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00:00Intention for a podium until last week at Unadilla nearly pulled it off into the last lap
00:04Talk to Josh Weisner who's over there running that team and they've got a new engine package
00:09They're hoping that helps and honestly, they just hope that for Ennis keeps on building. He said he does want it bad
00:15So that's cool AC
00:18The return of the legend the number three Eli Tomac
00:21I think it's very easy coming off an injury to come out here and get really excited and you know
00:27Eli obviously has a
00:30Everything it takes to win these things, but I think a great day for him is just to stay out of trouble in the first
00:34Couple of laps just have fun man. I think he's earned it
00:39Yeah, and that that's hard to say on the gate
00:43Can you have fun at this point or is it just full beast mode locking just like any other?
00:47Whether a title was on the line or you're coming back at round 10
00:50Well, your teammate just showed you you can have fun with a title in line. Okay, he sounds excited
00:54It's gonna be about this start how much money has it about?
01:00See how much money smiling with that's right
01:03The SMX playoff bubble top 20 are guaranteed into the Modos
01:07We love this battle between two of the likable veterans the 15 of Dean Wilson trying to catch Kyle Chisholm
01:13He's got to make up six points on Chiz
01:15Chiz had a rough go in qualifying today just barely able to get into the show and not go to the LCQ
01:21Also a shout out on the left side the 938. That's Brock tickle
01:25Somewhat retired test rider for monster Kawasaki coming back to race again today
01:30After racing at redbud and hovering around that top ten. It's a tickle a track that tickle grew up racing comes from
01:38Research triangle area of North Carolina and motocross terms, Southern Maryland's close
01:44Next to build Nicoletti. Yeah, I still max that far outside
01:48But yeah, you either got to be on the far inside or maybe get a little bit wider
01:52But you know what happens God's gonna get piled up so
01:55Eli Hunter's gonna have to get a great jump because they're side-by-side. Yeah, they are way out there
02:00So here it is the return of Eli Tomac to promote across chase Sexton for straight overalls a lot on the line
02:07When we go racing right now at Butch Creek
02:16And those middle gates worked hunter Lawrence looking to control it
02:20Got Justin Cooper there with him
02:24Believe it's Nicoletti as well. Oh Cooper into the back of hunter hunter survived. He goes off the track a
02:32Big moment right there. Yeah, Justin Cooper. I think he jumps a little bit long and hunter started closing over
02:38It looks like something's wrong with hunters bike as he's looking down. Oh, no
02:41Yeah, hunter was lucky to stay up and through that Aaron Plesinger takes the lead and listen to the crowd
02:47Cooper's still down
02:50Hi
02:51Going the wrong way. I don't know if he's even trying to get back to the bike. Okay is now
02:56Maybe just the way our angle was. Yeah, Mike's closer to us, but good to see him back up just racing incident
03:02But presuming what happened hunter was closing that gap just jumps a little bit longer. They end up tangling in the air just racing but
03:09Where is Sexton eight?
03:11So was not able to make that inside gate work his teammates sure making it work though. Here comes Plesinger
03:18Yeah, chase got a terrible start
03:19I think he got closed off and then he was almost dead last on the inside
03:23But since he had the inside he was able to squirt around and maybe that incident with Justin Cooper
03:28He's a lot farther ahead than what he was on the gate going down to first start
03:31But that's what hunter was looking at his fenders pulled off. Yes. I've had a look at the left side
03:38Look, don't worry folks aerodynamics not a factor here
03:43Jason Anderson of the 21 is super aggressive early. He's got around Nicoletti
03:48Sexton on the floor is coming with him toward the front
03:51Yeah, I think chase got around Eli as well. Unless we saw that happen when he got caught up around there
03:57Well, Dean Wilson has problems
03:59Dino Dino needs these points need these chips. Come on
04:05And I think a good start for tickle as well there is Ferrandez it's all back at the top ten
04:10Tomac is in this group somewhere
04:12Good to see Kristen Craig this far up
04:15Yeah running fifth place
04:18Yeah, Craig of the 28 the white rock star husk Varna
04:22Sexton on the charge
04:24But this is what you talked about with us earlier
04:26You said how this track strings out Sexton starts haven't been great this year and it makes a much bigger difference
04:32Again, the leaders are long gone. Yeah, so chase Sexton running
