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00:00Now, because he lost a lot, that has been the one thing he's managed to avoid this year,
00:04the error.
00:05Sexton has had the ups and downs.
00:07Hunter has been very steady, but only fifth in that first moto.
00:11Jason Thomas before this one talked to his dad.
00:13Darren, Hunter's dad, said he got to improve the riding technique.
00:17It is so key on this racetrack.
00:18Can he bounce back, or will Sexton run the win streak further?
00:23It's already a career high streak of moto wins for Sexton.
00:2940 riders on the gate, 30 minutes and two laps.
00:35Plessinger probably feels like this owes him one after leading so much of moto one.
00:42Here's moto two.
00:45Not the start for Plessinger this time.
00:51I think that's Hunter with a good start of the 96.
00:54Justin Cooper on the outside.
00:56Plessinger has the lead as we head up horsepower hill and the moto sport.com hole shot.
01:01That's the Hunter Lawrence that we have seen majority of the year right now.
01:06That's what I talked about, keeping the pressure on chase Sexton, get those good starts.
01:11Oh, Jason Anderson, did you see that R.C.
01:13Two passes.
01:14A lot like the first moto, extremely aggressive early on in the early laps of this race.
01:20Looks so good on the bike.
01:22Looks like it's working well.
01:27Love the fans here as they drop into this valley.
01:30Anderson fourth in moto one, leading moto two.
01:33Sexton is fourth.
01:35Yeah, if you're Hunter Lawrence right here, you just he's been so good at all season outside
01:42of the wreck that he just had, the first moto, and then that first moto wreck late in the
01:47moto at red, but he's just so good at racing his own race.
01:52If all he has is third, he takes his third, and that's what you have to have in all forms
01:57of racing pro motocross and smx, but I really feel like it caters to the 450 here, Will.
02:04Send it to Will.
02:07You got me, guys?
02:10Sorry about that.
02:11We talked about how he's probably one of the best riders in the paddock at that, keeping
02:15those kind of emotions even there from weekend to weekend and managing his season.
02:21I got to speak to Darren Lawrence there, who JT was talking to specifically about that,
02:25and he had a very interesting take with you, which I want to share to you.
02:28He said, Look, I like to keep my boys who's referring to Jet and Hunter in a learning
02:33mode.
02:34He said, If you're constantly in a learning mode, then if things go your way, great.
02:38You've learned something from it.
02:39You'd like to do that.
02:40Repeat it.
02:41Work on it.
02:42And if they don't, well, then you've learned what not to do.
02:44So there's always kind of a positive, essentially, to be pulled from staying in that mode.
02:48And he said, That's not for just where Hunter is right now.
02:50He said, I think all champions should stay in that mode.
02:53So that idea that you're always just taking the data home, if you like, whether that's
02:58literal data on the bike or how the guys work, their fitness, any element of their program
03:03so that you can use that, you can get better, and you can move on.
03:06I mean, Darren is so smart with this stuff, Ricky, and just interesting to hear him say
03:11that.
03:12Well, they're going to need every trick they can learn because Chase Sexton's on a roll.
03:16He just got aggressive with Justin Cooper to take away third.
03:19Well, that was a great pass, definitely, that Chase Sexton put on Justin Cooper.
03:24And he made that outside left hand, that going outside on the left hander that set him up
03:29to be on the inside on that next right hander worked so well, he was able to stay out of
03:35the braking bumps going into that right hander and had the preferred line, and that was just
03:39a fantastic pass to get to the rookie of Hunter Lawrence, who is nipping at his heels in the
03:45championship.
03:46You can see that as Hunter had lost eight points in that first moto, but going back
03:53to what Will was saying about Darren Lawrence, I think he's honest with the boys, too, you
04:00know?
04:01And he holds them accountable.
04:02And I think that helps.
04:03You know, he doesn't sugar coat anything, and if they're not performing to the level
04:06that he believes and they believe that they need to perform at, he doesn't make excuses
04:11for them, right?
04:13Not necessarily pressures them, but he doesn't make excuses for them.
04:17Bottom line.
04:18And I feel that you get the best out of your child when you're doing that or your rider
04:22when you're doing that.
04:23You sugar coat it, you know, and you make excuses for them.
04:26I don't necessarily think that that's the best way of getting the best results out of
04:31your rider.
04:32It probably sounds pretty odd if you follow other sports to know that parents at this
04:36professional level are this closely involved, but that is totally typical.
04:39Sexton's dad here is still his practice mechanic.
04:42He's at every race.
04:43We know the influence your dad and especially your mom had in the success of your career.
04:47Our colleague James Stewart, his dad still here with Malcolm Stewart.
04:50That's just part of the game.
04:51And, yeah, I don't think the parents have a problem being brutally honest with their
04:54kids.
04:55Does your mom hold back?
04:56Yeah, I can tell you my mom didn't, and if I got beat, you know, like, it was, well,
05:01why did you get beat?
