But Jett won’t be the youngest 450SX Champion ever, as Ryan Dungey did it even younger in 2010; Dungey was 20 years, four months, 20 days when he clinched that title on April 24, 2010, at Seattle. Jett will be 20 years, nine months, four days tomorrow. But Jett was part of the first 1-2 in premier-class history for a pair of brothers as Hunter Lawrence finished second last weekend—a career best—and another milestone claimed by the brothers.

The 250 class is where the action is, as far as title drama. While Red Bull KTM's Tom Vialle has a 15-point cushion in the 250SX East over Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's Haiden Deegan, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna's RJ Hampshire and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Levi Kitchen are all tied in the 250SX West Region. That title will be decided in what should be an amazing East/West Showdown. 

So, let's get into the week that was, what to expect tomorrow night, and then start looking ahead to Pro Motocross. Congratulations to the winners, the contenders and their teams, as well as all of the people at Feld Motor Sports and all of the AMA officials who help make this series possible, it's been an awesome 50th season of Monster Energy AMA Supercross! Here's to 50 more.

Watch the full pre-race press conference below.

Pro Perspective (Jason Thomas)

The last hurrah! As DC mentioned, it feels like all of the suspense is around this 250SX West title now. The other two titles are a bit anti-climactic with the points gaps but surely will give us in-race excitement either way. For the 250 West contenders Kitchen and Hampshire, though, this is for all of the marbles. One race and whoever beats who, there's your champ. These scenarios don't happen that often, so I like to really lean into them when it occurs. The amount of money at stake is substantial (750k is a safe guess), the legacy of winning a title never fades, and often times riders will have contract escalators or guarantees that kick in when a title is won. The implications are far and wide. The loser gets virtually nothing but our condolences, and the world is there to witness. This is why we watch. This is why racers work their entire life to get here. So, how do they approach it?

When it's purely mano a mano like this, I think the only course of action is to empty the tanks. Tom Vialle and Jettson can play it safe and bring their titles home even with a lackluster race. RJ and Levi have to let it all go and put in their best effort of the year. To cross the checkers and have anything left to give would be a waste. Win or lose, don't hold back. Don't fall victim to nerves or the "what if?" This moment deserves every ounce of focus, intensity, and skill you can muster. Whatever cliche you want to use, have at it. Drop the hammer, let it rip, pull the pin, etc. They all mean the same thing and are all absolutely warranted. The worst thing they could do is not fully absorb the moment and feel the regret of knowing they could have done more. Leave it all on the track, boys, and let's see who's best. That's what you both deserve, and we will all be watching.

Damnit, Denver (Mitch Kendra)

For the second straight year, the Denver Supercross has not been kind to Eli Tomac. In 2022, the Colorado native earned his second 450SX title in front of his home crowd, but the last two visits since have found Tomac leaving with an injury that has impacted the rest of his year. While there was more at stack last year—he was winning the race AND leading the 450SX standings compared to this year where he enters the finale tied for third in the standings with Chase Sexton—he still loses a shot at the Pro Motocross title this summer, now for the second straight year. Oh, and as our guy Chase Stallo pointed out, remember how Tomac started out the 2015 AMA Pro Motocross Championship in an unbelievable tear. That was the year he was obliterating the competition, winning five of the first six motos before that brutal crash at, yup, the Thunder Valley National when he crashed hard and broke both shoulders. Damnit, Denver!

Now, Tomac is expected to miss six to eight weeks due to this thumb injury—officially a Bennett fracture with ligament damage as well. On that timeline, six weeks from now is June 20 and eight weeks from now is July 4. So, we will likely not see ET3 at the June 15 High Point Naitonal (six weeks from now would be June 20), although we could see him at the June 29 Southwick National (seven weeks) or even after the big break before Unadilla. Either way, the Colorado native’s hopes at a fifth 450 Pro Motocross title this summer are officially gone.

