2024 Ironman National Motocross - 450MX Moto 1
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00:00their bikes to the track and cut back on the cost of being a privateer racing in supercross
00:05and motocross. So that's it. Field is set. 30 minutes and two laps. 40 riders on the gate.
00:13And the way hunter Lawrence has ridden the first motos as of late, he's won the last two of them,
00:18yeah, he could hold that off to the final moto. And I would think it's getting nervous time at
00:23that point if you're 6th. Yeah, I mean, it's getting nervous time until they hand you that
00:27number one plate. But yeah, hunter Lawrence, I think he's a little bit more start dependent
00:32than chase. I mean, chase has obviously been showing he can come up through the pack. But
00:36yeah, hunter Lawrence has been strong these first motos lately since he's been on that 25. So we'll
00:41see if he gets a start, see what he can do with it. And don't forget those outside gates. That's
00:45Jordan Smith's spot. Nearly hole shot the first 250 moto. Can Eli Tomac do it from the outside
00:51of the number three? Got Kyle Chisholm out there as well. Eli's back. Eli's back. So happy.
01:02Not often do we go into a season finale with this type of drama. It's just on the line for
01:07Sexton to win this title. The likes of Plessiger, Lawrence, Justin Cooper haven't gotten wins this
01:13year. Overall, could today be the day? Revs are up. Gates down. Oh, big pileup. Is that
01:27Ferrandez? Yeah, Ferrandez. Oh, that was big. He went flipping. Phil Micheletti, a good start.
01:35But hunter Lawrence to the lead again. Hunter Lawrence, as the Hondas, they got them start
01:41style. But as Phil always does, he somehow always ends up up there. But chase Sexton slides up into
01:47fourth spot. It's like Plessiger and Phil battling it out third and fourth. There is Sexton and a
01:54good start for Tomac, who's next in line. Yeah, Eli got lucky because he was right next to that
01:59Ferrandez accident. So because he was so far on the outside, he was able to get around it. But
02:04good start by Eli to be up here. And let's see what happens. Now chase Sexton's been a little
02:10lazy, I would somewhat say, early in these first motos. Takes him a few laps to get going. But he's
02:14able to already get around Phil. Let's see how froggy he's feeling if he wants to try to wrap
02:19this championship up in this moto. Yeah, looks like he's made the pass. So up to third. We have
02:25seen hunter Lawrence and Plessiger battling for the lead early in these motos quite a bit lately.
02:31Tomac holding off his teammate Cooper. Now battling with Micheletti. Yeah, let's see what
02:36Eli is probably going to have to funnel in behind or not. I thought he was going to try to make that
02:42move, but he should be able to because now the outside ends up on the inside. Nice move by Eli.
02:46And you heard him on the gate. He wants to get back to that first moto. So this is the first
02:50time Eli has gotten a chance to race against chase Sexton for a while, but especially on this 4
02:55since he's been on this KTM. So I'm sure it's going to be a learning experience for the number
02:59three four-time champ, Eli Tomac. Yeah, because last week that starts in both motos for Tomac.
03:05He finished fourth in moto one, but he never saw the leaders. See what he can do. Saw the stat.
03:11This is the 350th career start, all classes combined, for Eli Tomac. And we talked to him
03:19yesterday about what he learned in his comeback last week at Bud's Creek.
03:29I had, you know, one okay finish, which was that fourth, and then the second moto there,
03:33it was tough. Like, that's when reality sets in. You know, you're coming off this injury,
03:38you're on a new motorcycle. It sounds like a handful of excuses, but it's reality, and you've
03:43got to really, you know, figure out how to improve yourself. And I'm hoping that I will improve
03:51myself. So it's tough coming back this period. So it was also two years since my last motocross
04:02race. So there were so many things going on, but one thing for sure is it felt good to be back on
04:07the motocross track. There's a lot of things going on right now. How about that pass from
04:11Aaron Plessinger? That was a nice pass. See, you start going in the woods, and Aaron Plessinger
04:16comes out, and it's a battle inside of a battle, because they're still trying to pick the motocross
04:22nation's team, and Aaron Plessinger, and I'm sure Eli is probably one of the guys they're
04:25thinking about as we watch Dylan get up. It's good to see him get off the track, but
04:32Aaron wants to get one of these things. I called about my show. I said, man, let's win one of
04:36these. So maybe today's the day that number 7 becomes number 1 in one of these motos. It looks
04:42good. You make a great point. Well, first of all, listen to this crowd. They love Aaron Plessinger
04:51anywhere you go, and he's putting on a show right now. Hunter's probably like, another KTM? I thought
04:57I had to deal with one of them, but, yeah, with Aaron, you've got to believe he's always had the
05:03pace, and last weekend he was right there with Hunter, and then his teammate came storming past,
05:08but Aaron's got some good memories here. First ever win, as you mentioned earlier.