04:37What are we at probably six? Yeah, he's a little bit ahead of head of that and he's
04:43That right
04:44We're gonna find out right I was about to say what's a bit farther back
04:47But yeah, you can see how much time that he's lost. Yeah, he's fourth place for so that's good position wise
04:52But a big gap already
04:56A lot of times you see these guys in a pack
04:59Honestly, though impressive for Sexton. He probably made four or five passes
05:02Yeah, I want him to say that Aaron must have made a mistake or something a little bit farther ahead of these guys
05:08but yeah, chase has done a great job at
05:11Minimizing the gap JT
05:13Yeah, I think for chase he wanted to get the start
05:15But he got he got closed off right out of the gate as you guys mentioned and then it's a little bit of an insurance
05:20Policy on that inside. Yes, you can get closed off
05:23But you have that short distance where you can just kind of creep around and come out
05:26Okay
05:27But I really think for him as long as he can see the leaders in front of him which he can look up he can
05:32See Hunter Lawrence. You can see his teammate Aaron Plesinger. I think he's gonna lean on his fitness in that situation
05:37See any real panic from him because over the last what eight nine ten motos now
05:43He's shown that he can come through the pack
05:45He can close the distance down and then that last 10 to 15 minutes
05:48He can put multiple seconds a lap into these guys
05:50So I think right now he's he's making the most of a poor start and as long as Plesinger doesn't extend that lead to too
05:57Far away, he'll be just fine to sit here and tactically move forward
06:02And
06:03He's continuing to attack
06:06Christian Craig here at JT see if you can out jump him to the bottom of this hill and he does nice move by chase
06:11That's one of the places on the track that you actually make a pass without a guy making a mistake
06:16So strong move for chase got to think the way the last few weekends is he's pretty confident
06:23Yeah, and he can start to see hunter Lawrence in front of him
06:25We saw what happened last week and how important trap position was for that first moto
06:30Hunter stayed in front of him was able to hold him off, but
06:33Brace is on. Oh, yeah hunter Lawrence
06:36Slowly closing back up to the seven of Plesinger and the SMX track view showing you those gaps
06:42So Plesinger and hunter are close then it got back to Sexton who's fighting Craig?
06:47Nicoletti Anderson tickled Tomac is eight
06:50Verandas ninth Malcolm Stewart tenth and this has been pretty good. We've seen some battles between Plesinger and hunter as
06:57of late
06:59Yeah, Aaron wrote really good last weekend that second moto. I almost think he was besides chase
07:04Probably the second fastest on the track. He came from way back. So difference when you're out front you're leading that pace
07:11I don't know how comfortable Aaron is being out front compared to maybe being you know fifth and stuff coming up
07:17But nonetheless, he's Ron really good AC
07:21Yeah last year actually I was racing this event I was able to
07:25Lead a few laps and man, I felt the best I did all year just flowing around the track whipping it tear offs
07:31I felt great and I heard some pressure behind me and I'm like, oh man, that's got to be jet
07:36Like it's the only that's the only guy that can go this fast, right like in my head, but it turned out to be AP
07:41So with that said AP does have some speed here at Butts Creek the track agrees with them
07:46The fans agree with him. I would say that's for sure. This is becoming like a weekly thing
07:50He gets a good start in at least one of the motos and the crowd goes berserk
07:54They love the number seven. So come on was out of this
07:59I mean, you never know you every time you see him. It looks like he's won the race. So yeah, Aaron great, dude
08:06It's obviously great on that motorcycle looks good out front as well
08:09And for him, I think if he can keep hunter behind him just get more comfortable out front
08:13He might actually have a chance to to vote a hold on and win this race once his teammate decides to come up
08:19Yeah, they've actually kept the gap to sexted about the same five and a half seconds hunter is the man of the move or maybe
08:26The hunt I should say because now he's to the rear fender of Plessinger
08:31yeah, tries to get up the inside of him and that a
08:35Beastmode starting to roll going from eight to six now and fighting his old rival Jason Anderson for fifth
08:42That's the bottom box
08:44Looks like hunters trying to get up the inside of a P. Oh
08:48boy
08:49Now you're saying this area is pretty tough to pass. Is there an opportunity here?
