2024 Ironman National Motocross - 450MX Moto 1
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00:00their bikes to the track, and cut back on the cost of being a privateer racing in supercross
00:05and motocross. So that's it. Field is set. 30 minutes and two laps. 40 riders on the gate.
00:13And the way hunter lawrence has ridden the first motos as of late, he's won the last two of them,
00:18yeah, he could hold that off to the final moto, and I would think it's getting nervous time at
00:23that point, if you're sexting. Yeah, I mean, it's getting nervous time until they hand you
00:27that number one plate, but yeah, hunter lawrence, I think he's a little bit more start dependent
00:32than chase. I mean, chase has obviously been showing he can come up through the pack, but
00:36yeah, hunter lawrence has been strong in these first motos lately since he's been on that 25,
00:40so we'll see if he gets a start, see what he can do with it. And don't forget those outside gates,
00:45that's jordan smith's spot, nearly hole shot the first 250 moto. Can eli tomac do it from
00:50the outside of the number three? Got kyle chisholm out there as well. Eli's back. Eli's back. So
00:58happy. Not often do we go into a season finale with this type of drama. It's just on the line
01:07for sexton to win this title. The likes of plessiger, lawrence, justin cooper haven't
01:12gotten wins this year overall. Could today be the day? Revs are up. Gates down.
01:24Oh, big pileup. Is that ferrandez? Yeah, ferrandez.
01:31Oh, that was big. He went flipping. Phil micheletti, a good start, but hunter lawrence
01:35to the lead again. Hunter lawrence, as the hondas, they got them start style, but as phil
01:43always does, he somehow always ends up up there, but chase sexton slides up into fourth spot.
01:49It's like plessiger and phil battling it out third and fourth. There is sexton and a good start for
01:55tomac, who's next in line. Yeah, eli got lucky because he was right next to that ferrandez
02:00accident, so because he was so far on the outside, he was able to get around it, but good start by
02:04eli to be up here, and let's see what happens. Now, chase sexton's been a little lazy, I would
02:10somewhat say, early in these first motos. Takes him a few laps to get going, but he's able to
02:15already get around phil. Let's see how froggy he's feeling if he wants to try to wrap this
02:20championship up in this moto. Yeah, looks like he's made the pass, so up to third. We have seen
02:25hunter lawrence and plessiger battling for the lead early in these motos quite a bit lately.
02:30Tomac holding off his teammate cooper, now battling with nicoletti.
02:35Yeah, let's see what eli, he's probably going to have to funnel in behind or not. I thought
02:41he was going to try to make that move, but he should be able to because now the outside ends
02:44up on the inside. Nice move by eli, and you heard him on the gate. He wants to get back to that first
02:49moto, so this is the first time eli has gotten a chance to race against chase sexton for a while,
02:54but especially on this 4 since he's been on this ktm, so I'm sure it's going to be a learning
02:58experience for the number three four-time champ eli tomac. Yeah, because last week bad starts in
03:04both motos for tomac. He finished fourth in moto one, but he never saw the leaders. See what he
03:09can do. Saw the stat. This is the 350th career start all classes combined for eli tomac,
03:17and we talked to him yesterday about what he learned in his comeback last week at boats creek.
03:29I had, you know, one okay finish, which was that fourth, and then the second moto there,
03:33it was tough. Like, that's when reality sets in. You know, you're coming off this injury,
03:38you're on a new motorcycle. It sounds like a handful of excuses, but it's reality, and you've
03:43got to really, you know, figure out how to improve yourself, and I'm hoping that I will
03:50improve myself, so it's tough coming back this period, so it was also two years since my last
04:00motocross race, so there were so many things going on, but one thing for sure is it felt good to be
04:06back on the motocross track. There's a lot of things going on right now. How about that pass
04:11from Aaron Plessinger? That was a nice pass. You start going in the woods, and Aaron Plessinger
04:16comes out, and it's a battle inside of a battle because they're still trying to pick the motocross
04:21nation's team, and Aaron Plessinger, and I'm sure Eli is probably one of the guys they're
04:25thinking about as we watch Dillon get up. It's good to see him get off the track, but
04:32Aaron wants to get one of these things. I called about my show. I said, man, let's win one of
04:36these, so maybe today is the day that number 7 becomes number 1 in one of these motos.
04:41It looks good. You make a great point. Well, first of all, listen to this crowd.