05:14AP might be the day. Yeah, then you mentioned the woods. Yep, that's what he was raised doing,
05:19that type of cross country racing, and that's the area where he made the pass. Aaron's dad,
05:25an AMA hall of famer for his off-road racing in the woods exploits, multi-time AMA national
05:31champ and GNCC champ, and Aaron grew up racing that series, grew up on this track,
05:36and it's showing right now. Show you the pass. Aaron here, now, he's working on this pass for
05:44a couple corners. This is going down the star straight. He goes in, and he goes to the inside
05:50here, which puts him on the outside on this next corner, which puts him back on the inside,
05:55and he just gets next to Hunter, and at this point, he's going to be on the inside,
06:00and he just power moves through Hunter. Hunter knew he kind of had him beat,
06:03but Aaron Flessinger, this new wood section, nice little hop over to his jump.
06:10Now, I feel like with him, kind of like what we he get that confidence going, Katie.
06:17Yeah, there's definitely a little confidence in AP right now, and I actually asked him,
06:21how does all the hubbub around KTM and Chase Sexton, your teammate,
06:25help you or enhance you, and he said, it doesn't change a thing. I had a good week,
06:28and I'm out here to win, so that's one thing that you can keep your eyes set on him. The team also
06:32continue to say that AP is getting stronger and stronger, and his approach to racing,
06:37along with his physical and mental strength, it's all coming together for him. JT?
06:41Well, the one thing that could help for AP is he could be situationally set up here,
06:45because if you start thinking about where Chase Sexton's head is, he's going to want to lock this
06:49championship up. He's going to be a little bit more risk averse than he would be here in this
06:53first moto, so if AP could put in some great laps and build up a lead, I don't really think Chase
06:58Sexton's going to put himself in a spot where he's going to risk going all out to chase AP down late,
07:03so if I'm AP, I want to get going right now, build up a gap, so when Chase Sexton looks up,
07:08he's like, nah, it's not going to happen in this moto, so this could be a chance for AP
07:12to finally get that moto win. Yeah, and normally I would say, look, Sexton just sits back here
07:17behind Hunter. He would still wrap up the title, but Sexton, there's a spoiler in the mix.
07:22James Stewart, Eli Tomac is hanging. Yeah, what I was going to mention about Aaron,
07:28the same thing with Eli, is that what we saw with Jordan Smith in that 250 class,
07:33being up front, it's going to every lap they're here, they're going to get more confidence,
07:37especially with Eli. If he's able to stay here with Chase, it's going to allow him, like, okay,
07:41I've still got this speed as Chase is starting to pound on Hunter. Oh, Chase made this happen.
07:48He's on the outside, though. Can he hold it? He's going to be wheel to wheel over the finish line,
07:52jump down this straight, and the 4 has taken the second place spot. Yeah, I think Hunter kind of
07:57knew Chase was coming because he could have popped out of that rut and slowed Chase down, but
08:02nonetheless, that was a strong move by Chase Sexton, but just like Aaron Plessinger, being
08:06out front is going to give him confidence. We saw Jordan Smith wrap this thing off.
08:10Eli Tomac, if he's able to stay with these guys, don't be surprised if he comes back up in this
08:14battle, but Hunter's got to slow things down. Two laps in a row, he's got passed by the 7,
08:20and the number 4 is still right here. It's early in this race, Jason.
08:23And look at the points as they run. Lower left, that is the magic number. Sexton needs only a 25
08:29point lead to wrap the title. It would now be 30 if it ended like this, but that goes all the way
08:34back to J.T.'s question. Now does Sexton set sail after his teammate, or is he happy to just be in
08:42championship punching position? Can't back off too much, though, because Hunter staying close,
08:50Tomac there at 4th. Yeah, actually, all three of those guys made a mistake in that corner. It
08:54looked like Hunter lost the most time, but yeah, we saw Hunter get a little bit more aggressive,
09:00but yeah, he lost that time, Katie. Okay, Stu, I have a question. If we know AP and Chase Sexton
09:06are great teammates, the camaraderie between them has been nothing but positive for what we've heard,
09:11right? So just out of curiosity, would Sexton ever let AP win this thing to get his first,
09:17his first, you know, moto overall here maybe today, or do you think that Sexton wants to go out
09:22in style and get this thing done? Yeah, if I was AP, I'd tell Chase, look, man, you are a great
09:27teammate. I like you a lot, but I'm here to win this race, and the same thing with Chase Sexton.