05:02It wasn't, well, you got beat because the bike was no good or wasn't performing.
05:06It was always me, and I think that helped me.
05:10I didn't make mistakes, and that's how it was, J.T.
05:13Yeah, Jason Anderson, that was such an incredible pass, and we haven't seen this type of first
05:18level aggression, and you can see Jason Anderson kind of trying to check out.
05:22So let's go back to this pass.
05:23It's at the top of horsepower hill.
05:25Now, you see him setting up.
05:26He goes all the way to the right.
05:28That's going to allow him to open up this corner.
05:31Watch him swing left and straighten that corner out, and he accelerates while they're going
05:35around the outside trying to straighten up.
05:37He straightened up before the corner and accelerated through the inside of it.
05:41That's the type of move when you're in a low traction environment that can be so lethal,
05:45and Jason Anderson just exploited it.
05:47We talked about this track racing narrow, and I was talking about the dog legs on the
05:52track map, like these 45 and 90 degree corners.
05:57Jason Anderson just straightened those out, and that's why he was able to make those passes
06:02and gain that time, and that particular section that he did that is very crucial right now.
06:07You can make up and gain a lot of time in that area.
06:11And while Anderson is rallying, and that was an unbelievable move as J.T.
06:15Just took us through, third of the first moto, Justin Cooper has now dropped way back.
06:20He's in 13th place.
06:21Yeah, he must have dropped it.
06:22Right.
06:23So overall podium is up for grabs, and Anderson looking to take advantage.
06:26I mean, he is on fire.
06:29Three and a half seconds nearly the lead for Anderson over Lawrence, and here comes Sexton
06:33in third, and then Pleszinger fourth.
06:36Be interesting to see what Pless is going to be able to do here if he makes a move on
06:40his teammate.
06:41If he challenges him, surely there's no team tactics, no reason for that to be, and you
06:49just have to assume that AP is going to want to get himself and bag himself a moto win
06:54or an overall, perhaps, if he can.
06:57Can he follow his teammate forward because he knows Sexton is going to get better and
07:00better.
07:01Oh, yeah.
07:02As the race goes on.
07:03Chase is definitely going to do that.
07:05Now, look, Anderson is really rolling early.
07:08I want to know about the strategy that Sexton might use.
07:10They all know each other.
07:11Does he see Anderson up front?
07:13Is there a little less or a little more?
07:15Does he adjust his charge based on who's leading?
07:19Well, yeah, I mean, he certainly would.
07:21I would, and I believe that chase would, but at the same time, I don't know what he thinks
07:26of Jason and what his perspective is.
07:29If I were there, I would be thinking a guy like Jason, if he gets a big enough lead,
07:34he can maintain that, and plus, you have to think about it, chase isn't in second yet.
07:42So anything can happen.
07:44So if this guy, I mean, Jason Anderson is good enough to get out there and get a lead
07:48and maintain it to where he can win this moto.
07:53So never take a win for granted.
07:57I believe you have to go back to 2022 for a moto win for Jason Anderson, and he is rolling
08:02right now.
08:13So Anderson up to four seconds.
08:14This is the clinic right now on how to ride well on this track, and to your point, Sexton,
08:20yeah, he's got to solve Hunter Lawrence before he can even think about Jason Anderson.
08:24Yeah, and I mean, Anderson is a veteran, he's a supercross champion, and he's won some
08:32races here, and, you know, this guy, I mean, he is plenty capable of doing this, J.T.
08:37Yeah, and just to speak on that chase Sexton topic, I think the key is you just want to
08:41be able to keep him in sight.
08:42As long as chase Sexton can look around, look up the racetrack and see Jason Lawrence just
08:47kind of hovering in that five to six second area, I think he'll be okay with that.
08:51He'll let the laps click off, because he knows how strong he is in the final laps of
08:57this race.
08:58The challenge is if, just like you said, if Anderson gets a big enough lead where he's
09:02not directly in chase Sexton's line of sight, then the race starts to change a little bit.
09:07So just watch for that lead.
09:09Sexton doesn't want it to grow to something unmanageable.
09:15Sexton, six Moto wins in a row, starting fourth in this one.
09:24He's moved to third.
09:25Five and a half seconds off the leader, Jason Anderson, and Hunter Lawrence right in front
09:31of him.
09:32You just wonder if reason and because he's such a great rider, Jason Anderson growing
09:39up in New Mexico, riding on harder pack conditions, maybe he feels a little bit more comfortable
09:44and that's why he's able to be so explosive early.
09:49Sexton's explosive right now, RC.
09:50He wants Hunter.
09:51He's dogging Hunter Lawrence right here.
09:53When you're in the position that chase Sexton's in right now, you have a little bit of insurance.
09:58You don't have to push it when you've made up so much time.
10:00I assume he knows, okay, I got him beat on speed.
10:04So then you don't have to force a pass.
