450 Moto 1 - AMA Pro Motocross Ironman 2024
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00:00And the way hunter lawrence has ridden the first motos as of late, he's won the last
00:04two of them, yeah, he could hold that off to the final moto and I would think it's get
00:10nervous time at that point if you're sexton.
00:13It's get nervous time until they hand you that number one plate.
00:16Hunter lawrence, I think he's a little bit more start dependent than chase.
00:19Chase has obviously been showing he can come up through the pack.
00:24Hunter lawrence has been strong in these first motos lately since he's been on the 25.
00:28We'll see if he gets the start, see what he can do with it.
00:30Don't forget those outside gates.
00:32That's jordan smith's spot.
00:34Nearly hole shot the first 250 moto.
00:36Can eli tomac do it from the outside of the number three?
00:40Kyle chisholm out there as well.
00:43Eli's back.
00:45Eli's back.
00:46So happy.
00:49Not often do we go into a season finale with this type of drama.
00:53It's just on the line for sexton to win this title.
00:56The likes of plessiger, lawrence, justin cooper haven't gotten wins this year overall.
01:02Could today be the day?
01:03Revs are up.
01:04Gates down.
01:05Oh!
01:06Big pileup.
01:07Is that ferrandez?
01:08Yeah, ferrandez.
01:09Oh, that was big.
01:10He went flipping.
01:11Phil mickeledy, a good start.
01:12But hunter lawrence to the lead again.
01:13Hunter lawrence has had a good start.
01:14He's got a good start.
01:15He's got a good start.
01:16He's got a good start.
01:17He's got a good start.
01:18He's got a good start.
01:19He's got a good start.
01:20He's got a good start.
01:21He's got a good start.
01:22He's got a good start.
01:23He's got a good start.
01:24He's got a good start.
01:25Hunter lawrence, as the hondas, they got them start style, but as phil always does, he somehow
01:31always ends up up there.
01:33But chase sexton slides up into fourth spot.
01:36Looks like plessiger and phil battling it out third and fourth.
01:40There is sexton and a good start for tomac, who's next in line.
01:44Yeah, eli got lucky because he was right next to that ferrandez accident.
01:49Because he was so far on the outside, he was able to get around it.
01:51But good start by eli to be up here.
01:54Let's see what happens.
01:55Now chase sexton has been a little lazy, I would somewhat say.
01:59Early in these first motos, takes him a few laps to get going, but he's able to already
02:03get around phil.
02:05Let's see how froggy he's feeling if he wants to try to wrap this championship up in this
02:08moto.
02:09Yeah, looks like he's made the pass.
02:10So up to third.
02:12We have seen hunter lawrence and plessiger battling for the lead early in these motos
02:16quite a bit lately.
02:19Tomac holding off his teammate cooper.
02:21Now battling with nicoletti.
02:23Let's see what eli, he's probably going to have to funnel in behind or not.
02:27I thought he was going to try to make that move, but he should be able to because now
02:31the outside ends up on the inside.
02:32Nice move by eli.
02:34You heard him on the gate.
02:35He wants to get back to that first moto.
02:36This is the first time eli has gotten a chance to race against chase sexton for a while,
02:41but especially on this 4 since he's been on this ktm.
02:44So sure, it's going to be a learning experience for the number 3 four-time champ, eli tomac.
02:50This week, bad starts in both motos for tomac.
02:52He finished fourth in moto one, but he never saw the leaders.
02:56See what he can do.
02:57Saw the stat.
02:58This is the 350th career start all classes combined for eli tomac.
03:05And we talked to him yesterday about what he learned in his comeback last week at buds
03:09creek.
03:16I had one okay finish, which was that fourth, and then the second moto there, it was tough.
03:21That's when reality sets in.
03:23You're coming off this injury.
03:25You're on a new motorcycle.
03:27It sounds like a handful of excuses, but it's reality, and you've got to really figure out
03:33how to improve yourself, and I'm hoping that I will improve myself.
03:41So it's tough coming back this period.
03:45It was also two years since my last motocross race, so there were so many things going on,
03:51but one thing for sure is it felt good to be back on the motocross track.
03:55There's a lot of things going on right now.
03:57How about that pass from aaron plessinger?
03:59That was a nice pass.
04:00You start going in the woods, and aaron plessinger comes out.
04:05It's a battle inside of a battle because they're still trying to pick the motocross nation's
04:09team, and aaron plessinger, and I'm sure eli is probably one of the guys they're thinking
04:12about as we watch dillon get up.
04:16It's good to see him get off the track, but aaron wants to get one of these things.
04:20I called about my show.
04:21I said, man, let's win one of these.
04:23So maybe today is the day that number 7 becomes number 1 in one of these motos.
04:28It looks good.
04:29You make a great point.
04:32Well, first of all, listen to this crowd.
