Jett Lawrence Wins Nashville Supercross, Re-Claims Sole Possession of Red Plate

RJ Hampshire Dominates Showdown to Grab Points Lead in Western Regional 250SX Class

Nashville, Tenn., (April 21, 2024) Team Honda HRC’s Jett Lawrence earned his sixth win of the season with a convincing victory inside Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. 

Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Eli Tomac grabbed the Main Event Holeshot and held onto the lead until the midpoint. He finished in second place in the annual Love Moto Stop Cancer event, benefiting the children of St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb, who had tied up the points leading into Nashville, earned third place; the finish puts him back five points with three rounds remaining in the 17-round Monster Energy Supercross season. In the season’s first 250SX East/West Showdown, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s RJ Hampshire had riders from both regional championships handled and grabbed the win.

“I hate losing, so that bit of a losing streak really sucked. But [I’m] really pumped to come out and get it done here, especially with the Slash and Gibson [designed] gear. Those people are awesome to us, so I have to say a big shout out to them; I reckon it helped a lot. [I] felt good out there [and] hit my marks. A big [bummer] for Kenny, I didn’t get to fully see [Roczen’s crash] because of all the smoke, but it looked like it was pretty bad, so I hope he’s okay or has a speedy recovery from that. But… this [win] is leading in the good direction, so hopefully we keep it going.” – Jett Lawrence, when asked about returning to the top step of the podium after four rounds without a win.  

“I was feeling it in the beginning, I’ll tell you what. And I was just trying different lines, and I figured we would have to do something special to get out front. Unfortunately, I didn’t maintain the lead there. I tried my heart out, that’s for sure. [I] had so much fun being up front for those few laps there. I’ll try to get better and better. You know, get better in the second half of the race. And so overall, great night for us, thank you so much, Nashville.” – Eli Tomac, when asked about launching some big jumps in the Main Event.  

“I got off to a third-place start, and the guys just rode away from me. So gotta give it: when you’re not on, you’re not on, and tonight I definitely struggled. So I’ll take it; to get on the podium is great. Those boys were riding awesome. And last year I ended my season here [with a crash], so you got a little bit of that in the back of your mind. So, it’s good to get out of here healthy, still in the points hunt, and yep, can’t get ‘em every weekend… I want to give it up to the Good Lord, [my sponsors]… all these fans were great today and yeah, we get back to work this week.” – Cooper Webb

In the 250SX East/West Showdown, which pits riders from the Western Regional & Eastern Regional 250SX Class against one another, the west coast riders took the top two spots. RJ Hampshire grabbed the Holeshot and pulled away from the field; he earned enough points to take over the points lead in the west. Team Honda HRC’s Jo Shimoda took a strong second place. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle earned third, and enough points to move him into first place in the Eastern Regional 250SX Class championship.

“First off, [I’m] just so dang proud of this team. They stuck behind me during those rough couple rounds. Yeah, honestly… there was that break. It was that long six weeks break. I had a couple big crashes, just stupid [mistakes early in the season]. Man, it just kind of dragged me down… But [I] just executed my start in that Main Event, and that’s what I really needed. I mean, I feel like I always have the speed, it’s just executing that start, and giving myself a chance… [That was] just an awesome race. I had a couple moments there in the beginning, settled in, [then] I clicked off my laps… Just a big weight off my shoulders. I knew I could close the points lead tonight, didn’t expect to get the red plate back, but man, I’m so dang happy for my whole team, all our supporters, just everybody that sticks behind us… This Nashville crowd [is] awesome. I love this state. Pretty cool to come away with a win here tonight.” – RJ Hampshire when told he looked like a different rider and asked what made the difference in Nashville.  

“For sure, confidence-wise it’s good. Good for me; me and my team worked really hard for this. Honestly, I was stressing so much during the day today. But it’s nice to get this out. With the podium it’s a good confidence booster, for sure. But I really want to win bad, so I’m just [going to] have to keep trying.” – Jo Shimoda, when asked what a good finish at a 250SX East/West Showdown does for his confidence. 

“I couldn’t really see Haiden, and saw actually [that] Cameron was pulled over, or had an issue, early in the race. But [I] just tried to stay focused on my own race. I had a good pace; [the] track was pretty sketchy, so you really had to stay focused. And yeah, I’m pretty happy, it was a nice race, the track was actually – I kind of liked it today. I was riding good all day and yeah, two races to go, we’re getting closer.” – Tom Vialle, when asked if he could track where his Eastern Regional 250SX Class competitors were during the race.    

The Nashville round also acted as the annual Love Moto Stop Cancer race, which kicks off a yearly auction that raises money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The Love Moto Stop Cancer partnership between Supercross and St. Jude is in its eighth year. The Supercross fans and racing community have raised over 1.5 million dollars for the organization that fights childhood cancer and keeps families together during treatment. The teams and racers increase their support at the special round each year with bike graphics and gear designs inspired by and incorporating art from the young patients at St. Jude. The custom items, along with more great prizes, now go up for auction. Please go to SupercrossLIVE.com/St-Jude to bid. Even if you’re not looking into the auction, you can join the racing community’s efforts by donating; just text SUPER to 785-833.

The Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship lines the racers up again next Saturday night inside Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. Round fifteen of the 17-round Supercross season also pays points toward the 2024 SuperMotocross World Championship. The details for the sport’s post-season racing were recently announced with three events taking place in September.

Each Monster Energy AMA Supercross and Super Motocross World Championship round is streamed live on PeacockTV, with select rounds also broadcast or streamed domestically on NBC, USA Network, CNBC, NBCSports.com, and the NBC Sports app. CNBC airs next-day encore presentations of all 31 rounds of 2024 racing. Live audio for each Supercross race can be found at NBC Sports Audio on SiriusXM Channel 85. International racing coverage is available on the SuperMotocross Video Pass (supermotocross.tv), live and on-demand, in both English and Spanish.