10:06You can just kind of let it, you know, lay up for you and then because it will present
10:11itself for sure and then that's when you make the move.
10:14And it might present itself right here past the mechanics.
10:17Not enough.
10:18What did you see there?
10:19He overjumped that tabletop right there and landed into a face of a braking bump.
10:26That was a tough impact.
10:29Not too tough for that dude, though.
10:31Horsepower.
10:32Here we go, RC.
10:33Sexton on the outside.
10:43Drop back in.
10:44Looking to make moves.
10:45Not enough.
10:46He just put that motorcycle back on the ground.
10:47Is it going to be enough?
10:48Hunter holds him off.
10:49I like that cross back move.
10:50Oh, jeez.
10:51That's what I'm talking about.
10:52That's what I'm talking about.
10:53That's what I'm talking about.
10:54That's what I'm talking about.
10:55That's what I'm talking about.
10:56That's what I'm talking about.
10:57That's what I'm talking about.
10:58That's what I'm talking about.
10:59That's what I'm talking about.
11:00That's what I'm talking about.
11:01And Sexton explodes around the outside and gets the spot.
11:04Sexton went for it on that left hander and right hander.
11:08Taking the long way around, especially on the right hander.
11:11But putting the power to the ground.
11:13Hunter did make a little mistake on that left hand corner and that allowed Sexton to make
11:18the move, J.T.
11:19That's a great lesson there for young racers around the world.
11:22Chase Sexton never followed.
11:24All the way around that lap he never followed Hunter Lawrence.
11:27Even if it was a slower line, even if it was not the ideal line, he would not follow Hunter.
11:32As soon as Hunter made any sort of mistake, boom, chase Sexton automatically goes right
11:35around him.
11:36The reason, thank you, J.T., we're showing Grant Harlan in a box, he just had a season
11:40best ninth in moto one, moved himself into the top 20 in SMX playoff points, and now
11:47after a great start in moto two, we think he's crashed, had some crash damage, and just
11:53like that, from the best day of the year for Harlan, it's going to turn into one of the
11:56bad ones.
11:57That's unfortunate, like you talked about, getting in a great spot for SMX playoffs and
12:02putting in a wonderful performance.
12:05You hate that for that guy.
12:08So now the march is on for Sexton, oh, and also for Plessiger.
12:12That was close.
12:13I thought those two lines were going to come in together.
12:16Is Plessiger ducking the roost?
12:19Yeah, he's ducking the roost.
12:20I'm going to tell you right now, the roost here at Washougal, it feels like you're standing
12:25in front of a paintball gun, just getting absolutely pelted.
12:29It is not a pleasant experience, I can assure you.
12:32And then behind them, the battle for fifth, we're showing Malcolm Stewart, tenth in moto
12:36one, fifth now on the rock star house, and Dillon Ferrandez fighting.
12:40He is in sixth, and it's Craig, Noren, Kelly, and Phil Micheletti crashed out of moto one.
12:47Thought he hurt his arm, but he's back here running tenth in moto two.
12:51back to the pit area, so his photo is done as Plessiger and Lawrence continue to battle
12:57for third.
12:58See where there's sections of the track that Aaron Plessiger is able to reel in, Hunter
13:10Lawrence.
13:11Was he close enough to see where Sexton made the move coming up?
13:18I believe he was.
13:19Hunter took the line.
13:20Yeah, Hunter took the line.
13:21But look at...
13:22Oh, wheel to wheel.
13:23He's there.
13:24He's going to be on the inside here, R.C.
13:25You saw it coming, and a seven.
13:26Plessiger has to pass.
13:27Got him.
13:28Plessiger is able to defend this position here before they get to that little dog leg
13:37after that massive jump right there.
13:40He's got it.
13:41And the battle in the bottom, Stewart and Ferrandez going at it.
13:45Ferrandez a pass.
13:47So good job by Dillon on the Phoenix Honda in the red jersey, around Stewart on the 27.
13:55Sign of life here from the French veteran.
13:59Ferrandez riding well.
14:00That's right.
14:01Maybe getting the bike a little bit more comfortable for him.
14:04Team working well together.
14:07Factory connection a big part of that.
14:09Looks good.
14:10The old Geico Honda team.
14:11A lot of fans might remember with so much success through the years of the 250 and even
14:16the 450 class at times, and a lot of that staff is back working with Ferrandez.
14:20Stewart, who had not raced pro motocross, it's been a joke all season long, hadn't been
14:25to a lot of these tracks in 10, 12 years.
14:28Kind of like Max Anstey in the 250s, right?
14:32It's tough, too, especially if you've never raced here on a 250.
14:36Don't know how the bike works and reacts.
14:39Sometimes these guys, you know, sometimes it's an oversight of just how different the
14:44450 will work on these racetracks compared to a 250.
14:49So it is different, even though maybe you've been to a track numerous times on a different
14:54displacement bike.
14:55Doesn't mean it's going to be exactly the same when you come on a different displacement
14:59bike.