09:32The good thing with him, Chase, he doesn't have to win this race to wrap this championship up.
09:36I think if Aaron wins it, Chase is going to try to go out and win it. Aaron would just be better,
09:41so I don't think Chase is going to let him win anything if he has a choice.
09:46Man, I just watched Plessiger jump in and out of what they call the Hoosier hole there
09:50under that bridge. He went for a wild ride in practice, almost crashed. He is on the edge
09:55right now. It almost happened again. Yeah, I told him he had to step up and try to get one
09:59of these wins. I didn't say at all cost, but... Is that tow back? Yeah, he's challenging Hunter now.
10:07Yeah, and if Eli gets around him, as I was mentioning, just that confidence, and Eli knows
10:12how to win these races, and last time we were here, he won this race with a great battle with
10:17Chase Sexton, so good feeling for him. Hopefully he can continue that momentum up. Two battles to
10:23watch. Plessiger versus Sexton. Lawrence versus tow back. Send it back to Jason Thomas.
10:28Well, the most critical aspect of AP's race here didn't come to fruition. He really needed
10:33to build out that gap, and Chase Sexton simply didn't let him go. You saw him make the pass,
10:37and he's already closed this gap down. A big mistake from Sexton, and that's what he's got
10:41to guard against. When I was talking about him being risk-averse, he's not going to want to
10:45take big chances, and I thought AP's best option or best opportunity there was to build a gap.
10:51Now with Sexton sitting right behind him, and to Katie's question, listen, bonuses to win races
10:56like this are in the six-figure range, so not only that, Chase Sexton has an opportunity to win the
11:00race and the championship in front of his home crowd, so there's a lot of emotion and a lot of
11:05probably push-pull for Chase Sexton in this photo. Yeah, absolutely, and if I'm Aaron, I got to keep
11:10Chase behind me. I don't want him to get in front because just as quickly as he caught me, he'll
11:16pull away, and he's been known to do that, so if he can keep doing, like, if he can hold Chase off,
11:21maybe Chase makes a couple of those mistakes as we just witnessed, and maybe he'll go into
11:25championship mode. Uh-oh, not right now. Sexton to the inside. I said your best chance was to hold
11:32him off. They can listen, but it's hard to put that into motion, plus they're riding hard, but
11:39Chase Sexton now has the lead. Well, Chase Sexton, as I mentioned at the top of the show, he's a
11:43different rider. He's just making things happen, and so Aaron didn't do anything wrong. It was what
11:48Chase decided to make happen, and these guys better watch out because that number four will run off
11:53from him really quick as he has in the past. Yeah, and as JT made the point, I'm going to make a rough
11:58estimate of what the teams usually pay for wins, probably around 100 grand for a win and 50 grand
12:04for seconds, so it's too much money on the line, I think, for Sexton to say you can have it today.
12:10Also, I've got to wonder, is part of Sexton going to say, look, I feel safer if I'm just
12:14riding by myself and not dicing with people? Yeah, we talked about this a couple weeks ago
12:19at Unadilla, and JT mentioned it, that Chase feels like he talks to somebody. He's a different
12:23rider out front, so this is probably where he feels the most comfortable, and this is where I
12:28would say if you're Chase Sexton and the rest of the guys, they don't feel like they have much of
12:33a chance when he's out front, so this is probably the safest position for Chase to be in, most
12:38comfortable, and the less likely these guys are going to feel like they're going to come up and
12:42pass him after this. Hey, nice job by Hunter Lawrence to recover here. He actually was quicker
12:46than Pleszciger the last time around and stretching it a bit on Tomac, who a lap ago was all over him.
12:54Aaron's doing a good job of keeping the pressure on Chase, and maybe if he can keep this up,
13:00at some point, Chase is going to start thinking about the championship and just kind of get
13:04nerves of it, so if Aaron's on him, then Chase might start going backwards, because this is the
13:09first time he's ever been in this position. If he gets that gap, then he'll be able to ride this
13:13thing out. This track's tough. These bikes are bouncing around everywhere. Everybody's kind of
13:17making mistakes, but as you mentioned, that 96 is closing up. It's a tug of war. It is.
13:24Every time someone has a good couple of turns, then they make a mistake, the other guy
13:28cuts into that gap. Yeah, it's a weird racetrack. When you make a mistake, it seems like you lose
13:32a lot of time on this racetrack, and as quickly as you lose it, you can gain it back, so
13:38interesting to watch how this thing plays out throughout the day as this track gets rougher.
