Round 17 of Monster Energy Supercross was the final chance for riders to end their Supercross season with a strong performance. Quotebook features compiled comments from riders over the weekend.

450SX

Image: Octopi Media.

Chase Sexton (Red Bull KTM) – First:
Salt Lake was a really good day for me – fastest qualifier, won the Heat, and the Main. I felt a lot more like myself in the last three races, because it’s been a long year, but I’ve learned a lot and the team stuck by me, so I’m looking forward to outdoors and building off this. This is a good momentum builder and what I needed going into the Pro Motocross series, so I’m pretty confident and am ready to keep getting better.

Justin Cooper (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Second:
Yeah, it was the last round, and I saved the best for last, I guess. I’ve really been working for this top-three result all season, and I’ve been close a few times, but I really put the puzzle pieces together tonight. Getting the holeshot definitely helped. I was able to get away from those guys, click off my own laps, keep the focus on myself, and didn’t have to ride defensively at all. I just kept moving forward and brought it home in second.

Cooper Webb (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Third:
It was awesome to end the season on the podium despite the adversity we’ve been dealt these past few weeks. I had to dig deep for that one tonight and I’m pumped to share the podium with my teammate for his first 450SX podium.

Jason Anderson (Monster Energy Kawasaki) – Fourth:
We were looking to finish the season with another podium this weekend, and that was almost achieved until my altercation with a lap rider. I was super frustrated it took me out of a podium position, but I’m going to keep my head down and move our focus to the outdoors. We made huge improvements on my KX™450 this season, and I’m ready to take what we’ve learned to Fox Raceway.

Justin Barcia (Troy Lee Designs Red Bull GasGas) – Fifth:
Salt Lake City was a good way to end the Supercross season. I felt very comfortable all day, which landed me finishing second in the Heat race, and I’m happy to end the season with a top-five finish on my GASGAS MC 450F Factory Edition. I’m focused and ready for the outdoors now!

Malcolm Stewart (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) – Sixth:
Final round, at the end of the day, it was a great Supercross season. We had some ups and downs, but finished every single round, and ended this one with a better result in P6. I felt great all day and am very, very happy for everybody at Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing. A huge shoutout to my teammate, RJ, for clinching the 250 championship tonight! I’m really looking forward to the outdoors and we’re going to keep digging to improve ourselves.

Jett Lawrence (Team Honda HRC) – Seventh:
I’m so excited we won the championship, but I’m also feeling grateful that the season’s over. The whole main event, all I could think was, ‘Don’t mess up.’ I just wanted to get a decent start, settle into a comfortable pace, and ride my race. It’s felt like a long season, but it’s gone very fast. I’m sure the emotions will set in more this week; right now, I’m happy about it, but even more happy for the team.

Shane McElrath (Twisted Tea Progressive Suzuki) – 14^th:
It’s bittersweet. It’s been a long season. We’ve learned a lot, we’ve gained confidence, and we’ve worked hard. And that’s what I’m happy about. We never stopped working and we never stopped trying. I’m really happy with my effort. We’ll get back to work, and we’re going to be a lot better, and I’m excited about that. This Twisted Tea H.E.P. Suzuki team, we don’t settle, so I’m excited to be a part of it. We’re going to start this all over again for Outdoors and do our best, so we’ll see you all there.

Hunter Lawrence (Team Honda HRC) – 15^th:
It was an epic day for the team, and a huge night for Jettson—this was the ultimate thank-you for everyone’s hard work. It was a good day of riding. It turned out to be a practice race for me after that incident in the main event, but now we’re on to a blank slate for this summer.

Kyle Chisholm (Twisted Tea Progressive Suzuki) – 16^th:
We didn’t make any changes to my Suzuki from Denver last week with the altitude. The RM-Z450 was awesome. I felt good in practice, made it out of the heat race with a direct transfer, which was good, and then ended up 16th in the main. I rode a little tight in the main, then midway through I got into a flow. We ended the season healthy, that’s always an accomplishment in itself just to get all 17 of these in and stay healthy, so I’m happy about that. We always want to be better, but we’ll take the good for the good and work on the bad stuff. We’ll be racing Outdoors at Pala in a couple of weeks, so I’m looking forward to that.

Adam Cianciarulo (Monster Energy Kawasaki) – 20^th:
This is a really emotional day for me. I feel like the luckiest guy in the world to have been able to work with the Monster Energy Kawasaki team all of these years. To have all of my family and friends here in this pivotal moment of my life and the support of the team means everything. My team has been unbelievable to me these last few years, and I would not have wanted to go through it with anyone else. This has been my dream and everything I have always wanted and it comes to an end now but I will cherish it forever. Thank you everyone for everything.

250SX

Image: Octopi Media.

Haiden Deegan (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – First:
This is what we worked for. I came into it (the season) hurt with only two weeks on the bike, which is like only four or five days of riding. So we started the season off slow, but by the end of the season, I’ve shown what I’m capable of. It was too late, and I came up short by four points, but overall, it was a good season. I got three wins and last year I had podiums in Supercross, so we’re continuously going upwards, and that’s what we want. Next year, it will be a different story, but now it’s time to get rowdy for outdoors. I have high expectations for myself after how I did last year. So we’ll go back, get ready for outdoors, and come out swinging.

RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) – Second:
It’s so special. Everybody has their own story and I was determined to write my own. To have an opportunity to win a championship, just to be a part of that, is truly special. I’ve had so many ups, so many downs, and still people who just believed in me. My group, I would not change, and a massive thanks to everybody who has been involved and a part of the story. I was the fastest guy all day today, had a decent start in the Main Event, and did what I needed to do – in the end, we finally did it and it was a good race to clinch the championship!