08:53No, I mean you saw how much hunter backed off right there
08:56So in his spot hunter doesn't want to lose too much time
08:59But it's a great opportunity to you know
09:01Take a breath because you know
09:02You're not gonna be able to pass them because you can't be that close to him because you can't see
09:06so that's what a little bit of gap and now you're starting to see chase Exton pop up in the background because
09:11Hunter got caught up behind him. There's
09:14Look at that battle now, they've caught Craig. So it's a three rider battle Craig Anderson and Tomac
09:21Now I'm gonna tell you one thing when we talk Eli. He's he feels pretty comfortable
09:26He look he looked good. If he gets around Jason Henderson and starts somehow closing up on these guys
09:32I wouldn't be shocked if beast mode comes back this first race really this track
09:36It will suit him and for a four-time champion like Eli
09:40It's all about confidence. And if he feels like boom could do there it is and get around and still keep climbing
09:46I'll be a part of this. He just passed Anderson and then Anderson just got him back and their hunter gets
09:55The scrub now
09:58Outside here, he's on the inside here, but AP
10:01AP's got to be good at this downhill to hold the inside
10:03He cannot do it hunter Lawrence to the lead and Tomac fighting back against Anderson at the bottom
10:09Here comes Eli same move great pass by a hunter
10:12Now Eli's gonna have to get beside Jason
10:15He switches his line and goes on the outside. No Anderson going after Craig
10:20Hunter lost a back end in that corner at the top puts it back together and starts to pull away from Plesinger
10:26Good racing. Yeah, great race and hunter started losing a back. We'll start slotting
10:31Let's go back again makes the move on Anderson. Yeah, so happy Eli you back great move
10:37And it's a couple spots this time a couple spots this lap where he was able to get around to almost get around them
10:43And I think he's gonna get around Kristen Craig pretty good because once you start seeing Eli starting to whip it feel good
10:50Good to see that. Oh boy. All right, there's Craig trying to hold off the three Adam
10:57Christian Craig's been well documented with the elbow injury and part of the issue is it's a strength issue
11:03Basically, and I think today with the track being a little bit being a little bit smoother than normal
11:09Christian Craig still has top-level pace. So it's really good to see him up here in the fight
11:15He is but unfortunately now today he has to deal with Tomac. Did he just wave Anderson by yeah, I think Adam
11:21We're talking about his strength and Christian probably let Jason know like come on by either that or maybe had a tear off stuff
11:28But he didn't like he had too much fight
11:31Got Nicoletti and Ferrandez battling right behind them. We send it back to JT
11:35Well, I think the smart move there is to let Anderson by because if you know
11:39He's gonna pass you and you hold him up. Guess what?
11:41Jason Anderson's gonna move you out of the way, but you're gonna lose time
11:44So I think for Christian Craig right now, he's thinking about big picture
11:47How do I turn the best lap times and if moving over for half a second is the best move and so be it?
11:53That's what we call business decisions
11:56Make a business decision like for tomorrow
11:59Don't go elbow to elbow with someone when you don't have any muscle in your tricep
12:03No, literally does not after all these elbow surgeries. It's gonna be a long recovery to get to 100% strength from Craig and
12:11What do you think what you've seen from Tomac so far James?
12:14Well, I like what I'm seeing
12:16Eli's gonna have a issue kind of what we saw with Levi kitchen at first photo the gap between him and chase is so far
12:23He might not be able to continue racing forward since he doesn't see anybody
12:27So if he can start closing that gap down, he'll continue good. Otherwise, he might fall back in the hands of Jason
12:33L hungry, which you don't want to do that. So Eli looks good. This guy looks really good as well
12:40And it's worth noting again Sexton not closing
12:42It was about five six seconds when he got to third around Craig and it's about that distance now hunter Lawrence
12:49Looking for another first photo win
12:52Yeah, it looked like to me
12:54Chase got within three seconds 100 was just passing Aaron and hunter pulled it back out. He just ran a
13:01156 9
13:02Closest to that was chase Sexton
13:06158 to so he's got some
13:08some pace
13:10Yeah, and it's back to five point one can show you the moto sport comm whole shot replay
13:15There's a lot to cover with this one
13:17Sexton with the inside gate that did not work for him at least as far as the whole shot is concerned
13:22It's JT mentioned it did prevent it from being a terrible start because the number four does not get a jump
13:28Chase on the inside. He doesn't get a jump in and watch he gets cut off
13:32But it looks like Justin Cooper cuts him off and he's
13:35Pretty far back on the inside
13:38Now watch Cooper and hunter here. That's gonna be the next pressure point. Yeah, you see Justin jumps long
13:44But that's what I thought hunters going towards the inside Justin jumps long gets on. Oh
13:49man, I was a close one and luckily Justin was able to land on that soft stuff was still a hard hit and
13:56Didn't catch anybody else out and credit the Cooper he did get back on the motorcycle
14:00I'm trying to find it 27 in timing and scoring. So at least he's good enough to continue to ride
14:07And now we just play the game of the stopwatch
14:09Kent Sexton close on Plessinger Kate Sexton close on the leader or is this
14:14Another one for hunter Lawrence. Yeah, what chase just made the pass on Aaron. Oh
14:19There it is. Yeah. Yep. Now he's coming so
14:22Still not even halfway this race is a long time from being over
14:26So there is the move
14:28Sexton did get around Plessinger and he's closer to hunter than he was a lap earlier. He's 5.1. Now. It's 3.9
14:38He ran a 156 300 156 nine. So the last lap and a half he has started to put it together
14:45Yeah, you can see chase starting to find that flow beautiful. That's how you hit the corners. That was nice
14:58All right, so like I said, it's gonna be a stopwatch game now Oh
15:02For and it's down got the visor flipped up. He's in that battle with Craig and Nicoletti
15:07So the momentum for the race is going to be a little bit different
15:10That the visor flipped up he's in that battle with Craig and Nicoletti
15:14So the momentum from unit Dilla is gone for the Phoenix Racing honda rider
15:22Right after where chasing sweat through
15:29Wait, where is that? So no, I think this is actually recorded mechanics area
15:32He's got to do a U-turn here as we watch Sexton.