04:49They love Aaron Plessinger anywhere you go, and he's putting on a show right now. Hunter's probably
04:55like, another KTM? I thought I had to deal with one of them, but, yeah, with Aaron, you got to
05:02believe he's had the pace, and last weekend he was right there with Hunter, and then his teammate
05:07came storming past, but Aaron's got some good memories here. First ever win, as you mentioned
05:12earlier. AP might be today. Yeah, then you mentioned the woods. Yep, that's what he was raised
05:19doing, that type of cross country racing, and that's the area where he made the pass. Aaron's
05:24dad, an AMA hall of famer for his off-road racing in the woods exploits, multi-time AMA national
05:31champ and GNCC champ, and Aaron grew up racing that series, grew up on this track, and it's
05:37showing right now. Show you the pass. Aaron here, now, he's working on this pass for a couple
05:44corners. This was right after this was going down the star straight. He goes in, and he goes
05:49to the inside here, which puts him on the outside on this next corner, which puts him back on the
05:54inside, and he just gets next to Hunter, and at this point, he's going to be on the inside,
06:00and he just power moves through Hunter. Hunter knew he kind of had him beat,
06:03but Aaron Plessender, this new wood section, nice little hop over to his jump.
06:10Now, I feel like with him, kind of like what we he get that confidence going. Katie?
06:17Yeah, there's definitely a little confidence in AP right now, and I actually asked him,
06:20how does all the hubbub around KTM and chase Sexton, your teammate, help you or enhance you?
06:26It doesn't change a thing. I had a good week, and I'm out here to win, so that's one thing
06:30that you can keep your eyes set on him. The team also continued to say that AP is getting stronger
06:34and stronger, and his approach to racing, along with his physical and mental strength,
06:39it's all coming together for him. JT? Well, the one thing that could help for AP is he could be
06:44situationally set up here, because start thinking about where chase Sexton's head is. He's going to
06:48want to lock this championship up. He's going to be a little bit more risk averse than he would
06:52be here in this first moto, so if AP could put in some great laps and build up a lead,
06:57I don't really think chase Sexton's going to put himself in a spot where he's going to risk
07:01going all out to chase AP down late, so if I'm AP, I want to get going right now, build up a gap,
07:06so when chase Sexton looks up, he's like, nah, it's not going to happen in this moto, so this
07:11could be a chance for AP to finally get that moto win. Yeah, and normally, I would say, look, Sexton
07:16just sits back here behind Hunter. He would still wrap up the title, but Sexton, there's a spoiler
07:21in the mix. James Stewart, Eli Tomac is hanging. Yeah, what I was going to mention about Aaron,
07:28the same thing with Eli, is that what we saw with Jordan Smith in that 250 class, being up front,
07:33it's going to, every lap they're here, they're going to get more confidence, especially with
07:37Eli. If he's able to stay here with chase, it's going to allow him, like, okay, I've still got
07:42this speed as chase is starting to pound on Hunter. Chase made this happen. He's on the outside,
07:49though. Can he hold it? He's going to be wheel to wheel over the finish line jump
07:53down this straight, and the 4 has taken the second place spot. Yeah, I think Hunter kind of knew
07:58chase was coming because he could have popped out of that rut and slowed chase down, but
08:02nonetheless, that was a strong move by chase Sexton, but just like Aaron Plessinger,
08:06being out front is going to give him confidence. We saw Jordan Smith wrap this thing off. Eli Tomac,
08:11if he's able to stay with these guys, don't be surprised if he comes back up in this battle,
08:15but Hunter's got to slow things down. Two laps in a row, he's gotten past by the 7 and the number
08:204. Still right here as early in this race, Jason. And look at the points as they run,
08:24the lower left. That is the magic number. Sexton needs only a 25-point lead to wrap the title.
08:30It would now be 30 if it ended like this, but that goes all the way back to J.T.'s question.
08:36Now does Sexton set sail after his teammate, or is he happy to just be in championship
08:42punching position? Can't back off too much, though, because Hunter staying close. Tomac
08:50there at fourth. Yeah, actually, all three of those guys made a mistake in that corner. It
08:54looked like Hunter lost the most time, but yeah, you saw Hunter get a little bit more aggressive,
09:00but yeah, he lost that time, Katie. Okay, Stu, I have a question. If we know AP and chase Sexton
09:06are great teammates, the camaraderie between them has been nothing but positive for what we've heard,
09:11right? So just out of curiosity, would Sexton ever let AP win this thing to get his first,
09:17his first, you know, moto overall here maybe today, or do you think that Sexton wants to go
09:21out in style and get this thing done? Yeah, if I was AP, I would tell chase, look, man,
09:26you are a great teammate. I like you a lot, but I'm here to win this race, and then same thing
09:31with chase Sexton. The good thing with him, chase, he doesn't have to win this race to wrap this
09:35championship up. I think if Aaron wins it, chase is going to try to go out and win it. Aaron would
09:40just be better, so I don't think chase is going to let him win anything if he has a choice.