13:43It's the monster launch there, uphill triple for Sexton. The SMX track view, and you can see
13:50Tomac not too far on the 3 for the 96 of Lawrence. Chase is crushing those guys before that big
13:56tabletop. He's going outside and cutting across the jump on the inside, and what he's doing is
14:01making that whole section like one continuous arc, so no stop and go, and you can see him
14:07pulling away there. Great line. Can Plesinger keep his teammate in sight?
14:21I think they sold some noisemakers today. This crowd is going nuts. That's because the
14:25hometown boys out front, and then you've got the president and AP.
14:28They're all APing out there. Everybody's happy.
14:31Yeah, Sexton, he can't say he grew up riding this track because it's only been open for about 11
14:36years, so in his younger days, this track wasn't here, but he is from Illinois. We're in Indiana,
14:40so I'm sure a lot of people that watched him grow up at other tracks when he was young are
14:44here watching today. I'm sure they're pumped to see Tomac up there as well.
14:48Yeah, I was just about to mention, I'm interested to see how this number three plays this race.
14:53You know, listening to him on the start, he said he wanted to have two solid motors,
14:58so having that kind of mindset makes you think that he probably wouldn't be putting all this
15:02effort into this first one, but now he's close to the front. Maybe he will, J.T.
15:07Yeah, and I was thinking about Eli Tomac during the first 250 motor where R.J. Hampshire,
15:11that was a huge improvement over Bunch Creek getting fourth in that first motor,
15:14and you're kind of seeing the same thing from Tomac. It's always interesting to see how fast
15:19these guys recover after their first race back. Their body gets that muscle memory,
15:23starts to remember, oh, yeah, this is how we do this, and I think you're seeing both R.J.
15:27And Eli getting back to form. Yeah, absolutely, and Eli, especially with him,
15:32you know, he's out here to compete. You know, he doesn't want to be in the fifth, tenth place.
15:37You know, he knows he knows how to ride a motorcycle. His biggest thing is obviously
15:40to get ready for the playoff, but when you win these championships, you know, fourth isn't good,
15:45so him being close to these guys, he wants to have every opportunity to be able to win,
15:49and I think he would feel better going, like, winning one moto and getting 20th
15:53than having two fifth places in this moto and both motos.
15:58Hey, Hunter is back here, James, catching Lessinger again.
16:02Yeah, I wonder, is it just part of what we saw with Levi Kitchen? You know, the way this track
16:08is, maybe it's a little bit more difficult being closer to the guys because it seems like when they
16:11get close to each other, they make mistakes, so maybe it's the vision, but what we saw with Levi
16:17looked like he was starting to go backwards in the mid-moto. He started catching form,
16:20so maybe that's what Hunter is doing as well. Halfway through this one, brought to you by
16:27monster energy. It's available now at Kroger. Yeah, a little row reversal. Hunter doing his
16:35best work from the front this year with the great starts, but now he's the one charging,
16:39trying to catch Lessinger, and that number three won't go away.
16:44Yeah, you see how much chase gets away from these guys in this part of the racetrack,
16:49that tail top. Down to Jason Thomas with the team manager for the KTM squad.
16:56Well, Aaron Harrison, this is a big moment on the precipice of winning the first 415
17:00pro motocross championship since Ryan Dungey in 2015. Can you talk a little bit about the
17:05work it's taking to get back here and what it means for the entire Red Bull KTM crew?
17:09Yeah, you're right. It has been a little while, and we started off this year a little shaky,
17:14but we definitely made progress through the year, and not only with chase, but with Aaron
17:19too, and, yeah, it's exciting. So a few more laps here, and we'll see what will happen.
17:24Well, nerves are high down here, but looking good so far.
17:28And KTM has not won this championship since 2015, but Ryan Dungey saw Dungey this morning.
17:34He is on hand, hanging out with KTM folks. Got a lot to watch right now.
17:39Yeah, they got a lot going for them. Hunter is really quick on this part of the racetrack
17:43as he closes back in on Aaron. It seems like he loses it right by the finish line, so
17:48he's able to get around, close in on Aaron, get around,
17:51pull away from Eli, and let's see what happens on the second half of this racetrack.
18:01Dropping downhill. And still Tomek in the shot. Not quite in the battle, but close enough. Yeah,
18:10that, it's changed better for the 7. He pulled away a little bit.
18:13Yeah, and maybe Aaron picked up on some of chase's lines over here, because this is where
18:19chase is really good. As you can see, chase has pulled out of his shot, so.
