Ryan Nitzen | March 30, 2024
Its a star-studded field here in St. Louis for round 12 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series. Tonight’s the final Triple Crown format for the year with three main events for both divisions. Both Eli Tomac and Levi Kitchen swept their races with dominant 1-1-1 results.
Main Events
450 Race 1
Eli Tomac struck first with a win in race one. After moving around Hunter Lawrence for the lead in the early laps, it was smooth sailing for the number three. He held off a charging Jett Lawrence in the latter stages of the race but starts the night with a strong victory.
Tomac started the night with a win. Photos: Brown Dog Wilson
Jett Lawrence made his way to second after struggling off the start. Lawrence, the fastest qualifier, meticulously picked his way through the field and got as far up as second. He made a run at Tomac but got held up with lappers in the final laps.
Jett climbed as far as second.
Aaron Plessinger ran second for a majority of the main event but later crossed third after falling victim to Lawrence.
Plessinger rode a strong race for third.
450 Race 2
Jett Lawrence made his way to the lead early in race two after passing Justin Cooper. Eli Tomac quickly passed for second and put pressure on Lawrence with a suspenseful few laps. Tomac was unable to make a pass but the two are now tied on points going into the final main.
Jett crossed the line first in race two but was docked two spots.
Note, Lawrence jumped the finish on the final lap while a red cross flag was waving and was penalized two positions. Cooper Webb, Chase Sexton, and Jason Anderson also jumped while the red cross was waving and were all docked positions for their “violation”.
Lawrence’s penalty gave Tomac the win.
Chase Sexton crossed third after battling through the pack with Jason Anderson. Both riders were gifted spots after the two Star Racing Yamaha riders, Justin Cooper and Cooper Webb, hit the dirt.
Sexton ran up front but was also penalized.
The penalty gives Eli Tomac the win with Hunter Lawrence now second and Jett Lawrence third. Barcia, Sexton, Webb, and Anderson round out the top seven.
450 Race 3
Race three was all about Eli Tomac as he ripped a holeshot and took off with the early lead. The Star Racing Yamaha rider went uncontested to technically sweep the night’s main event wins and claim his first overall victory of the season.
Eli Tomac swept the night for his first win of the season.
Cooper Webb took second in the final race of the night after overtaking Chase Sexton during the mid-section of the main event. Sexton missed the crucial triple jump, allowing Webb to slide by. Webb takes second on the night with 5-6-2 finishes and wins the Triple Crown Championship. He also cuts Jett Lawrence’s points lead in half to just eight.
Webb finished second overall and takes the Triple Crown championship.
Sexton cruised it in for third in race three. Unfortunately the 10th in race one dropped him to fifth overall.
450SX Podium.
Hunter Lawrence grabbed his first-ever 450 overall podium with a third place. 8-2-4 finishes gives him third on the night.
Jett Lawrence and Justin Barcia came together on lap one which dropped Jett down to 21st in the final race. 2-3-21 finishes put him eighth overall on the night.
450SX Overall Results (Top 10)
| 1. |
Eli Tomac |
(Yam) |
1-1-1 |
| 2. |
Cooper Webb |
(Yam) |
5-6-2 |
| 3. |
Hunter Lawrence |
(Hon) |
8-2-4 |
| 4. |
Aaron Plessinger |
(KTM) |
3-8-6 |
| 5. |
Chase Sexton |
(KTM) |
10-5-3 |
| 6. |
Justin Barcia |
(GG) |
6-4-10 |
| 7. |
Malcolm Stewart |
(Hus) |
7-9-8 |
| 8. |
Jett Lawrence |
(Hon) |
2-3-21 |
| 9. |
Justin Cooper |
(Yam) |
9-10-9 |
| 10. |
Shane Mcelrath |
(Suz) |
12-11-7 |
250 Race 1
Levi Kitchen absolutely dominated the first 250 race. Last week’s winner found himself in a small tussle with Julien Beaumer before checking out and winning by more than five seconds. This sets the tone for the Pro Circuit Kawasaki who’s already proven his expertise in the triple crown format.
Kitchen opened the 250SX races with a win.
Jo Shimoda held on for second place. Shimoda has struggled with starts all year but got up front early and made his way into the bridesmaid position around Julien Beaumer. Despite pressure from Jordon Smith in third, Shimoda starts the night with a second.
Shimoda took second in race one.
Smith crossed the line third just ahead of RJ Hampshire. These two former teammates battled for the second half of the first race with Smith taking the advantage.
Smith started the night with a third.