“This is a tough one to swallow,” said Tomac in Thursday’s press release, echoing the thoughts of fans, media members, and anyone and everyone else who follows the sport. Everyone had anticipated the Jett Lawrence vs Eli Tomac battle last summer that we ended up getting robbed of. Now, we are going to have to wait to see it again—hopefully only a few months this time (even though not for the title). If Tomac sticks around for 2025—which we all want him to—hopefully he can go into next year 100 percent healthy with a full off-season and give it one more go at a full year of AMA Supercross and Motocross (and SMX).

Webb (Matthes)

Real bummer for the series that Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb has been dealing with a UCL injury in his thumb the last few weeks. It's been something he suffered a few weeks back, but he aggravated it more before Philadelphia, I believe [Editor’s note: He confirmed this in today’s pre-race press conference]. Which makes sense as the Cooper Webb we saw the last couple of weeks hasn't been the same guy as before and it's allowed Jett Lawrence to put almost a race lead on Webb with just the finale this weekend. I wouldn't be surprised if he misses the start of the Pro Motocross season while he tries to get it better.

Imperfect 10 (DC)

The fact both the 250SX East and West titles will be settled tomorrow night speaks well to the level of competitiveness in the series, and the West Region is dead even between RJ Hampshire and Levi Kitchen. But it's the number of different winners already speaks even more. For the first time in 125/250 SX history there were 10 different winners—and there's still a round to go! Going back to the Anaheim opener, the winners were: RJ Hampshire, Jordon Smith, Nate Thrasher, Levi Kitchen, Austin Forkner, Haiden Deegan, Tom Vialle, Cameron McAdoo, Max Anstie, and Jo Shimoda. (Only Hampshire and Kitchen have three wins apiece, while Vialle, the East Region leader by 15 points going into the finale, has two wins.)

In the history of this division, which now goes back 40 years to its debut in 1985, there have been plenty of years where we've eight different winners in this class, but only twice when there were nine different winners: In 2000 the winners of the 125 class were David Pingree, Tallon Vohland, Greg Schnell, Casey Lytle, Shae Bentley, Michael Brandes, Stephane Roncada, Travis Pastrana, and Ernesto Fonseca.

And then in 2014 the nine winners were Jason Anderson, Cole Seely, Dean Wilson, Justin Hill, Adam Cianciarulo, Martin Davalos, Blake Baggett, Justin Bogle, and Jeremy Martin.

And in case you're wondering the fewest amount of winners in this class, look no further than 1992, where Pro Circuit Honda's Jeremy McGrath won seven times and Suzuki's Brian Swink won seven times en route to their respective West and East titles. The only other winner in that 16-race series was DGY Yamaha's Jimmy Button, who won two rounds.

Don't forget that we still have one round to add an 11th winner in 2024. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Seth Hammaker, Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GasGas rider Pierce Brown, Triumph Racing's Jalek Swoll, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rookie Daxton Bennick or even sentimental favorite Phil Nicoletti of the Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX Yamaha team are among the riders set to compete tomorrow night who do not have a win in 2024.

Brayton and Dazzy (Matthes)

I was lucky enough to host both Justin Brayton and The Weege this past Monday on the PulpMX Show and it was an interesting show. Darren Lawrence talked about how his two boys have been so successful in the sport of motocross/supercross. Dazzy as he's known, laid out some of the difficulties and sacrifices the family made in coming from Australia to the USA, via Europe. Sounds like Ken Roczen's dad was a huge help to them in Europe, which sort of took me aback a bit. Some inspirational words from a father about how to keep his kids grounded. You can watch it here

And with Brayton in the PulpMX Show studios, we had to get him to do a Leatt Re-Raceables Podcast with us on his first and only 450SX win in Daytona in 2018. Interesting stuff from JB who most people figured was on the MCR team and hanging out after a couple of down years on BTO KTM. But he reinvented himself from there, won the SX and had a great second half of a career before hanging up the boots this past year. You can listen to the podcast here.