15:39Can he make a race of it?
15:51How do you think this track, you were speculating how it was going to play out for certain riding
15:55styles.
15:56Good, bad for Sexton.
15:57How do you think it works for him?
15:59Well, I just noticed you see Chase being more patient in these corners, like once he gets
16:05in there, if his balance is not right, he's not attacking, getting on the gas as he buries
16:09it in there.
16:10He's starting to be patient.
16:11And the reason he's doing that is to avoid doing what we just heard with his motorcycle.
16:16So I think Chase has got a good pace, but with Hunter being out front, Hunter can ride
16:21his own pace, be really smooth.
16:22Chase has to actually ride harder to catch up.
16:25This track is easy to make mistakes.
16:28So we'll see what happens, J.T., as this race continues.
16:32Yeah, I want to focus on Hunter.
16:34We saw Chase Sexton through this section last lap putting it together, but I think it's
16:37a great lesson for the viewers at home to learn about the power of momentum.
16:41You're going to see Hunter come out of this corner, he's going to double into this corner
16:45and carry that momentum.
16:46He's not really on the throttle, he's just letting the bike flow.
16:49He doubles into this corner, lets the bike flow again into that next corner.
16:53All the way through there, it's one motion, not a lot of throttle, not a lot of brake,
16:58allowing the motorcycle to work, and that's a very underrated secret of how to go fast.
17:02Yeah, J.T., is that what you were kind of alluding to, what Sexton's trying to do as
17:06well?
17:07James?
17:08Yeah, that's really how you go fast around here.
17:10If you try to turn into a throttle jockey in those slippery sections that are one big
17:14rut, you're just going to get a lot of wheel spin and go nowhere.
17:16So they're just allowing the bike to carry its natural momentum, the momentum he gained
17:21in the first corner, he carried that all the way through the section, and you don't get
17:25that stop-start motion that can really slow you down.
17:28Yeah, no, I agree, and that's what I was trying to say.
17:31And I think with Chase, we saw Hayden ride that way, very aggressive on the throttle,
17:36but the difference was, I noticed Hayden was actually staying up in the corner, so he was
17:40staying where the soft stuff was, so you can ride that way because there's traction.
17:45You can't ride that way if you're trying to cut out, and as his track continues to draw
17:48out, Chase was trying to cut out of these corners, and that's why he was losing the
17:51rear end.
17:52He has to go fast because he has to go to catch Hunter Lawrence, but he has to be patient
17:57in the middle part of the corners, at least stay up in the berm, because if he doesn't,
18:01then he's wasting all the time and losing it, as you can see how hard it is.
18:05So two different ways, but Hunter's in a perfect spot being out front, A.C.
18:10Just to add to what you guys were saying, if you look at Chase and Hunter, the ruts
18:14here are super long, and they get a lot of hooks in them, meaning the corners blow out,
18:20and sometimes the apex is kind of in different spots, and what I'm saying is it's really
18:24difficult to stay balanced, and if you look at Hunter and Chase, you notice that their
18:28head is directly in the center of the bike over the bars every time, and it just goes
18:34to show how important technique is on a technical, ruddy track like this.
18:39All right.
18:40We got plenty to watch there as we watch also this battle, Malcolm Stewart fighting Phil
18:45Nicoletti, and there you go.
18:46Your brother just made the move, but if you can't watch, just listen.
18:51You can hear this broadcast on Sirius XM Channel 85.
18:55That is NBC Sports Audio.
18:57A couple of super crosses I did not make it to this year.
19:00I did listen after taking the wife out to dinner.
19:02Got to make up for the Saturdays you're not there.
19:04So what do you think about Mookie here making some moves?
19:07He's doing good.
19:08We've been talking about track position.
19:10He didn't get the best of start, so he's riding really good up in seventh place right behind
19:15his teammate right now, but he just lost so much time, as everybody has if you haven't
19:19been out front in the beginning, but he's doing good.
19:23Maybe he has a chance to catch Kristen a few seconds in front of him.
19:26Yep.
19:27Could be the battle of the teammates there.
19:29Malcolm in sixth.
19:30Craig just went by.
19:31Sorry.
19:32Malcolm in seventh.
19:33Craig just went by in sixth.
19:34There are the rock star Husqvarnas, and honestly, you and I were talking about this yesterday.
19:41I'm happy to see Malcolm back.