18:26Now, because chase hasn't really pulled away from these guys like he has been able to in the second
18:31moto, I'm sure it's given these guys confidence to be able to be like, okay, maybe he is thinking
18:35about the championship and might have an opportunity to close back in, because normally we've seen
18:40Jason, like, when chase gets on the roll and he gets around these guys, next thing they know,
18:44they look up, and they're seeing no one. That number 4 is gone. The fact is, they can still
18:49see him. And that number 3 is still lurking in the background. Yeah, we were talking this week
18:54also with J.T. About last year, the way Jett Lawrence was winning races, he was just maintaining
18:58that 2 to 3 second gap. Sexton has been much more of the traditional, just keeps pulling away,
19:03pulling away. But there it is, between that 2 and 3 second mark right now, as you watch the
19:09battle box, show you some of the riders in that bubble battle for the playoffs.
19:14Harry Kulos, Grant Harlan. Yeah, he's going hard back there, too. Everybody has their
19:19own little battles and trying to seeding points, getting this playoff, but people, watch out.
19:24Got a feeling that the number 3 is starting to wake up back there. Oh, really? I just got that
19:28feeling. I see the head landing. Yeah. That's if Tomek gets on the podium.
19:34The crowd is going to be going crazy. Yeah, and Eli was the fastest rider on the racetrack
19:40last lap at 214. Really close. Chase was second. Hunter was, or actually, Aaron was third.
19:47Also shout out, Marshall Welton is in that battle. Welton, see, look at that bubble right there.
19:53So Welton is a 19th place spot guaranteed into the motos if he can bring the 75 home. Kyle Chisholm
19:58is the last spot guaranteed into the playoff motos. Dean Wilson showed up today, but he's just
20:06gotten into the top 20 now. Wilson is 20th, and Chisholm is in 17th. Wilson needs to make up a
20:12bunch of ground on Chisholm today, and Wilson is saying this will be his last pro motocross race,
20:18although then he joked I said that two years ago, and here I am racing him to try to make the
20:23playoffs. Yeah, we can't leave it. We love it too much. It's too much fun out here.
20:29Well, this is fun, a battle at least to watch. I'm not sure about being in it.
20:32Hunter Lawrence will not let Aaron Plesinger go. And they're closing back in on Chase,
20:38so I don't know if Chase got caught up, but he didn't pull away from those guys in this section
20:42like he did before. Top four within about four seconds. Yeah, and it seems like Eli's really
20:51quick on this side of the racetrack, so I'll be interested to see if he's able to close in
20:55and possibly get around the 96. These guys are playing this tug of war, cat and mouse game,
20:59and I can tell you one thing. If that number three gets around the 96, he's going to try to
21:05go to the front for sure. J.T.? Well, we have not seen Eli Tomac ride like this in pro motocross
21:13since 2022. Yes, he came back last week. We all knew he was just trying to get his feet wet back
21:17into this series, and we haven't seen beast mode from Eli Tomac not since the St. Louis round of
21:22monster energy supercross. So if he is ready to uncork one here and really show us what it's all
21:27about, I am here for it. Yeah, J.T., the pit board for Eli Tomac right now has been quickest on track
21:37followed up by quick moves, and Josh Ellington, his mechanic, is throwing that thing around,
21:42letting him know that it's go time for Eli Tomac. It's toe smacking time. It's Eli Tomac. Well,
21:49J.T. Mentioned if he was getting his feet wet last weekend, they might be soaked at the end
21:54of this moto. He is ready to go. He's diving in this week, and the good news for Tomac fans,
22:01what did you see there? That was close. I don't know if he hit some braking bumps, but he almost
22:06fell off the back of the motorcycle right there. Looks like he hit the bumps and got the little
22:10whiskey throttle. That was a rough ride through those woods as well. I was going to say the good
22:16news, if Tomac puts in a charge, it's two riders he can challenge because Hunter Lawrence still
22:20right there. Man, the time gained and lost in any given section of this track, you really can't tell
22:28what's going to happen next. Yeah, and it seems like it's in that new section these guys are
22:32trying to figure out. So I wonder, is that part of it, the shadows and stuff? Because a lot of,
22:37even on the racetrack, on the other parts, it seems like these guys lose the time is where
22:41they get in the shadows and stuff. So they'll probably go between motors and realize, if I
22:46don't lose so much time in this one section, I might actually be able to win one of these things
22:50because they're all riding pretty good. Jason Anderson has moved to fifth ahead of Justin
22:55Cooper. Malcolm Stewart, seventh. Nicoletti, eighth. Norton and Craig, top ten. Back to Katie.