Three for the Road (DC)

Tomorrow will mark the last Monster Energy AMA Supercross for three longtime professionals and fan favorites. Adam Cianciarulo, Dean Wilson, Phil Nicoletti have each announced that this will be their last go in supercross (and for Adam it’s his last professional race, as he will park his Monster Energy Kawasaki and not compete in AMA Pro Motocross). All three of these racers brought some incredible entertainment to us over the years, both on and off the tracks. They came from vastly different backgrounds—Deano’s family went from Scotland to Canada to California, Adam was a full-on minicycle prodigy from Florida, Nicoletti came from a working-class New York family and had to make his own opportunities—but found a way to stay out there and relevant for more than a decade. All three have been on the cover of Racer X Illustrated, and I think I can speak for all of the media guys and girls in saying that all three were class acts, excellent speakers and sentimental favorites as the years went on. I am sure all three will find a way to continue contributing to the sport, and I will personally miss being around them. We still have Phil for the summer, and Deano may be back for some WSX races, but this is the last call for Monster Energy Supercross for all three. They were exceptional riders, well-appreciated by the fans, and respected by their fellow racers. Good luck to all three in whatever comes next! 

And here’s a post from Adam (@AdamCianciarulo) that spells out how he feels going into his last race:

Eric Crippa (R.I.P.)

We are sad to report the passing of Eric Crippa, legendary race mechanic and engineer. Crippa was a young racer himself from Southern California who turned to the mechanical side of racing, first joining the Husqvarna motocross team in 1973. He helped future AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Kent Howerton to his first AMA Pro Motocross Championship in 1976. Crippa joined Team Honda in 1979 and worked with the likes of Chuck Sun, Donnie Hansen, Johnny O'Mara, David Bailey, Bob Hannah, Rick Johnson, Micky Dymond and more. He continued working with American Honda for many years, helping to develop various production models. He also helped out at Dirt Rider Magazine. Posted longtime Dirt Rider editor Ken Faught, "His stories were incredible, his work-ethic unmatched, his love for Honda admirable, and his attitude unique." Godspeed.

Portugal the Mudder (DC)

Last weekend was a wet one in Portugal for the FIM Motocross World Championship (MXGP) there at Agueda. Reigning MXGP World Champion Jorge Prado finally got beat after four straight wins to start the season. Actually, his weekend in Portugal was so bad that he lost the points lead, despite all of those early wins. Portugal was an epic mudder, starting with a soggy Saturday qualifier where he struggled to finish seventh as Honda HRC's Tim Gajser won. That qualifying race would actually be the highlight of Prado's weekend as the rain kept coming and the bottom pretty much fell out on both the track and the Spaniard. He went 15-12 in the two motos, getting lapped by first moto winner Gajser as well as second moto winner Jeffrey Herlings. The silver lining was that both Gajser and Herlings offset their wins with trouble in the other races—Herlings DNF'd the first moto while Gajser only finished tenth the second time out. But it was still enough for the Slovenian to take the red plates away from Prado. He now goes into this weekend's Spanish round with a 14-point lead on Prado, as the whole weekend saw a points turnover of 27 between Prado and Gajser. Herlings is ranked third, 32 points behind Gajser; neither Tim nor Jeffrey have won an overall this season. (The winner of the MXGP turned out to be Latvia's Pauls Jonass, who posted 2-2 moto scores on his Honda.)

In the MX2 class the race did not go quite as bad for the points leader here as Husqvarna rider Kay de Wolf of the Netherlands finished fourth overall. The winner (for the second round in a row) was Red Bull KTM's Liam Everts, who went 1-1-1 when counting Saturday's RAM Qualifying race as well. Liam proved that being a mudder certainly runs in the family, as his father Stefan is widely regarded as the best mud rider of all time—see the 1998 FIM Motocross of Nations at Foxhills in England for proof). And his grandfather Harry was also very good in the mud—he a super-muddy Trans-AMA over Roger DeCoster back in the day in Puyallup, Washington. With his win Liam Everts, who missed the first round of the series with an injury, catapulted from seventh to third in the standings. He's now 58 points behind De Wolf as the series heads to Spain. 

