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00:00Let's say that we've got Spain's Jorge Prado back. Let's hear what he has to say.
00:06Yeah, I'm happy to be back at the races. I tried to ride this week and it felt a bit
00:11better.
00:11The pain is almost gone. So I said, hey, why not? Let's give it a try this weekend.
00:18I think it's decent enough to come and do a proper job.
00:22So no, I'm excited to come to a different track, different stadium.
00:25I need to use all these races to get a lot of experience for next year, too.
00:31So I think it was a good decision to come over and hopefully we have a great night of racing.
00:36He had that AC shoulder separation on his right shoulder in Seattle.
00:41Missed Arlington, missed Daytona last week. Pretty quick turnaround, actually.
00:45Quick turnaround, but straight up showed us a lot in qualifying practice.
00:49I was surprised at how well he was. Fourth. Fourth place.
00:53And he was impressive in both sessions. Yeah.
00:56All right, ready to go for the first of three tonight.
00:58Such a different format. The guys like it. Kind of a mixed bag.
01:02You've got the traditionalists who like the typical format,
01:04but they know what they have to do in this triple crown format.
01:08And by the way, we're all racing to a weekend off next weekend.
01:12There's a big incentive for these guys to finish this night here in Indy on the right note.
01:17But you've got to start it on the right note.
01:19Ready to go. Gates are down. Here we go.
01:22Oh, Eli got a bad jump. There he is in the middle of the pack.
01:26He's blocked in. Look at this. Prado.
01:29You just heard from him. Now he leads the way with Justin Cooper.
01:33And Cooper Webb on the inside.
01:35Oh, look at Cooper. Watch those insides all night long.
01:38Ryder's going to continue to do that.
01:40Welcome back, Jorge Prado.
01:43Go back to what Will Christian talked about at the opening of the show.
01:46The two riders that needed to get, have a good finish.
01:51Nonetheless, it's Cooper Webb defending Supercross champ.
01:55The last race that he won was the triple crown back in Arlington.
01:59He makes the move right up the inside.
02:02New race leader.
02:04The man who won here a year ago in Indy.
02:06His teammate is running third.
02:08Where's Ken Rockson?
02:09There's Kenny.
02:10There's the Suzuki on the inside of Hunter Lawrence.
02:13Just when you think these guys are out of it, they say not so fast.
02:18And he is back in the title fight here.
02:21What a move from Rockson.
02:23Beautiful rhythm.
02:24Great pace.
02:25Just blows by.
02:26And here, going past Hunter Lawrence, he's getting swamped by Christian Craig and Joey Savacci.
02:34Yeah, he is caught up, man.
02:37The intensity level is so high right now.
02:39Oh, Prado getting passed by Kenny.
02:42We talk about how fast and how explosive Kenny is.
02:45Now back comes Prado on the inside, trying to respond.
02:49Let's see if he can tuck back underneath him.
02:52This is helping Cooper Webb.
02:53While these guys fight through that flat track section, over that little triple.
02:58Yeah, tightened up.
02:59Kenny had the preferred line.
03:00And he was set up perfectly to be on the inside of the right-hand corner, able to secure that
03:06second place.
03:07There's Justin Cooper.
03:09Next bike in shot.
03:10There's the Hondas.
03:11Three Hondas all together.
03:13Christian Craig, Hunter Lawrence, Joey Savacci, then Garrett Marsh-Banks.
03:18See Justin Cooper.
03:20He was going, jumping the whoops in qualifying practice.
03:25See how all these guys are blitzing it right now.
03:27I do anticipate to see some jumpers here shortly.
03:31How about this opening ride from Christian Craig as Hunter Lawrence goes on the inside.
03:37Christian Craig, great start.
03:39Made a few passes.
03:40Just lost a spot there.
03:42Here's Roxen going for the lead.
03:44The two guys that Will featured who have to have a great night tonight not to continue to allow Lawrence
03:50and Tomac to get away.
03:53They're running one-two.
03:54How on cue is that?
03:55And that is, I mean, listen, they know what's at stake.
03:59Mathematically, of course, they're still in it.
04:01But you start going and dipping further.
04:04Here he goes.
04:04What a run through the whoops from Kenny!
04:07Yeah, Coop can't contend with that kind of speed.
04:10Through the whoops right there.
04:12Kenny comes in, commits, makes a move.
04:15And Kenny, listen, these guys know where their competitors are good and where they can make time up on their
04:23competitors.
04:23And Kenny, I believe, sensed that.
04:26Indianapolis has been a great city to win, to, well, where Savace had to take a basic action there, go
04:33around the top block.
04:34Tomac continues to make his way forward.
04:36Gets one quadlock Honda done.
04:38He's now working on Christian Craig.
04:41Watch him through this section here.
04:43There's ten jumps in a row, and how you play it determines where you pop out the other end.
04:49And look at Roxton again.
04:51Yeah.
04:52So Coop was able to catch up, tried to make a pass back.
04:56But those whoops are right in between the stage of jumping being equal or not as slow from jumping, and
05:04then blitzing being the fastest line.
