450 Storylines: Round 4 Glendale Recap
CHASE SEXTON: (3-3-2) Earned his 11th 450SX Class victory tying him with Mike Bell for 21st all-time. His 31st SMX victory moves him beyond David Bailey for 23rd all-time. Sexton’s 35th 450SX Class podium advances to the top-25 all-time, tied with Davi Millsaps and Broc Glover. The former Premier Class Champion and newly crowned red-plate holder becomes the third athlete with multiple 450SX Class Triple-Crown overalls (Eli Tomac- 8, Cooper Webb- 4, & Sexton- 2). It was only the third time in 450SX Class Triple-Crown history and sixth time in 450/250SX combined history that the overall winner failed to score a race win. Sexton joins Jett Lawrence as an athlete with Triple-Crown overalls in 450SX and 250SX racing (Sexton won Arlington 250SX Class Triple-Crown in 2020).
COOPER WEBB: (1-5-3) Scored seventh Triple-Crown race win in the first race of the Glendale Triple-Crown. That is the third most behind Tomac (18) and Anderson (8). His 65th 450SX Class podium inches him one podium away from the top 10 all-time (Jeff Ward- 66). He also ties Ezra Lusk for 23rd on the all-time 450SX Class starts list with 126.
KEN ROCZEN: (4-1-5) Snagged Suzuki’s first-ever Triple-Crown race win in either class with his second race romp. He now has 72 podiums and 100 top-five finishes in 450SX Class racing, becoming just the seventh rider to hit the century milestone (Chad Reed, Mike LaRocco, Jeremy McGrath, Tomac, Ryan Dungey, & Kevin Windham).
NOTES: Eli Tomac (6-4-1) (4th) 131st 450SX Class top-five finish. Justin Hill (8-10-7) (6th) 25th 450SX Class top-10 finish. Jason Anderson (11-6-8) (7th) 250th career SMX top-10 finish in 312th start. Kyle Chisholm (18-18-18) (18th) 170th 450SX Class start, good for 10th all-time and one behind Jeff Ward for ninth. Anthony Rodriguez (19-19-19) (20th) 80th career SMX start. Mitchell Harrison (22-22-22) (22nd) 100th career SMX start.
450 Class: Tampa Bay Facts
HISTORY LESSON: The first 450SX Class round in Tampa Bay was on April 25th, 1987, in Tampa Stadium and Jeff Ward (Kawasaki) won en route to his second Championship. Much like active 250SX Class athlete Jo Shimoda, Rick Johnson (Honda) was competing with broken fingers and had his hand wrapped around the throttle. He finished a valiant third but fell short of the title.
RICH SUPERCROSS HISTORY: Tampa Stadium hosted Supercross rounds in all but three seasons from 1987-1998. In 1991 the series traveled 20 minutes south of Tampa to the Florida SunCoast Dome in St. Petersburg. There were no Supercross rounds held in the Tampa Bay area in 1995 and 1997 before returning one final time to Tampa Stadium in 1998.
RAYMOND JAMES: Raymond James Stadium was built across the street as a replacement to Tampa Stadium. Tampa Stadium was demolished in 1999 after hosting nine Supercross rounds. Raymond James Stadium hosted Supercross only five months after opening but did not host again until 2018. 2025 will mark the fifth time the series has visited R.J.S. and 15th time in the Tampa Bay area.
TITLE %: The winner of the Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg 450SX Class round has won the Championship in only 6/14 seasons (43%) and only 1/4 in R.J.S.
250 Storylines: Eastern Regional Preview
TOM VIALLE: KTM’s 2024 Eastern Regional Champ looks to defend his title after making 19 straight starts resulting in two wins, seven podiums, eight top-fives, and 14 top-10s. He made a ton of progress from 2023 to 2024, finishing seventh in the Eastern Regional points in 2023 before scoring the title last year. KTM has never had a rider win back-to-back 250SX Class Championships, but did win in three straight seasons with Roczen (’13 West), Anderson (’14 West), & Musquin (’15 East). KTM has never won back-to-back Eastern Regional titles.
RJ HAMPSHIRE: For only the third time in Supercross history, reigning 250SX Class Champions will be lining up together on the same coast: 2000 Eastern Regional with Ernesto Fonseca/Nathan Ramsey & 2009 Western Regional with Trey Canard/Jason Lawrence. In both instances, all four riders finished outside of the top four in the final point standings. Hampshire brings the most experience into the Eastern Regional with 66 starts (15th all-time) and 38 top fives (5th all-time). Husky hasn’t won back-to-back titles since Zach Osborne won the West in 2017-2018 for the brand.
LEVI KITCHEN: Kitchen just missed winning the Western Regional by five points behind Hampshire last season, winning three rounds along the way. Kitchen was slated to run the Western Regional again, but an illness before the Anaheim Opener pushed him into the Eastern Regional. Kitchen brings four wins and 11 podiums across three seasons of 250SX Class racing, two of them for his current team, Pro-Circuit Kawasaki. PC Kawasaki also features three-time winner Cameron McAdoo (50 starts) and one-time race-winner Seth Hammaker (19 starts) in their Eastern docket.
BEST OF THE REST: Triumph’s Austin Forkner has the second most 250SX Class wins of all-time (13), only trailing James Stewart on the all-time list. A myriad of tough luck injuries puts him in an underdog position, but having won just last season brings hope to Forkner’s faithful. Nate Thrasher (5 wins) and Max Anstie (2 wins) combine to give Star Yamaha optimism in their Eastern run while podium finisher Daxton Bennick looks to have a breakout year (à la Tom Vialle in 2024). Max Vohland (Club MX Yamaha), Pierce Brown (GASGAS), and Chance Hymas (Honda) lead the list of 250SX athletes without a 250SX victory who are title contenders in 2025. Brown scored a 250SMX Playoff victory in ‘24 and Hymas famously won Redbud in the 250 Pro Motocross Class last season.
250 Class: Tampa Bay Facts
HISTORY LESSON: The first 250SX Class round in Tampa Bay was on April 25th, 1987, in Tampa Stadium. Keith Turpin (Suzuki) won pulling him within four points of Eastern Regional points leader and Suzuki teammate Ron Tichenor. Turpin won the finale in East Rutherford, but Tichenor’s runner-up secured the ‘Ship by a mere point in one of the closest Supercross titles in SMX history.
SAME VENUE HISTORY: This will be the 15th time the gate will drop for a 250SX Class round in the Tampa Bay area. Tampa Bay 250SX Class racing has the same exact venue history as Tampa Bay 450SX Class history.
CHANGING OF GUARDS: In 1998 Ricky Carmichael (Kawasaki) won the last 250SX Class round in Tampa Stadium during his dominant title run. The next season Ernesto Fonseca (Yamaha) opened his first of two title runs with a win in the maiden Raymond James Stadium 250SX Class round.
TITLE %: The winner of the 250SX Class race in Tampa Bay has won the Championship in 7/14 (50%) attempts, including Hunter Lawrence (Honda) in 2023. 2025 will mark the fourth time R.J.S. hosts the Eastern Regional Opener (’99, ’20, ’23, & ’25).