09:46Man, I just watched Plessiger jump in and out of what they call the Hoosier hole there under that
09:50bridge. He went for a wild ride and practice almost crashed. He is on the edge right now.
09:55It almost happened again. Yeah, well, I told him he had to step up, try to get one of these wins.
10:01I didn't say at all cost, but... Is that tow back? Yeah, he's challenging Hunter now.
10:08If Eli gets around him, just that confidence. Eli knows how to win these races. Last time we
10:14were here, he won this race with a great battle with chase Sexton. Good feeling for him. Hopefully
10:20he can continue that momentum up. Two battles to watch. Plessiger versus Sexton. Lawrence versus
10:25tow back. Send it back to Jason Thomas. The most critical aspect of AP's race here didn't come to
10:32fruition. He really needed to build out that gap. Chase Sexton simply didn't let him go. You saw him
10:36make the pass and he's already closed this gap down. A big mistake from Sexton. That's what he's
10:41got to guard against. When I was talking about him being risk averse, he's not going to want to
10:45take big chances. And I thought AP's best option or best opportunity there was to build a gap. Now
10:51with Sexton sitting right behind him. And to Katie's question, listen, bonuses to win races
10:56like this are in the six figure range. So not only that, chase Sexton has an opportunity to win the
11:00race and the championship in front of his home crowd. So there's a lot of emotion and a lot of
11:05push-pull for chase Sexton in this car, though. Yeah, absolutely. And if I'm Aaron, I got to keep
11:10chase behind me. I don't want him to get in front because just as quickly as he caught me, he'll
11:16pull away. And he's been known to do that. So if he can keep doing, like, if he can hold chase off,
11:21maybe chase makes a couple of those mistakes as we just witnessed and maybe he'll go into
11:25championship mode. Uh-oh, not right now. Sexton to the inside. I said your best chance was to hold
11:32him off. They can listen, but it's hard to put that into motion. Plus, they're riding hard,
11:38but chase Sexton now has the lead. Well, chase Sexton, as I mentioned at the top of the show,
11:43he is a different rider. He's just making things happen. And so Aaron didn't do anything wrong. It
11:48was what chase decided to make happen. And these guys better watch out because number four will run
11:53off from him really quick as he has in the past. Yeah, and as J.T. Made the point, I'm going to
11:58make a rough estimate of what the teams usually pay for wins. Probably around $100,000 for a win
12:03and $50,000 for second. So there's too much money on the line, I think, for Sexton to say,
12:08you can have it today. Also, I got to wonder, is part of Sexton going to say, look, I feel safer
12:14from just riding by myself and not dicing with people? Yeah, we talked about this a couple weeks
12:18ago at Unadilla, and J.T. Mentioned it, that chase feels like he talks to somebody. He's a different
12:23rider out front. So this is probably where he feels the most comfortable, and this is where I
12:28would say if you're chase Sexton and the rest of the guys, they don't feel like they have much of
12:33a chance when he's out front. So this is probably the safest position for chase to be in, most
12:38comfortable, and the less likely these guys are going to feel like they're going to come up and
12:42pass him after this. Hey, nice job by Hunter Lawrence to recover here. He actually was quicker
12:46than Pleszciger the last time around and stretching it a bit on Tomac, who a lap ago was all over him.
12:54Aaron's doing a good job of keeping the pressure on chase, and maybe if he can keep this up,
13:00at some point, chase is going to start thinking about the championship and just kind of get
13:04nerves of it. So if Aaron's on him, then chase might start going backwards, because this is
13:09the first time he's ever been in this position. If he gets that gap, then he'll be able to ride
13:13this thing out. This track's tough. These bikes are bouncing around everywhere. Everybody's kind
13:17of making mistakes, but as you mentioned, that 96 is closing up. It's a tug of war.
13:23It is. Every time someone has a good couple of turns, and they make a mistake, the other guy
13:28cuts into that gap. Yeah, it's a weird racetrack. When you make a mistake,
13:32it seems like you lose a lot of time on this racetrack, and as quickly as you lose it,
13:36you can gain it back. So I'm interested to watch how this thing plays out throughout the day as
13:41this track gets rougher. It's the monster launch there. Uphill triple for Sexton. The SMX track
13:48view, and you can see Tomac not too far on the 3 for the 96 of Lawrence. Chase is crushing those
13:55guys before that big tabletop. He's going outside and cutting across the jump on the inside, and
14:00what he's doing is making that whole section like one continuous arc. So no stop and go,
14:06and you can see him pulling away there. Great line.