04:37They love aaron plessinger anywhere you go, and he's putting on a show right now.
04:42Another ktm?
04:43I thought I had to deal with one of them, but, yeah, with aaron, you've got to believe
04:49he's had the pace, and last weekend he was right there with hunter, and then his teammate
04:54came storming past, but aaron has got some good memories here, first ever win, as you
04:59mentioned earlier.
05:00AP might be today.
05:01Yeah.
05:02Then you mentioned the woods.
05:03Yep.
05:04That's what he was raised doing, that type of cross country racing, and that's the area
05:09where he made the pass.
05:11Aaron's dad, an ama hall of famer for his off-road racing in the woods exploits.
05:17Multi-time ama national champ and gmcc champ, and aaron grew up racing that series, grew
05:22up on this track, and it's showing right now.
05:26Show you the pass.
05:29Aaron here.
05:30Now, he's working on this pass for a couple corners.
05:32This is going down the star straight.
05:35He goes in, and he goes to the inside here, which puts him on the outside on this next
05:40corner, which puts him back on the inside, and he just gets next to hunter, and at this
05:44point, he's going to be on the inside, and he just power moves through hunter.
05:49Hunter knew he kind of had him beat, but aaron plessinger, this new wood section, nice little
05:54hop over to his jump.
05:56Now, I feel like with him, kind of like what we he get that confidence going, katie.
06:04Yeah.
06:05There's definitely a little confidence in ap right now, and actually, I asked him, how
06:08does all the hubbub around ktm and chase sexton, your teammate, help you or enhance
06:13you?
06:14He said, it doesn't change a thing.
06:15I had a good week, and I'm out here to win, so that's one thing that you can keep your
06:18eyes set on him.
06:19The team also continued to say that ap is getting stronger and stronger, and his approach
06:23to racing, along with his physical and mental strength, it's all coming together for him.
06:27J.T.?
06:28Well, the one thing that could help for ap is he could be situationally set up here because
06:33if you start thinking about where chase sexton's head is, he's going to want to lock this championship
06:37up.
06:38He's going to be a little bit more risk averse than he would be here in this first moto.
06:41So, if ap could put in some great laps and build up a lead, I don't really think chase
06:45sexton's going to put himself in a spot where he's going to risk going all out to chase
06:49ap down late.
06:50So, if I'm ap, I want to get gone right now, build up a gap, so when chase sexton looks
06:55up, he's like, nah, it's not going to happen in this moto.
06:58So, this could be a chance for ap to finally get that moto win.
07:01Yeah, and normally, I would say, look, sexton just sits back here behind hunter.
07:05He would still wrap up the title, but sexton, there's a spoiler in the mix.
07:10James stewart, eli tomac is hanging.
07:12Yeah, what I was going to mention about aaron, the same thing with eli, what we saw with
07:18jordan smith in that 250 class, being up front, every lap they're here, they're going to get
07:23more confidence, especially with eli.
07:25If he's able to stay here with chase, it's going to allow him, okay, I've still got this
07:29speed as chase is starting to pound on hunter.
07:35Chase made this happen.
07:36He's on the outside, though.
07:37Can he hold it?
07:38It's going to be wheel to wheel over the finish line jump down this straight, and the 4 has
07:42taken the second place spot.
07:43Yeah, I think hunter kind of knew chase was coming because he could have popped out of
07:47that rut and slowed chase down, but nonetheless, that was a strong move by chase sexton, but
07:52just like aaron plessinger, being out front is going to give him confidence.
07:55We saw jordan smith wrap this thing off.
07:57Eli tomac, if he's able to stay with these guys, don't be surprised if he comes back
08:01up in this battle.
08:02Hunter has got to slow things down.
08:04Two laps in a row, he's got passed by the 7 and the number 4.
08:08Still right here.
08:09It's early in this race, jason.
08:10And look at the points as they run.
08:12The lower left.
08:13That is the magic number.
08:14Sexton needs only a 25-point lead to wrap the title.
08:17It would now be 30 if it ended like this.
08:21But that goes all the way back to J.T.'s question.
08:23Now does sexton set sail after his teammate, or is he happy to just be in championship
08:30clinching position?
08:33Can't back off too much, though, because hunter staying close, tomac there at fourth.
08:38Actually, all three of those guys made a mistake in that corner.
08:41It looked like hunter lost the most time, but yeah, you saw hunter get a little bit
08:46more aggressive, but yeah, he lost that time, katie.
08:49Okay, stew, I have a question.
08:51If we know ap and chase sexton are great teammates, the camaraderie between them has been nothing
08:56but positive for what we've heard, right?
08:59So just out of curiosity, would sexton ever let ap win this thing to get his first, you
09:05know, moto overall here maybe today, or do you think that sexton wants to go out in style
09:10and get this thing done?
