Sexton Gives One Up
Chase Sexton was approaching his second career 450SX Class win when a catastrophic crash that knocked him out of the race gave the victory to Jason Anderson. His 10th victory moves Anderson into 21st all-time on the 450SX Class wins list, tied with Mike LaRocco and Broc Glover.
Orange On the Podium
After averaging seventh place in the previous five races, Cooper Webb broke through for a second-place finish in Minneapolis. He now has 43 450SX Class podiums, which is good for 15th all-time and two behind teammate Marvin Musquin. Musquin earned his first podium of the season with a third-place finish.
Sixth Sense
Eli Tomac’s red plate was in danger through the Main Event after a collision with teammate Dylan Ferrandis had him in dead last. The 16 passes he made to nab sixth will keep the red plate on his bike for Arlington with three points to spare. He now has 123 top-10’s (ninth all-time) and 138 starts (12th all-time).
Tracking JB10 and Chiz
Kyle Chisholm (15th in Minneapolis) only has one top five and 17 top 10’s (none since 2015) in his career but his 136 starts are good for 13th all-time in 450SX Class history. If he were to start every Main Event, the highest Chiz could finish on the all-time list is 11th by the end of the season. Justin Brayton (10th in Minneapolis) lined up for the 182nd time in his 450SX Class career which is good for sixth all-time. If he were to start every Main Event, the highest Brayton could finish on the all-time list would be fourth all-time with 192, tied with Nick Wey. *CORRECTION: In last week’s ‘This Week in Supercross’ Justin Brayton was noted to have 14 seasons with a 450SX Class start. Brayton actually has 15 seasons with a 450SX Class start (2008-2022).
History Lesson: The first 450SX Class race held in the DFW Metroplex (Dallas, Irving, Arlington, Fort Worth) was on February 28, 1975 in Irving’s Texas Stadium. Jimmy Ellis won the race on a Can-Am by going 1-1 on Friday night and 1-2 on Saturday night. Marty Smith would go 3-3-2-1 to finish second place overall. Ellis won the next season with a 3-4-1-4 finish just edging out Pierre Karsmaker’s 2-3-7-2 score. Bob Hannah would win in 1977 in the first season that a single Main Event format was used. That race featured nine different brands on the starting gate, a record that still holds to this day: Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Maico, Suzuki, Penton, Husqvarna, Bultaco, and Ossa.
Three Different Stadiums: After a five-year hiatus the series returned to the DFW Metroplex from 1983-1985 and 1990 at the Dallas Cotton Bowl. Texas Stadium would host the series from1975-1977,1986-1989 and 1991-2008 before it was demolished in 2010. AT&T Stadium was built in Arlington and has hosted the Supercross every season since 2010 including three last season. Texas Stadium hosted 25 events throughout their history, the Cotton Bowl hosted four, and AT&T Stadium has hosted 14. That makes the 2022 Arlington Supercross the 44th race held in the DFW Metroplex.
Three Last Year and Three This Year: Arlington hosted three races last season and it was a clean sweep by eventual champion Cooper Webb. This season Arlington is hosting a triple-crown event, meaning all three races in a single night will be added up for an overall score, much like the original 1975 and 1976 Irving Supercross races.
45%: In just 18/41 seasons did the winner of the 450SX Class race in DFW go onto win the title, but in 7/12 (58%) seasons at AT&T Stadium the winner did win the title. This includes the last three seasons with Cooper Webb and Eli Tomac.
Feels Good to be 18
Jett Lawrence shot past Austin Forkner and never looked back in the Eastern Regional 250SX Class opener in Minneapolis. #18, who is also 18 years old, now has four 250SX Class wins in 15 starts across three seasons.
Everyone and Their Brother
70 riders were slated to race in the Eastern Regional 250SX Class opener in Minneapolis. 65 finished timed qualifying meaning 25 riders had to be eliminated before the night show. This included six national numbers and 11 riders who had previously made 250SX Class Main Events. Mitchell Oldenburg, Josh Osby, and John Short are all veteran 250SX Class riders who made it to the night show but could not get through the LCQ.
Forkner and McAdoo Breathe Life into PC Kawasaki
After a string of bad-luck injuries, crashes, and sub-standard championship results, Pro-Circuit Kawasaki seems to have hit their stride with second and third place finishers Austin Forkner and Cameron McAdoo. Both riders have an identical 34 starts across six seasons and will look to manage the red-plate gap to Lawrence.
Who’s Who?
As usual, Kyle Peters is the most experienced 250SX Class rider in the Eastern Regional field with 70 250SX Class starts spread across 11 seasons. A wreck in the Main Event gave him a 19th-place finish. Two riders made their first 250SX Class starts in Levi Kitchen (9th) and Cullin Park (15th). Forkner (11) and Jeremy Martin (6) lead the way in 250SX Class career wins in the Eastern Regional. Martin finished fourth. RJ Hampshire and Jordon Smith are the other two riders with 40+ career 250SX Class starts in the Eastern Regional.
History Lesson: The first 250SX Class race held in the DFW Metroplex was on May 4, 1985 in the Cotton Bowl and Bobby Moore won the race on a Suzuki en-route to the first ever Eastern Regional title. The win was his only of the season.
Three Different Stadiums: Irving’s Texas Stadium hosted a 250SX Class race from 1986-1989 and 1991-2008 before it was demolished. Dallas’ Cotton Bowl held two 250SX Class races (1985 and 1990). AT&T Stadium has held a 250SX Class race every season since 2010. That makes the 2022 250SX Class Arlington Supercross the 39th 250SX Class race in the DFW Metroplex.
Where Orange Got Going: Grant Langston gave KTM its first ever 250SX Class victory in Texas Stadium in 2001. It was also Langston’s first victory.
Champion’s Paradise: The winner of the DFW Metroplex 250SX Class race has gone onto win the Championship in 23/36 (64%) seasons, including six of the past seven seasons.