05:06So it's going to take a few more laps to get that established will.
05:11Yeah, we've heard some rumbles about Cooper Webb and some bike changes, Ricky.
05:16And I checked in with Rich Simmons' team manager there, and he said, well, after last week before the main,
05:21they made some changes that kind of took him back in his old direction, if you like.
05:25And that gave Cooper a bit of a feeling that he wanted more of that.
05:29So coming into this week, during the week, they've taken him back to his old base that he was riding
05:34at the end of the season last year.
05:36His words to his team manager, it feels like I'm home.
05:40They're sticking with that.
05:41The reason being that they don't have to worry about improving the bike for blitzing the worms.
05:45I know it's an issue right now, Ricky, but as you said, it's going to go to jumping,
05:48and that's going to be the way forward here through these East Coast rounds.
05:52Yeah, sometimes it's best to go back to that home setting.
05:55See, we're always, JT, trying to make these bikes better,
05:58but sometimes you can get off course if you're not careful.
06:02Yeah, you can.
06:02You can really confuse yourself.
06:04If you change one thing, that ends up changing something else, and it's easy to get lost.
06:07But, Ricky, I love what you said about the whoops kind of being in that in-between stage,
06:11because the guys that want to blitz can still with speed.
06:15The Tomacs, the Hunter Lawrences, the Ken Rocksons, but a guy like Justin Cooper here,
06:19he's not in a position where he can really jump yet.
06:22They're not deteriorated enough, which leaves him really vulnerable.
06:25And watch Tomac.
06:26He's going to try to make a move right here.
06:27Well, he made a move on Hunter Lawrence, but here comes Lawrence back.
06:30The two of the championship are duking it out as they go by Justin Cooper.
06:34Prado's the next one on their list.
06:36The two guys who are separated by just one point in this championship heading to the break.
06:41Yeah, getting spicy here.
06:43And the reason that is, is this is a triple crown.
06:46The intensity level is high, but it's also for the championship.
06:49One point separates these two guys right here, and it is time to lay it all on the line.
06:55Up front, two seconds between Roxton and Webb.
06:58Then you get to third place Prado, his teammate from Red Bull KTM.
07:02The winner from Daytona last week, Eli Tomac.
07:04Even with that broken tooth that got worked on and remedied on Monday morning.
07:10As fast as they could get it done, he went to the dentist.
07:13And now here he comes through the whoops as he just eases by his teammate.
07:18Perfect scenario for Eli Tomac, especially having his teammate back.
07:23This is what you want, to have his teammate get in between him.
07:26Oh, and the points.
07:28Wow, these guys Prado checked up.
07:31Whoa, whoa, whoa.
07:32I see.
07:33And Lawrence knew he had to get him there because he can't afford to let Tomac get too far away.
07:37That's right.
07:37Well, he's able to get by Prado now.
07:39He can set his sights forward.
07:41Eli is on a mission.
07:44You can see Prado going backwards.
07:46And, man, he was showing some good laps, good speed.
07:49Very impressive ride coming back.
07:52Have a look at these times through the whoops.
07:53You saw it firsthand with Ken Rockson when he went flying by Cooper Webb.
07:59That was impressive stuff.
08:00Justin Hill with the third quickest time.
08:02Justin qualified really nicely today as well.
08:05Yeah, he did.
08:06We talk about it.
08:07Incredible bike skill.
08:09Great to see him up here.
08:11Joey Savace is now starting to make some inroads on Justin Cooper.
08:16There is the 17.
08:17He is the best non-factory rider bike in the championship chase.
08:22He sits 7th.
08:23I want to go back to Joey Savace and how well he's been doing as of late.
08:28And, you know, you go back to 2019 when he was Eli Tomac's teammate at Factory Kawasaki,
08:35that Monster Energy team, and he had an injury at Nashville that took him out of the series.
08:40And this is where he kind of was at that time.
08:43And he had a gnarly foot injury in Australia.
08:46Nice pass by Justin Cooper to get by Prado.
08:49And he's finally gotten back to that stage of where he was, getting his feet on the ground.
08:55And it's great to see Joey basically rebuild himself.
08:58Well, it's been a myriad of stories of injuries, teams closing down, opportunities evaporating.
09:05But it speaks to the resilience of the man, right, of the athlete.
09:09He's never given up.
09:11He's found a terrific home here at Quad Lock Honda.
09:13Through that little flat track section where TV doesn't do it justice, just how fast they are going.
09:19You know, Diff, you and I were on the track for qualifying practice today in that particular section.
09:24And those 450s can absolutely lay the power down.
09:30What about Roxxon up front?
09:32Not only did he get by Cooper Webb, he has taken off.
09:35Oh, he almost jumped off the course right there.
09:38You know, when he got that win back here, 2023, that, to me, like, the last couple of seasons have
09:46been amazing for him, right?
09:47That was the ignition point for him.
09:49I mean, we had a huge crowd like we do here tonight.
09:52And it was just such an amazing moment for Roxxon.
