00:00Rebs are up, gates down.
00:04Not a good start for Sexton.
00:06Joey Savace and Hunter Lawrence battling for it.
00:10Lawrence to the lead.
00:11Hunter snuck up in the inside and he was a little off in qualifying practice today.
00:17So it's going to be interesting to see how he navigates this heat race.
00:22Tomac working Savace there.
00:24Oh, he couldn't three in to the whoops.
00:26Is Savace going to fight back?
00:27Wow, good run for Joey through the whoops right there, contesting with Eli.
00:32But Eli being on the inside, he's able to make the move.
00:36Eli had a great final practice today.
00:39I was a little interested to see what was going on
00:42because he was way down the running order after the first practice.
00:45But comes out.
00:48Remember when we talked to this inside line, look at Joey.
00:52That is the preferred line right there.
00:54Oh, look at audible by Eli.
00:56Going off the inside, pushes Joey out.
00:59Multiple lines here.
01:02Tomac now re-securing second.
01:03We'll send it to Will.
01:04Here comes, by the way.
01:06Go ahead, Will.
01:06Yeah, just quick insight for you there, Ricky.
01:09You were talking about that first qualifying session for Eli Tomac.
01:12I asked those questions of the team, specifically his mechanic, Jay Dungy,
01:16and he said he just didn't link it together.
01:18He just didn't put the pieces of the track together.
01:20He asked for absolutely nothing out of the bike.
01:22He said they made me one click of change, and that was it.
01:25So Eli was just taking accountability for that himself.
01:29Yeah, Eli just looking so comfortable.
01:33We've been talking about it each race.
01:36It looks like he's been on this bike for five, six years.
01:40I mean, he's so at home.
01:42And I'll tell you what, man, this Red Bull KTM crew with Ian Harrison and Roger DeCoster
01:47and all the unsung heroes over there working on these machines.
01:53I mean, they got it going on for sure.
01:56Yeah, Harris and the team manager talking a lot about how the mood is lifted so much
02:01with these great results they've gotten this year.
02:03That makes everyone work that much harder.
02:05Battle right now between the teammates, March Banks and the 36, and Sexton.
02:09And it looks like Sexton going to make a move.
02:11Let's see if March Banks can fight back.
02:13Great run through the whoops for Chase.
02:15And, man, Chase looked good earlier today as well.
02:19And I'm thinking, man, I feel like he's going to have a good night.
02:23Looks comfortable on the bike here this weekend.
02:25We know what he's capable of, and it's really no surprise when he wins
02:29or when he's the fastest qualifier.
02:31And he's just that good of a rider.
02:35Closing on Plessinger here who's in fifth.
02:39Man, Savace.
02:40Yeah.
02:41Not letting Tomek go.
02:42Yeah, but Savace, I mean, you think about the last three weeks,
02:45I mean, he has really done a fantastic job getting some great starts.
02:50And I had a conversation with him during the week, Jason,
02:53and he told me he just knows it's just so important of getting a good start.
02:57However, he has had a little bit and has gotten some support from Factory Honda this week.
03:04So he thought and was hopeful that it was going to help him in the performance,
03:09maybe with some gearbox stuff.
03:12So anyhow, it looks as of right now from the eye test and how well he's right.
03:16It looks like it's working well and better for him.
03:18That could make a difference for sure, right?
03:20A hundred percent.
03:21All right.
03:22Well, it's working because he is keeping the heat on Tomek.
03:25And they're catching now the leader, Lawrence.
03:30About to have a battle for the lead here.
03:35Triple, triple, quad.
03:41Here's why that lead shrunk for Lawrence.
03:45Let's see here.
03:45Oh.
03:46Yeah, when he was going through the corner, you watch his front end twitch just a little.
03:51And as he did that, he got off balance.
03:54Jumps off track.
03:56Big moment here.
03:57The riders one and two in the championship.
03:59And only one point between them.
04:01And Savace hanging right there.
04:02If you go back to Houston, remember the same thing happened to Hunter there
04:07when he was going around that left-hand corner.
04:10His front end got a little twitchy, and he jumped off the track.
04:13And at the end of the day, that's really what cost him the overall win.
04:17That's right.
04:18Crash back to seventh there.
04:19One of the few big errors of the year for Lawrence.
04:23Savace just won't let them go on the non-factory.
04:27Get some help, but not the full stuff like Hunter has on his Honda.
04:30And he's not going anywhere.
04:33I mean, these guys have done a great job at this quad-lock Honda team.
04:38Martin Davalos, a fantastic rider in his own right.
04:42And Yariv Konski, team owner, just doing so much, doing a fantastic job.
04:48And even since the inception of the team, going back, you think about Anstey
04:52and how well he did aboard in the 250 class.
04:56And now Hunter looks to have reeled it back in, just stretching it slightly over Tomac.
05:02Great turnaround for Hunter Lawrence here compared to what he was riding like early today.
05:07And I'm going to tell you, JT, it really isn't a surprise if you consider how well he's done all
05:13season.
05:14No, it's really not.
05:15And when you think about what does Hunter do well, it's execution.
05:19And this track, especially in the main event, is going to come down to can you execute the main good
05:25line,
05:25the fast line, each and every single lap.
05:27You see how much time he put into Eli Tomac there in the loop because Eli made a mistake
05:32and Hunter executed the loops well.
05:34So we're only in the heat races here.
05:36The track for the main event is going to be brutally difficult to hit each and every lap.
05:40So that's what it's going to be.
05:41You hear that road racing term, hit your marks.
05:43Nothing can be more true than the main event tonight.
05:47He's hitting them right now, JT, as he's trying to hold Tomac at bay.
05:53That little mistake allows the three to get back in it.
05:55Now watch this for the whoops.
05:56That's Colt Nichols on the 45.
05:57That's how quickly the whoops can bite you.
06:00JT was talking about how difficult they're going to be.
06:02Yeah, thank goodness he didn't go into that other lane right here.
06:05Oh, Tomac didn't get the rhythm, RC.
06:07And now Savace, it's around him and it's a second.
06:12Amazing riding on a 17.
06:17Could he go for the heat race win?
06:19Can he get to Lawrence?
06:21Now Webb is in the picture as well.
06:23In fourth, white flag out.
06:24What a ride by Joey.
06:26And are you watching Joey?
06:27He doesn't even look like he's on the edge.
06:29It doesn't look like he is pushing it that hard.
06:32One thing that Joey does really well, a lot like Ken Rockson, he has a lot of discipline and he's
06:37good with throttle control.
06:39And you heard what Kenny said.
06:40This track is slick.
06:41It's edgy in the whoops.
06:43And Joey has that discipline to really baby that throttle.
06:47Savace has not won a heat race in this division since Nashville 2019.
06:53He teed, that was his rookie season in the 450 class.
06:57He's got Hunter Lawrence in sight, but he's running out of time.
07:00He's running out of time.
07:01He's going to have to turn it loose through the whoops.
07:03And overall, man, this is going to be a great run.
07:08Wow.
07:08What a bounce back for the 96.
07:10Struggling, qualifying heat race win.
07:14For the series leader, Hunter Lawrence of the Honda HRC Progressive Machine.
07:19Webb coming across the line and fourth behind Tomac.
07:23And everybody has a different look, by the way, with the military appreciation race.
07:27If you're wondering why there's not much red on those Hondas.
07:29Man, this could be huge for any one of these guys, whether it's Hunter Lawrence, Eli Tomac,
07:34any of the points, guys, for this championship.
07:36If you've got Joey Savace in there.
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