15:00As for Ferrandez here, they've been trying to find power.
15:05It's not that they can't get enough power.
15:07You can probably speak to this on a 450.
15:09It's all about making it controllable.
15:11Rideable power.
15:12So they're looking for power, but obviously they don't want to overdo it.
15:15We found Justin Cooper, who started third, went all the way back to 13th and is now 10th.
15:20Let's send it to Will.
15:21I just got confirmation from the team once they started racing that Justin Cooper did
15:27go down.
15:28Nobody actually caught the crash, but they did see him on the ground.
15:31So confirmation that he did have a crash earlier.
15:33All right.
15:34Thank you, Will.
15:35That will really affect the overall podium for the man that was third in the first moto.
15:39Yeah.
15:40I hate to see that.
15:41He is riding so well.
15:42I feel like he's another one of those guys, we talked about Hunter Lawrence and how this
15:46track could cater to his riding is like Justin doesn't override that 450 and JT was talking
15:53about a little earlier in the show today about how when you go slower, it actually ends up
15:59being faster at this type of track.
16:01I feel like that's why he was able to ride so well outside of the fact that he's just
16:06a really good racer, but it really falls into his hands and his riding style of why
16:11he's doing so well.
16:12He's going to need that right now, R.C., because he's got a long way to go.
16:16We are halfway through this moto, 15 minutes down, 15 minutes to go.
16:22Monster energy is available at Fred Meyer, and it looks like the next rider who Cooper
16:27is looking to catch is Freddie Noren of the bad parts, Kawasaki.
16:30Been a rough couple of weeks for Noren, who has been top ten seemingly every moto to begin
16:35the year.
16:36He's had his struggles as of late, but good to see Freddie running eighth, Cooper ninth,
16:41Derek Kelly tenth on the AEO machine, oh, there's Christian Craig right ahead of Noren.
16:47Craig 7th, seventh last week, signs of life, and running seventh again here.
16:53Three-rider battle in the trees.
16:58As for Craig, trying to rebuild strength in that arm after several surgeries to his elbow.
17:05Look at Noren.
17:06He's all over it.
17:07He is.
17:08Uh-oh.
17:09And so is Cooper.
17:10Let's see if that outside works for Noren.
17:13Freddie couldn't quite get it in the whoops.
17:15Craig holding him off.
17:17It's tough because it's kind of deceiving because you think that outside you're going
17:22to have so much speed going through the rollers, but I think it's a little too far outside
17:27initially.
17:28Yeah, that was.
17:31Cooper makes the move on Freddie.
17:32The veteran out of Sweden, and now working on Craig.
17:36Oh, he's got it.
17:39All right.
17:40One pass on the inside, one pass on the outside.
17:44Well, as crazy as these finishes have been, who knows, maybe Cooper will be able to catch
17:50up, close in some of these gaps.
17:53Well, the one thing that's really shaking up the podium today is the fact that Jason
17:58Anderson is running this well, 12 minutes to go, and he's still leading.
18:04Let's send it to Will with Theo Lockwood from the Kawasaki team.
18:08That's right.
18:09Crew chief at Munster.
18:10Theo, what we're seeing out of Jason Anderson now, I'm sure, is what you've been working
18:14towards now for a few rounds, including that start.
18:18Just talk me through the progress.
18:19Yeah, I think the team's been working really hard to try and make the bike better and make
18:23it better for Jason, and I think we've seen the results of that.
18:27And as it happens, we're seeing better and better results, and I hope it continues.
18:33And obviously, comfort-wise, this is a track with a hard base.
18:36You and I were talking about it earlier that Jason has a preference for.
18:39How much is that playing in right now, too?
18:41I mean, for sure, he has confidence because it is a hard base, as you said.
18:46He's looking forward to this race, so I think it's something that we can see from last year's
18:49results.
18:50He did a good job, and I think we'll continue to see that.
18:52Congratulations.
18:53Great performance.
18:54Appreciate it.
18:55Thank you very much.
18:56Appreciate it.
18:58One of the good guys to talk to at the race is Anderson, trying to take everything they've
19:01learned about this new motorcycle this year and turn it into a win.
19:05But here comes chase Sexton.
19:14And what I'm noticing here is Sexton really started to close in with 12 minutes to go.
19:19He is getting alarmingly similar every moto.
19:22Sometimes it's Plessiger.
19:24Sometimes it's Hunter.
19:25Sometimes it's Donald Anderson.
19:27It's almost like the same race for Sexton is playing out week in, week out.
19:31It is.
19:32And because he has a speed gap and he has that confidence and he's riding incredibly
19:37well, there's no reason to override the motorcycle and push it in the race when you know that
19:43you have all of those feathers in your cap and all those attributes and advantages that
19:49you can lean on.
19:50You don't have to push it like that.
19:53Let the race come to you.
19:55These guys are more than not, they're going to come back to you and you'll be able to
19:59make a move late in the race, J.T.
