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00:00Bean, as we welcome you back, it's time for the 250 main, almost ready to drop the great gate.
00:06Will Christian, who are you looking at?
00:09Well, that will be the number one of Tom Vial.
00:11I asked the team, what is it going to take to get this done?
00:14They said he reported that he was riding really tight after getting third in that heat, too.
00:19They said they're going to need more flow.
00:20He's got to open up the track, keep that momentum going.
00:23Let's go from last year's East Divisional Champ to the West Divisional Champ.
00:27That's RJ Hampshire. Now, last year, when he won this championship, he was able to summon his best self in critical moments.
00:34Now, the ask is going to be the same.
00:36He's up against another Monster Energy Kawasaki teammate in Seth Hamaker.
00:41To do it, he's got to find a way to win down the stretch.
00:46And speaking of Seth Hamaker, there he is, aboard the 56, the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki,
00:52alongside the man who won the first heat, 250 main.
00:56We're back in New Jersey. Let's do it.
01:00This could have a big impact on how the championship looks, leaving here.
01:05It's Nate Thrasher on the inside. He's done what he did in his heat.
01:11Oh, a repeat.
01:12These first couple laps are going to be so important, especially for Seth Hamaker.
01:16Thrasher in front of RJ Hampshire, with the water being laid down, takes the lead.
01:23Whoa! Look at that! Hamaker! That was awesome!
01:27Thrasher! And then RJ Hamshire in the mix.
01:31Fial gives himself a better chance, and Austin Forkner is in the mix on the triumph.
01:35Incredible pass by Seth Hamaker to go up that inside, make the move on the 41 of Nate Thrasher.
01:43It'll be interesting, these next couple laps, see if the 56 of Hamaker can build a gap.
01:50Almost loses it at the exit of the whoops.
01:52Look at the difference. Look at the different style going through the whoops.
01:57Nate Thrasher is on the attack.
02:00Championship lead up against the championship hopeful.
02:04Thrasher's back in sixth in the points and needs another win.
02:08He won in Birmingham earlier in the year.
02:10This would be phenomenal if he could come back.
02:13Wow, Seth looking very good.
02:15Greases that triple into the corner.
02:17Thrasher, a nice apex through the 90, riding right in his zone,
02:23defending any counterattack from the 41 of Thrasher.
02:27Oh, no!
02:28That's Chance Hymus, is it?
02:30Yep.
02:32Oh, no.
02:34Remember, he's coming off of an ACL repair.
02:37He had a slow start to the season.
02:40Basically, he got no riding in the offseason.
02:42Another bobble by the 56 of Hamaker.
02:45Just getting going too fast in the whoops.
02:48Misses one with his front end.
02:49Nice save.
02:50Look at this.
02:51Nate Thrasher is feeling good.
02:54That hand has healed well.
02:57He's feeling strong and is on the attack up against the championship co-leader.
03:03Yellow flag's out right now.
03:06Just proceed with caution.
03:07They can still jump the rhythm lanes.
03:10I like these lines that Jorge was talking about, that inside.
03:14It's going to be multiple lines.
03:16That was a great view of that.
03:18You may have noticed Hymus off to the side of the track in the hands of the Alpine Star Medical Unit.
03:23Here is the UFO Plus moment of the race early on.
03:28Watch bike 10.
03:29I'm watching 10.
03:30Yeah.
03:31Oh, he comes up short.
03:32As he comes up short, he starts to lean the bike to initiate the turn.
03:36And he isn't perfectly squared up when he comes short and just high sides.
03:41Oh, that happens so fast.
03:44It's the guy who was fourth in points at the drop of the gate and certainly wasn't counting himself out of being a title contender.
03:54But, JT, that certainly hurts his chances.
03:57Yeah, they're in that exact section.
03:59You see Nate Thrasher land on that very triple.
04:01And the tough part of that is you want to land right on the downside because they immediately have to turn right and set up for that next triple.
04:09So, you'd be, you know, wondering why would Chance Hymus cut it so close?
04:12Why would he land right on the edge?
04:13Well, it almost has to to make that corner.
04:16And that's how tight the margins are.
04:19Monster Supercross to go a little bit too long.
04:21Guess what?
