Arlington’s AT&T Stadium hosted the 2024 Monster Energy Supercross Championship’s seventh stop of the season for the 450SX category, while the 250SX East championship was back in action for its second outing. Quotebook features compiled comments from the weekend.

450SX

Image: Octopi Media.

Chase Sexton (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – Sixth:
We finished sixth in Arlington, it isn’t where we aim to be, but we will look ahead to next weekend and aim to keep fighting from here.

Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – Third:
It was another good night for me to be on the podium again here in Arlington. The bike’s good and I’ve been having the most fun so far this year that I’ve had in a season. It’s just been good, everything is coming to me. Like tonight, I was riding around thinking I was pretty much off the podium, before at the end of the race some things switched around and I got to be up here. It was a good race, I feel good and am still feeling fresh too.

Justin Barcia (TLD Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing) – 14th:
Tough day here in Arlington. I had a big get-off in the final practice, lucky to somewhat come out of it alright with no big injuries – just a bit of whiplash, a bit bruised up, and a bit sore. Unfortunately, a crash in the Heat put me in the LCQ, which I won, and then in the main event I got in a second turn pile-up. I put on a good charge, was moving through the pack, and was about to crack into the top 10, but had another crash so that pretty much ended my hopes of a good result. It was a really tough weekend, but we’re gonna go back to the drawing board and keep working. We never give up.

Malcolm Stewart (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) – Ninth:
Arlington always treats me okay and all day I felt really good on the bike. I was gelling with everything and it was good to lead in the heat. I enjoy being on the East Coast, we’ve all been putting in the work, and it’s beginning to click. In the main event, we made some passes really quickly but came together with another rider and went down. I got back up and felt like it was one of the best rides I’ve had all year long. I know the results aren’t what everyone wants to see on paper, but we’ve been moving in the right direction and it’s just a matter of time before we’re heading for the box or a win.

Jett Lawrence (Team Honda HRC) – Fourth:
There were ups and downs tonight in Arlington, lots to focus on. It was going good, then it went bad, then it could’ve been good, but then it went even worse! So, fourth place. I have to clean up a few things, but it’s always good to learn some things. I’m looking forward to Daytona this weekend. It’s been a while since I’ve raced there, so I’ll enjoy that Daytona sun.

Hunter Lawrence (Team Honda HRC) – Fifth:
It was a good night, a lot of positives to take away. It’s a bummer on the last lap, I was doing everything I could to pass AP for fourth – live and learn. Two fifth places in a row, and ending up there after being in the wall, so that’s something I can be happy about. Thank you to the team, we’ll keep on plugging away.

Jason Anderson (Monster Energy Kawasaki) – 10th:
I felt okay today. I just have to practice those starts and stop making small mistakes like in the heat and main. We are better than I was tonight and I’m going to get to work this week and get ready for Daytona. Thank you to my Monster Energy Kawasaki team for all of their hard work!

Cooper Webb (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – First:
Dallas was awesome to me once again. It was a tough day, though. Qualifying and the heat race didn’t go very well, but we were able to turn it around in the main and take advantage of a little mistake. Man, it feels amazing to win here again and to get our second win of the year. I’m just on cloud nine. It feels unreal.

Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Third:
It was a good podium for us. I had a really good pace there in the main, but unfortunately I made one mistake early in the race and tipped over. I overshot a triple just a little bit and tucked the front end. Thankfully, I was able to charge forward. It was one of those tracks where you could make up a lot of time on guys and could get to the front of the race if you had the right lines going. Tonight was just important for me because I’ve been struggling in some of these situations, and now I feel like we’ve fixed a lot of that. I’m ready for the rest of the races and to see what we have got.