19:43He had not ridden outdoors full time something like ten years.
19:46I know he's not a podium guy, but that's a long layoff.
19:50I just feel the fact he's putting in these motos, I don't know if you agree, it's got
19:53to be a building block even for the future.
19:55No, it's a huge building block, and, I mean, Malcolm wants to be able to be out here competing
20:00and be in top fives and competing for podiums and eventually race wins, but being out of
20:05this class, we talk about, you know, Eli Tomac missing a year, how it affects you, or even
20:11guys that come, you know, who raced last year comes in the middle part of the season.
20:15So missing as much time as Malcolm has, it definitely affects him, but he's gotten better
20:19through this outdoor season.
20:21If he can continue this next week, you'll see a better supercross rider because he was
20:26able to log these laps no matter what the results are.
20:28He is getting better from just being out here, and you'll see it next year.
20:31Yeah, there was a funny exchange.
20:33They got the rookie 250 teammate Casey Cochran earlier in the year was asking Malcolm about
20:37the tracks, and he's like, I don't even remember.
20:40It's been so long since I raced them.
20:42Back in with the friendly rider out of Estonia, Harry Kulos making the move, 79 on Derek Kelly.
20:49This is one of the riders fighting for those SMX playoff spots.
20:52He's got a new motorcycle.
20:54You go all the way back to hang town.
20:56That was the Michael's Reno power sports hang town classic.
21:00That dealership gave him a bike.
21:02He raced it through Washougal, then he sold the bike back to them, then he got a new bike
21:07from them for Unadilla.
21:08He's been able to do a little bit of testing.
21:11The testing works like this.
21:12He sends his wife home.
21:14She flies back to America with suspension, and she said, this is the last year I'm going
21:19to do this.
21:20If you get on a team next year, you're fine, but you're not coming back to America and
21:23chasing this SMX thing with me helping you fly suspension in and out of the country.
21:30When you make the playoffs and get some of that money, you better not buy no bike parts.
21:34You better buy the wife something nice and pretty.
21:36That is dedication.
21:37Good to see Harry out here, continuing to fight.
21:40This just shows you how much it means to these guys to want to be out here competing but
21:45also to be able to make this playoff run and what it can do for their career moving forward.
21:50Kind of a home race in his home away from home.
21:53Harry's been staying in New Jersey lately, Cherry Hill, and it's about three hours from
21:56here.
21:57He's out to the old ATV pro, who has a riding spot in New Jersey, and that's where Harry's
22:03been riding during the week when he can.
22:06Some weekends he's off in Brazil racing arena cross and doing the best he can with the bike
22:12he can put together, the time he has.
22:15Send it down to Adam.
22:16You know, guys, as I'm watching Kulas here, I think to myself, if there was nobody else
22:22on the track and it was just him, and everybody just watched just him, you would think that
22:26this man is the fastest guy on the planet.
22:31Everybody is such a good rider out here, especially near the top ten, you know, obviously comparing
22:36them to like a chase or an AP or a hunter, it's a bit different, but these guys have
22:40serious skills.
22:41Yeah, it's kind of a pros versus Joe's thing, right?
22:45If Harry shows up at your local racetrack, he's blowing the doors off of anyone, and
22:49you'd be like, you can't ride faster than that.
22:52But there is another level.
22:54Hunter Lawrence trying to maintain that lead over chase Sexton, 3.2 seconds is the gap
23:00now.
23:01Yeah, hunter did a great job.
23:03I was looking out the window, a great job of getting around these lappers because where
23:07he caught him, he was in a spot where he was going to lose a lot of time.
23:10So he lost a little bit of time as chase was getting around one more lapper, but hunter
23:15did a good job at making his way around those guys, so he didn't lose it to chase, and he
23:20still has about a 3.2, maybe a little bit smaller than that once you get there, but
23:24the race is on just like we were last weekend.
23:27Oh, boy, it's getting close, and this is the time of the moto where Sexton does his best
23:34work.
23:35Battle for 20th, oh, it's because Justin Cooper is entering point scoring territory.
23:42He's at the bottom of that battle, and Cole Nichols is 20th.
23:48Justin Cooper is 21st.
23:49Yeah, and the reason why we're showing you Justin, because he's in a battle with third
23:53place in the overall point for the motocross series with Aaron Plessinger, so this is going
23:58to take a huge hit for him.
24:00He needs to score these points because I can tell you right now, the difference between
24:03third and points and fourth is probably a couple of zeros on there, so Justin wants
24:08to get out here for pride, but also for that bank account, too.
24:12Okay, there's probably some bonus money, third in the series, you'd imagine.
24:15There's a dollar or two in here.
24:17Yeah, we don't talk about it too much.
24:19We mentioned Sexton closing in on this title, and that pays a lot.
