13 down, 4 to go as the 2023 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship rolls into East Rutherford this Saturday with everything perfectly poised for another classic 450SX showdown.
Stats and Feature Image courtesy of Feld Motor Sports, Inc
Last weekend in Atlanta Chase Sexton broke his curse and led the Main from start to finish leaving the title contenders Cooper Webb and Eli Tomac duking it out for fourth and fifth with Justin Barcia and Ken Roczen sandwiched in between them.
This means that Sexton has clawed back the deficit to series leader Tomac to 17 with Webb also inching closer, just six behind Eli. Sexton will need to do the same in East Rutherford with the hopes that once again Barcia, Roczen and a rejuvenated Jaosn Anderson can get between him Tomac and Webb to make the title fight a three way battle with three to go.
Dean Wilson has been improving week on week with a season best eighth in Atlanta. Can he notch it up another level this weekend and get closer to the top six?
In the 250’s we will get to see the the brothers Lawrence go head to head in the first East/West Showdown. Both Jett and Hunter have been dominating their coasts so it will be interesting to see who comes out on top, or will someone else rain on their parade? Max Anstie has nudged back into the top three in the East Coast standings and needs to beat Haiden Deegan if he is to have a chance of the runner up spot in the championship.
450 Class Recap: Atlanta
Sexton Sizzles in HOTlanta: Chase Sexton scored his third win of the season and fourth of his 450SX Class career when he crossed the checkers at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He was making his 40th start and nabbed his 21st podium and 30th top-five finish of his 450SX Class career. Sexton is 17-points behind the red-plate which is still considered “in the mix” with three races left.
Barcia Stepping Into History: Justin Barcia has tied his career record of three straight podium finishes that he set in 2014 after a runner-up finish in Atlanta. A podium in East Rutherford could break his all-time podium streak and tie his career high in podiums from last season. Two more podiums will break his personal record of podiums in a season. His podium moves him into 14th all-time in 450SX Class history beyond David Vuillemin, tied with Cooper Webb, and right behind legends Mike Bell and Mark Barnett.
Joining Elite Company: Already considered an elite Supercross racer, Ken Roczen has elevated that conversation becoming just the 11th rider with 60 podiums and 10th rider with 85 top-five finishes in 450SX Class history. This is after a third-place finish in Atlanta. Roczen has also tied Vuillemin for 19th all-time in 450SX Class starts with 129.
Notes: Cooper Webb (4th) gained a single point on Tomac’s red-plate, trailing by only six points with four races left. Eli Tomac (5th) made his 160th 450SX Class start and nabbed his 118th top-five finish. Dean Wilson (8th) back-to-back top-10’s after having none in first 11 races. Kyle Chisholm (14th) made 152nd start moving him past Davi Millsaps for 11th all-time. Justin Starling (19th) made his 35th 450SX Class start. He is 23rd all-time in 250SX Class starts with 56 as well.
450 Class: East Rutherford Historical Facts
History Lesson: The first 450SX Class race in East Rutherford was on June 7th, 1987 in Giants Stadium at The Meadowlands. Rick Johnson won on a Honda in what was the penultimate race of the 1987 season but Jeff Ward’s fifth-place finish was enough for him to clinch the title over Johnson. Honda dominated The Meadowlands winning all five races held there.
Venue History: East Rutherford hosted Supercross races from 1987-1991 in Giants Stadium at The Meadowlands. Giants Stadium was demolished in 2010 and MetLife Stadium was built in its place. The series returned to the city in 2014 at MetLife Stadium and remained on the schedule through 2017 and again in 2019. East Rutherford’s 2023 Supercross will be their 11th in history and sixth in MetLife Stadium.
Penultimately Speaking: 7/10 races held in East Rutherford have been penultimate races, including all five races in MetLife Stadium. Only the 1989-1991 Meadowlands races weren’t penultimate races. Three times East Rutherford hosted the clinching race for the 450SX Class title (1987, 1988, and 2016), three times the title had already been clinched going into East Rutherford (1990, 2014, and 2015), and three other times riders were within three points of clinching their titles after East Rutherford (1989, 1991, and 2019). Only in 2019 and 2023 races have/will feature a serious point-standings battle in East Rutherford.
Championship %: In 5/10 (50%) 450SX Class races held in East Rutherford the winner went on to win the title. In the five-year period of racing in The Meadowlands only twice did the winner also win the title (Rick Johnson 1988 and Jeff Stanton 1989). In three of the five races in MetLife Stadium the winner has won the title (2014 Ryan Villopoto, 2017 Ryan Dungey, and 2019 Cooper Webb).