04:21You're off the racetrack, come a little bit too short, and you're over the handlebars.
04:24Right.
04:25And exactly what JT was saying, too.
04:27As he started to try to make that 90-degree corner, if he's angled just a little bit and he doesn't land on the backside,
04:34it's so easy to high side like that.
04:37And hopefully he's going to be okay.
04:40Remember, he just wanted to get through the Supercross season and contend for the Promotocross championship.
04:46And hopefully he'll be all right.
04:48But, man, this is a battle.
04:51Oh, did you see the 56 in the amaker?
04:54That could have easily happened to him as well.
04:57Just got to report that Chance Hymus, there it is.
05:00He's off and up the tunnel, out of this race.
05:03And we'll see him next week in Pittsburgh.
05:05Meanwhile, heading back to his home state next week is the race leader, Seth Amaker.
05:10It is hugely emotional and important for him to be racing here in the northeast, where he grew up well.
05:16And he is in the form of his career.
05:18And it's a renaissance of sorts.
05:22I spoke at the top of the show there about how he's just had a career that has just been a string of injuries.
05:28And the big change to that, he made a move to Florida from California, got a new trainer.
05:32He's training with the Lawrence brothers, Jet and Hunter and their dad and his trainer, Michael Byrne.
05:37And it's made all the difference.
05:39And when I tried to get Seth to zone in on what those differences were, he said,
05:42When I used to make mistakes before, it's like my riding technique wasn't great.
05:46And they would get amplified and I would end up on the ground.
05:48That would result in the injuries.
05:50He said, we've eliminated so much of that.
05:53We've seen so many saves, if you want to call them that, out of Seth Amaker since that.
05:57These tracks are tough, but he seems to handle them extremely well.
06:01Here's the man who was pressuring Amaker earlier.
06:10Nate Thrasher, after a super heat racing start, has dropped back somewhat.
06:18Championship points updated, bottom left of your screen.
06:21And Seth Amaker would take the lead to Pittsburgh next week by three points over Hampshire.
06:26Watch the second bike and rider.
06:29Watch Thrasher to the right of your screen.
06:30Oh, no, he goes down.
06:34And then RJ, great heads up riding.
06:37Hate that for Thrasher.
06:39You know, from the Amaker's standpoint, Thrasher was in the perfect spot,
06:43building the buffer between Seth and RJ.
06:48Add a little bit of a points gap.
06:51That's going to close things up, possibly.
06:54Actually, no.
06:55Stay the same three-point add for Amaker.
06:58And what Will was saying, just watching the progression and the improvements that Seth has made where years passed,
07:05he probably would have overridden and not pulled back.
07:08And that's what he said in the offseason, told us, knowing when those moments are, to go for it and maybe not go back for it.
07:14Be more reserved.
07:15And he's been able to do that all season long, it seems like.
07:19And it's been incredible to watch.
07:21Here's the 24-year-old Frenchman Tom Villal, the reigning champion in the East Division aboard his Red Bull KTM.
07:27He's going to be watching his teammate Chase Sexton try and get back-to-back wins here shortly when the 450s line up.
07:33But Tom's got his own business to take care of.
07:35There is Chase warming up on the stationary bike.
07:38And Villal said, look, it's as simple as this.
07:40After having three consecutive podiums to finish last in Foxborough and then sixth last weekend in Philly is far from ideal.
07:49But I'm still in the championship, Chase.
07:51I can't believe it, but I still am.
07:53I'll take that.
07:54He's going to bleed some more points here, even though he's on the podium at the moment with eight minutes plus a lap to go.
08:00It's kind of heading in the wrong direction as the rounds wind down.
08:04It is, sadly.
08:06But as they start to come up through the lappers, maybe that will help him make some time up.
08:10RJ isn't far from him, wasn't.
08:14So it's still a fighting chance for Tom.
08:17And it just seems like he had more of a speed.
08:20He had more speed last year.
08:21It was closer to his contenders.
08:23The guys that he was racing for.
08:25But, again, these guys have three more rounds left or two more rounds after this race,
08:30including a showdown at the season finale of Monster Energy Supercross in Salt Lake.
08:35Showdowns when the East Division and West Division come together.