20:03What does it feel like to be the fittest and the fastest rider on the racetrack?
20:10I truly think that's where chase Sexton finds himself today.
20:13It's a very comforting feeling.
20:16Not always was I the fastest but I'll claim the fittest for sure which in the end worked
20:21out to be the fastest and it's just nice.
20:25Because there's certain things when you are the fittest that you can play into and let
20:30it play is where when you're fit, you're like, all right, I'm going to lose a little bit
20:34of speed and a little bit of time here to my competitor early on but the last ten minutes
20:41if I'm able to keep him relatively close, I'm probably going to be able to, you know,
20:47get him here in the last ten minutes or two laps.
20:49So it is very nice.
20:52It's not easy to get to that position but, yeah, it's special.
20:58A lot of work.
20:59Sir, I think you won 189 motos so when you say you are not the fastest, I have to violently
21:05disagree there.
21:06I appreciate the modesty but you were in rare air on a motorcycle.
21:10I appreciate that.
21:12I appreciate those fine words but this is about these guys right here and I'm just a
21:17I love what these guys are able to do.
21:20Chase Sexton trying to take the lead from Jason Anderson.
21:25Great battle here.
21:26Promoto across.
21:27Sexton and orange just well around the outside.
21:32Not a lot of room but he made the move to take the lead.
21:36That rut is working out really well, that outside rut for these guys because I think
21:40that inside rut narrows up so much and it has a really bad accelerating ledge coming
21:45out of it.
21:46You guys have to check up a little bit.
21:48The riders who take that inside line like Jason Anderson did where chase Sexton was
21:53able to go around the outside and power down that hill on smooth terrain.
22:04Sexton pouring it on now.
22:06This is where he does his best work.
22:08We've been talking about second half of the moto.
22:11To me it's really that final 12 to 10 minutes and he is saying bye-bye.
22:16Here comes moto win number seven.
22:18Whoa.
22:19Got a little crazy on the landing of that downhill.
22:21I didn't think it would happen.
22:24We've seen that a time or two.
22:26You never know.
22:27You never know.
22:28Promoto across just like that.
22:31Leaned the bike over, dragged his leg and kind of pulled him down.
22:35He's got it under control.
22:36J.T.
22:37What are we seeing?
22:39This is where chase Sexton is so potent.
22:40Look at the way he was able to ride around Jason Anderson.
22:41He's made a few mistakes on this same lap.
22:42Think about Jason Anderson on that opening lap.
22:43Think about him passing Hunter Lawrence in moto one.
22:44It was all aggression.
22:45Chase Sexton rode around the outside of Jason Anderson late in the race.
22:46That would simply never happen early on.
22:47That's where the power of being the fittest guy comes in.
22:48When your opponents are the most vulnerable, you're their strongest.
22:49We'll get to another battle as Sexton making it look pretty simple up front.
23:13This is all about S.M.X.
23:14Playoff points.
23:15The veteran Kyle Chisholm never stops racing.
23:19He wants to do all 31 rounds, get into those playoffs.
23:21He got Chisholm right now in 16th.
23:25He's in the money.
23:26That's pep.
23:27The Frenchman, Roman pep, right in front of him on the 68.
23:31Top 21 in the motos.
23:32That's what pays the points.
23:33Chisholm is right there.
23:34And we go up horsepower hill.
23:35There's pep.
23:36You see pep.
23:37He was blocking the roost.
23:38Talked about it earlier.
23:39That is brutal.
23:40He's going to have bruises all over his chest.
23:41He's going to have bruises all over his chest.
23:42He's going to have bruises all over his chest.
23:43He's going to have bruises all over his chest.
23:44He's going to have bruises all over his chest.
23:45He's going to have bruises all over his chest.
23:46He's going to have bruises all over his chest and arms.
23:49I apologize.
23:50It's pope.
23:51I forgot.
23:52It's a Roman pope, the Frenchman, who's holding off Chisholm right now and ahead of them would
23:59be Cullen Park.
24:00That's Ferrandez's teammate.
24:01There he is on the red Honda with the green numbers.
24:06That's what I love about pro motocross.
24:09The fans will tell you.
24:10There's battles everywhere on these tracks.
24:13This battle for 15th.
24:14What does it feel like for the win at any track anywhere else?
24:20Guys are going for it.
24:22Sexton marches away.
24:24You just watch these lap times.
24:28Sitting over here, Sexton fastest guy on the track last lap.
24:31No surprise.
24:32He's at a 222.3.
24:35Second fastest guy is a 223.0.
24:39That was Blessinger.
24:42Just knocking down these lap times.
24:43Chisholm on the twisted tee.
24:46They will welcome a new teammate under the tent at Unadilla, Colt Nichols.
24:49I'm pumped for Colt.
24:50I'm glad to see him get that ride.
24:53I think he'll do well for that race team.
24:55That race team will take great care of him.