450 Class: East Rutherford Winners
Manufacturer Wins in East Rutherford (Last Win)
Honda: 6 (2015)
KTM: 2 (2019)
Suzuki: 1 (2016)
Kawasaki: 1 (2014)
Top Winners in East Rutherford
Rick Johnson: 2 (1987-1988)
Jeff Stanton: 2 (1989 & 1991)
Eli Tomac: 1 (2015)
Ken Roczen: 1 (2016)
Cooper Webb: 1 (2019)
3 others at 1
First Time Winners in East Rutherford
None
250 Class Recap: Atlanta
H-Legend: Hunter Lawrence won his fourth straight race, sixth of the season, and 11th of his illustrious 250SX Class career. He is now tied with Ricky Carmichael, Ryan Villopoto, Cooper Webb, Jeff Matiasevich, Kevin Windham, Christophe Pourcel, Justin Barcia, and Adam Cianciarulo for 10th on the all-time 250SX Class wins list. Winning out the last three races would place him alone in second with 14 wins all-time behind James Stewart’s 16. Hunter’s 20th podium moves him into 13th all-time tied with brother Jett.
Career Revival: Jordon Smith is officially back after his fourth podium of the season and second runner-up finish. His 18th career 250SX Class podium places him in 25th all-time tied with Doug Henry and right behind James Stewart on the list.
Best of the Deegans: Haiden Deegan has scored his third podium finish of the season with a third-place and moves beyond Dad Brian in podium finishes. He still needs a win to tie Brian’s sole 250SX Class victory with three Eastern Regional races left (including two Showdowns). Impressive also is Deegan nabbed 5/7 top-fives and perfect in top-10 finishes on the season.
Notes: Jo Shimoda (4th) made his season debut after a pre-season injury. He earned his 17th top-five finish and 26th top-10 in his 28th career 250SX Class start. Henry Miller (6th) one race removed from tying his professional best finish of ninth, and first Supercross top-10 finish, Miller scores a sixth-place finish in Atlanta. It was his 24th 250SX Class start. Talon Hawkins (8th) and Caden Braswell (10th) are rookies who both scored their career first top-10 Supercross finishes in Atlanta. AJ Catanzaro (16th) made his 45th career 250SX Class start.
250 Class: East Rutherford Historical Facts
History Lesson: The first 250SX Class race held in East Rutherford was on June 7th, 1987 and Keith Turpin won on a Suzuki. It was the Eastern Regional finale and Turpin was behind his Suzuki teammate Ron Tichenor by four-points going into the night. Tichenor’s runner-up finish gave him the Eastern Regional 250SX Class title by just one-point.
Venue History: The 250SX Class has the same venue history as the 450SX Class in East Rutherford, racing at Giants Stadium from 1987-1991 and MetLife Stadium from 2014-2017; 2019. 2023 will be the 11th 250SX Class race held in East Rutherford and sixth in MetLife Stadium.
Penultimately Speaking: In the soon to be 11 250SX Class races held in East Rutherford nine of them have either been finales or penultimate races within the Eastern Regional 250SX Class Championship. 1990 and 2023 are the only East Rutherford 250SX Class race that was neither. For the first time in East Rutherford’s 250SX Class history, the race will include the Western Regional Championship riders as it will be the first of two 250SX Class East/West showdowns on the season.
Championship %: The winner of the 250SX Class race in East Rutherford has gone onto win the Eastern Regional 250SX Class title in 8/10 races (80%). This is largely due to the number of late season races that have occurred in the venue’s history. All five winners in MetLife Stadium have won the title and the last three winners in The Meadowlands did too, meaning eight straight winners have won the title and East Rutherford.
250 Class: East Rutherford Winners
Manufacturer Wins in East Rutherford (Last Win)
Honda: 4 (2019)
Yamaha: 2 (1989)
Suzuki: 2 (1990)
KTM: 1 (2015)
Husqvarna: 1 (2017)
Top Winners in East Rutherford
Keith Turpin: 1 (1987)
Mike LaRocco: 1 (1988)
Damon Bradshaw: 1 (1989)
Denny Stephenson: 1 (1990)
Brian Swink: 1 (1991)
Justin Bogle: 1 (2014)
Marvin Musquin: 1 (2015)
Malcolm Stewart: 1 (2016)
Zach Osborne: 1 (2017)
Chase Sexton: 1 (2019)
250SX Class: First Time Winners in East Rutherford
Chase Sexton: 2019
East Rutherford Track Map