24:23That probably all in might be seven figures, and he's closing on that.
24:27Race wins, maybe six figures, so Hunter's digging deep.
24:30Yeah, Hunter's digging deep as he gets caught behind a lapper, but yeah, between third and
24:34fourth in points is probably the difference between a day pass and an annual pass.
24:39There you go.
24:40Uh-oh, Sexton's closer than ever.
24:42Yeah, man, the reason that happens, because you saw going up to the old finish line area,
24:47Hunter got stuck behind that lap rodder, and that's what I was saying, the lap before,
24:51he did a great job at getting around those guys so that didn't happen, but now Chase
24:55is right there.
24:56See if Chase can get back ahead of this guy, AC.
25:00Yeah, and one of the things that makes a racer great, when we say, like Chase, he's great
25:06in the last 10 minutes, it's not just fitness, it's also adapting.
25:11After the sight lap, most of the guys will have their lines picked out.
25:15You get the whole shot, you know where your lines are, you stay there, but about this
25:18time in the muddle, about 10, 8 minutes to go, those lines typically go away, and you
25:22need to keep your head on a swivel and move around the track, and I think Chase is taking
25:28advantage of the lines right now.
25:30Yeah, and I was mentioning that last weekend, Hunter being able to adapt and get to that
25:35wall section, that one line basically helped him win that race, and so you can almost say
25:40Hunter out, you know, adapted better than Chase the last weekend at the first muddle,
25:46because they're both pretty close on speed, and I would say today, the same thing, maybe
25:50Chase is a little bit faster, but we're going to find out how much Hunter can react to what
25:54Chase is doing, and it's a skill to be able to do what Hunter is doing, because he's got
25:58to be able to react, not knowing what Chase is.
26:01He doesn't know where Chase is going, so he's got to have to think about and guess.
26:05Oh, especially with the lap traffic.
26:09Power run around the outside by the four of Sexton, to the rear wheel now of Lawrence.
26:15Oh.
26:16Oh.
26:17Mistakes by both.
26:20Yeah.
26:21That was close.
26:23Hunter got in that pothole, and that bike kicked out sideways, but give him another couple
26:28hundred yards, he'll forget that even happened.
26:31I love it when you say that.
26:33Short memories in motocross, and back to the top.
26:37See if Sexton can get close, send it back.
26:40Oh!
26:41Sexton just tucked it.
26:42Oh, J.T., I know you want to observe there on Sexton, but that was a tough one for him.
26:46Well, yeah, no, I was thinking that whole time he'd been closing the gap down, he had
26:50to be thinking about where can I make a move.
26:52This track is notoriously difficult to pass on, so he had plenty of time to think about
26:57planning a pass.
26:58Now he's got a lot of work to do just to get in position to set that up.
27:03Just about to mention, Chase has to be careful once he closes Hunter not to get stuck in
27:08these berms, because it's easy to get close to somebody and almost get excited and try
27:13to get to him, and just a simple fall, he just fell over, but that berm gave away how
27:18soft this track is.
27:19That might be costing him the race victory this one.
27:22Yeah, look at the gap.
27:23It's eight seconds now.
27:24That might be it.
27:26And we'll get a couple looks at it here.
27:30He's heading back up.
27:31Now Hunter has a gap, goes in, and Hunter gets through that corner.
27:34Now Chase just gets in there, and he just, basically the front end starts pushing.
27:38He buries it in that corner, and just falls over.
27:41See, another look, gets in, watch the front end.
27:44Just sticks it in that corner.
27:46Adam.
27:47Yeah, guys, and we saw before the finish line, Chase, where you pointed out Hunter and Chase
27:55both made a mistake.
27:57Sometimes when you're paying too much attention to the guy in front of you, that can happen,
28:01and maybe it just forced Chase maybe to have a little momentary lapse of concentration,
28:05but pure speculation.
28:06Well, we've got podium interviews.
28:09We might be able to find out.
28:11Sometimes they don't tell you, but it looks like Hunter Lawrence, he's got a tear-off
28:14flappy there at the left side of his helmet, could be looking at two straight first moto
28:19wins.
28:20Yeah, you notice Hunter's body position through those rollers.
28:23This time he allowed his body to actually use part of that suspension instead of just
28:27relying on the bike, and that's what threw him sideways that last lap right before Chase
28:32fell.
28:33So good to see him, but two weeks in a row, we saw Chase being able to catch Hunter, and
28:37he's had, you know, been able to react to it, and that's the difference that I see now
28:43as you almost lose the front end right there compared to weeks past.
28:47Oh, yeah.
28:48Eli Tomei's out here racing.
28:50Well, he said he wanted to be in the podium battle.
28:53He's fourth.
28:54I'd say that's in the podium battle.