09:11Yeah, if I was ap, I would tell chase, look, man, you are a great teammate.
09:14I like you a lot.
09:16But I'm here to win this race.
09:17And the same thing with chase sexton.
09:19The good thing with him, chase, he doesn't have to win this race to wrap this championship
09:23up.
09:24I think if aaron wins it, chase is going to try to go out and win it.
09:27And just be better.
09:28So I don't think chase is going to let him win anything if he has a choice.
09:33I just watched plessiger jump in and out of what they call the hoosier hole there under
09:37that bridge.
09:38He went for a wild ride and practice almost crashed.
09:41He is on the edge right now.
09:43It almost happened again.
09:44Yeah.
09:45Well, I told him he had to step up and try to get one of these wins.
09:48I didn't say at all cost.
09:51Is that tomac?
09:52Yeah.
09:53He's challenging hunter now.
09:54Yeah.
09:55And if eli gets around him, as I was mentioning, just that confidence, and eli knows how to
09:59win these races.
10:00And last time we were here, he won this race with a great battle with chase sexton.
10:05So good feeling for him.
10:07Hopefully he can continue that momentum up.
10:09Two battles to watch.
10:11Plessiger versus sexton.
10:12Lawrence versus tomac.
10:13Send it back to jason thomas.
10:15Well, the most critical aspect of ap's race here didn't come to fruition.
10:19He really needed to build out that gap.
10:21And chase sexton simply didn't let him go.
10:23You saw him make the pass, and he's already closed this gap down.
10:26A big mistake from sexton.
10:28That's what he's got to guard against.
10:29When I was talking about him being risk averse, he's not going to want to take big chances.
10:34And I thought ap's best option or best opportunity there was to build a gap.
10:38Now with sexton sitting right behind him, and to katie's question, listen, bonuses to
10:43win races like this are in the six-figure range.
10:45So not only that, chase sexton has an opportunity to win the race and the championship in front
10:49of his home crowd.
10:50So there's a lot of emotion and a lot of probably push-pull for chase sexton in this
10:54car, though.
10:55Yeah, absolutely.
10:56And if I'm aaron, I got to keep chase behind me.
10:58I don't want him to get in front because just as quickly as he caught me, he'll pull away.
11:04He's been known to do that.
11:05So if he can keep doing, like, if he can hold chase off, maybe chase makes a couple of those
11:10mistakes as we just witnessed, and maybe he'll go into championship mode.
11:13Uh-oh, not right now.
11:15Sexton to the inside.
11:16I said your best chance was to hold him off.
11:21They can listen, but it's hard to put that into motion.
11:25Plessinger riding hard, but chase sexton now has the lead.
11:28Well, chase sexton, as I mentioned at the top of the show, he's a different rider.
11:31He's just making things happen, and so aaron didn't do anything wrong.
11:35It was what chase decided to make happen, and these guys better watch out because that
11:39number 4 will run off from him really quick as he has in the past.
11:42Yeah, and as j.T. Made the point, I'm going to make a rough estimate of what the teams
11:47usually pay for wins.
11:49Probably around 100 grand for a win and 50 grand for seconds, so it's too much money
11:53on the line, I think, for sexton to say you can have it today.
11:57Also I got to wonder, is part of sexton going to say, look, I feel safer if I'm just riding
12:01by myself and not dicing with people?
12:03Yeah, we talked about this a couple weeks ago at unadilla, and j.T. Mentioned that chase
12:08feels like he talked to somebody.
12:10He's a different rider out front.
12:12This is probably where he feels the most comfortable, and this is where I would say
12:16if you're chase sexton and the rest of the guys, they don't feel like they have much
12:20of a chance when he's out front, so this is probably the safest position for chase to
12:25be in, most comfortable, and less likely these guys are going to feel like they're going
12:28to come up and pass him after this.
12:31Nice job by hunter lawrence to recover here.
12:32He actually was quicker than plessinger the last time around and stretching it a bit on
12:37tomac, who a lap ago was all over him.
12:40Aaron is doing a good job of keeping the pressure on chase, and maybe if he can keep this up,
12:47at some point chase is going to start thinking about the championship and just kind of get
12:51nerves of it, so if aaron is on him, then chase might start going backwards because
12:56this is the first time he's ever been in this position.
12:58If he gets that gap, then he'll be able to ride this thing out.
13:01This track is tough.
13:02These bikes are bouncing around everywhere.
13:04Everybody's kind of making mistakes, but as you mentioned, that 96 is closing up.
13:09It's a tug of war.
13:10It is.
13:11Every time someone has a good couple of turns, and they make a mistake, the other guy cuts
13:16into that gap.
13:17Yeah, it's a weird racetrack.