23:01Hunter Lawrence earlier today was not super comfortable on the bike. They've been making
23:06adjustments after each practice, and of course, I'm sure we'll make one after this moto as well.
23:10But you imagine, he's trying to be catching up with A.P. And making some moves, knowing that
23:15Tomac is behind him as well on a bike that's not entirely all that comfortable for him right now.
23:20We know the 2025 has been good to him over the course of this little part of the season,
23:25but he's not yet there in the comfort today. But still could be a contention for the podium,
23:31and they're all building toward this, the S.M.X. Playoffs. And don't forget FanFest,
23:35which is two days at the S.M.X. Playoff races, Friday and also racing on Saturday. You can watch
23:41practice, a live press conference in the morning, and our podcast mashup. James Stewart,
23:46love his world. We'll have Ricky Carmichael, title 24. Jason, gypsy tails, myself and Jason
23:52Thomas. I'm not sure if they're going to have anybody else. They might be leaving out a name.
23:56Steve Mathis, we'll all be there on stage hanging with the fans Friday nights at the
24:01playoff races. So get your two-day ticket. And, you know, this goes back to, was it at Unadilly
24:09you said, no, maybe Washougal. Around that time of year, I remember you and R.C. saying,
24:13you don't often see this type of action late in the year.
24:16No, I was just thinking out of my head, listening to you, that you got the top four,
24:21everybody's got their own agenda out here, but they're all trying to win. You know, chase
24:25Sexton, easiest way to wrap this championship up is to go out here and win. I think that's the only
24:31way he knows how to race, and that's what he's been doing. Then you got Aaron Plessant trying
24:35to get his first ever moto win. Hunter Lawrence trying to get another overall, his first one,
24:40and to stop chase Sexton from winning his title. And then you got the four-time champion,
24:44Eli Tomac, just trying to get his feet wet. And they're looking pretty wet to me. So
24:48everybody's out here racing, and that's all because there's still more to look for. There's
24:53still reasons to go out here and compete, and that's what you're witnessing.
24:56Yeah, the final round of pro motocross, depending on how the points go, you have had some years
25:00where one or two riders just wallop the field. You don't often get a four-pack this close.
25:07That's because we're tired. We're tired. Well, they found a little wind in the sails
25:13with the playoffs coming up. Man, Hunter made a mistake. Eli got close. Now Eli's almost two
25:20seconds behind Hunter, and that all happened in about a quarter of a lap. Yeah, the scary part
25:25for these guys is that look at that lead. It's almost four seconds now. As these guys made a
25:30mistake, chase Sexton's pulling out, so they're in the danger zone if he keeps going. And there's
25:36Plessiger in second. Familiar ground for him. Like I said, he has a background in the type of
25:40woods racing that was where Ironman first made its name as a race facility. Here's Aaron on that.
25:47It's just changed so much, and to see it come this far and have this place be, you know, the
25:53last round of the pro motocross series is really, really awesome. And I actually got to race this
26:00track when it was first being built, and I think it was 2014, and we did a Loretta Lens regional
26:07here. And then my first ever pro race here is the first overall I got in 2015 as my rookie year,
26:19and I've done really, really well here, and I think it's just a good place.
26:30Well, certainly is right now for him because he's a little bit further ahead, finally putting some
26:37distance between himself and Hunter Lawrence, but nope. Hunter closes back in.
26:43Yeah, they all have their sections on there, but everybody's, you know, putting in some fast laps.
26:49I mean, chase Sexton ran a 2.13, and then Hunter, I mean, Plessiger ran a 2.14 the last lap, J.T.
26:55Yeah, and you start to see these guys spreading out a little bit. Tomex falling off the back
26:59just a touch. It is so much more humid than you would think. Now, the temperature is not going
27:03to jump off the screen at you, but these guys are certainly feeling it late, and I think that's
27:08kind of why the battle's slowed up a bit is these guys are just feeling the heat and humidity
27:12weight in this moto. That's because chase Sexton's got a hot pace out front, making everything hot.
27:18But Aaron's still doing a good job because normally in this time of motos, when chase
27:22is rolling like this, he's gone, and they don't look like they're, you know, laboring a little
27:27bit at all to me. Aaron still looks like he's aggressive like he was the first lap. Same thing
27:32with Hunter. Just unfortunate they're losing time somewhere, which is a lot happening, Katie.
