This past weekend 80 Supercross racers in two divisions competed inside Raymond James Stadium on a man-made, custom designed track of challenging jumps, bermed turns, and a deep, beach-sand section that threw their race bikes in unpredictable directions. There’s really no aspect of Monster Energy Supercross that isn’t extraordinary.
So when the promoters of a sport like Supercross team up with a world-renowned organization like St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, it should be no surprise that that partnership is extraordinary as well. When St. Jude first partnered with Supercross in 2017, there was no detailed road map, just two unique organizations coming together to see what was possible while also supporting St. Jude ambassador and four-time Supercross Champion Ryan Dungey.
In 2020, the partnership includes a “This Shirt Saves Lives” text-to-donate campaign, an online auction that is fully supported by the Supercross community, and a specially-themed race aptly named “This Race Saves Lives”, which took place on Saturday in Tampa, Florida.
For the Tampa race, athletes and teams incorporated St. Jude patient-inspired artwork into their riding gear and motorcycle graphics. These one-of-a-kind, race-worn items were collected after the race and will join the crown jewel of the 2020 auction: A Suzuki Boulevard M109R B.O.S.S. street bike that was ridden to Sturgis by five-time Supercross Champion and NBC Sports expert commentator, Ricky Carmichael. Both the text-to-donate campaign and online auction (stjude.org/supercrossauction) will remain open through the final round in Salt Lake City, Utah on May 2.
Round seven also brought forward a new points leader as Kawasaki rider Eli Tomac grabbed his 30th career win and the title points lead in front of 46,173 fans. Shane McElrath also dominated in the opening round of the Eastern Regional 250SX Class Championship.