28:55It's a monster energy racer update, Tomei fourth, Anderson fifth.
29:00Cooper who had that big crash early is 20th, and Dylan Ferrandez in the crash, 37th.
29:06As for Eli coming back late in the year, we asked him about this at press day yesterday.
29:14Good training motos at home.
29:15I'm making it the full distance.
29:17You know, I wouldn't be here if I wasn't doing that.
29:20Racing is a whole other level, whole other ballgame, but I'm pretty sure I'm strong enough
29:26to be in the game, you know?
29:27So, I mean, we're going to find out tomorrow, but overall, it's been a long recovery, but
29:33now, you know, I've had some good time on the motorcycle, and I think I'm in a pretty
29:37good spot.
29:38Yeah, and what do you think, fourth?
29:41Is that a good spot?
29:44Yeah, it's a really good spot for Eli, and as I mentioned earlier, he didn't have anybody
29:50to chase down, so he's doing a good job at still continuing to push forward because that
29:55point, once he got into fourth place, Chase was about 10 seconds ahead of him, so he didn't
29:59have that rabbit in front of him, so it was going to be hard for him not to race backwards,
30:03but he's able to keep Jason, who's been on the podium in the last few races and up there
30:09competing, so to come out being injured, missing the end of the Supercross, coming out here,
30:14hasn't raced outdoors for almost two years, I would say fourth place in the way his body
30:19position is.
30:20Eli's doing great.
30:21I mean, he looks aggressive.
30:23He still looks like Eli.
30:24Yeah, I think he's fine.
30:27Yeah, and he'll be back for Ironman next week and then building toward the SMX playoffs.
30:31Now, they haven't announced anything about his intentions of 2025, but I have a sneaking
30:35suspicion we'll see some news about that and maybe a contract renewal because we saw signs
30:40from Eli here and there in 2024 that he could still be fast like the old Eli, but you give
30:46him a whole off-season of prep, these races under his belt, et cetera, et cetera, and
30:51he could be that much stronger in 2025 than he starts to build here.
30:56And you know, it's sneaky.
30:58You don't really think about it, but I know Eli's been able to go through this.
31:01The reason he's probably excited to be back for racing, because once you're in it and
31:05you're a defending champion, you're always, you know, suspected of winning championships.
31:09It gets tiring mentally.
31:10So him being hurt the last couple years, missing his season, it probably gave him an opportunity
31:14to relax, refresh their minds, and now he's enjoying racing.
31:19So Eli Tomac, because he got hurt, now he's probably going to extend his career a little
31:23bit longer because of that time off.
31:25Hey, we'll take more years, more motos out of Eli Tomac.
31:29Back to this battle.
31:30Kudos.
31:31We told you his story right around Estonia and Welton, who has been very underrated this
31:35year.
31:36Welton has been right around this probably 9 to 13 spot in a lot of the races this year.
31:40The veteran out of Michigan, and they're in a battle right now, 13th and 14th.
31:46And this is all with those playoff points on the line.
31:49Your privateers like them, the payday to be in that top 20 and get into the motos and
31:55be guaranteed some money, that is big.
31:57Yeah, it's huge, and it's good to see these guys out here fighting, and every position
32:01matters because they're talking points here.
32:04And when you get back into, you know, what, seventh, back, fifth, sixth, like, it's only
32:09one point.
32:10So to gain a massive amount of points over Kyle Chisholm, you got to beat him by four
32:14positions.
32:15And where you got Kyle is right now, Harry's doing a good job of taking advantage of this,
32:20doing his best.
32:21But it's single digits back here, and it makes a big difference.
32:25And both these riders would be in.
32:26The rider on the outside looking in is Dean Wilson, who we saw crash early in this moto
32:31and is now out.
32:32So Dean's not going to get points for this one.
32:35Chisholm has stretched his gap over Wilson from six points to 12 if it ends like this
32:41because Chisholm is in 16th.
32:43You see Kulas, Harlan and Welton just ahead of them.
32:47But I love it, man.
32:48We're putting a spotlight on riders that probably wouldn't even really get noticed at this point
32:51of the season.
32:52But the old format without playoffs.
32:53Yeah, I was just thinking about what Adam was saying.
32:57Local tracks.
32:58You know, Harry going to local tracks to these guys, and they're like, man, I don't know
33:01how you can go fast.
33:02They look unbelievable fast.
33:04That's because they are.
33:05They are good.
33:06Like, when you're talking about these athletes, they're the best of the best in the world.
33:10These elite athletes.
33:11So they're no slouches despite, like, hey, Hunter Lawrence is out front.
33:16These guys outrun all of us out here, probably out here watching this race at this point.
33:20And it's good to see that these guys are the best in the world.
33:24That includes you now.
33:25You put yourself in that category.