13:18When you make a mistake, it seems like you lose a lot of time on this racetrack, and
13:22as quickly as you lose it, you can gain it back, so I'm interested to watch how this
13:26thing plays out throughout the day as this track gets rougher.
13:30The monster launch there, uphill triple for sexton.
13:34The smx track view, and you can see tomac not too far on the 3 for the 96 of lawrence.
13:42Chase is crushing those guys before that big tabletop.
13:44He's going outside and cutting across the jump on the inside, and what he's doing is
13:48making that whole section like one continuous arc, so no stop and go, and you can see him
13:54pulling away there.
13:55Great line.
13:56Can plesinger keep his teammate in sight?
14:05I think they sold some noise makers today.
14:09This crowd is going nuts.
14:11That's because the hometown boys out front, and then you've got the president and ap.
14:15They're all aping out there.
14:17Everybody's happy.
14:18Yeah, sexton, he can't say he grew up riding this track because it's only been open for
14:22about 11 years, so in his younger days, his track wasn't here.
14:26He's from illinois.
14:27We're in indiana.
14:28I'm sure a lot of people that watched him grow up on other tracks are here watching
14:32today.
14:33I'm sure they're pumped to see tomac up there as well.
14:35Yeah.
14:36I was just about to mention, I'm interested to see how this number 3 plays this race because,
14:40you know, listening to him on the start, he said he wanted to have two solid motos, so
14:45having that kind of mindset makes you think that he probably wouldn't be putting all this
14:49effort into this first one, but now he's close to the front.
14:52Maybe he will, jt.
14:54Yeah, and I was thinking about tomac during the first 250 moto where r.j.
14:58Hampshire, that was a huge improvement getting fourth in that first moto, and you're kind
15:02of seeing the same thing from tomac.
15:04It's always interesting to see how fast these guys recover after their first race back.
15:09Their body gets that muscle memory, starts to remember, oh, yeah, this is how we do this,
15:12and I think you're seeing both r.j.
15:14And e.l.i.
15:15Getting back to form.
15:16Yep.
15:17Absolutely.
15:18And e.l.i., especially with him, you know, he's out here to compete.
15:21You know, he doesn't want to be in the fifth, tenth place.
15:24You know, he knows he knows how to ride a motorcycle.
15:26His biggest thing is obviously to get ready for the playoff, but when you win these championships,
15:30you know, fourth isn't good, so him being close to these guys, he wants to have every
15:35opportunity to be able to win, and I think he would feel better going, like, winning
15:39one moto and getting 20th than having two fifth places in this moto and both motos.
15:44Hey, hunter is back here, james, catching plessinger again.
15:49I wonder, is it just part of what we saw with levi kitchen, you know, the way this track
15:55is.
15:56Maybe it's a little bit more difficult being closer to the guys because it seems like when
15:58they get close to each other, they make mistakes, so maybe it's the vision, but what we saw
16:03with levi looked like he was starting to go backwards in the mid-moto, he started catching
16:07form, so maybe that's what hunter is doing as well.
16:12through this one.
16:13Brought to you by monster energy, available now at kroger.
16:17A little row reversal.
16:21Hunter doing his best work from the front this year with the great starts, but now he's
16:25the one charging, trying to catch plessinger, and that number three won't go away.
16:30Yeah, you see how much chase gets away from these guys in this part of the racetrack,
16:36that tabletop.
16:37Down to jason thomas with the team manager for the ktm squad.
16:42Well, aaron harrison, this is a big moment on the precipice of winning the first 415
16:47pro motocross championship since ryan dungey in 2015.
16:50Can you talk a little bit about the work it's taking to get back here and what it means
16:54for the entire red bull ktm crew?
16:56Yeah, you're right.
16:57It has been a little while, and we started off this year a little shaky, but we've definitely
17:02made progress through the year, and not only with chase, but with aaron, too, and, yeah,
17:08it's exciting.
17:09So a few more laps here, and we'll see what will happen.
17:12Nerves are high down here, but looking good so far.
17:16And ktm has not won this championship since 2015, but ryan dungey, saw dungey this morning.
17:21He is on hand.
17:22Hanging out with ktm folks.
17:24Got a lot to watch right now.
17:26Yeah, they got a lot going for them.
17:28Hunter is really quick on this part of the racetrack as he closes back in on aaron.
17:32It seems like he loses it right by the finish line, so he's able to get around, close in
17:36on aaron, get around, pull away from eli, and let's see what happens on the second half
17:42of this racetrack.
17:48Drop it downhill.
17:53And still tomac in the shot.
17:55Not quite in the battle, but close enough.
17:57Yeah, that exchange better for the 7.
17:59He pulled away a little bit.
18:00Yeah.
18:01And maybe aaron picked up on some of chase's lines over here, because this is where chase
18:06is really good.
