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00:00100% honing in on his skills and working on that speed to make sure he has this guy covered,
00:08which is going to be hard. Chase Sexton definitely has the speed going for him.
00:12He's been on the average the fastest all season long, but you got to have the whole bag.
00:18Not always the fastest guy wins, but man, two incredible racers,
00:23and it's been a lot of fun to watch these two legends battle.
00:27Well, the 25-year-old from Illinois, you see him fourth from the right.
00:32Bike number four, Chase Sexton, last weekend's winner in Philadelphia.
00:36He started the season on the right note with a win in Anaheim in California, then at Phoenix.
00:42He won in Birmingham and last weekend in Philly to keep his championship aspirations alive.
00:48He's just 12 points back from Cooper Webb.
00:51Let's see his form here in this heat.
00:55First one for the 450s.
00:57Here in MetLife Stadium.
00:59Good start, Justin Hill on the inside.
01:02Good start, Marsha, and also Chase Sexton.
01:06I thought Chase Sexton was going to get closed down, but man, he crept around the inside.
01:12He's got the preferred line right here.
01:14This is going to set him up perfectly to make the move.
01:17On the inside of Shane McElrath, who made a brilliant start.
01:20Career high result recently.
01:23His first ever podium in the premier class for Shane McElrath.
01:26So confidence is high in the quad block Honda camp.
01:29Then Justin Basha, and then the Suzuki of Ken Rockson making a swift move on the inside.
01:34I love that 90-degree corner right before the finish line.
01:37Oh, there goes Finn.
01:38That's his comfort again.
01:42Gotcha.
01:43Yeah, he's able to do it.
01:44Got a good drive out of that corner.
01:46Put the power to the ground.
01:48Dope to the inside.
01:49Close the door on the 12.
01:51These next couple laps would be interesting to see if Kenny can make some ground up on Chase Sexton.
01:58Kenny always so explosive early on in these races.
02:03And I'll tell you what, Ken Rockson has done an incredible job racing banged up.
02:07Oh, look at McElrath wasn't able to triple out of that corner.
02:14Justin Basha looking for options and looking around
02:18because he knows that Justin Hill is not too far behind.
02:21Yeah, that was great for the 12 of Shane McElrath to hold that position
02:27because I thought for sure that the 51 of Basha had him covered.
02:30But go back to Ken Rockson.
02:31He's been banged up for the last four or five weeks.
02:34He had AC separation on the shoulder.
02:37He told me last week that that's actually feeling a lot better,
02:40but it's his ankle and any external rotation really just hurts him.
02:45He's got some ligament damage there.
02:48Just trying to make it to the end of the season with the best finish that he can do.
02:52Looking at Shane McElrath aboard the 12 in third.
02:54Basha, let's go up to the head of the field
02:56because Rockson has some pretty swift pace going at the moment
03:00as he chases down Chase Sexton, race leader.
03:05He was the fastest guy on the track.
03:08He was three tenths, two and a half tenths faster last lap.
03:12What you got, JT?
03:14I'm just thinking about Ken Rockson.
03:15He's been so fast early on, which is his calling card, as you mentioned, Ricky.
03:19But what I'll be watching for is can he sustain this pace because that has been the problem.
03:24You see him poke up the inside.
03:25They're trying to make a move on Sexton.
03:27It's the late laps.
03:28Maybe a minute twelve and on where the ankle injury and the shoulder injury starts to add up a little bit.
03:33It's a little bit too much to hold on to.
03:35So let's see if he's been able to close that gap on the injury here coming into East Rutherford.
03:40And I got an update from Ken today saying he just got the MRI back on the ankle
03:45that you guys were just talking about there and torn ligaments, like you said, Ricky, and some bone bruising too.
03:49But the good news from the team is that he did turn some laps during the week.
03:53That has not been the case in past weeks since the injury.
03:57Usually he just kind of keeps it mellow, even through qualifying.
04:00He pushed harder through qualifying today.
04:01So maybe a good sign moving forward for Ken Rockson.
04:03The 30-year-old has displayed so much grit this season and so close to a championship.