Jordon Smith (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Third:
The day was great. I felt really good on the bike all day, probably the best I’ve felt all year. I felt like I had that win tonight. It was just unfortunate, but we’ll keep fighting and go into outdoors and see what we can do there.

Jo Shimoda (Team Honda HRC) – Fourth:
I really wanted to finish off the last Supercross race of the year on the podium, but I made a few mistakes that gave up track position. I still felt like this was a solid end to the Supercross season. Overall, it was a good learning season with my new team. Now it’s back to work getting ready for outdoors!

Levi Kitchen (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – Fifth:
What can I say, I gave it my all. It would have been easy to give up after the Nashville round, but we got back up and pushed our hardest. My Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki team has been the best, and second in a championship is still an accomplishment for my first year with Kawasaki. I felt great on my KX250, so let’s get to work and take it outside! Thank you to everyone in my corner.

Nate Thrasher (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Sixth:
It’s not how we wanted to end the season. All in all, it was good to finish with a top-five in the championship with the tough year that we had. We’re ready to come out swinging for outdoors.

Chance Hymas (Team Honda HRC) – Seventh:
The last round of Supercross was good. I qualified P3, my best position of the year. I was riding good all night, just had two bad starts and made little mistakes early. Overall, it was the best race of the year for me. We’re going into the outdoors series confident and looking to turn it around.

Tom Vialle (Red Bull KTM) – Eighth:
That’s pretty amazing, to learn one year and then win this title in the second year. After I won Daytona and made it two in a row in Birmingham, I knew I could fight for the title. I made it to the end, and I felt great all season. Going into Supercross this year, I enjoyed it even more and am very happy to win the championship. It’s only my second year here and feel like I have a lot to learn, am still learning every race, but I’m really excited now to head outdoors in two weeks at Pala. Thank you to everybody that has been behind us for this championship.

Jalek Swoll (Triumph Racing) – Ninth:
I’ll be honest and say I didn’t ride well at the start of the Main Event as I was in a bit of a weird spot with the championship guys and trying not to get in the way of that. The big picture was to finish the year strong and healthy, and we go into the outdoor season feeling 100%. We missed out on some bigger points scoring finishes this season, but it’s been a good first year with the team and the Triumph TF 250-X.

Ryder DiFrancesco (Troy Lee Designs Red Bull GasGas) – 13^th:
I started out today decent and kept working to improve throughout the day. It wasn’t what we wanted overall, but going into the outdoors fresh now and am looking forward to that.

Seth Hammaker (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – 14^th:
I started off the weekend strong in qualifying and the heat race and felt really good about the night. East/West Showdowns are always tough, and I made a big mistake that cost me a lot of time in the main event, but we are leaving the supercross season healthy and that’s all I can ask for. Thanks to my team for sticking with me and I’m looking forward to the Pro Motocross season.

Daxton Bennick (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – 17^th:
I’m really happy with my heat race, so I’m gonna take the positives from today. I’ve had some really good rides and finishes this season. I definitely learned a lot this year, and I’m gonna be prepared to be in the fight next year. We showed we have the speed. I’ve just got to put myself in a position to win.

Antony Bourdon (Toyota Redlands BarX Suzuki) – 18^th:
I made a mistake and fell in the heat race when I was in sixth place. I had to go to the LCQ for the first time this season, finishing second to reach the main. In the main, I didn’t have a good start. I put in a few strong laps, but I couldn’t do better than 18th place. The competition is exceedingly high at a showdown, and I was fighting deep in the pack with factory riders throughout the main. Still, I’m happy to finish my first US 250 Supercross season in eighth place overall. It was the first time in my life that I’d set foot in the USA at the beginning of the year, and with several top-ten finishes and a top-ten overall, the objective was achieved. I’ve learned a lot this year, and we’ll be back in 2025 to race even better. I’d like to say a big thank you to my team, and thank you to Suzuki, for the opportunity they gave me this year! It was my best professional year ever, and it wouldn’t have been possible without my team’s help.

Nick Romano (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – 19^th:
I had a good day going until the main. Practice went great for me, and I qualified the best I have all season. I ended up sixth in the East Heat Race and then was up front there in the main, but the pace was intense, and my arms couldn’t keep up. I learned a lot this season. I’m happy to be able to race the whole season, even though results-wise, it wasn’t what we wanted. I’ve been through hell and back with my injuries the last two years, so I’m just grateful to be building myself back to where I belong.

Max Miller (Toyota Redlands BarX Suzuki) – 20^th:
I’m stoked to finish out the Supercross season in the main event! I was taken out in the heat race when I was just outside of a transfer spot. In the LCQ, I was off to a good start. I battled to fourth but was contested for a few laps, going back to fifth. On the final lap I shifted up and made the pass for the transfer spot through the whoops and into the final corner. After so many unfortunate events this season that kept me out of main event races, it felt great to clutch up for the shootout! I raced the main event and finished 20th. I had some great moments this season but there was a lot left on the table. I’m happy with where we left off and excited to start racing Pro Motocross at Pala!

Preston Boespflug (Toyota Redlands BarX Suzuki) – 21^st:
My rookie season was good. Utah was solid for me. I was happy to be in the main and gain more experience. I’m looking forward to next season!

Julien Beaumer (Red Bull KTM) – 22^nd:
It was a rough night for me tonight. Qualifying and everything was good, but unfortunately, there was nowhere for me to go, and I had a collision with Seth Hammaker in the Main. I’m 100 percent healthy and am ready to go into the outdoors.