18:07As you can see, chase has pulled out of his shot, so now because chase hasn't really pulled
18:16away from these guys like he has been able to in the second moto, I'm sure it's giving
18:20these guys confidence to be able to be like, okay, maybe he is thinking about the championship
18:23and might have an opportunity to close back in, because normally we see jason, like, when
18:28chase gets on the roll and he gets around these guys, next thing they know, they look
18:31up and they're seeing no one.
18:34That number four is gone.
18:35The fact is, they can still see him, and that number three is still lurking in the background.
18:39Yeah, we were talking this week also at jt about last year the way jent lorenz was winning
18:44races.
18:45He was just maintaining that two to three second gap.
18:47Sexton has been much more of the traditional just keeps pulling away, pulling away, but
18:52there it is between that two and three second mark right now as you watch the battle box
18:57show you some of the riders in that bubble battle for the playoffs.
19:01Harry kulas, grant harlan.
19:03Everybody has their own little battles and trying to seeding points, getting this playoff,
19:10but people, watch out.
19:11Got a feeling that the number three is starting to wake up.
19:14Oh, really?
19:15I just got that feeling.
19:16I see the head.
19:17Yeah.
19:18That's on the podium.
19:19The crowd is going to be going crazy.
19:25The fastest ride on the racetrack.
19:27Last lap at 214.
19:28Really close.
19:29Chase was second.
19:30Hunter was, or actually, aaron was third.
19:35Also shout out marshall welton is in that battle.
19:37Welton, see, look at that bubble right there.
19:40So welton is a 19th place spot guaranteed into the motos if he can bring the 75 home.
19:45Kyle chisholm is the last spot guaranteed into the playoff motos.
19:49Dean wilson showed up today.
19:52He's just gotten into the top 20 now.
19:55Wilson is 20th and chisholm is in 17th.
19:59Wilson needs to make up a bunch of ground on chisholm today.
20:02Wilson is saying this will be his last pro motocross race, although he joked I said that
20:07two years ago.
20:08Here I am racing him to try to make the playoff.
20:11We can't leave it.
20:12We love it too much.
20:13It's too much fun out here.
20:15Well, this is fun, a battle at least to watch.
20:18I'm not sure about being in it.
20:20Lawrence will not let aaron plessinger go.
20:24They're closing back in on chase.
20:25I don't know if chase got caught up but he didn't pull away from those guys in this section
20:29like he did before.
20:33Top four within about four seconds.
20:35Yeah, it seems like eli is really quick on this side of the racetrack.
20:40So it will be interesting to see if he can close in and possibly get around the 96.
20:44These guys are playing this tug of war, cat and mouse game.
20:47I can tell you one thing, if that number three gets around the 96, he's going to try
20:52to go to the front for sure.
20:53J.T.?
20:54Well, we have not seen eli tomac ride like this in pro motocross since 2022.
21:01Yes, he came back last week.
21:02We all knew he was just trying to get his feet wet back into the series.
21:05We haven't seen beast mode from eli tomac, not since the st.
21:09Louis round of supercross.
21:11So if he is ready to uncork one here and really show us what it's all about, I am here for
21:16it.
21:17Yeah, J.T., the pit board for eli tomac right now has been quickest on track, followed up
21:25by quick moves, and josh ellingson, his mechanic, is throwing that thing around, letting him
21:30know that it's go time for eli tomac.
21:33It's toe smacking time.
21:34It's eli tomac.
21:35J.T.
21:36Mentioned if he was getting his feet wet last weekend, they might be soaked at the end of
21:41this moto.
21:42He is ready to go.
21:44He's diving in this week.
21:47And the good news for tomac fans, what did you see there?
21:49That was close.
21:50I don't know if he hit some braking bumps, but he almost fell off the back of the motorcycle
21:54right there.
21:55Looked like he hit the bumps and got the little whiskey throttle.
21:58That was a rough ride through those woods as well.
22:01I was going to say the good news, if tomac puts in a charge, it's two riders he can challenge
22:06because hunter lawrence still right there.
22:10The time gained and lost in any given section of this track, you really can't tell what's
22:15going to happen next.
22:16Yeah.
22:17And it seems like it's in that new section these guys are trying to figure out.
22:20So I wonder is that part of it, the shadows and stuff, because a lot of even on the racetrack
22:25on the other parts, it seems like these guys lose the time is where they get in the shadows
22:29and stuff.
22:30So they'll probably go between motors and realize if I don't lose so much time in this
22:35one section, I might actually be able to win one of these things because they're all riding
22:38pretty good.
22:40Jason anderson has moved to fifth ahead of justin cooper.
22:44Malcolm stewart seventh.
22:45Nicoletti eighth.
22:46Noren and craig top ten.
22:47Back to katie.
22:48Hunter lawrence earlier today was not super comfortable on the bike.