24:57I talked to Dustin Pyte, one of the team owners, about Nichols who's probably going to have
25:01to use the last chance qualifiers to get into the playoffs.
25:06They said to him, can you make all three for the L.C.Q.?
25:09Colt said, yes, I can.
25:10They're like, all right, then.
25:11They're going to bring him back to Unadilla to learn the motorcycle.
25:15It's probably too far out for him to try to get top 20 in points, guarantee a spot in
25:20the motos.
25:21Nicoletti did it last year, won the L.C.Q.
25:25At all three of those.
25:26That is what Chisholm is trying to avoid.
25:29A couple of other guys to watch, Dean Wilson came back to racing today to try to score
25:35points for those playoffs.
25:38He's grinding it out.
25:39He's in 18th right now.
25:41So good job by Dino.
25:44And then Marshall Welton is running ninth.
25:47And Welton did not have 450 points from super cross.
25:51He raced at 250.
25:52That ninth place for Welton right now, that would be huge.
25:55And that would move into that top 20 combined super cross and motocross points.
26:03This is this part of the race.
26:05Late.
26:06About five minutes.
26:07Plus two laps.
26:08There he is.
26:09Dino.
26:10If you want to watch him, go check out his YouTube page.
26:13That guy is great.
26:15He makes some great content.
26:17Fun to be around.
26:18He's been at it for a while.
26:20Send it to J.T.
26:21Amore.
26:22The 15th.
26:23And the first moto for Dean Wilson, he missed the cutoff time for staging.
26:27So he had the dead last gate pick.
26:29And he's just trying to be here and gain S.M.X.
26:32He doesn't have the most organized effort because it's not the full effort.
26:36And then they put him all the way outside.
26:38So you can just see him shaking his head as he's in that fourth gate pick.
26:41J.T., he's in his position right now.
26:44I mean, what, what, what, tell us, like, what do you think is going through his head right
26:49here?
26:50He's sitting down everywhere.
26:51Like.
26:52He's rethinking every decision that he's made this entire week.
26:55Because, yeah, your whole body is screaming at you.
26:57You know, we're 90 degrees.
26:59He's tired.
27:00He's hot.
27:01He's doing the worst things that you possibly could be thinking.
27:02But again, he's in the points.
27:04He's working towards those S.M.X.
27:06Playoff.
27:07And every point he gains now is only going to set him up to be better in September.
27:11Oh, yeah.
27:12That's why it's worth that effort.
27:13You saw the graphic on the screen, J.T.
27:15We are looking at a four way tie, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st in the S.M.X.
27:22Seeding.
27:23And we're only going to have six motos to go after this.
27:27Wilson, Welton, Kulas in there.
27:31I'm telling you.
27:32Nail biter.
27:33Last chance qualifiers are zero fun.
27:35No, they don't want that.
27:38Of course they don't.
27:40And that's what's on the line.
27:41Three of them will be top 20 and one of them will not be.
27:44Kulas is 12th.
27:46So he continues to score points.
27:48The veteran out of Estonia, I think he took his bike here.
27:51He was going to sell it and then try to get another bike.
27:54It would be easier.
27:55I love this story.
27:56It would be easier to sell the bike in Washougal and buy another one for Unadilla on the east
28:01coast than to try to bring the bike from coast to coast.
28:05So that's Kulas' move.
28:06He's going to sell the motorcycle he hopes after this and then try to get another one
28:10and race Unadilla.
28:11I love the creativity right there.
28:15Efficiency.
28:16Right?
28:17Yeah.
28:18Not the easiest.
28:19The easier, I guess, than finding the transportation.
28:21But there's Kulas in the 79.
28:24We saw it last year.
28:25Colt Nichols showed up for this race, borrowed a bike from, I believe it was the media outlet.
28:32I think it was swap moto.
28:34Borrowed their test bike and finished right around the top ten and scored a bunch of points.
28:39It's probably something we don't mention enough with this sport.
28:42Is there another?
28:43You race NASCAR.
28:44You cannot just go to the showroom, buy something and race top ten, top 20 at the highest level.
28:50You can do that here.
28:51Let's make one thing straight.
28:53I don't think I raced NASCAR.
28:54I competed.
28:55Oh, okay.
28:56Let's just.
28:57Mr. Modesty here today.
28:58Tell them how it is.
28:59Remember I told you my mom, she didn't cut me no slack, gave me the truth, and I'm giving
29:06you the truth.
29:07I competed.
29:08I didn't really race.
29:09Bottom line, when you competed, a team had to provide you with a specially built machine.
29:15You couldn't go to the showroom for it.
29:16That's what Kulas is doing now.
29:19Look at how well he's riding.
29:20He has taken the position from Christian Kreg.
29:23We mentioned Kreg struggling with the multitude of arm injuries.
29:27You can see Kreg, the body English tells the story.
29:29No aggression left for the 28.
29:33Kulas just keeps on motoring forward.
29:37Incredible how well Harry has ridden when he shows up here.