14:14Can Plesinger keep his teammate in sight?
14:21I think they sold some noise makers today. This crowd is going nuts.
14:24That's because the hometown boys out front, and then you've got the president and AP.
14:28They're all APing out there. Everybody's happy. Yeah, Sexton, he can't say he grew up riding this
14:34track because it's only been open for about 11 years. So in his younger days, his track wasn't
14:38here, but he is from Illinois. We're in Indiana, so I'm sure a lot of people that watched him
14:42grow up at other tracks when he was young are here watching today. I'm sure they're pumped to
14:47see Tomac up there as well. Yeah, I was just about to mention, I'm interested to see how this number
14:51three plays this race because, you know, listening to him on the start, he said he wanted to have
14:56two solid motos, so having that kind of mindset makes you think that he probably wouldn't be
15:02putting all this effort into this first one, but now he's close to the front. Maybe he will, J.T.
15:07Yeah, and I was thinking about Eli Tomac during the first 250 moto where R.J. Hampshire,
15:11that was a huge improvement over Buzz Creek getting fourth in that first moto, and you're
15:15kind of seeing the same thing from Tomac. It's always interesting to see how fast these guys
15:19recover after their first race back. Their body gets that muscle memory, starts to remember,
15:24oh, yeah, this is how we do this, and I think you're seeing both R.J. And Eli getting back to
15:28form. Yeah, absolutely, and Eli, especially with him, you know, he's out here to compete.
15:34You know, he doesn't want to be in the fifth, tenth place. You know, he knows he knows how to
15:38ride a motorcycle. His biggest thing is obviously to get ready for the playoff, but when you win
15:42these championships, you know, fourth isn't good, so him being close to these guys, he wants to have
15:47every opportunity to be able to win, and I think he would feel better going like winning one moto
15:52and getting 20th than having two fifth places in this moto and both motos.
15:58Hey, Hunter is back here, James, catching Lessinger again.
16:02Yeah, I wonder, is it just part of what we saw with Levi Kitchen? You know, the way this track
16:08is, maybe it's a little bit more difficult being closer to the guys because it seems like when they
16:11get close to each other, they make mistakes, so maybe it's the vision, but what we saw with Levi
16:17looked like he was starting to go backwards in the mid-moto. He started catching form,
16:20so maybe that's what Hunter is doing as well. Halfway through this one, brought to you by
16:27monster energy. It's available now at Kroger. Yeah, a little row reversal. Hunter doing his
16:35best work from the front this year with the great starts, but now he's the one charging,
16:39trying to catch Lessinger, and that number three won't go away. Yeah, you see how much chase gets
16:45away from these guys in this part of the racetrack, that tabletop.
16:52Sit down to Jason Thomas with the team manager for the KTM squad.
16:56Well, Aaron Harrison, this is a big moment on the precipice of winning the first 415
17:00pro motocross championship since Ryan Dungey in 2015. Can you talk a little bit about the
17:04work it's taking to get back here and what it means for the entire Red Bull KTM crew?
17:09Yeah, you're right. It has been a little while, and we started off this year a little shaky,
17:14but we've definitely made progress through the year, and not only with chase, but with Aaron,
17:19too, and, yeah, it's exciting. So a few more laps here, and we'll see what will happen.
17:24Well, nerves are high down here, but looking good so far.
17:28And KTM has not won this championship since 2015, but Ryan Dungey saw Dungey this morning.
17:34He is on hand, hanging out with KTM folks. He's got a lot to watch right now.
17:39Yeah, they got a lot going for him. Hunter is really quick on this part of the racetrack
17:43as he closes back in on Aaron. It seems like he loses it right by the finish line, so
17:48he's able to get around, close in on Aaron, get around,
17:51pull away from Eli, and let's see what happens on the second half of this racetrack.
18:01Dropping downhill. And still Tomek in the shot. Not quite in the battle, but close enough. Yeah,
18:10that exchange better for the 7. He pulled away a little bit.
18:13Yeah, and maybe Aaron picked up on some of chase's lines over here, because this is where
18:19chase is really good. As you can see, chase has pulled out of his shot, so.