22:52They've been making adjustments after each practice and of course I'm sure we'll make
22:56one after this moto as well.
22:57But you imagine he's trying to be catching up with ap and making some moves knowing that
23:02tomac is behind him as well on a bike that's not entirely all that comfortable for him
23:06right now.
23:07So the 225 has been good to him over the course of this little part of the season.
23:12But he's not yet there in the comfort today.
23:16But still could be in contention for the podium.
23:18They're all building toward this, the smx playoffs.
23:21Don't forget fan fest which is two days at the smx playoff races Friday and also racing
23:27on Saturday.
23:28You can watch practice, a live press conference in the morning and our podcast mashup.
23:34We'll have ricky carmichael, title 24, jason gypsy tails, myself and jason thomas.
23:40I'm not sure if they're going to have anybody else.
23:41They might be leaving out a name.
23:44Steve mathis and popemex will all be there on stage hanging with the fans Friday nights
23:48at the playoff races.
23:49So get your two-day ticket.
23:52And you know, this goes back to, was it at unidily you said?
23:56No, maybe about shoe gold.
23:58Around that time of year, I remember you and r.c.
24:00Saying you don't often see this type of action late in the year.
24:03No, I was just thinking that in my head, listening to you, that you got the top four, everybody's
24:09got their own agenda out here.
24:10But they're all trying to win.
24:12You know, chase x, easiest way to wrap this championship up is to go out here and win.
24:17I think that's the only way he knows how to race.
24:20That's what he's been doing.
24:21Then you got aaron plessent trying to get his first ever moto win.
24:24Hunter lawrence trying to get another overall, his first one.
24:28And to stop chase x from winning his title.
24:30And then you got the four-time champion, eli tomac, trying to get his feet wet and looking
24:34pretty wet to me.
24:35So everybody's out here racing, and that's all because there's still more to look for.
24:40There's still reasons to go out here and compete, and that's what you're witnessing.
24:43The final round of pro motocross, depending on how the points go, you have had some years
24:47where one or two riders just wallop the field.
24:50You don't often get a four pack this close.
24:54That's because we're tired.
24:55We're tired.
24:56Well, they've had a little wind in the sails with the playoffs coming up.
25:02Man, hunter made a mistake.
25:04Eli got close.
25:05Now he's almost two seconds behind hunter, and that all happened in about a quarter of
25:10a lap.
25:11Yeah, the scary part for these guys is that look at that lead.
25:14It's almost four seconds now.
25:16As these guys made a mistake, chase x is pulling out.
25:19So they're in the danger zone if he keeps going.
25:23There's plessiger in second.
25:24Familiar ground for him.
25:25As I said, he has a background in the type of woods racing that was where iron man first
25:30made its name as a race facility.
25:32Here's Aaron on that.
25:33It's just changed so much, and to see it come this far and have this place be, you know,
25:40the last round of the pro motocross series is really, really awesome.
25:45I actually got to race this track when it was first being built in, I think it was 2014.
25:53We did a loretta lens regional here, and then my first ever pro race here is the first
26:02overall I got in 2015 as my rookie year, and I've done really, really well here, and I
26:09think it's just a good place.
26:17Well certainly is right now for him because he's a little bit further ahead finally putting
26:24some distance between himself and hunter Lawrence, but nope, as quickly as I say that, hunter
26:28closes back in.
26:30Yeah, they all have their sections on there, but everybody's, you know, putting in some
26:35fast laps.
26:36I mean, chase x ran a 2.13, and then hunter, I mean, plessiger ran a 2.14 the last lap,
26:41J.T.
26:42Yeah, and you start to see these guys spreading out a little bit.
26:46Just a touch.
26:47It is so much more humid than you would think.
26:50Now, the temperature's not going to jump off the screen at you, but these guys are certainly
26:53feeling it late, and I think that's kind of why the battle's slowed up a bit is these
26:57guys are just feeling the heat and humidity weight in this moto.
27:00That's because chase x has got a hot pace out front, making everything hot, so.
27:06But Aaron's still doing a good job because normally in this time of motos where chase
27:09is rolling like this, he's gone, and they don't look like they're, you know, laboring
27:14a little bit at all to me.
27:16Aaron still looks like he's aggressive like he was the first lap.
27:19Same thing with hunter.
27:20Just unfortunate they're losing time somewhere, which is a lot happening, Katie.
27:24Yeah, I can agree with J.T.
27:27It is humid.
27:28For people like Aaron plessinger who have long hair and myself, we're feeling it out
27:31here.
27:32But one thing to keep in mind here is there's also a championship podium hunt for Aaron
27:37plessinger.
27:38Remember, he and Justin Cooper had been battling for that third place podium spot in the championship
27:44race.
