The Monster Energy Supercross Series has spent four weeks in the Eastern and Central time zones and it’s time to head west again for Round 11 at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington. Remember to reset your reminder timers and not miss any of the on-track action.
It may already be too late and the ticking of the clock is getting louder with each passing week. In the first seven rounds of 2024, the field jockeyed for position with no one able to make a clear claim on the championship. Jett Lawrence struggled and finished outside the top five twice, but he kept the leaders in sight and pounced at Daytona. As the first rider to beat Eli Tomac there in six years, he made statement.
The last seven rounds of 2024 will be critical.
Lawrence has since underlined his dominance with wins in Birmingham and Indianapolis giving him a three-race streak and no signs of slowing down. Notably, his victory over Ken Roczen in Indy dethroned a rider who was almost as dominant there in recent years as Tomac was in Daytona.
Lawrence’s three consecutive is only the third time a rookie has garnered that many wins in a row. Jeremy McGrath and Chad Reed are the other two, which provides insight as to what Lawrence’s career trajectory may look like.
As he edges away from the field, Lawrence has nearly a full race advantage over Cooper Webb (+21) and one complete over Chase Sexton (+25). As unlikely as the scenario is, technically Webb still controls his fate. If he wins all seven remaining rounds and Lawrence finishes second, they would tie in points with Webb having the tiebreaking most wins.
Seattle has long been a fixture on the schedule. Hosting races since 1978 and at Lumen Field since 2005, it was forced into idleness for a couple of years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
James Stewart was the first rider to win at this venue in 2005 and holds the record for most wins. He’ll still have it when the riders roll out Saturday night since Tomac with two is the winningest active racer.
Chase Sexton also had three consecutive last year, at Nashville, Denver and Salt Lake City to close out the season and win the championship. Tomac won five in a row in 2022 with Jason Anderson scoring four that same season. Roczen had three consecutive in 2021.
Ten riders have amassed streaks of at least four consecutive with McGrath’s eight topping the chart.
Tomac has very little chance to erase a 36-point deficit and overtake Lawrence, but right now he’s just thinking about winning. According to Clinton Fowler at WeWentFast.com, this is his third best venue behind Daytona and Nashville in average finishes. Nashville is coming up in four rounds.
With the return to the West Coast, the 250W riders will take to the track again. Levi Kitchen looks to protect his slim four-point margin over Jordon Smith. RJ Hampshire is only one point further back in third. All three riders have won already in 2024 and Hampshire was second in Seattle last year behind Lawrence.
Michael Mosiman will return to action this week with Star Yamaha. He also has a recent Seattle podium, finishing third in 2022.
Previous Seattle Winners
450s
2023: Eli Tomac (Followed by Cooper Webb, Justin Barcia)
2022: Eli Tomac (Jason Anderson, Marvin Musquin)
2019: Marvin Musquin (Ken Roczen, Eli Tomac)
2018: Eli Tomac (Jason Anderson, Marvin Musquin)
2017: Marvin Musquin (Eli Tomac, Jason Anderson)
250s
2023: Jett Lawrence (RJ Hampshire, Cameron McAdoo)
2022: Hunter Lawrence (Christian Craig, Michael Mosiman)
2019: Dylan Ferrandis (Adam Cianciarulo, Jimmy Decotis)
2018: Aaron Plessinger (Chase Sexton, Adam Cianciarulo)
2017: Aaron Plessinger (Justin Hill, Mitchell Oldenburg)
By The Numbers
Indianapolis
Birmingham
Daytona
Arlington
Glendale
Detroit
Anaheim 2
San Diego
San Francisco
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Jett Lawrence sweeps Indy Triple Crown
Coty Schock returns to SX only five days post-surgery
Michael Mosiman joins Star Yamaha
Robbie Wageman reprises retro gear
5 things to watch for in Indy
Haiden Deegan penalized for second time at Birmingham
Jett Lawrence extends points lead with Birmingham win
Haiden Deegan ends Coty Schock’s Cinderella season
Colt Nichols returns with a top-10 on his mind