18:26Now, because chase hasn't really pulled away from these guys like he has been able to in the second
18:31moto, I'm sure it's given these guys confidence to be able to be like, okay, maybe he is thinking
18:35about the championship and might have an opportunity to close back in, because normally we've seen
18:40like when chase gets on a roll and he gets around these guys, next thing they know, they look up
18:45and they're seeing no one. That number 4 is gone. The fact is, they can still see him.
18:50And that number 3 is still lurking in the background. Yeah, we were talking this week
18:54also at J.T. About last year, the way Jett Lawrence was winning races, he was just maintaining that
18:582 to 3 second gap. Sexton has been much more of the traditional just keeps pulling away,
19:03pulling away. But there it is, between that 2 and 3 second mark right now as you watch the
19:09battle box. Show you some of the riders in that bubble battle for the playoffs.
19:14Harry Kulos, Grant Harlan. Yeah, he's going hard back there, too. Everybody has their
19:19own little battles and trying to seeding points, getting this playoff, but people, watch out.
19:24Got a feeling that the number 3 is starting to wake up. Oh, really? I just got that feeling.
19:31Yeah. As Jeff Tomek gets on the podium, the crowd is going to be going crazy.
19:36Yeah, and Eli was the fastest ride on the racetrack last lap at 214. Really close.
19:42Chase was second. Hunter was or actually Aaron was third. Also shout out Marshall Welton is in
19:49that battle. Welton, see, look at that bubble right there. So Welton is a 19th place spot
19:55guaranteed into the motos if he can bring the 75 home. Kyle Chisholm is the last spot guaranteed
20:00into the playoff motos. Dean Wilson showed up today, but he's just gotten into the top 20 now.
20:08Wilson is 20th, and Chisholm is in 17th. Wilson needs to make up a bunch of ground
20:13on Chisholm today, and Wilson's saying this will be his last pro motocross race,
20:18although then he joked I said that two years ago, and here I am racing him to try to make the
20:23playoffs. Yeah, we can't leave it. We love it too much. It's too much fun out here.
20:28Well, this is fun, a battle at least to watch. I'm not sure about being in it.
20:32Hunter Lawrence will not let Aaron Plesinger go. And they're closing back in on Chase,
20:38so I don't know if Chase got caught up, but he didn't pull away from those guys in this section
20:42like he did before. Top four within about four seconds. Yeah, and it seems like Eli's really
20:50quick on this side of the racetrack, so I'll be interested to see if he's able to close in and
20:55get around the 96. These guys are playing this tug-of-war, cat and mouse game, and I can tell
21:00you one thing. If that number three gets around the 96, he's going to try to go to the front for
21:05sure. J.T. Well, we have not seen Eli Tomac ride like this in pro motocross since 2022. Yes, he
21:14came back last week. We all knew he was just trying to get his feet wet back into this series,
21:18and we haven't seen beast mode from Eli Tomac, not since the St. Louis round of
21:23supercross. So if he is ready to uncork one here and really show us what it's all about,
21:28I am here for it. Go ahead, Katie. Yeah, J.T., the pit board for Eli Tomac right now has been
21:36quickest on track, followed up by quick moves, and Josh Ellingson, his mechanic,
21:41is throwing that thing around, letting him know that it's go time for Eli Tomac.
21:46It's toe-smacking time. It's Eli Tomac. Well, J.T. mentioned if he was getting his feet wet
21:51last weekend, well, they might be soaked at the end of this moto. He is ready to go.
21:56Oh, he's diving in this week. And the good news for Tomac fans, what did you see there?
22:02Oh, that was close. I don't know if he hit some braking bumps, but he almost fell off the back of
22:07the motorcycle right there. Looked like he hit the bumps and got the little whiskey throttle.
22:12Oh, that was a rough ride through those woods as well. I was going to say the good news,
22:16if Tomac puts in a charge, it's two riders he can challenge because Hunter Lawrence
22:20still right there. Man, the time gained and lost in any given section of this track,
22:27you really can't tell what's going to happen next. Yeah, and it seems like it's in that new section
22:31these guys are trying to figure out. So I wonder, is that part of it the shadows and stuff? Because
22:37a lot of even on the racetrack, on the other parts, it seems like these guys lose the time
22:40is where they get in the shadows and stuff. So they'll probably go between motors and realize,
22:46if I don't lose so much time in this one section, I might actually be able to win one of these
22:50things because they're all riding pretty good. Jason Anderson has moved to fifth ahead of Justin
22:55Cooper. Malcolm Stewart, seventh. Nicoletti, eighth. Norton and Craig, top ten. Back to Katie.