08:38That's what we enjoyed most recently.
08:40By the way, we're over the halfway mark.
08:42Quick reminder to stock up on Monster Energy drinks.
08:44Available at 7.11.
08:46I want to give a shout-out to Austin Faulkner.
08:48He's in the top five on the Triumph.
08:51That would be his season-best result.
08:53He's ahead of Cullen Park, Baxmole, and Devin Simonson, who, by the way, had his equal-best heat result earlier today.
09:03Miller is in the top ten after that big crash, being forced to the LCQ.
09:07And then coming back, here's Austin Faulkner on the 83.
09:12You saw that special Alpine Star technology to protect the rider when it inflated, to protect his upper torso and back area.
09:19This is a great run for this man right here, number 83, Austin Faulkner, on that Triumph racing machine.
09:27He had a major surgery in the offseason, coming back from a gnarly crash last year as well.
09:35Confidence banged up, but he came here today, had a great qualifying session earlier on, had good speed in the heat race.
09:49Well, look, I think when the Triumph executives turn up, Ricky, the good results come.
09:53When Jordan Smith won earlier in the year, they were there.
09:56Paul Stroud from Triumph in the UK is here, and Austin putting up his season-best result.
10:03It's going well so far, Weege, for Faulkner.
10:09It is going well for Faulkner, not going so well, unfortunately, for the heat race winner, Chance Hymus.
10:13He saw that crash.
10:14He did get back to the pit and walk off under his own power.
10:17His mechanic, Tommy Harris, says he's banged up, but otherwise OK.
10:20Hopefully we get him back next weekend in Pittsburgh.
10:24Yeah, hopefully he's all right.
10:26It's so frustrating when you're working towards a goal.
10:29You just want to get through the Supercross season healthy and set your sights on the Promotocross Championship.
10:35And then one little slip up.
10:40I think that if Austin's able to continue this fantastic ride, this is something that he'll be able to build on.
10:47Whoa, that was close.
10:49Again, very similar to what Hymus did.
10:50Comes up a little short.
10:52Bike isn't perfectly straight.
10:53Wants to pitch him off as a high-side crash.
10:57But going back, I think if he'll be able to finish this ride off, it's something that he can build on and continue to get that confidence back.
11:03This is a kid that was at one stage in 2019, I believe, had won the first five or six rounds.
11:11He blows his ACL out in Nashville.
11:16That's when Chase Sexton got his first regional championship.
11:20Sexton was in second at the time.
11:22Let's go a little further ahead to R.J. Hampshire aboard the Rockstar Energy Factory Husqvarna.
11:33Sits just under four seconds behind race leader Seth Hamaker, who he came into this race tied with in the championship.
11:40So R.J. will leave here position state as is, three points adrift of Hamaker.
11:45And R.J. was able to win that 250 West Division Championship last year.
11:51He did it in probably the hardest atmosphere to be able to do that.
11:56What I mean by that, whoever wins, wins the championship.
11:59He just edged out Levi Kitchen.
12:02And it was so cool to see R.J. be able to do that, Will.
12:06It was incredible, wasn't it, Ricky?
12:08Just one of the most determined athletes you are ever going to meet.
12:11And to that point, he came into this season with a wrist injury, hard wearing his wrist from breaking it.
12:17And he's had to tape it up just to get through the races all season long.
12:21But what that's done is it's had an effect on how he has had his setup.
12:25It's fine.
12:25He's wanted a softer setup in order to go easy on that wrist.
12:28But the Supercross tracks, they require a stiffer setup.
12:31So trying to find that balance for R.J. has just been an extra challenge.
12:35Well, you talk about suspension and finding that balance.
12:38And suspension, everything is a compromise when Jason Wygant was giving us that, showing us the valves and the volume of oil that they push going through on a standard setting, a production setting, versus the volume of oil it pushes from a factory setting.
12:54And, you know, it's a fine balance of having enough compression, stiff compression, to carry the speed and the stiffness through the rhythm lanes and the whoops, but also having the bike soft enough to where you get good drive and you create as much lateral grip as possible to where you have some comfort.
13:12And it gives you the comfort of being able to twist that throttle.