Coincidentally, the race this weekend—one of three that are in Spain in 2024—is actually called the MXGP of Galicia, which is the name of the region. But the name of the track itself is what caught our attention: Circuito Municipal Jorge Prado. Yes, there's already a motocross circuit in Spain named after Jorge Prado, the three-time FIM World Champion who is still only 23 years old. 

Twisted Development Outdoor Race Bike Test

(Keefer)

Twisted Development has a lot of race engines in the pro paddock, that is no secret. However, it's not often that you get a chance to test a full-blown race spec engine setup before the AMA Pro Motocross Championship starts, but that is exactly what we got to do this week out at Glen Helen Raceway with Jamie Ellis. The Yamaha YZ450F is already a potent machine in stock form but building a full race spec engine for the Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX riders means that Twisted has to find power for them to get off the line of a deeply tilled start as well as try to keep the bike manageable for a 30-plus-two moto. TOUGH TO DO! I am not a fan of built 450 engines, but with the help of some special parts that Twisted is able to acquire, this Yamaha race engine was surprisingly one of the easier 450 race bikes that I have ridden. Check out my whole breakdown of the machine and what it was like to ride! Not often do you get some behind-the-scenes POV before the racing even starts, so this test was a moto nerd’s dream. 

Stopwatch National at Glen Helen (DC)

Speaking of Glen Helen Raceway, the San Bernardino facility has long been a popular place for the SoCal-based teams and many of their riders to train and prep, especially during the brief time in between the last round of Monster Energy Supercross and the opening of AMA Pro Motocross. Earlier this year the track announced that they would be not only hosting pro practices in the next two weeks but also hosting what they call the Stopwatch Nationals, posting a $10,000 purse for the unique event, and giving fans a chance to come out and watch (with proceeds going to the Alpinestars Mobile Medical Unit). The event takes place next Thursday, May 16, beginning at 10 a.m. with the first moto, 12:30 p.m. for the second, with 250s and 450s combined for one class. So far they have the Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GasGas team's Pierce Brown and Ryder DiFrancesco, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Levi Kitchen and Seth Hammaker, and Bar X Suzuki's Dilan Schwartz are on the website as committed, with more expected to commit early next week. Look for details on whether there will be live-streaming early next week.

WSX II (DC)

Things were quiet for much of the year as everyone has been so focused on the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship, as well as the FIM World Motocross Championships since mid-March. But this past week there were a couple of developments on the on-again, off-again FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX) deal... It's on again, but without any of the actual founders after it was reported first that Adam Bailey was longer with WSX rights-holder, which was unfortunate in that he had been the face of this venture the past three years and seemed well-liked and respected by those who worked with him over the years down under in Australia. (I have never met him in person, but we had a spoken on Zoom last fall at the end of the season and I could definitely see why folks speak highly of him.) This after new investors Kyril Louis-Dreyfus (who hails from France) and Juan Sartori (Uruguay) had taken over SX Global ownership.

Everything kind of went quiet again as the WSX social media underwent a bit of an overhaul, and then word trickled out that some of the people involved with the international Nitro Circus (including former Grand Prix star Kurt Nicoll) were coming on board to help reset the whole series. And then yesterday World Supercross posted the news on its website that the new regime had a new deal with the FIM, replacing the old 10-year deal after three years, starting over with another decade-long deal with the new owners. 

According to the press release, "Starting from 2024, the FIM WSX will enter new territories, breaking ground in the sport across multiple continents. Events will feature star-studded rider rosters, including the return of two-time champion Ken Roczen as he looks to defend his FIM WSX title." No venues or dates were mentioned, nor any other riders other than Roczen, but here's wishing them success in this next incarnation.

Fox Adventure Intro (Simon Cudby)

I was happy to hit the trails in Southern California this week to try the new Fox Adventure gear with Ricky Carmichael and Carey Hart. After a walk through at the Fox HQ showing all of the features of the new adventure gear, the media invitees spent the day riding across Saddleback Peak to Ortega Highway.