23:01Hunter Lawrence earlier today was not super comfortable on the bike. They've been making
23:06adjustments after each practice, and of course I'm sure we'll make one after this moto as well.
23:10But you imagine, he's trying to be catching up with AP and making some moves, knowing that
23:15Tomac is behind him as well on a bike that's not entirely all that comfortable for him right now.
23:20We know that 2025 has been good to him over the course of this little part of the season,
23:25but he's not yet there in the comfort today. But still could be in contention for the podium,
23:31and they're all building toward this, the SMX playoffs. And don't forget FanFest,
23:35which is two days at the SMX playoff races, Friday and also racing on Saturday. You can watch
23:41practice, a live press conference in the morning, and our podcast mashup. James Stewart,
23:47we'll have Ricky Carmichael, Jason, I'm not sure if they're going to have anybody else.
23:54They might be leaving out a name. We'll all be there on stage hanging with the fans Friday night
24:01at the playoff races. So get your two-day ticket, and, you know, this goes back to,
24:08was it at Unadilla you said, no, maybe around that time of year, I remember you and R.C. saying
24:13you don't often see this type of action late in the year.
24:16No, I was just thinking that in my head, listening to you, that you got the top four,
24:21everybody's got their own agenda out here, but they're all trying to win. You know,
24:25Chase Exxon, easiest way to wrap this championship up is to go out here and win. I think that's the
24:31only way he knows how to race, and that's what he's been doing. Then you got Aaron Plessin trying
24:35to get his first ever moto win. Hunter Lawrence trying to get another overall, his first one,
24:40and to stop Chase Exxon from winning his title, and then you got the four-time champion,
24:44Eli Tomac, just trying to get his feet wet, and they're looking pretty wet to me. So
24:48everybody's out here racing, and that's all because there's still more to look for. There's
24:52still reasons to go out here and compete, and that's what you're witnessing.
24:56Yeah, the final round of pro motocross, depending on how the points go, you have had some years
25:00where one or two riders just wallop the field. You don't often get a four-pack this close.
25:07That's because we're tired. We're tired. Well, they've had a little wind in the sails
25:13with the playoffs coming up. Man, Hunter made a mistake. Eli got close. Now Eli's almost two
25:20seconds behind Hunter, and that all happened in about a quarter of a lap. Yeah, the scary part
25:24for these guys is that look at that lead. It's almost four seconds now. As these guys made a
25:30mistake, Chase Exxon's pulling out, so they're in the danger zone if he keeps going. There's
25:36Plessiger in second. Familiar ground for him. Like I said, he has a background in the type of
25:40woods racing. That was where Ironman first made its name as a race facility. Here's Aaron on that.
25:47It's just changed so much, and to see it come this far and have this place be,
25:52you know, the last round of the pro motocross series is really, really awesome, and I actually
25:59got to race this track when it was first being built, and I think it was 2014, and we did a
26:06Loretta Wins Regional here, and then my first ever pro race here is the first overall I got
26:16in 2015 as my rookie year, and I've done really, really well here, and I think it's
26:23just a good place.
26:29Well, certainly is right now for him because he's a little bit further ahead. Finally,
26:36putting some distance between himself and Hunter Lawrence, but nope. Hunter closes back in.
26:43Yeah, they all have their sections on there, but everybody's, you know, putting in some fast lap.
26:49Chase Sexton ran a 2.13, and Hunter, I mean, he ran a 2.14 in the last lap, J.T.
26:55Yeah, and you start to see these guys spreading out a little bit. Tomex falling off the back
26:59just a touch. It is so much more humid than you would think. Now, the temperature's not going to
27:03jump off the screen at you, but these guys are certainly feeling it late, and I think that's
27:07kind of why the battle's slowed up a bit is these guys are just feeling the heat and humidity weight
27:12in this moto. That's because Chase Sexton's got a hot pace out front making everything hot, so.
27:18But Aaron's still doing a good job because normally in this time of motos where Chase is
27:22rolling like this, he's gone, and they don't look like they're, you know, laboring a little bit
27:28at all to me. Aaron still looks like he's aggressive like he was the first lap. Same
27:32thing with Hunter. Just unfortunate they're losing time somewhere, which is a lot happening, Katie.
27:38Yeah, I can agree with J.T. It is humid. For people like Aaron Plessinger who have long hair
27:43and myself, we're feeling it out here. But one thing to keep in mind here is there's also a
27:47championship podium hunt for Aaron Plessinger. Remember, he and Justin Cooper had been battling
27:53for that third-place podium spot in the championship, a very important thing for
27:58someone like an Aaron Plessinger to make sure he finishes and finishes strong and way above
28:02Justin Cooper, who is actually dealing with a bit of a shoulder injury after last weekend.