33:26I put myself in the category.
33:27These guys can outrun.
33:28Okay.
33:29All right.
33:30That's what I mean.
33:31You're just like me now.
33:32I'm just like you.
33:33Someday maybe we'll see otherwise.
33:35I'd like to see you try.
33:36Yeah.
33:37I'm the guy that's like, man, the track's too rough now.
33:39Like, what are we doing here?
33:40Like, this is unsafe.
33:41It's only 9 o'clock in the morning, James.
33:43Well, it's too rough.
33:44Too rough, too hot.
33:45At 9 a.m.
33:46And, yeah, grinders here, Welton, who's raced all over the world, Kulas, who's raced all
33:51over the world, those journeyman types, I'd say they're just guys that know what they're
33:56doing.
33:57They know what they're doing.
33:58You get from a motorcycle anywhere, any type of track, they'll make the best of it.
34:01And a good battle here for 13th and 14th, giving us a chance to spotlight some of the
34:06privateers, Welton, on the Gizmo Mods Rock River Yamaha team.
34:10Yeah.
34:11And to have an opportunity to be able to switch bikes and adapt like they do, that's not easy.
34:17That's not easy.
34:18Like, I know I get caught in my own thing, and these guys be able to go to different
34:22parts and, I mean, parts of the world, ride different motorcycles, but come out here and
34:26compete.
34:27That's a talent itself.
34:28But right now, two weekends in a row, first moto, if he can finish this thing off, be
34:33able to answer the bell and take it to chase somewhat, man, you've got to like what you
34:38see from the 96 and the HRC Honda.
34:41When they get Jett Lawrence back, you know Jett is probably sitting at home watching
34:44his brother how much better he's gotten just from the change.
34:48Things are still looking good over there.
34:50Yep.
34:51Got this new 2025 motorcycle that debuted last week with the moto win at Unadilla.
34:57Maybe the most surprising stat of the entire season is Hunter Morris still doesn't have
35:02an overall win.
35:03I think if you quizzed most of the fans here, he's had a great season, led the points for
35:06a while.
35:07A lot of moto wins.
35:09Just kind of assumed that one of these weekends he probably won the overall, but that's still
35:13a box yet to be checked.
35:15Yeah.
35:16And I'm sure it will get checked, whether it's this year or next.
35:19I mean, he's been very consistent, and, I mean, he's talking about racing against his
35:23brother who's a generational talent, you know, and then obviously chase X and catching form
35:29and having these races a lifetime, you'll remember for his lifetime, so he's riding
35:33really good.
35:34He's just getting caught in things that, you know, there's moments of people's career,
35:38but right now, Hunter looks better than he did all year long.
35:42He's riding more confidence, and, you know, you got to think those few weekends where
35:46he lost a few points, probably wish he could have that back, JT.
35:51Well, speaking of Hunter's brother, and we haven't referred to him very often, but Jett
35:56got back on the motorcycle this week.
35:57So the wait is coming short now.
36:00We're going to see him back at Charlotte, and this was a little bit earlier than I kind
36:03of planned on, so it's still going to be a limited recovery time.
36:07I don't know how close to 100% he'll be, but Jett Lawrence fans have to be excited to see
36:11that photo of him back on the motorcycle.
36:12Yeah, it looks like a 25, too, by that stock pipe, so he knows what's up.
36:17Yeah, we're not going to see the 24 Hondas on the racetrack for these guys any longer.
36:21This is it.
36:22Final lap.
36:23Hunter Lawrence going to get another moto win.
36:25Could today unlock an overall win?
36:27We'll find out later.
36:29Moto one goes to Hunter Lawrence.
36:31I got another stat I just put together here.
36:34When we went to Red Bud, when Jett first went out, we had said that five motos, Sexton had
36:39beaten Hunter and five motos, Hunter had beaten Sexton.
36:42Hunter goes down.
36:43Had a couple of bad ones since the break.
36:46They're kind of even up again.
36:47Yeah.
36:48I mean, when they're when he's on the guy, he had that mid part.
36:53That was it.
36:54Yeah, that was it.
36:55He's doing a good job.
36:56He's doing a good job here.
36:59Eli Tomac.
37:00Eli, I can tell by the byline, he's happy that this moto is being done.
37:04It's a tough racetrack, but, I mean, that's why he's a four-time champ.
37:09Man, I love to see this out here fighting, and I think he'll be better at his next moto
37:13as well.
37:14Going to be fourth place.
37:16Sexton brings it home second.
37:17Plessiger third.
37:18Welcome back.
37:19The pro moto cross, Eli Tomac with the fourth place finish.
37:25Pretty much where he wanted to be.
37:26Wanted to be in contention for the podium.
37:27He's fourth.
37:28He could get it over all before it's over.