St. Jude “Love Moto Stop Cancer” Benefit race as well as the first East/West Showdown of the year which puts all of the 250SX riders against one another. In the 450SX class, the points are all tied up going into the main event.
At the end of two exciting main events, RJ Hampshire and Jett Lawrence stood atop the Nashville podium.
Highlights
Main Events
450SX
Jett Lawrence nabbed his sixth win of the year tonight after intense battles in the early laps of the main event. He ran third behind the leaders Eli Tomac and Ken Roczen but gained a spot once Roczen crashed out in the whoops after what looked to be a shock failure. At the half-way mark, Jett caught Tomac and made the move for the lead in the sand as Tomac slowed down with lappers. From then on it was smooth sailing for Lawrence as he now takes sole control of the points lead.
Jett Lawrence took the win and the points lead. Photos: Brown Dog Wilson
Eli Tomac finished third after leading the opening laps of the main event. He slowed down in the sand section and got stuck behind lapped riders which allowed Lawrence to sneak through to the lead. After losing the spot he ran second through to the finish and beat his teammate Webb.
Tomac led early on but later finished second.
Cooper Webb crossed third behind Tomac and Lawrence. It was a quiet race for the co-points leader who just couldn’t match the pace of the front runners. A podium finish keeps him in the hunt, but he’s now five points back from Lawrence.
Cooper Webb finished third.
Two of the front runners suffered big crashes as Roczen and Chase Sexton both hit the deck and did not finish the main event.
450SX Overall Results (Top 10)
| 1. |
Jett Lawrence |
(Hon) |
25 Laps |
| 2. |
Eli Tomac |
(Yam) |
+09.323 |
| 3. |
Cooper Webb |
(Yam) |
+14.721 |
| 4. |
Jason Anderson |
(Kaw) |
+17.512 |
| 5. |
Justin Barcia |
(GG) |
+27.222 |
| 6. |
Justin Cooper |
(Yam) |
+37.367 |
| 7. |
Hunter Lawrence |
(Hon) |
+41.352 |
| 8. |
Benny Bloss |
(Bet) |
24 Laps |
| 9. |
Malcolm Stewart |
(Hus) |
+09.680 |
| 10. |
Vince Friese |
(Hon) |
+22.530 |
250SX Showdown
RJ Hampshire convincingly won the 250SX Showdown. The Rockstar Husqvarna rider is in a must-win situation if he wants to stay in the championship hunt, and that’s exactly what he did in Nashville. Hampshire led every lap of the main event to take the win and now takes over the points lead.
RJ Hampshire claimed the win and now carries the points lead.
Jo Shimoda finished second on the night, making it a west coast 1-2. The Honda rider moved into second place early on but was not able to match the pace of Hampshire up front. This matches his best finish of the year with two second place finishes in the last two races.
Jo Shimoda finished second.
Tom Vialle took third and was the top finisher of the east coast competitors. Vialle looked fast all day and moved into third after Jordon Smith crashed in the whoops. Vialle also takes over the points lead with his podium finish.
250 Podium.
The real drama in the 250 class came as the two points leaders, Cameron McAdoo and Levi Kitchen, crashed together in the second turn. Both riders laid on the ground and remounted in 21 and 22 positions. McAdoo later pulled out of the race while Kitchen salvaged a few points by finishing 14th.
250SX Showdown Final Results (Top 10)
| 1. |
RJ Hampshire |
(Hus) |
19 Laps |
| 2. |
Jo Shimoda |
(Hon) |
+03.663 |
| 3. |
Tom Vialle |
(KTM) |
+09.391 |
| 4. |
Jordon Smith |
(Yam) |
+16.952 |
| 5. |
Jalek Swoll |
(Tri) |
+20.308 |
| 6. |
Haiden Deegan |
(Yam) |
+25.093 |
| 7. |
Max Anstie |
(Hon) |
+27.599 |
| 8. |
Chance Hymas |
(Hon) |
+29.086 |
| 9. |
Julien Beaumer |
(KTM) |
+29.747 |
| 10. |
Phil Nicoletti |
(Yam) |
+36.471 |
Press Conference
QUALIFYING
450SX
The points chase is tied but Jett Lawrence landed the fastest qualifying lap once again as he posted the only lap time in the 49-second range. This beat out Justin Cooper’s time for second, with Cooper Webb logging third.
Jett Lawrence topped the time charts. Photos: Brown Dog Wilson
Justin Cooper put in the second best time.
Webb is the co-points leader and was the third fastest qualifier.
450SX Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. |
Jett Lawrence |
(Hon) |
49.879 |
| 2. |
Justin Cooper |
(Yam) |
50.403 |
| 3. |
Cooper Webb |
(Yam) |
50.480 |
| 4. |
Chase Sexton |
(KTM) |
50.685 |
| 5. |
Eli Tomac |
(Yam) |
50.737 |
| 6. |
Hunter Lawrence |
(Hon) |
50.847 |
| 7. |
Jason Anderson |
(Kaw) |
51.030 |
| 8. |
Ken Roczen |
(Suz) |
51.104 |
| 9. |
Malcolm Stewart |
(Hus) |
51.327 |
| 10. |
Benny Bloss |
(Bet) |
51.493 |
250SX Showdown
The Showdown is spicing things up today with both Pro Circuit Kawasaki riders, Levi Kitchen (West) and Cameron Mcadoo (East) leading the points going into the night show. Despite the red plates, neither of them grabbed the pole position in their qualifying sessions. And for those asking, the west coast riders put in the fastest times of the day.
Hampshire was the fastest overall for the 250’s.
In the west RJ Hampshire topped the time sheets, nearly one second clear of Jordon Smith, and third place Levi Kitchen. In the East Coast session, Tom Vialle nailed the fastest lap ahead of Cameron McAdoo and Pierce Brown
250SX West Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. |
RJ Hampshire |
(Hus) |
50.193 |
| 2. |
Jordon Smith |
(Yam) |
51.029 |
| 3. |
Levi Kitchen |
(Kaw) |
51.036 |
| 4. |
Garrett Marchbanks |
(Yam) |
51.791 |
| 5. |
Julien Beaumer |
(KTM) |
51.809 |
| 6. |
Jo Shimoda |
(Hon) |
51.820 |
| 7. |
Nate Thrasher |
(Yam) |
51.934 |
| 8. |
Ryder DiFrancesco |
(GG) |
52.335 |
| 9. |
Phillip Nicoletti |
(Yam) |
52.577 |
| 10. |
Hunter Yoder |
(Kaw) |
52.743 |
250SX East Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. |
Tom Vialle |
(KTM) |
50.928 |
| 2. |
Cameron Mcadoo |
(Kaw) |
52.072 |
| 3. |
Pierce Brown |
(GG) |
52.172 |
| 4. |
Haiden Deegan |
(Yam) |
52.311 |
| 5. |
Max Anstie |
(Hon) |
52.524 |
| 6. |
Casey Cochran |
(Hus) |
52.949 |
| 7. |
Daxton Bennick |
(Yam) |
53.029 |
| 8. |
Henry Miller |
(Hon) |
53.038 |
| 9. |
Nicholas Romano |
(Yam) |
53.225 |
| 10. |
Jalek Swoll |
(Tri) |
53.347 |