09:55So special.
09:56Oh, he's not able to execute this rhythm lane right here.
10:02Just double, double, double.
10:03He's going to lose a ton of time.
10:04However, he has a massive lead in this Triple Crown.
10:0912 minutes plus one lap.
10:12Look at these whoops starting to get super chewed up.
10:15So as Kenny has a comfortable lead, I want to tell you about tickets to this year's SMX Playoffs.
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10:23You can be there in person for the three historic playoff races and new venues too.
10:28Columbus, Ohio, Los Angeles, and the beautiful new Thunder Ridge Nature Arena in Ridgedale, Missouri.
10:35Supermotocross.com is your destination for SMX news, schedules, and content, and, of course, those tickets.
10:43I can't wait to get there.
10:45I'm really looking forward to that.
10:48Just two and a half minutes left in this first 450 race of the night.
10:52The first of three in this Triple Crown.
10:54Yeah, I mean, it goes fast in this format.
10:57Next thing you know, the 250 race two will be lined up.
11:01And these riders and mechanics are kind of the unsung heroes.
11:05Oh, look at Coop getting jammed up there.
11:07Look out.
11:07Here comes Tomac on web.
11:10Cooper's got company.
11:11And this has been quite the comeback from Eli Tomac.
11:15It has.
11:15Think of all the riders that he had to fight through and make moves on to get to where he
11:19is right now.
11:20So this will take the pressure off as far as...
11:23Inside move.
11:26Crowd tells you what's going on.
11:32Oh, web.
11:34Almost dropped it.
11:36And Tomac capitalizes.
11:39And he's going to get passed by Hunter Lawrence.
11:43Oh, look at this.
11:45Hopefully Cooper's all right.
11:47Two positions in a quarter of a lap.
11:52JT, there is no stopping Eli Tomac tonight.
11:56Yeah, and you just see, look at Cooper Webb drop back in those whoops.
11:59They have been so costly to him in race one.
12:01And this battle for second is heating up, boys.
12:03Oh!
12:05Hunter makes the move.
12:07Eli slips.
12:08He gets caught up behind.
12:09I believe that's Kevin Moran.
12:12Hunter sees the door open and takes it.
12:14That is a crucial pass.
12:17And you saw the urgency earlier in getting by Jorge Prado by Hunter Lawrence because he didn't want to let
12:23Tomac get away.
12:25So he's stuck with Eli, and he's been able to get by him.
12:28That was the move for second.
12:30Wow.
12:31I mean, you talk about Hunter Lawrence keeping the pressure on Eli Tomac.
12:37And again, Lee, you talked about it on the opening of the show, all these great accolades and the record
12:43books.
12:43Oh, Eli gets sideways, foot comes off the foot peg.
12:47But all these accolades and the success that he's had this year has kind of overshadowed just how well Hunter
12:54Lawrence has been doing.
12:56He's been very silent making it happen.
12:59He was not too pleased last week initially after not winning at Daytona.
13:05This guy is in the form of his career.
13:09JT, he's got the best, worst result of the pack.
13:13The worst he's finished this year is only four.
13:15His consistency has been just colossal.
13:18Yeah, he's been wielding that consistency like a sword.
13:21And I've spoken to him so many times in that second place position throughout this season.
13:25And it's always been met with a little bit of frustration, a little bit of disappointment.
13:29But I'm going to tell you what.
13:30I think this second place is going to be met with delight because he simply rode past his biggest championship
13:36contender, Eli Tomac, and is starting to pull away from him.
13:40You're exactly right, JT.
13:42I couldn't agree with you more.
13:43And he is absolutely putting the pressure on.
13:46Hold on to it, Joey.
13:47Getting a little sideways.
13:48These whoops are starting to go away.
13:50You're going to see riders start to jump them.
13:52This is that moment where they have swapped.
13:54If you don't feel comfortable blitzing those whoops, the best thing to do is start jumping through them because you
13:59know you can do it consistently.
14:01Well done, Ken Rockson.
14:02He did not get the whole shot.
14:04He had to work hard for it in those early laps.
14:06Had to make some key passes, most notably through here, through the whoops, on Cooper Webb.
14:13And then he took off.
14:14He boasts more than a six-second lead.
14:19Indianapolis loves Ken Rockson.
14:20And Ken Rockson loves Indy.
14:22And this is going to be his ninth Triple Crown win.
14:26Here comes Kenny.
14:27Gets the night off to the best possible start.
14:30Rockson wins here in Indy Race 1.
14:33His teammate Colt Nichols went down.
14:36Hunter Lawrence grabs second ahead of his title rival.
14:39And look at that.
14:39You can see the smile in the helmet.
14:42Rockson's like, yep, you count me out of this championship, I'm going to prove you wrong.
14:47That's right.
14:48Responding at the ample time.
14:52That's the way to get it going.
14:54All the writers will tell you, you need to start well in a Triple Crown.
14:58And a win is perfect.
14:59And a win is perfect.
14:59And a win is perfect.
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