27:38Yeah, I can agree with J.T. It is humid for people like Aaron Plessiger who have long hair and
27:43myself. We're feeling it out here. But one thing to keep in mind here is there's also a championship
27:48podium hunt for Aaron Plessiger. Remember, he and Justin Cooper had been battling for that third
27:54place podium spot in the championship, a very important thing for someone like an Aaron
27:59Plessiger to make sure he finishes and finishes strong and way above Justin Cooper, who is
28:04actually dealing with a bit of a shoulder injury after last weekend. Knows that he is battling.
28:09What's at stake? And I think, you know, Stu, that's something that you could really respond
28:13to a little bit is what is at stake for these guys for that second, third, fourth place in
28:17the championship? Yeah, as I mentioned, you know, all these guys and especially with Aaron,
28:23I mean, he's trying to get his first ever win and his teammates out here, you know, winning
28:27this championship and possibly going to wrap this championship up. So the bike is good. Aaron's
28:32been riding great all year long. So not only he wants to get that third place, but he also wants
28:36to solidify that spot on team USA as well. So there's a lot to fight for. Aaron's doing a great
28:43job. All these guys are, too, because they still look racy to me, and I like to see that. Even the
28:48number three does, too. Yeah, that's critical as AMA tries to make the decision on who will
28:53represent the United States at motocross of nations. There's Hunter Lawrence going by. I
28:58think he's a shoe-in for team Australia, by the way. No problems there. Let's give you the monster
29:02energy running order. Tomac fourth. Anderson is fifth. He's got around Cooper, as Katie mentioned,
29:08banged up a little bit from last week's crash off the start of moto one. And then Ferrandez is out
29:14with that brutal crash in turn one. So Tomac's certainly under consideration for team USA as
29:21well. I believe they have to announce or at least submit the entries for the team by September 3rd.
29:27So this is really going to be the last chance for them to see what these riders have. We asked Eli,
29:33would he be willing to ride for team USA if he is asked? Yes, and that's if I earn the position,
29:41you know? In my mind, I believe it's Plessinger in that position for points right now,
29:47so he has every right to go. The only way I would want to take that position is if I made a way
29:53stronger showing and then obviously the team does pick me, but I would be willing to go.
29:59Tough call there between the potential of Tomac, the history of Tomac, and how well Plessinger is
30:05riding right now. What do you think? Yeah, I mean, I agree with Eli. I mean, he's obviously,
30:10if Aaron wasn't riding as good as he is, then absolutely, then Eli would fill that position.
30:15Not only that, you got Justin Cooper as well as another good one, but at this moment, that's why I
30:20said they all got something to race for. I think Aaron Plessinger, the way he's been riding, he
30:25deserves to go and doesn't mean Eli doesn't, but Aaron's been here all week, all year, and I think
30:32Eli would agree with him. Until he goes out there and beats him, you got to go at the number seven
30:36right now, captain America. Yeah, the sliding scale is that the race is October 6th, so it's
30:42a guessing game of all right, Tomac's just coming back. That's a month and a half from now. How much
30:48better can he get? I'll tell you what, the fans would love it either way because they're two of
30:52the most popular, maybe the two most popular riders out here. Yeah, and I do think, Eli,
30:57this is important. One of the reasons he's coming back, one, for the playoffs, but also this might
31:02be his last chance to race the motocross of nations. You know, you got to think next year,
31:07everybody will continue getting better. I mean, he will. So it's only going to get
31:11tougher for him. If he has an opportunity to go, he definitely would this year.
31:19It seems like if Eli would just come in, jump out over that, this roller on the inside,
31:24I noticed that Chase was doing that earlier. It seems like they get in there and they're
31:28really cautious and they roll over that roller and it just slows their momentum down. So maybe
31:32that's why they're losing time instead of just kind of getting in that inside, just jumping over
31:36those potholes, but it also carries momentum. Maybe that will help them, but it's obviously a
31:41lot tougher than it looks. Is that Hunter Lawrence still up ahead? Yeah, and Aaron Plessett is right
31:46in front of him. That's why I said I don't see these guys laboring. Chase is just riding really
31:54good as they all are. And Chase Sexton now two and a half laps away from a moto win that would
32:02lock up the pro motocross championship for 2024. Just got to hold on to it. Tomac still digging
32:09for third. Yeah, Eli's riding really good and as we think that Hunter is closing in on Aaron and
32:17as we mentioned earlier, this whole show that it's just that back and forth, these guys just
32:22lose so much time and it definitely seems like he gets in these tighter parts of the racetrack.
32:28Some of these corners with these hooks on the end, they make a mistake, they lose a lot of time.