04:12Hey, it's not over yet, but it sort of is.
04:15And he knows that, that he's up against it with just today and three more rounds left in the Monster NG AMA Supercross Championship.
04:22He's done so well.
04:23Got that career big one, that first victory in Daytona earlier in the season.
04:28And it just holistically has been riding so very well.
04:32Just him and the team and Larry Brooks, the team manager, what they've been able to build and the culture over there is something that Ken has really taken a liking to.
04:44Has a lot of confidence in that race team and his results speak for that.
04:48And Larry Brooks is an incredible team manager and has many, many Supercross championships, working with legends in the sport, like Jeremy McGrath, the king of Supercross.
04:59Well, last time we were here in MetLife Stadium was two years ago, where the rider of the 51, the rock star Gas Gas, Justin Barsha, stood on the top step of the podium.
05:11It was a horrendous night for weather and the mud and the rain and the lightning and the storms were.
05:17Well, but Justin was the one who came out of it the best.
05:20So happy memories here in Jersey.
05:22Adversity Lee does not seem to bother Justin Barsha and he's got some that he's facing right now, too.
05:28A week and a half ago, he took a practice crash.
05:30The bar hit his finger on his right hand, split it open and he had a laceration.
05:35Unbelievably, no fracture.
05:37But he's had to take up those fingers.
05:39So his index finger there on that right hand, that's his front brake.
05:43He's had to take those two fingers together in order to get enough strength to use his brake.
05:47So once I can start moving that finger more and the swelling comes down, I'm going to need those fingers back to grip the bike.
05:53So making the decision right now, a tough one, do I grip the bike or do I use my front brake?
06:02Everything's a compromise.
06:03Guys, one thing about Justin Barsha, he's going to give it 100%.
06:07Grew up in this area.
06:10A lot of friends and family here support him.
06:14And let's be honest, everywhere you go, he's got a lot of fans and support.
06:18Here we go.
06:19Inside move on Shane McElrath.
06:21Nudges up alongside him.
06:22A little bit of contact there.
06:24And Barsha is through in the third spot.
06:30Meanwhile, just a few moments ago,
06:32check out this from the Liqui Moly beta rider, Benny Bloss.
06:36Yeah.
06:3757 and Benny Bloss overjumps that jump in the rhythm lane there.
06:43And that was a nice save.
06:45And he has now fallen very, very close
06:48to Kate Clayson, who's in 10th, looking for that ninth and final spot.
06:54So, championship leader Cooper Webb is watching his rival out in front, Chase Sexton,
06:59who's now inside the final two laps from home and another heat victory.
07:04Nobody has more heat wins this year than this man in the top box, Chase Sexton.
07:08Looking really good.
07:12And I like how, if I'm Chase Sexton and knowing or watching that bike and how it works in these
07:19drier, looser conditions, I feel like this is where his bike excels and really caters to
07:25his riding style.
07:27Much different than earlier today.
07:30This might be playing right into Chase Sexton's hands, Will.
07:33Well, Ricky, just a quick point here.
07:36I have heard from the team that he has not touched the bike all day today.
07:39I know that's very telling for you.
07:41Yeah, when you're riding your motorcycle and you don't have to make any adjustments to it,
07:46Lee, that just means that you are super comfortable.
07:51When you look at the complexion of the top nine, going straight through to the main, huge
07:56for all three Suzuki riders, Ken Rockson, Chisholm and Nichols, they're all in direct transfer
08:03positions at the moment.
08:04And both beta riders, Mitchell Oldenburg's in sixth behind Justin Hill.
08:08Oldenburg, we watched him up close earlier today and he's been pretty snappy all day long.
08:12Yeah, he had some serious speed in the whoops in particular.
08:16I'm like, wow, man, this guy's rolling.
08:19From the eye test, he looked to be one of the fastest guys.
08:21And that beta racing team have done a great job with extending their contract with Benny Bloss.
08:27And Oldenburg just re-signed his.
08:30Nice.
08:31End of the first 450 heat.
08:34And nobody better than Chase Sexton.
08:36Yet another key win this year.
08:40Nobody has more.