29:42Meanwhile, as these riders chase points, everyone chases chase Sexton out front.
29:49Can Kulas move up even more?
29:55That's what we're watching.
30:00Harry Kulas challenging Derek Kelly.
30:05Back up front, pro motocross from Washougal.
30:09It is chase Sexton on the number 4, going for seven straight moto wins and all three
30:16overalls he would have this year.
30:20So far this year, he could be looking at a fourth now.
30:24You know, testing Ricky Carmichael on the modesty, but maybe what Sexton needed to get
30:28this type of win streak was to switch to the number 4 this year.
30:32Can I give you that?
30:33I mean, the number 4 is a pretty good number.
30:35All right.
30:36Finally.
30:37I cracked it.
30:38I love it.
30:39I love that he's using it.
30:40I'm happy to see it.
30:43He's running it proud.
30:44Anderson still lurking back there.
30:45Will?
30:46I just had a quick question for you, Ricky, as we're watching chase Sexton close out the
30:53final laps here of this moto 2.
30:56We've got two weekends off coming up there.
30:59If you're chase, are you in a situation, even though we're at this point in the season here
31:04where you're just like, I don't want to stop, I want to keep the momentum going, or is he
31:07going to welcome it?
31:08It's 93 degrees out here.
31:10These guys have been putting in a lot of laps.
31:12Are they welcoming the break?
31:17I mean, I think all these riders are different.
31:20I would think that chase would like a weekend off for sure.
31:24He's been riding hard.
31:25Oh.
31:26Oh.
31:27Big crash there.
31:28Yeah.
31:29Oh.
31:30It was Roman Pope, the Frenchman who is riding well in this moto who went down there.
31:35So bummer for him.
31:37Yeah.
31:38So talk about it.
31:39He said he's looking forward to a weekend off, or a couple weekends off, that is, especially
31:43if he's got the bike ironed out, which it looks like he does.
31:47Bike looks like it's incredible.
31:49He's looking great on the machine, and you've got to think of it.
31:52You know, all these, you've got the 17 rounds of supercross that he's went through in a
31:57championship battle situation.
31:59That's grueling, not only physically, but mentally.
32:03So yeah, I would assume that they'd want a weekend off, and I would have too.
32:07You know, what's probably a little underrated about Sexton, look, I know he won the supercross
32:11title two years ago, Eli Tomek got hurt while leading it, he was battling Jett Lawrence
32:16this year, Jett Lawrence got hurt while leading it, but part of that is the durability of
32:21Sexton.
32:22I mean, look, this guy does hit the ground here and there.
32:25There's no doubt about that.
32:27He is one tough guy.
32:29He gets up every darn time, and there's something to be said for that in moments like this.
32:35Now if you want to get on a KTM, a little different than the one Sexton has, but still
32:38cool nonetheless, motorsport.com has the ultimate two-stroke sweepstakes.
32:44Just scan the QR code on the screen or go to motorsport.com slash win and enter now.
32:50There are weekly prizes, and the grand prize, we'll give that out after our pro motocross
32:55finale at Ironman at the end of August.
32:59Sexton rolling right now.
33:01Sexton is looking at third overall today, and Plesinger second.
33:05We saw the Frenchman Roman Pope go down.
33:08He is now back up on his feet, but off the racetrack and out of this moto.
33:13So anyway, let's talk about the durability, A, to avoid the injury, and also not to wear
33:17down even physically late in the season like this.
33:20Yeah, I mean, that's a testament to his dedication to training and working and being in the shape
33:27that he is in.
33:28He's got a great group.
33:29Peter Park and those guys do an incredible job.
33:32There's Pope.
33:33Yep.
33:34And Pope, as we mentioned, did get off the racetrack under his own power.
33:39Talking to Keri Russell-Coombs there of MX Sports, the promoters of this series.
33:45She's helping cool him off.
33:46I think he's over with the Alpine Stars medics as well.
33:49We actually have the crash here for Pope.
33:51Let's see.
33:52Look through your screen.
33:53Oh, high sides.
33:54Yeah, they just come together.
33:55Oh, that was a really tough impact.
33:59Hard impact.
34:00Bike lands on him.
34:01That was kind of a racing incident right there.
34:04It can easily happen, and, man, high side like that on the backside of a jump.
34:09Glad to see that he's up off the track, though, and sitting up.
34:12That was Cullen Park we ran into.
34:15So Sexton looking to bring this home, and let's go back, give you the motosport.com
34:21whole shot replay, and Hunter Lawrence was good early in this one.
34:28He was.
34:29Great shot right here.
34:30Actually ends up going to Cooper.
34:31Oh, it's going to be close right at the line.
34:35Oh, it does.
34:36Yep.
34:3750-50.
34:38Let's see here.
34:39Better shot at it.
34:40Justin Cooper getting a good drive coming out of the corner.
34:43Yep.
34:44Coop gets it.