13:16And R.C., just like that, there's only 2 minutes 40 seconds plus a lap to go for Seth Hamaker aboard that Monster Engine Pro Circuit Kawasaki.
13:27Here he is.
13:28If he stays out in front and wins this main event, he'll become the first multi-event winner this year in the East Division.
13:36And Hayden Deegan has two wins in the West Division, but it's been a different winner every time out, and Cole Davies does as well.
13:43And so, for Seth Hamaker, this is going to be something really special, and he will hold the lead of the championship by himself.
13:51He's been in a tie the last two rounds, first with Vial, then with Hamshire.
13:57He will be the sole championship leader in several minutes' time.
14:01Yeah, just a couple more laps, you've got to stay engaged, not get ahead of yourself, be thinking too far ahead.
14:07You've got to stay present and in the moment, especially as it gets late in this race.
14:11This is when the track starts getting more difficult.
14:14You can see the whoops, they're starting to jump through them where they were blitzing them earlier.
14:19And it seems like this whoops section right here has a long rut through the middle.
14:23Oh, hold on to it.
14:24See, that's what I'm talking about.
14:26So, still a lot of racing left on a difficult track.
14:34That would be awesome if Seth is able to be the first repeat winner in the East Coast Division.
14:40Six guys like you were talking about, like a coupe down there at the bottom.
14:44Webb is gearing up for the 450 main and continue his fight with Chase Sexton.
14:51But we're not done with yet with the 250 main event.
14:53A minute to go plus a lap.
14:54Hey, a little further back is Devin Simonson.
14:57He showed us some great speed earlier this morning.
15:01And then he went on with it in his heat.
15:03And here he is running eighth, which would be a career-best equaling position.
15:10So, it's going nicely.
15:11And his teammate, Max Moland, is in seventh.
15:13So, solid day.
15:14Here comes the race leader to lap him.
15:16Around goes Hammaker.
15:17Through the second portion of the whoops.
15:19With the clock counting down.
15:23And Seth might make it to the checkered flag just before the countdown clock gets to zero.
15:31So, then he'll have two more laps to go.
15:34It's making him earn it a little bit more.
15:36That's right.
15:36Maybe had head comms mechanic to be like, slow down just one second so you don't have to do another extra lap.
15:45It has been significantly warmer today than recent rounds.
15:54And the clock, there was still time left on the clock.
15:56So, it will be two more laps for Hammaker.
15:58Ricky, what about the heat and affecting the physical, the physicality for the riders and how that drains them?
16:04Definitely a lot hotter than where it's been.
16:07And I think it plays a part, especially when these guys have their qualifying practice earlier in the day.
16:13The heat is there.
16:14So, they're exerting more energy.
16:16So, maybe there's going to be some more fatigue factor.
16:18So, the stronger guys have some better endurance.
16:21High intensity endurance as well.
16:24Might be able to last, say, a few laps longer, a few minutes longer.
16:28Which goes a long ways in Monster Energy Supercross.
16:31So, for sure, fitness becoming a premium today.
16:38Man, look at the tracks getting down to the plywood.
16:41Oh, yeah.
16:45Seth Amica says, show me that white flag.
16:48One more lap to go here inside MetLife Stadium.
16:53Wow.
16:54It's so great for an athlete like this who took him four years to win another race.
17:02Close to four years to win another race after his first one.
17:05To be able to stick with it, never give up, is just incredible.
17:11And he's flying the flag for his team, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki,
17:15which has been plagued this year by injury after injury.
17:19And riders sidelined, unfortunately.
17:22They're in recovery mode, getting ready for pro motocross portion of the season.
17:26Meanwhile, this guy here has remained resilient, confident.
17:30He has this sense of calm about him instead of sort of rushing or a sense of urgency about him.
17:37He's like, I've got this.
17:39That win in Indianapolis did so much for Seth Amica and his confidence and the big picture story.
17:46Seth Amica wins in New Jersey.
17:48He was excited about this northeast sweep.
17:52And now he takes the lead of the championship all alone.
17:56RJ Hampshire and Tom Villar following home.
17:59But Seth Amica, you've done it again.
18:02That's two wins in this 2025 season.
18:05Straight up gets into the lead earlier and takes it to the house.