28:07Knows that he is battling what's at stake, and I think, you know, Stu, that's something that you
28:12could really respond to a little bit, is what is at stake for these guys for that second, third,
28:16fourth place in the championship? Yeah, as I mentioned, you know, all these guys, and especially
28:22with Aaron, I mean, he's trying to get his first ever win, and his teammates out here, you know,
28:27winning this championship and possibly going to wrap this championship up. So the bike is good.
28:31Aaron's been riding great all year long. So not only he wants to get that third place, but he
28:36also wants to solidify that spot on team USA as well. So there's a lot to fight for. Aaron's
28:42doing a great job. All these guys are, too, because they still look racy to me, and I like to
28:47see that. Even the number three does, too. Yeah, that's critical as the AMA tries to make the
28:52decision on who will represent the United States at motocross of nations. There's Hunter Lawrence
28:58going by. I think he's a shoe-in for team Australia, by the way. No problems there.
29:01Give you the monster energy running order. Tomac fourth. Anderson is fifth. He's gotten around
29:07Cooper, as Katie mentioned, banged up a little bit from last week's crash off the start of moto
29:12one, and then Ferrandez is out with that brutal crash in turn one. So Tomac certainly under
29:19consideration for team USA as well. I believe they have to announce or at least submit the
29:25entries for the team by September 3rd. So this is really going to be the last chance for them to see
29:30what these riders have. We asked Eli, would he be willing to ride for team USA if he is asked?
29:37Yes. And that's if I earn the position. In my mind, I believe it's Plessinger in that position
29:45for points right now. So he has every right to go. The only way I would want to take that position
29:51is if I made a way stronger showing, and then obviously the team does pick me. But I would be
29:57willing to go. Tough call there between the potential of Tomac, the history of Tomac,
30:04and how well Plessinger is riding right now. What do you think?
30:06Yeah, I mean, I agree with Eli. I mean, he's obviously, if Aaron wasn't riding as good as he
30:12is, then absolutely, then Eli would fill those positions. Not only that, you got Justin Cooper
30:17as well as another good one. But at this moment, that's why I said they all got something to race
30:22for. I think Aaron Plessinger, the way he's been riding, he deserves to go. And doesn't mean Eli
30:28doesn't, but Aaron's been here all week, all year, and I think Eli would agree with him.
30:33Until he goes out there and beats him, you got to go to number seven right now, captain America.
30:38Yeah, the sliding scale is that the race is October 6th, so it's like a guessing game of,
30:43all right, Tomac's just coming back. That's a month and a half from now. How much better can
30:48he get? I'll tell you what, the fans would love it either way because they're two of the most
30:52popular, maybe the two most popular riders out here. Yeah, and I do think, Eli, this is important.
30:58One of the reasons he's coming back, one, for the playoffs, but also this might be his last chance
31:03to race the motocross of nations. You know, you got to think next year, everybody will continue
31:08getting better. I mean, he will. So it's only going to get tougher for him. If he has an
31:12opportunity to go, he definitely would this year. Seems like if Eli would just come and jump out
31:21over that, this roller on the inside, I noticed that chase was doing that earlier. Seems like they
31:27get in there and they're really cautious and they roll over that roller and it just slows their
31:31momentum down. So maybe that's why they're losing time instead of just kind of getting in that
31:35inside, just jumping over those potholes, but it also carry your momentum. Maybe that'll help him,
31:40but it obviously a lot tougher than it looks. Is that Hunter Lawrence still up ahead? Yeah, and
31:45Aaron Fletcher is right in front of him. That's why I said I don't see these guys laboring. Chase
31:53is just riding really good as they all are. And chase Sexton now two and a half laps away
32:00from a moto win that would lock up the pro motocross championship for 2024.
32:06He's got to hold on to it. Tomac still digging for third.
32:10Yeah, Eli's running really good. And as we think that Hunter is closing in on Aaron and as we
32:15mentioned earlier, this whole show that it's just that back and forth, these guys just lose so much
32:20time and it definitely seems like he gets in these tighter parts of the racetrack. Some of these
32:26corners with these hooks on the end, they make a mistake, they lose a lot of time. Oh, this is
32:31going to be a battle for the podium with two to go. This could be a possible motocross championship
32:39battle in a couple of months if Eli's on the team or even with Aaron in front of him.
