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