250 Race 2
Kitchen set sail again in race two. The current points leader is on a roll tonight as he starts off with two wins in two races. Jordon Smith got close again for a few laps but Kitchen held off the Yamaha rider to take the victory.
All Kitchen again in race two.
Smith stayed in the fight to take another podium, this time a second. He pressured Kitchen in the early laps but just couldn’t match the pace in the later stages.
Another podium for Smith in race two.
Jo Shimoda also grabbed another podium, swapping spots with Smith. Shimoda and Hampshire battled for nearly the entire race but Shimoda held the spot to take third. He’s now tied with Smith at five points going into the final race of the night.
Put Shimoda down for two podiums in two starts.
250 Race 3
Call it a clean sweep for Levi Kitchen as he led every lap of race three. The Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider capped off an awesome night of racing by taking the obvious win in the final main event. He sweeps the round with a dominant 1-1-1 results.
Kitchen swept all three mains.
RJ Hampshire logged his best race of the night in second. A good start put Hampshire up front but lappers eventually hindered his run at Kitchen for the lead. With 4-4-2 scores, he finishes fourth on the night and sits 15 back from Kitchen in the series points.
Hampshire’s best finish came in race three.
Jo Shimoda crossed third in the final main event. Three consistent finishes for Shimoda put him up front in all three races with a podium in all three mains. 2-3-3 finishes give him second for the night.
250 Podium.
Jordon Smith finished off the box in the final main but still kept an overall podium with 3-2-4 results.
250SX West Overall Results (Top 10)
| 1. |
Levi Kitchen |
(Kaw) |
1-1-1 |
| 2. |
Jo Shimoda |
(Hon) |
2-3-3 |
| 3. |
Jordon Smith |
(Yam) |
3-2-4 |
| 4. |
RJ Hampshire |
(Hus) |
4-4-2 |
| 5. |
Nate Thrasher |
(Yam) |
5-5-6 |
| 6. |
Garrett Marchbanks |
(Yam) |
9-6-5 |
| 7. |
Julien Beaumer |
(KTM) |
6-8-7 |
| 8. |
Ryder DiFrancesco |
(GG) |
7-7-12 |
| 9. |
Carson Mumford |
(Hon) |
12-10-9 |
| 10. |
Talon Hawkins |
(KTM) |
10-12-9 |
QUALIFYING
450SX
Jett Lawrence did it again as he set the fastest qualifying time late in the second session. Even with a deteriorating track, the 18 clocked the best time of the day and was the only rider to touch the 54-second mark. Justin Cooper put in a strong time for second, just two-tenths behind Jett. Cooper Webb, last week’s winner was third overall.
Jett Lawrence is the fastest rider of the day. Photos: Brown Dog Wilson
450SX Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. |
Jett Lawrence |
(Hon) |
54.837 |
| 2. |
Justin Cooper |
(Yam) |
55.007 |
| 3. |
Cooper Webb |
(Yam) |
55.189 |
| 4. |
Eli Tomac |
(Yam) |
55.242 |
| 5. |
Chase Sexton |
(KTM) |
55.295 |
| 6. |
Ken Roczen |
(Suz) |
55.464 |
| 7. |
Jason Anderson |
(Kaw) |
55.480 |
| 8. |
Adam Cianciarulo |
(Kaw) |
56.186 |
| 9. |
Malcolm Stewart |
(Hus) |
56.188 |
| 10. |
Aaron Plessinger |
(KTM) |
56.430 |
250SX West
We’re back on the West Coast for tonight’s Triple Crown, with Levi Kitchen leading the points. RJ Hampshire slid his way into P1 in qualifying and was the only 250 rider in the 55-second range. Kitchen grabbed second, seven-tenths of a second behind Hampshire. Carson Mumford clocked third and was the final rider on the 56-second mark.
Levi Kitchen leads the points but qualified second. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
250SX West Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. |
RJ Hampshire |
(Hus) |
55.956 |
| 2. |
Levi Kitchen |
(Kaw) |
56.660 |
| 3. |
Carson Mumford |
(Hon) |
56.978 |
| 4. |
Jordon Smith |
(Yam) |
57.027 |
| 5. |
Jo Shimoda |
(Hon) |
57.121 |
| 6. |
Michael Mosiman |
(Yam) |
57.508 |
| 7. |
Garrett Marchbanks |
(Yam) |
57.726 |
| 8. |
Anthony Bourdon |
(Suz) |
57.827 |
| 9. |
Nate Thrasher |
(Yam) |
57.884 |
| 10. |
Ryder Difrancesco |
(GG) |
58.042 |