Tickets are on sale now for the final three 2024 Monster Energy Supercross events. For ticket sales, video recaps, race results, and event details please go to SupercrossLIVE.com.

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About Feld Motor Sports:

Feld Motor Sports, Inc. is the worldwide leader in producing and presenting specialized arena and stadium-based motorsports entertainment. Properties include Monster Jam^®, Monster Energy AMA Supercross, and the SuperMotocross World Championship. Feld Motor Sports, Inc. is a subsidiary of Feld Entertainment, Inc. Visit monsterjam.com, SupercrossLIVE.com, and feldentertainment.comfor more information.

About Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship:

Monster Energy AMA Supercross is the most competitive and highest-profile off-road motorcycle racing championship on the planet. Founded in America and sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) since 1974. Over 17 weeks, Supercross attracts some of the largest and most impressive crowds inside the most recognizable and prestigious stadiums in North America to race in front of nearly one million live fans and broadcast to millions more worldwide. For more information, visit SupercrossLIVE.com.

About the SuperMotocross World Championship:

The SuperMotocross World Championship™ is the premier off-road motorcycle racing series that combines the technical precision of stadium racing with the all-out speed and endurance of outdoor racing. Created in 2022, the SuperMotocross World Championship combines the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and the AMA Pro Motocross Championship into a 31-event series that culminates in a season-ending two round playoff and SuperMotocross World Championship Final. Visit SuperMotocross.com for more information.

About the American Motorcyclist Association:

Founded in 1924, the AMA is a not-for-profit member-based association whose mission is to promote the motorcycle lifestyle and protect the future of motorcycling. As the world’s largest motorcycling rights and event sanctioning organization, the AMA advocates for riders’ interests at all levels of government and sanctions thousands of competition and recreational events every year. The AMA also provides money-saving discounts on products and services for its members. Through the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Pickerington, Ohio, the AMA honors the heroes and heritage of motorcycling. For more information, visit americanmotorcyclist.com.

Sun 21 Apr 2024

• Jalek Swoll finishes fifth in Nashville to move further up the championship standings 

The first 2024 Monster Energy AMA 250SX East/West Showdown took place in Nashville, Tennessee on April 20 and saw Triumph Racing’s Jalek Swoll race to a solid fifth place for his best finish of the season.

With the two 250 championships meeting for the first time this season under the stadium lights, it was an absolutely talent-stacked field to present the Triumph TF 250-X with another tough challenge in its debut year. The event also saw the return of the annual Love Moto Stop Cancer race, with the teams and riders sporting special liveries to honour the brave young patients at the nearby St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

With six rounds under his belt, this season has shown us that Jalek builds momentum over the course of the day and the event at the Nissan Stadium was no different. Taking 10th position in Qualifying 1 and 2, Swoll finished up with the same position in the combined East qualification going into the heat race. With speed in hand, Jalek came out of the gate strong in the East Heat, but lost a lot of momentum while avoiding the crash of Haiden Deegan, regrouping to finish sixth at the flag. 

Along with the special graphics for the event, a new logo on the Triumph Racing TF 250-X for Nashville was that of the Francis Crick Institute, an independent charity established to be a UK flagship for discovery research in biomedicine that has been long supported by the Bloor Group, the parent company of Triumph.

The East/West Showdown Main Event scores the riders for where they finish – no matter what championship they’re riding in – and can provide the opportunity to put a lot of points between a championship rival. With Swoll keen to put the disappointment of eighth at the previous round behind him, the recently turned 23-year old came out of blocks of the Main Event on a mission. 

Using the excellent starting performance of the Triumph TF 250-X, Jalek rounded the first corner in a strong position and avoided some of the chaos of the opening lap. As the race settled, Swoll progressed from fifth to fourth in the combined competitive field but was ultimately beaten to the flag by Jordon Smith to place fifth, whilst being the second home of the East Coast riders.

The result with 17 points moves Jalek up a further two positions in the overall standings to seventh. The 2024 Monster Energy AMA 250SX East championship returns for Round 8 of 9 on April 27 at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

Jalek Swoll (#33)

“That’s the East/West Showdown done! It’s been a really cool event, we’ve had some fun and just been building on things with the team. I felt really good on the bike in qualifying, even if I didn’t make the perfect lap. The Heat Race was good to get the jitters out and I was feeling good for the Main. I made a decent start but definitely lacked some intensity in the opening laps and was a little tense at the end, which cost us fourth. 

« These East/West events are gnarly and only one East guy finished in front of me, so we’re second on the night in a way, which is really positive and we’ll just build on that for the next round.”

Bobby Hewitt – Triumph Racing Team Principal (US)

“It was a great night. There was only one East Coast rider ahead of us and we’ve moved up to seventh in the standings, with a top five overall still within reach. With Jalek, he’s a slow starter during the day but has the ability to turn it on in the Main. We’ll be working harder to increase his intensity through practice and the heats to make it easier for ourselves in the Main. But Jalek did great, the crew did great, and I’m really happy and looking forward to Philadelphia.”

Results 250 Supercross East/West Showdown Main Event – Round 7, Nashville 

1st RJ Hampshire (Husqvarna) – West

2nd Jo Shimoda (Honda) – West

3rd Tom Vialle (KTM) – East

5th Jalek Swoll (Triumph) – East

250 Supercross East Championship after Round 7 of 9

1st Tom Vialle (KTM) – 136

2nd Haiden Deegan (Yamaha) – 123

3rd Cameron Mcadoo (Kawasaki) – 107

7th Jalek Swoll (Triumph) – 72