32:45Oh, yeah. The Australian team expect to get Jett Lawrence back. They're going to be tough as well.
32:52And by the way, at halftime after this moto, we did talk to Jett Lawrence this morning about his
32:59prospects in returning for the playoffs in SMX. So stick around with us in between the motos.
33:05Halftime, we'll have that Jett Lawrence interview. Spoiler alert, he was in really good spirit.
33:10Yeah, and he's sure his brother's running second in a championship, riding good a rookie year.
33:15Unfortunately for him, Eli Tomac, he smells Vegemite. He's going to take a bite out of that
33:20sandwich right now. Oh, it's a good sign for Tomac, who's also building not just playoffs
33:27or motocross donations or today. He did announce he's back all season long next year.
33:33And he admitted yesterday in the press conference, he probably wasn't as ready
33:38as he would have liked to have been for the 2024 season. All right. You see that right there. You
33:42see how much time the hunter was able to pull away. And what I was mentioning a lot before,
33:46just jumping out a little bit over that single, Lyle's going to carry his momentum. And you can
33:52see what Eli didn't do that in all that time he lost. But as quickly as that, Eli's quick,
33:57obviously pretty fast somewhere else, and he's able to close back in. But I wonder if Eli started
34:01that. How much time would he be able to get around Hunter or how much time are you going to gain on
34:06Hunter? So is that something he could see and adjust? Yeah, I mean, he would probably do it.
34:11And between races, I'm sure they'll probably tell him. And especially since Hunter just did it in
34:15front of him, they'll go back and watch it. Or maybe Eli do it because he just saw it happen
34:20right in front of him, losing a lot of time right there. And it seems like it's a lot more energy
34:25that he's wasting by having to fight. Yeah, that's what I was alluding to before, by the way,
34:33for Eli. Every one of these laps, every gate drop between now and next year is just building blocks.
34:40He only got on a bike two months before the Anaheim opener of Supercross this year.
34:45And maybe he wasn't quite the Eli Tomac of old. He wants to rectify that.
34:50Yeah, and the same thing that's happening with my brother and any of these guys is riding outdoors.
34:56Racing outdoors is going to help Eli for Supercross next year. So yeah, whether the results say
35:02he's getting better, a lot better out here racing and will be better in 25 because he's coming out
35:07here and finishing these four motos out and then into the playoffs. Well, here it is, James, last
35:12lap. Chase Sexton in control of the moto and in control of the title. And what a journey it has
35:20been. And it will conclude, it appears, at Ironman Raceway. And last year, the disappointment
35:28gave it everything he had, but Jett Lawrence completed the perfect season right here at this
35:32track. So for Ironman, quote some lyrics from that famous Black Sabbath song. While Jett was
35:41celebrating, I heard that Chase Sexton just went back to the Honda truck. It's like the lyrics
35:45of the song. He just stares at the world, planning his vengeance that he will unfurl.
35:50It didn't look good when he first got on this KTM and Monster Energy Supercross.
35:55But here we are, a year after that bitter defeat, and he is looking at the ProMoto Cross Championship.
36:04I almost don't want to say anything after that beautiful. That was beautiful, Jay. That was
36:09nice on there. But yeah, we were here calling the race and I actually mentioned to you, I'm like,
36:13man, he actually seemed mad after that race. So, yeah, that was a great, great discussion
36:19and great point right there. The vengeance. Shout out to Ozzy Osbourne. Shout out to you.
36:27So Ironman Raceway is, if he holds on, going to be where he is crowned. But again,
36:32go back to what we heard in the off season when he first got on this bike. Even Chase himself
36:35wasn't being, you know, a lot of times riders are way unrealistically positive when they first get
36:40on a new motorcycle. I'm going to say he was being real. Yeah. Yeah. Chase is way better. I
36:47mean, as he's starting to celebrate right now. But he can't help but to win. Once I said he
36:51starts going fast, he's going to be able to do it. And now that's what you're seeing.
36:56And what we're seeing is this. Another big step for the career of Chase Sexton. Already a 450
37:02champion in supercross. And now the 450 pro motocross champion, Chase Sexton.
37:25And the first person to congratulate him, his chief competitor this year, this summer,
37:30Hunter Lawrence. They've been very respectful to each other throughout this championship campaign.
38:01There's his agent, Chris Honstock.
38:08Of course, one motor to go, but this is enough to lock it.
38:31And just, you know, every time Chase was right there, something would happen.
38:36He gets it done. Chase Sexton, he saw signs at the beginning of the year with that incredible
38:41ride at Hangtown and at the end of the season.