Since 2020, when the Monster Energy Supercross series was forced to run out its season in a COVID-19 protected bubble with seven races at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah, the city nestled at the foot of the Oquirrh Mountains has hosted the season finale. Riders have come into this stadium with massive points leads and minor ones, but the venue is always special.
On Saturday, Supercross will host one more race and crown three champions before turning the riders over to the Pro Motocross series. There are a wide range of scenarios that will be played out this week.
Jett Lawrence has a comfortable lead of 20 points over Cooper Webb, meaning he only needs to finish 17th or better to score his third 450 title in as many attempts. Lawrence’s worst race finish in 2023 was ninth in Round 2 in San Francisco.
The 250 riders will contest their second East / West Showdown and two champions will be crowned.
In the 250 East division. Tom Vialle has a 15-point advantage on Haiden Deegan, and like Lawrence, needs only a solid run to secure his first title. Complicating the matter this week is the fact that Saturday night’s feature will have twice as many top-level contenders as the boys from the East have to fend off the Western riders.
The East / West Showdown is going to make for a nail-biter in the West as Levi Kitchen and RJ Hampshire enter the weekend tied in points. It’s a winner-take-all affair.
It is almost inconceivable that Lawrence will fail to win the championship, but one need look back to only last year and Denver’s elimination of Eli Tomac to know this sport is filled with surprises.
A championship will cap Lawrence’s milestone-filled season.
Lawrence won Anaheim 1 in his first 450 Supercross start. He dethroned the King of Daytona to become only the third rider to beat Tomac in a decade of racing in World Center of Speed.
Lawrence’s eight hole shots and eight fastest times in qualification are the most for a rookie. His eight wins are the second-most behind Jeremy McGrath (10).
By any measure, it has been a remarkable season for Lawrence and while he cannot earn the most wins for a rookie, there are plenty of arguments for Lawrence being the greater of the two.
According to WeWentFast.com, McGrath raced against only one former champion, Jeff Stanton, in his rookie season. Lawrence had held off four former titlists in Tomac, Webb, Chase Sexton and Jason Anderson.
McGrath’s freshman competition included four riders who earned 37 previous Supercross wins; Lawrence faced down seven riders with 125 victories under their belts.
Salt Lake City will also host the retirement ride of Adam Cianciarulo, who is being forced off his Monster Energy Kawasaki because of a recurring nerve injury.
Another storyline to watch this week is Pro Circuit and whether they will finally get that elusive 300th win. Kitchen gave them their 299th five rounds ago in St. Louis, but since then accidents have taken a toll and denied the landmark. Seth Hammaker and Cameron McAdoo have both missed races to injury in that span of races, giving Kitchen a chance to clinch his 250 title with a ride that will go down in history.
Previous Salt Lake City Winners
450s
2023: Chase Sexton (followed by Aaron Plessinger, Justin Hill)
2022: Jason Anderson (Chase Sexton, Justin Barcia)
2021, Race 2: Cooper Webb (Marvin Musquin, Chase Sexton)
2021, Race 1: Marvin Musquin (Cooper Webb, Malcolm Stewart)
2020, Race 7: Zach Osborne (Jason Anderson, Dean Wilson)
250s
2023: Jett Lawrence (RJ Hampshire, Levi Kitchen)
2022: Nate Thrasher (Hunter Lawrence, Pierce Brown)
2021, Race 2: Jett Lawrence (Colt Nichols, Hunter Lawrence)
2021, Race 1: Jo Shimoda (Jett Lawrence, Colt Nichols)
2020, Race 7: Chase Sexton (Shane McElrath, Michael Mosiman)
By The Numbers
Denver
Philadelphia
Nashville
Foxborough
St. Louis
Seattle
Indianapolis
Birmingham
Daytona
Arlington
Glendale
Detroit
Anaheim 2
San Diego
San Francisco
More SuperMotocross News
Thumb injury sidelines Eli Tomac
Adam Cianciarulo is more than a dirt bike racer
Three SuperMotocross finales to air live in Spanish
Denver 450 results, points | 250s results, points
Jett Lawrence wins eighth rookie season race at Denver.
Eli Tomac extends contract to Pro Motocross, SMX
Benny Bloss out for remainder of 2024 SX
Jalek Swoll: Podium denied
Jett Lawrence wins Philadelphia and takes control.
Dylan Ferrandis returns for end of SX season
