The 450SX title race turned on its head following Eli Tomac’s injury and Chase Sexton’s win in Denver

May 9, 2023

By Keaton Maisano

Since the start of the 2022 AMA Supercross season, not much has gone wrong for Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Eli Tomac, who entered Saturday’s event with an 18-point lead over the field and a chance for back-to-back 450SX titles.

In what could have been a storybook night for Tomac, who had the opportunity to clinch the championship in front of his home crowd, the event quickly turned into a nightmare for the Colorado native after a ruptured Achilles forced him out of the race and out of the title hunt.

“It’s an unfortunate report we have to make,” 450 team manager of Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing Jeremy Coker said on NBC Sports, “but we ruptured the Achilles tendon and it’s going to put us out for the rest of this season.”

While Tomac’s hopes were dashed, the door opened for red-hot Team Honda HRC’s Chase Sexton, who tallied his third win in the last four events.

With Tomac the only rider within striking distance of Sexton entering the season finale Saturday, Sexton essentially clinched the first 450SX title of his career.

In the 250SX West main event, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s RJ Hampshire earned his first 250SX win of the season, but the ultimate prize went to Team Honda HRC’s Jett Lawrence, who notched a bronze finish in Denver to clinch the 250SX West championship.

“That bike has just treated me so well,” Lawrence said on the podium following the race. “The team is unreal. We could be pitted out of a tent, to be honest with you — I wouldn’t care. It’s not even a team — it’s a family. They’ve done [everything] for me and my brother.”

Jett’s brother and fellow Team Honda HRC teammate Hunter Lawrence clinched the 250SX East title — which Jett won in 2022 — a week prior in Nashville.

The 2023 AMA Supercross season wraps up Saturday in Salt Lake City.