2024 Arlington Supercross | Race Report and Results

2024 ARLINGTON SUPERCROSS | COMPLETE COVERAGE

Presented by FXR Racing

By Austin Rohr
Photos by Michael Antonovich

Arlington, Texas, played host to the seventh round of the Monster Energy Supercross Championship, the second round of the 250SX East Region, and military appreciation night. With the series nearly at its halfway point, Haiden Deegan and Cooper Webb took home wins in pursuit of their respective championships.

250 Heat One

Jalek Swoll jumped ahead to take the holeshot, but immediately came under pressure from Haiden Deegan. A few corners into the opening lap, Deegan made the pass for first. Max Anstie and Austin Forkner soon overtook Swoll as well, putting them into second and third. The top three stayed tight, but Forkner eventually found the pace to advance ahead of Anstie and find the rear wheel of Deegan. A great run through the whoops gave Forkner the lead. Deegan attempted to pass Forkner back, but the two collided, costing Deegan too much time and giving up his position to Anstie. Forkner crossed the checkered flag in first.

250 Heat Two

The opening lead went to Seth Hammaker, but he got sideways in the first rhythm and Nick Romano took over first. Cameron McAdoo then got by his teammate Hammaker, followed by Pierce Brown. As Brown accelerated out of the sand section, he highsided and went down, allowing Hammaker back by. Shortly after, a battle between Romano and McAdoo ensued, with McAdoo managing to take the lead and open up a gap to ride away with the win. Further back, a heated battle between Brock Papi, Hardy Munoz, and Logan Leitzel was underway for the final transfer spot. Several aggressive moves gave Leitzel the upper hand to secure a ride straight to the main.

250 LCQ

Daxton Bennick pulled ahead of the field down the start stretch and sprinted away with the lead. The other three transfer spots were held by Izaih Clark, Brock Papi, and Marcus Phelps. A charge by Bryton Caroll led to a battle that resulted in Phelps making an error. Carroll also struggled, allowing Hardy Munoz to work his way up to fourth. That running order held for the remainder of the race, with Bennick carrying the win.

250 Main Event

Haiden Deegan narrowly took the holeshot, with Nick Romano right alongside him. Austin Forkner managed to get by both riders and take first on the opening lap. Meanwhile, Romano came under pressure from Hammaker, who took third away and gave Cameron McAdoo an opening to get by as well. McAdoo then went to work on Hammaker, taking the podium spot away a few laps later.

Forkner led the pack with no changes near the top of the running order. With less than five minutes to go, Deegan managed to shorten the gap between himself and Forkner using a jump line through the whoops. A mistake in the sand section for Deegan and a change in Forkner’s whoop strategy stretched the lead back out. However, Forkner suffered a major crash not long after, taking him out of the race altogether. Deegan then found himself in the lead with several seconds over McAdoo.

With a late race charge, Tom Vialle climbed up to third place. Deegan’s lead held for the remainder of the race, allowing him to capture the first 250SX win of his career. He ghost rode the bike across the line

450 Heat One

Aaron Plessinger rocketed out of the gate to take the first holeshot of the night. Eli Tomac and Ken Roczen trailed behind in second and third. The gaps between the top three riders varied throughout the race, but it wasn’t until the final minute of the race that Tomac got within striking distance of Plessinger. On the final lap, Tomac had the better run through the whoops needed to secure the lead and take the heat win.

450 Heat Two

The holeshot was awarded to Jett Lawrence, but Cooper Webb took the lead in the opening rhythm by taking a tighter line through the first turn. Jason Anderson rallied from third to first on the opening lap, while Webb dropped back to fourth. A mistake by Anderson gave Jett the chance to close the gap, but Jett had to check up on the triple after. Malcolm Stewart quickly jumped past Lawrence and made a run at Anderson. In an attempt to make a pass on Anderson for the lead, Stewart allowed Lawrence to slip by both riders. Stewart responded quickly and made a move on Lawrence to take the lead. With less than two laps to go, Lawrence got back by Stewart and hung on to take the second 450SX heat.

450 LCQ

Justin Barcia grabbed the holeshot and the lead. The top four established themselves quickly, with Jerry Robin in second ahead of Robbie Wagemen and Ryan Breece. Under pressure from Freddie Noren, Breece tried to close in on Wagemen. Instead, Noren took the spot away from Breece. Then, managed to get by both Noren and Wagemen. Those two continued their battle, but a mistake by Noren cost him the opportunity to challenge for the transfer spot. Barcia, meanwhile, went on to win the LCQ uncontested.

450 Main Event

The holeshot went to Jett Lawrence, with Hunter Lawrence and Cooper Webb trailing behind. Aaron Plessinger soon joined the pack in fourth. Further back, Eli Tomac made a mistake that resulted in a highside crash. He remounted outside of the top ten. Jason Anderson, Justin Barcia, Ken Roczen, and Malcolm Stewart all ended up on the ground as well, putting them outside of the top ten early.

With a quarter of the race down, Plessinger picked up the pace and got by Hunter Lawrence in third. Chase Sexton was the next rider to work his way forward, cracking into the top five with a pass on Justin Cooper. Tomac and Roczen also advanced to seventh and eighth. A mistake from Cooper gave Tomac control of sixth place.

As the race entered the second half, the top of the running order held steady. Anderson and Stewart worked forward to round out the top ten. Then, Tomac suddenly dropped his lap times over the rest of the field, taking spots away from Sexton and Hunter Lawrence.

In the final minutes of the race, Tomac’s charge gave him a chance at third from Plessinger, and he seized the opportunity. Just as Tomac was establishing his spot in third, Jett Lawrence made a mistake in the rhythm section and went down. Webb inherited the lead, while Jett Lawrence attempted to retake the lead. Jett Lawrence went for the pass through the whoops but made contact at the exit with the rear end of Vince Friese, who was a lap down. Tomac and Plessinger advanced to second and third in the aftermath.

At the front, Webb held on to take the 450SX Main Event win. Tomac finished three seconds back in second, and Plessinger rounded out the podium in third. Despite the crash, Jett Lawrence’s fourth was good enough to hang onto the championship points lead.