32:33Oh, this is going to be a battle for the podium with two to go. This could be a possible motocross
32:40of the nation's battle here in a couple of months if Eli's on the team or even with Aaron in front
32:45of him. Oh, yeah. Yeah, the Australian team expect to get Jett Lawrence back. They're going to be
32:50tough as well. And by the way, at halftime after this moto, we did talk to Jett Lawrence
32:57this morning about his prospects and returning for the playoffs in SMX. So stick around with
33:03us in between the motos. Halftime we'll have that Jett Lawrence interview. Spoiler alert,
33:08he was in really good spirits. Yeah, and he's sure his brother's running second in a championship,
33:14riding good a rookie year. Unfortunately for him, Eli Tomac, he smells Vegemite.
33:19You want to take a bite out of that sandwich right now.
33:23Oh, it's a good sign for Tomac, who's also building not just playoffs or motocross of
33:28nations or today. He did announce he's back all season long next year. And he admitted yesterday
33:35in the press conference he probably wasn't as ready as he would have liked to have been for
33:39the 2024 season. All right. You see that right there. You see how much time the hunter was able
33:44to pull away. And what I was mentioning a lot before, just jumping out a little bit over that
33:50single. Lyle's under carries momentum. And you can see what Eli didn't do that in all that time
33:54he lost. But as quickly as that, Eli's quick, obviously pretty fast somewhere else. And he's
33:59able to close back in. But I wonder if Eli started that. How much time would he be able to get around
34:04Hunter? Or how much time are you going to gain on Hunter? So is that something he could see and
34:08adjust? Yeah, I mean, he would probably do it. And between races, I'm sure they'll probably tell
34:13him. And especially since Hunter just did it in front of him, they'll go back and watch it.
34:17Or maybe Eli would do it because he just saw it happen right in front of him.
34:22Losing a lot of time right there. And it seems like it's a lot more energy that
34:26he's wasting by having to fight. Yeah, that's what I was alluding to before, by the way. For Eli,
34:34every one of these laps, every gate drop between now and next year is just building blocks. He
34:40only got on a bike two months before the Anaheim opener of supercross this year. And maybe he
34:46wasn't quite the Eli Tomac of old. He wants to rectify that. Yeah, and same thing that's happening
34:53with my brother and any of these guys is riding outdoors. Racing outdoors is going to help Eli
34:58for supercross next year. So yeah, whether the results say he's getting better, a lot better
35:05out here racing and will be better in 25 because he's coming out here and finishing these four
35:09motos out and into the playoffs. Well, here it is, James, last lap. Chase Sexton in control of
35:15the moto and in control of the title. And what a journey it has been. And it will conclude, it
35:23appears, at Ironman raceway. And last year, the disappointment gave it everything he had,
35:29but Jett Lawrence completed the perfect season right here at this track. So for Ironman,
35:36I quote some lyrics from that famous Black Sabbath song.
35:40While Jett was celebrating, I heard that Chase Sexton just went back to the Honda truck.
35:45It's like the lyrics of the song. He just stares at the world, planning his vengeance that he will
35:49unfurl. It didn't look good when he first got on this KTM in Monster Energy supercross. But here
35:55we are, a year after that bitter defeat, and he is looking at the pro moto cross championship.
36:01I almost don't want to say anything after that beautiful. That was nice on there. But yeah,
36:10we were here calling the race and I actually mentioned to you, I'm like, man, he actually
36:14seemed mad. Yes. After that race. So yeah, that was a great, great discussion and break point
36:21right there. The vengeance. Shout out to Ozzy Osbourne. Shout out to you for. Yeah. So Ironman
36:28raceway is, if he holds on, going to be where he is crowned. But again, go back to we heard in the
36:33offseason when he first got on this bike, even Chase himself wasn't being, you know, a lot of
36:38times riders are way unrealistically positive when they first get on a new motorcycle. I'm going to
36:42say he was being real. Yeah. Yeah. Chase is way better. I mean, as he's starting to celebrate
36:48right now, but he can't help but to win. Once I said he starts going fast, he's going to be able
36:53to do it. And now that's what you're seeing. And what we're seeing is this. Another big step
36:59for the career of Chase Sexton, already a 450 champion in Supercross. And now
37:05the 450 pro motocross champion, Chase Sexton. And the first person to congratulate him,
37:28his chief competitor this year, this summer, Hunter Lawrence. They've been very respectful
37:33to each other throughout this championship campaign.
37:46There's this agent, Chris Honstock. Of course, one motor to go, but this is enough to lock it.
38:16You know, every time Chase was right there, something would happen. He gets it done. Chase
38:38Sexton, soft side from the beginning of the year with that incredible ride at Hangtown
38:42and at the end of the season.