34:46Pretty forgiving first corner, which is nice, allows these guys to move around a little
34:51bit.
34:52Unfortunately for Cooper, he would go down.
34:53He's rallied back to seventh, but that's going to cost him a shot on the overall podium,
34:59and an off day for Hunter Lawrence.
35:00He's looking at a 5.4, so he was going to be off the podium today as well.
35:04It's looking like it will be a Sexton, Blessinger, Anderson overall podium.
35:10Anderson did have two podiums last year, including right here at Washougal and also at butt street,
35:16so could be his first podium in pro motocross since then.
35:22You know, credit to Anderson, who turned 31 this year.
35:24You mentioned earlier in our show the longevity these riders have.
35:27This is a very tough, grueling pro motocross championship.
35:31Anderson is not mailing it in in the back half of his career.
35:34No.
35:35Ryan Villapoto and I talk about it quite a bit.
35:38Title 24 is just, you know, how these guys are able to embrace the racing and not burning
35:44themselves out.
35:45A lot of them have families now.
35:47You talked about it.
35:48Jason Anderson, perfect example, has a beautiful wife and daughter and family, and he's just
35:54enjoying what he's doing outside of and still extremely competitive, working hard, and making
36:02a pretty decent grip as well.
36:04Well, that's the other thing.
36:05The paychecks are nice when you stay in the game.
36:09Some people don't need all that.
36:10They want enough.
36:11I'm not going to name names.
36:12Didn't even need to keep on riding.
36:16Done the damage needed to do.
36:17You know, I hate talking about stuff like that.
36:22I feel like you and J.T. Had a pre-meeting about let's team up on R.C.
36:27Today.
36:28It's been fun.
36:29It has.
36:30The bonuses are going to be very big for Sexton again.
36:32They generally say that race wins pay around the six-figure mark for a factory rider.
36:37He's looking at yet another one of those.
36:39From a manufacturer, too, those are the bonuses you enjoy to pay.
36:44Winning is what it's all about, and these manufacturers, all of them, in that paddock
36:48area, work extremely hard, a lot of pride on the line.
36:52They work hard to develop a great motorcycle, not only from a racing standpoint, but from
36:57a production standpoint as well, so the people that are buying these motorcycles can enjoy
37:02great engineering, great performing motorcycles.
37:05I mean, I think about, too, like just how well these bikes are made and how they're
37:15able to perform, whether it's suspension, fuel injection, the engine performance.
37:20I mean, I go back to when J.T. And I were racing.
37:24It was hard to do anything with a bike off the showroom floor where, I mean, these bikes
37:29are far from that, but still, at a baseline, the bikes are incredible these days.
37:34Yeah, well, some of the riders in the field do have bikes like that.
37:37We mentioned Kulas running tenth.
37:38I mean, to be top ten.
37:39Yeah, you talked about it, Colt Nichols last year.
37:42Top ten.
37:44Well, you weren't going to do that ten years ago.
37:48That's how much it's improved.
37:49Yeah, yeah, yeah.
37:50It's been incredible.
37:51Speaking of improvements, Chase Sexton just keeps getting better every week.
37:57Saturday cruise.
37:59Makes it look easy down to the end.
38:00He wins red bud.
38:01He wins spring creek.
38:02Three in a row, Chase Sexton won one at washougal.
38:06Look, did like a little totty pogacha there at the end of the tour de France stage.
38:13They're all fans of that.
38:14You know that one.
38:15Of course they are.
38:16That's their primary cardio training is cycling.
38:21Well done.
38:22Yeah.
38:23How about that?
38:24Alhombre looking good.
38:25Riding well at the beginning of the race.
38:27It really helped his situation.
38:29Strong performance.
38:31And Plessinger will be on the box today.
38:32He will be 2, 3, 4 second overall.
38:37With Hunter Lawrence and Justin Cooper fourth and fifth.
38:44And favorite.
38:45Oh, look at that.
38:47Just adding to the legacy of Aaron Plessinger with these fans.
38:53That's why they like him.
38:54Love it.
38:55See, their weekend off, their two weeks off have started right now.
39:00All right.
39:01Yeah.
39:02Loosen up.
39:03Literally like 20 seconds after the checkered flag.
39:05They're enjoying themselves.
39:06You know, he works with Alvin Baker, his trainer, who you worked with.
39:08Yeah.
39:09He even approved a bat.
39:10Alvin?
39:11Yeah, he would have.
39:12Okay.
39:13That would have been all right.
39:14Yeah, he would have.
39:15Like you said, we got two weekends off.
39:16That's right.
39:17These guys work hard.
39:18They enjoyed it.
39:19They deserve to enjoy themselves.
39:20Well, certainly this guy, Chase Sexton, who has proven the strongest.
39:21It'll be so interesting when we get some of the other riders back for the playoffs.
39:22But right now, there's no doubt about it.
39:23He is the man in SMX.
39:24Boy, do they have it going their way now.