From Fox: “Fox Racing, the global leader in motocross and mountain biking gear and apparel, announced the expansion into the adventure market with a purpose-built ADV Collection that inspires performance on dirt. The all-new ADV Collection includes three jacket and pant offerings—Recon, Defend, and Ranger—built with a minimalist chassis, GORE-TEX waterproofing, and CE protection across the board. The collection launches this Spring on www.foxracing.com, and at participating Fox Racing dealers and channels globally.”

Historic Starting Gate (DC)

Back in the 1970s Zoar Moto Park in Springville, NY, was one of the most prominent tracks in the northeast, hosting a Trans-AMA race in 1973 that was won by U.S.-based Dutch Yamaha rider Pierre Karsmakers, but it eventually went away a decade later. Last year a group of local moto enthusiasts held a reunion ride there, breathing new life back into the old Zoar. 

This week we got the following email from one of those Zoar regulars, Ed Abo:  

“Restoring these gates that I dug up at Zoar Motopark (New York) after being literally thrown into the woods after it closed down in 83. My plan is to use them this year at a vintage race I'm putting together in September then donate sections to a few museums. Are you aware of any mx start gates in use that date to 1973? That's when these were first put to use!”

I honestly don't remember, though I believe one was used in the 1972 Superbowl of Motocross at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Anyone else know of forward-falling starting gates from the very early days?

FULL MOTO! Dungey & Roczen Duel | 2015 Utah National 450 Moto 2

Another classic Ryan Dungey versus Ken Roczen outdoor motocross battle! Enjoy the final AMA Pro Motocross Championship event at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah, with Dungey and Kenny going at it. 

Racer X Mystery Box

Get three random T-shirts for $30! Get yours today!

Reader Photo (DC)

Dave Shelton took his camera to last weekend's Denver SX and shot this Jett Lawrence photo from the 26th row with a 300mm lens. Good stuff Dave!

"One interesting view I thought that we don't get much is racers facing each other and with a telephoto (lens)," he wrote. "With the track going back and forth across the start straight, it seemed kinda bizarre. I wasn't in the right place to get that pic but maybe someone did?"

Hey, Watch It!

The Weege Show: Thumbs Down for Tomac and Webb:

And here’s Weege and Jason Thomas doing their SMX Insider thing:

RC and RV look back at Denver and ahead to SLC:

Johnny Hopper breaks down Jett Lawrence’s whoops game:

Chad Reed and family are working through the Loretta Lynn's Area Qualifiers, and #22 himself gets back behind the starting gate:

Full moto with Nick Romano testing for Pro Motocross

And here’s a look at that Anaheim 1 press conference mentioned at the top of this column—the riders start speaking at the 39-minute mark:

Head-Scratching Headline/s of the Week

"Angel Reese’s Chicago Sky debut racks up more than 545,000 live-stream views after WNBA blunder"—New York Post

"American Airlines flight turns around 2 hours in after passenger calls attendant 'waiter'"—Local12.com

"Are We All Really Supposed to Wear Cargo Pants?"—The New York Times

Random Notes

Next weekend, May 18-19, marks the annual Dylan Slusser Pro Am presented by Mosites Powersports at Pleasure Valley Raceway in Pennsylvania. The race dates

May 18-19 at Pleasure Valley Raceway. So far Jeff Cernic and friends have raised

$31,806 towards the purse with their “RAISE The Purse Program.” The purse payout will see 55% go to Open Pro-Am, 25% for the 250 Pro-Am, 10% for Vet A, 10% for WMX and Senior +40 will compete for a $1,200 purse. Visit https://www.facebook.com/PVRMXfor more info on the Dylan Slusser Pro Am.

And the annual Carlsbad Reunion will take place on Sunday, May 26, the day after the AMA Pro Motocross opener at Fox Raceway: