It’s all over bar the shouting now as the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship descends on Denver this Saturday for the penultimate round of the 2023 series.
Images and Stats by Feld Motor Sports, Inc.
With Cooper Webb crashing out last weekend in Nashville and being ruled out for the remainder of the series and Eli Tomac taking a solid second, the ball is firmly in Tomac’s court as he holds an 18-point lead over Chase Sexton in second. Tomac is in Title defence mode as shown at Nashville by letting Sexton through and he knows now that within a depleted field all he needs to do is cruise around within the top five in the next two rounds to be crowned the 2023 champ. With Webb out Ken Roczen has a sniff of a podium overall with 24 points to make up on the stricken Webb to nab the final podium spot at the death.
As well as the chance we could see Tomac crowned in Denver, Jett Lawrence has the chance to get in on the celebrations this weekend in the 250 West category after seeing his brother claim the East title last weekend. Jett just needs to bring it home and score 12 points for him to make it a historic 250sx double with his brother.
450SX Class Recap: Nashville
Sexton Still Standing: Chase Sexton keeps Eli Tomac within striking distance by gaining three points and a victory in Nashville. He now has five wins and 22 podiums through his first 42450SX Class starts. His fifth win ties him for 31st on the all-time 450SX Class wins list tied with Trey Canard, Davi Millsaps, Kent Howerton, and Mike Kiedrowski. He is already 33rd all-time on the 450SX Class podiums list.
Playing It Cool: Eli Tomac appeared to pull into protect mode after relinquishing a large lead in Nashville to Sexton. He nabbed his 95th podium along the way (fourth all-time) and 162nd start (10th all-time). It is the first time this season he has gone three races without a victory.
Solid as a Roc(zen): Ken Roczen scored his third straight podium and fifth of the season in Nashville. He now sits only one behind Ryan Villopoto for 10th on the all-time 450SX Class podiums list with 63. He is also only one top-10 finish behind Andrew Short for 10th all-time on that list with 119.
Notes: Colt Nichols (4th) scored his first career 450SX Class top-five finish in the 11th start of his rookie season. Justin Hill (5th) scored his second career top-five finish and first since Tampa Bay 2020. Dean Wilson (7th) best finish of his season and fourth straight top-10 finish. Kyle Chisholm (9th) 20th career top-10 finish and first of this season. His 154th 450SX Class start is 11th all-time. Tristan Lane (13th) career-best finish. Max Miller (18th) first career 450SX Class start.
450SX Class: Denver Historical Facts
History Lesson: The first 450SX Class race in Denver was on May 18th, 1996 in Old Mile High Stadium and was the season finale. Jeremy McGrath won the race on a Honda and had already clinched the title weeks before.
Stadium History: Mile High Stadium was the home of the Denver Broncos from 1960-2000. Originally it was built as a 17,000-seat Minor League Baseball stadium in 1948. The capacity topped out at 76,000 before it was demolished in 2000 and now serves as a parking lot for the newer Broncos Stadium at Mile High, Empower Field. Empower Field hosted Supercross in 2019 and 2022, meaning 2023 will be the fourth 450SX Class race in Denver and the third at Empower Field.
Home-State Clinch: Eli Tomac can clinch the 450SX Class title in his home state for the second consecutive season by netting eight points on Chase Sexton (IE- Tomac 1st/Sexton 5th). For Sexton (-18) to take the red plate going into the finale he would need to finish inside the top-five and would need Tomac to finish 15th or worse depending on where in the top-five Sexton placed (IE- Sexton 1st/Tomac 15th would create a tie atop the standings as would Sexton 5th/Tomac DNQ).
61st Venue/Championship %: Since Empower Field became the 61st different venue to host a 450SX Class race in 2019, there have only been two new venues since (Atlanta Motor Speedway and Snapdragon Stadium). The series was scheduled to visit Denver in 2020 but was canceled due to the pandemic. The winner of the Denver Supercross has won the 450SX Class title in 1/3 seasons and neither time at Empower Field.
Manufacturer Wins in Denver (Last Win)
Kawasaki: 2 (2022)
Honda: 1 (1996)
Top Winners in Denver
Jeremy McGrath: 1 (1996)
Eli Tomac: 1 (2019)
Jason Anderson: 1 (2022)
450SX Class: First-Time Winners in Denver
None
Eastern Regional 250SX Class Recap: Nashville
Country Clinched: Hunter Lawrence clinched the 2023 Eastern Regional title with his victory in Nashville. Lawrence was making his 30th career 250SX Class start and earned his 12th victory which moves him into a tie for fourth on the all-time 250SX Class wins list with his brother Jett and many others. He now sits atop Honda’s all-time 250SX Class wins list tied with Jett, Jeremy McGrath, and Tomac. Honda now has 14 Eastern Regional titles and 19 total titles, and Jett is looking to make it 20 in Denver.
Jo Show!: Jo Shimoda gave Kawasaki their best finish of the season with a runner-up in Nashville. He now has five podiums and 18 top-fives to go with his 30 250SX Class starts.
19/19th/2019: Jordon Smith last was successful, in his own words, in 2019. Fast forward to 2023 and Jordon Smith is scoring his fifth podium of the season and 19th of his career, tying him for 19th with James Stewart on the all-time 250SX Class podiums list. Smith is also now tied for 22nd with Ryan Clark on the all-time 250SX Class starts list.
Notes: Haiden Deegan (4th) is still a perfect 9/9 in top-10s in his rookie season and also six top-fives and three podiums. Max Anstie (5th) made his 25th career 250SX Class start and scored his ninth top-five. Chris Blose (8th) made his 68th career 250SX Class start which moves him to 12th on the all-time list. Garrett Hoffman (20th) and Jace Kessler (21st) each made their first career 250SX Class starts.
250SX Class: Denver Historical Facts
History Lesson: The first 250SX Class race held in Denver was on May 18th, 1996 in Old Mile High Stadium. It was the 1996 Western Regional finale and won by Kevin Windham on a Yamaha, who had already clinched the Western Regional Championship weeks prior.
History Lesson #2: The second 250SX Class race held in Denver was on April 13th, 2019 and Adam Cianciarulo won on a Kawasaki. The win gave him an eight-point advantage on Dylan Ferrandis that he squandered in the finale due to a crash. Ferrandis would take the title by 15 points after being down eight after Denver.
Denver Overview: 2022 was the third 250SX Class race in Denver, won by Hunter Lawrence on a Honda. 2023 will be the fourth 250SX Class race in Denver and third in Empower Field.
Two Mile High Clinches?: Just like Tomac in the 450SX Class, Jett Lawrence has a path to clinching his 2023 Western Regional title in Denver. With a 39-point advantage over RJ Hampshire, J-Law clinches with a 10th or better. He would clinch one week after his brother Hunter clinched the Eastern Regional title in Nashville to set up their second showdown of the season in Salt Lake City.
Manufacturer Wins in Denver (Last Win)
Kawasaki: 1 (2019)
Yamaha: 1 (1996)
Honda: 1 (2022)
Top Winners in Denver
Kevin Windham: 1 (1996)
Hunter Lawrence: 1 (2022)
Adam Cianciarulo: 1 (2019)
250SX Class: First-Time Winners in Denver
None
450SX Class Past Winners in Denver
Old Mile High Stadium
1996: Jeremy McGrath, Honda
Empower Field
2019: Eli Tomac, Kawasaki
2022: Jason Anderson, Kawasaki
250SX Class Past Winners in Denver
Old Mile High Stadium
1996: Kevin Windham, Yamaha
Empower Field
2019: Adam Cianciarulo, Kawasaki
2022: Hunter Lawrence, Honda