27:45A very important thing for someone like Aaron plessinger to make sure he finishes and finishes
27:48strong and way above Justin Cooper, who is actually dealing with a bit of a shoulder
27:52injury after last weekend.
27:55Knows that he is battling.
27:57What's at stake?
27:58And I think, you know, Stu, that's something that you could really respond to a little
28:01bit.
28:02What is at stake for these guys for that second, third, fourth place in the championship?
28:06As I mentioned, you know, all these guys, and especially with Aaron, he's trying to
28:11get his first ever win, and his teammates out here, you know, winning this championship
28:15and possibly going to wrap this championship up.
28:18So the bike is good.
28:19Aaron has been riding great all year long.
28:21So not only does he want to get that third place, but he also wants to solidify that
28:24spot on team USA as well.
28:26So there's a lot to fight for.
28:29Aaron is doing a great job.
28:30All these guys are, too, because they still look racy to me, and I like to see that.
28:35Even the number three does, too.
28:37That's critical as the AMA tries to make the decision on who will represent the United
28:41States at motocross of nations.
28:44There's Hunter Lawrence going by.
28:45I think he's a shoe in for team Australia, by the way.
28:47No problems there.
28:48Give you the monster energy running order.
28:51Tomach fourth.
28:52Anderson is fifth.
28:53He's gotten around Cooper, as Katie mentioned, banged up a little bit from last week's crash
28:58off the start of moto one, and then Ferrandez is out with that brutal crash in turn one.
29:05So Tomach certainly under consideration for team USA as well.
29:09I believe they have to announce or at least submit the entries for the team by September
29:133rd.
29:14So this is really going to be the last chance for them to see what these riders have.
29:19We asked Eli, would he be willing to ride for team USA if he is asked?
29:25Yes, and that's if I earn the position, you know.
29:29In my mind, I believe it's Plessinger in that position for points right now.
29:34So he has every right to go.
29:36The only way I would want to take that position is if I made a way stronger showing and then
29:41obviously the team does pick me.
29:44But I would be willing to go.
29:47Tough call there between the potential of Tomach, the history of Tomach, and how well
29:51Plessinger is riding right now.
29:52What do you think?
29:53Yeah, I mean, I agree with Eli.
29:55I mean, he's obviously, if Aaron wasn't riding as good as he is, then absolutely, then Eli
30:01would fill that position.
30:03Not only that, you got Justin Cooper as well as another good one.
30:05But at this moment, that's why I said they all got something to race for.
30:09I think Aaron Plessinger, the way he's been riding, he deserves to go.
30:14And doesn't mean Eli doesn't, but Aaron's been here all week, all year.
30:19And I think Eli would agree with him.
30:20Until he goes out there and beats him, you got to go with the number seven right now,
30:24captain America.
30:25Yeah, the sliding scale is that the race is October 6th.
30:29So it's like a guessing game of, all right, Tomach's just coming back.
30:32That's a month and a half from now.
30:35How much better can he get?
30:36I'll tell you what, the fans would love it either way, because they're two of the most
30:39popular, maybe the two most popular riders out here.
30:42Yeah.
30:43And I do think, Eli, this is important.
30:45One of the reasons he's coming back, one, for the playoffs, but also this might be his
30:49last chance to race the motocross of nations.
30:53You know, you got to think next year, everybody will continue getting better.
30:56I mean, he will.
30:57So it's only going to get tougher for him if he has an opportunity to go.
31:00He definitely would this year.
31:06Seems like if Eli would just come in, jump out over this roller on the inside, I noticed
31:12that chase was doing that earlier.
31:14Seems like they get in there and they're really cautious and they roll over that roller and
31:18it just slows their momentum down.
31:19So maybe that's why they're losing time instead of just kind of getting in that inside, just
31:23jumping over those potholes.
31:25But it also carries momentum.
31:27Maybe that will help them.
31:28But it's obviously a lot tougher than it looks.
31:30Is that hunter Lawrence still up ahead?
31:32Yeah.
31:33And Aaron Plessett is right in front of him.
31:34So that's what I said.
31:35I don't see, like, I don't see these guys laboring.
31:40Chase is just riding really good, as they all are.
31:44And chase Sexton now two and a half laps away from a moto win that would lock up the pro
31:50motocross championship for 2024.
31:52He's got to hold on to it.
31:56Still digging for third.
31:58Yeah, Eli's riding really good.
32:01And as we think that hunter is closing in on Aaron, and as we mentioned earlier, this
32:06whole show, it's just that back and forth, these guys just lose so much time, and it
32:11definitely seems like he gets in these tighter parts of the racetrack, some of these corners
32:15with these hooks on the end.
32:17They make a mistake.
32:18They lose a lot of time.
32:19Oh, this is going to be a battle for the podium with two to go.
32:25This could be a possible motocross of the nation battle in a couple months if Eli's
32:29on the team or even with Aaron in front of him.
