Round 12 of the 2024 Monster Energy AMA Supercross championship rolls into St Louis this weekend so take a review of last weekend in Seattle and ahead with the St Louis stats…
Words and Images by Feld Motor Sports, Inc.
450SX Class Recap: Seattle
Cooper Webb earned his 24th 450SX Class victory (10th all-time), and third of the season with a nail-biter in Seattle. He now has 43 AMA wins, moving him past Jeff Emig and Mark Barnett for 15th on the all-time list. Webb’s .592 second victory over Sexton was the seventh closest Premier Class race in the 4-stroke era. Webb is responsible for four of the seven closest wins of the last 21 seasons, including the closest of all-time in Arlington 2019 (.028 win over Ken Roczen).
Chase Sexton missed out on an opportunity to win but recovered to score his 30th career 450SX Class podium (30th all-time). Sexton has 75 career AMA podiums in 157 starts (48%) after Seattle. He also scored his 50th top-10 in his 55th 450SX Class start and is now 23 points off the red plate.
Jett Lawrence was on a fierce comeback trail before a mishap with a downed lapper. Lawrence has seven podiums in his 11 rookie season starts and holds the red plate with six rounds remaining.
Notes: Aaron Plessinger (4th) Scored his 15th 450SX Class top five finish with a fourth, and best finish since his Arlington podium. Ken Roczen (5th) Won his first career 450SX Class LCQ and rebounded for his 95th career 450SX Class top five finish, and seventh of the season. Eli Tomac (6th) Made his 174th 450SX Class start, moving him past Jeremy McGrath for seventh all-time. His 158th top 10 finish places him fifth all-time, five behind McGrath. Hunter Lawrence (7th) Won his first 450SX Class Heat Race and scored his sixth top 10 finish in his rookie season. For the first time in 450SX Class racing, brothers split the Heat Races.
450SX Class: St. Louis Historical Facts
History Lesson: The first 450SX Class round held in St. Louis was on April 27, 1996, and Jeff Emig won on a Kawasaki. Jeremy McGrath was on a 13 round win streak with two more venues remaining on the 1996 schedule. McGrath was looking to score the first perfect Premier Class season since Jimmy Ellis won all four rounds in the sport’s second season (1975). Emig scored the upset victory in St. Louis to halt McGrath’s bid for perfection.
Moving Up in the Rankings: Before Emig’s 1996 upset, McGrath had already been crowned Champion. The 1997 St. Louis Supercross was held earlier in the season for Round 11 compared to being the penultimate round in 1996. The tables turned as Emig led going into St. Louis 198 to 189. McGrath would win with Emig on his heels, and Emig exited St. Louis with a six-point lead that he wouldn’t relinquish. Racing has continued in St. Louis almost every season, with 2019, 2021, and 2023 being the only exceptions. 2024 will be the 26th 450SX Class race held in St. Louis.
St. Louis Triple Crown: St. Louis will be the final Triple Crown of the 2024 Supercross season. It was also the final Triple Crown of the 2022 season, the last time a round was held in the historic dome. Chase Sexton scored the Race 1 win, but finished runner-up to Marvin Musquin who went 2-1-2 for the overall victory. Eli Tomac cleaned up the Race 3 victory and clinched a podium with 4-4-1 scores. The Dome at America’s Center will become the fifth venue to host multiple Triple Crowns (Angel Stadium, State Farm Stadium, AT&T Stadium, and Lucas Oil Stadium).
Championship Odds: The winner of St. Louis has won the title in only 11/25 (44%) seasons, and none of the past four visits (2022/Musquin, 2020/Ken Roczen, 2018/Tomac, & 2017/Tomac). Ryan Dungey in 2016 is the last rider to win St. Louis and the title.
Manufacturer Wins in St. Louis
Yamaha: 7 (2011)
Suzuki: 6 (2014)
Kawasaki: 6 (2018)
Honda: 3 (2020)
KTM: 3 (2022)
Top Winners in St. Louis
Ricky Carmichael: 4 (’01-’02, ’05, ’07)
Chad Reed: 4 (’03-’04, ’06, ’09)
Jeremy McGrath: 3 (’97, ’99-’00)
Ryan Dungey: 3 (’10, ’15-’16)
Eli Tomac: 2 (’17-’18)
250SX Class Recap: St. Louis
Levi Kitchen earned his third career 250SX Class win and second of the season. It was his first non Triple Crown victory, and he will hold the red plate going into the St. Louis Triple Crown. Three wins is good for 69th on the all-time 250SX Class wins list, he now has nine podiums in 17 starts.
RJ Hampshire made his 62nd 250SX Class start (ties Jeremy Martin for 18th all-time), earned his 18th 250SX Class podium (ties for 27th all-time), scored top five number 34 (ties Brock Sellards for seventh all-time), and his 51st top-10 (ninth all-time). He has a path to the Championship only being down eight points with four rounds to go.
Jo Shimoda placed his Honda on the podium for the second straight weekend. He now has seven podiums in 37 career 250SX Class starts. Shimoda has scored three fourth place finishes and a 22nd before his back-to-back podiums.
Notes: Garrett Marchbanks (4th) Nails his 19th career top five finish on his 40th career 250SX Class start. Carson Mumford (5th) Ties a career best fifth place that he scored in the San Francisco mud. He has 23 250SX Class starts, two top fives, and 11 top-10s. He also made his 60th career AMA start. Michael Mosiman (6th) Made his first start of the season, scoring his 35th career 250SX Class top-10 finish.
250SX Class: St. Louis Historical Facts
History Lesson: The first 250SX Class race held in St. Louis was on April 27, 1996, and Kevin Windham won on a Yamaha. Adding the extra difficulty of being an East/West combined Shoot-out, Windham still scored his fifth win during his first of two Western Regional title runs. He nailed a sixth win down to clinch the title in the Denver finale. St. Louis was exclusively a Eastern Regional round in 1997, and Stephane Roncada scored his first 250SX Class win.
Long History and Triple Crown: St. Louis has the same venue history for both Classes (1996-2018, 2020, & 2022). 2024 St. Louis will be the 26th 250SX Class race held in St. Louis, and second in a row that is a Triple Crown. The 2022 St. Louis Triple Crown was won by RJ Hampshire, his first career win and he is in the title fight this season going into the 2024 St. Louis Triple Crown. Jett Lawrence finished second overall with 1-1-5 scores and Mitchell Oldenburg rounded out the podium with a 3-3-4 night.
199 and The Gateway: Travis Pastrana earned two of his seven career 250SX Class victories in St. Louis, back-to-back, in 2000-2001. The latter being his Eastern Regional title run. He also made one of his 17 450SX Class starts in The Dome.
Championship Odds: The winner of the 250SX Class race in St. Louis has won the 250SX Class Championship in 15/25 (60%) seasons, and none of the past five visits (2022/Hampshire, 2020/Austin Forkner, 2018/Zach Osborne, 2017/Jordon Smith, & 2016/Jeremy Martin). Musquin in 2015 was the last rider to win St. Louis and the 250SX Class title.
Manufacturer Wins in St. Louis
Honda: 8 (2013)
Kawasaki: 6 (2020)
Yamaha: 4 (2016)
Suzuki: 3 (2003)
KTM: 2 (2017)
Husqvarna: 2 (2022)
Top Winners in St. Louis
Justin Barcia: 3 (’10-’12)
Travis Pastrana: 2 (’00-’01)
20 tied at 1
250SX Class: First Time Winners in St. Louis
Stephane Roncada: 1997
Ben Townley: 2007
Blake Wharton: 2009
RJ Hampshire: 2022
