Was it worth the wait? I think so. The Glendale SX round is typically in the first third of the season. This year it was moved to the final third due to some game where they use their hands and call football! State Farm Stadium again hosted elite athletes and the 12th round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross series. And a BONUS! An Arizona Gallery too!
250 Podium
What can you say about Jett Lawrence? A whole lot, and nary any of it negative. Heading into the night, triple crowns were perhaps the only negative on his resume. But good think resumes can be updated because he kicked that koala off his back with the overall by going 1-3-1. Jett now has a commanding lead in the series
RJ Hampshire has been second chair this season. He has shown he has the speed to run with Jett, but some inconsistency and crashes have put Jett all but out of reach. RJ’s 2-1-3 put him on the podium but the guy he is chasing was one step up this weekend.
Levi Kitchen won the last triple crown (Anaheim II) with 8 points. This triple crown, third with 7 points (3-2-2). It’s a fickle sport. He has looked very fast all year and with an injury riddled pro career so far, finishing out the entire series should count as a win.
450 Podium
Why does it seem like as Eli Tomac gets older, he gets faster? Is he have some sort of Benjamin Button thing going on? This win with 1-2-1 scores put him second all time. SECOND ALL TIME! Only Jeremy McGrath has more wins. But this win may be even more important due to the fact his co-red plate rival, Cooper Webb, failed to make the podium. That’s a bigger point gap for Eli to manage as we get towards the end of the season.
Chase Sexton is right there. Right there to claim a streak of victories. Right there to have a points lead big enough to manager a series rather than chase it. He has shown the speed, not the consistency. He did win the last triple crown, but this time around a rough first race, and a third race coming from the back, allowed Eli to extend the lead over chase by 25 points. Second on the box with 4-1-3 scores, he’ll need to have his bad luck make a 180 and hopes it can get caught up in Webb’s and Tomac’s spokes.
Justin Barcia is looking to have the speed of Bam Bam, but with out the bam! He’s just plain going faster! The Supercross series is a long one and although Justin has had some downs earlier in the season, it’s all upside in the twilight of the 2023 season. He may not be in championship contention, but definitely in race win contention. And race wins could play spoiler in the points chase! 3-6-2 scores put in him in third spont for the night. Stay tuned to Bam Bam TV for some excitement before the season is concluded.
BONUS: AZ Gallery
It was a homecoming race for some riders and teams. Deven Raper putting his best effort in the 450 class while Addison Emery did the same in the 240 class. And it was a hometown race for AEO Powersports (Derek Kelly & Joshua Varize) and AJE Motosport (Mitchell Harrison & Jerry Robin).