32:32Oh, yeah.
32:33Yeah.
32:34The Australian team expect to get Jett Lawrence back.
32:37They're going to be tough as well.
32:40And by the way, at halftime after this moto, we did talk to Jett Lawrence this morning
32:45about his prospects and returning for the playoffs at smx.
32:49So stick around with us in between the motos.
32:52Halftime we'll have that Jett Lawrence interview.
32:55Spoiler alert.
32:56He was in really good spirits.
32:57Yeah.
32:58I mean, he sure is.
32:59His brother's running second in the championship, riding good a rookie year.
33:02Unfortunately for him, Eli Tomac, he smells Vegemite.
33:05He's going to take a bite out of that sandwich right now.
33:09Oh, it's a good sign for Tomac, who's also building not just playoffs or motocross of
33:15nations or today.
33:16He did announce he's back all season long next year.
33:21And he admitted yesterday in the press conference he probably wasn't as ready as he would have
33:25liked to have been for the 2024 season.
33:28You see that right there.
33:29You see how much time the hunter was able to pull away.
33:32What I was mentioning a lot before, just jumping out a little bit over that single, Lyle Zinner
33:38carries momentum.
33:39You can see Eli didn't do that in all that time he lost.
33:42But as quickly as that, Eli's quick, obviously pretty fast somewhere else, and he's able
33:46to close back in.
33:47I wonder if Eli started that.
33:49How much time would he be able to get around hunter or how much time would he be able to
33:53gain on hunter?
33:54Is that something he could see and adjust?
33:56Yeah, he would probably do it in between races.
33:59I'm sure they'll probably tell him.
34:00And especially since hunter just did it in front of him, they'll go back and watch it.
34:05Or maybe Eli would do it because he just saw it happen right in front of him.
34:09Losing a lot of time right there.
34:11And it seems like it's a lot more energy that he's wasting by having to fight.
34:18Yeah, that's what I was alluding to before, by the way.
34:20For Eli, every one of these laps, every gate drop between now and next year is just building
34:26blocks.
34:27He only got on a bike two months before the Anaheim opener of supercross this year.
34:32Maybe he wasn't quite the Eli Tomac of old.
34:35He wants to rectify that.
34:37Yeah, and same thing that's happening with my brother.
34:42Any of these guys that's riding outdoors, racing outdoors is going to help Eli for supercross
34:47next year.
34:48So yeah, whether the results say he's getting better, a lot better out here racing and will
34:53be better in 25 because he's coming out here and finishing these four motos out and into
34:57the playoffs.
34:58Well, here it is, James.
35:00Last lap.
35:01Chase Sexton in control of the moto and in control of the title.
35:05And what a journey it has been.
35:09And it will conclude, it appears, at Ironman raceway.
35:13And last year, the disappointment gave it everything he had, but Jett Lawrence completed
35:17the perfect season right here at this track.
35:21So for Ironman, quote some lyrics from that famous black satin song.
35:27While Jett was celebrating, I heard that Chase Sexton just went back to the Honda truck.
35:31It's like the lyrics to the song.
35:33He just stares at the world, planning his vengeance that he will unfurl.
35:36It didn't look good when he first got on this KTM in monster energy supercross.
35:42But here we are, a year after that bitter defeat.
35:46And he is looking at the pro moto cross championship.
35:49I almost don't want to say anything after that beautiful win.
35:54That was beautiful, J. That was nice on there.
35:57But, yeah, we were here calling the race, and I actually mentioned to you, I'm like,
36:01man, he actually seemed mad after that race.
36:03So, yeah, that was a great, great discussion and great point right there.
36:09The vengeance.
36:10Shout out to Ozzy Osbourne.
36:11Shout out to you for bringing it up.
36:14So Ironman raceway is, if he holds on, going to be where he is crowned.
36:19But again, go back to we heard in the off season when he first got on this bike, even
36:22chase himself wasn't being, you know, a lot of times riders are way unrealistically positive
36:27when they first get on a new motorcycle.
36:28I'm going to say he was being real.
36:31Yeah.
36:32Yeah.
36:33Chase is way better.
36:34I mean, as he's starting to celebrate right now.
36:36But he can't help but to win.
36:38As I said, he starts going fast.
36:40He's going to be able to do it.
36:41And now that's what you're seeing.
36:43And what we're seeing is this.
36:45Another big step for the career of chase Sexton.
36:49Already a 450 champion in supercross.
36:52And now the 450 pro motocross champion, chase Sexton.
37:03And the first person to congratulate him, his chief competitor this year, this summer,
37:18hunter Lawrence.
37:19They've been very respectful to each other throughout this championship campaign.
37:48Here's his agent.
37:49Chris Honstadt.
37:50Of course, one motor to go, but this is enough to lock it.