Justin Cooper (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Seventh:
Overall, it was a good day. I felt good on the bike all day. I was really comfortable and just gelling with it, so that’s a plus. Practice went really well, and I was third in qualifying, but my starts could have been better. I was seventh in the main and had a few battles with Chase and Eli. Eli was riding really good. I was trying to follow him, but he just took off. He was on a charge to the front, but I was kind of just riding in sixth or seventh by myself and a little bit off that pack. With a little bit better start, I could have ran with those guys and been in that battle, but I was just right behind it. That part was frustrating, but it was a good ride overall.

Ken Roczen (Progressive Ecstar Suzuki) – Eighth:
It was a frustrating day in Arlington. A crash in the main event relegated us to a finish that we are much better than. The good news is we line back up and race again next weekend in Daytona.

Shane McElrath (Twisted Tea Suzuki) – 15th:
This week I had a really strong week of training. Race day in Arlington was my best day overall. In qualifying I rode well. In the heat race, I was ready to go when the gate dropped. The track was rough, and it broke down quite a bit as we did a lot of laps. I’m excited to rest up and get back to work. I will be ready to go next weekend in Daytona.

250SX

Image: Octopi Media.

Tom Vialle (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – Third:
We’re happy to be on the podium and excited with the result. I had an okay day, aside from my crash in practice, and that affected me in the heat race, so it wasn’t great for the gate pick. I was able to ride well the whole main event, it’s amazing to get my first podium in supercross and I want to fight now for the win – that’s really the goal from this point.

Guillem Farres (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) – Ninth:
My day started pretty good, felt good in practice, and then in qualifying I was sixth. The heat was positive with fourth and then I felt good coming into the main event. The start was decent, around top-five, and then I made a mistake and got passed by a couple of riders. I ended up ninth and felt better towards the end, so overall I am happy because we made a big step from Detroit in the past few weeks.

Pierce Brown (TLD Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing) – Fifth:
Overall, not a bad weekend. Riding was good and I think we improved as a whole, so that was good. We got another fifth, but we’re second in points now and we’re in this – I’m excited! Now we’re back to work on Monday to tighten a few things up before Daytona this weekend.

Chance Hymas (Team Honda HRC) – Seventh:
It’s a better result than Detroit, but there’s definitely some stuff to work on. My speed is there, I had the second-fastest lap of the main event, so I know I can be with those guys. I just need to continue to build and show my speed up front.

Cameron McAdoo (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – Second:
Today was a good day. I have been struggling with some knee pain recently, so to be able to grab a heat race win and second overall in the main feels good. We have proven that we have the speed to run up front, I just have to keep getting those starts and being consistent and I know we have a shot at this championship. Thank you to my Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki team for their support. Time to do it again in Daytona!

Seth Hammaker (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – Fourth:
This weekend was a huge step in the right direction for me. Securing the fastest qualifier, maintaining a podium position in the heat and main event reminded me that I belong up front. We will keep working and taking these positive steps forward.

Haiden Deegan (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – First:
It was a good day in Arlington. Qualifying wasn’t that great, and the heat race was alright. I got passed, so I was pretty mad, but I’m not really a qualifying guy. I’m more of a race guy. So we went into the main event, and I got a perfect start. I just ran my own race, trailed behind, waited for a mistake, and was able to capitalize on it. It was awesome to get that first supercross win. I’m only seven points out of the lead now. It’s going to be a fight to the finish, and I’m not going to let these guys have the red plate easily.

Daxton Bennick (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – 10th:
It was a tough day in Arlington. We qualified 11th and then, unfortunately had a couple of crashes in the heat race and had to go through the LCQ. That didn’t give us the best gate pick, and I was way back after the start, but we kept pushing and finished 10th. We didn’t get the result we wanted, but we’re still third in the championship. We’ll go back to work and come out swinging in Daytona.

Nick Romano (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – 12th:
It was a way better weekend for me in my second go at it. I ripped a holeshot in the heat race, led for a while, and ended up finishing second. In the main event, I was second off the start but just rode really tight and ended up falling with a few laps to go. Overall, there were a lot of positives from Arlington, and I’m excited for Daytona.