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00:00He's averaged ninth on lap one all season long coming into Indy.
00:04Race one, third lap one position.
00:08Race two, first lap one position.
00:10I think it could be this guy's night.
00:14Cooper Webb, go back to Houston.
00:16His back was against the wall.
00:17He's 24 points down.
00:18We go to a triple crown.
00:19He finds a way to win.
00:21Fast forward to here.
00:22He's 20 points down.
00:24He hasn't had the best night.
00:25He's 20 points down going in.
00:27He has a chance to manufacture another win.
00:30He's got to win race three to do it, though.
00:33To his right there, JT, the 17th of Joey Cervaci.
00:36He's been riding and riding consistently well.
00:39We can even go back a couple of rounds.
00:41Arlington with a seventh.
00:42Daytona last weekend with a fifth.
00:44And then today, a seventh in race one, a fifth here in race two.
00:47Can he break that pattern and bust into that top five here in the third race of the night?
00:53We know he'll make himself and the Quad Lock Honda team very happy.
00:56And just to Joey's right, our left is the 96th of Hunter Lawrence.
01:01A 2-4 result so far.
01:03But what are the things you think about when you talk about Hunter Lawrence?
01:08Long race form, late race form, resilience, hanging in there until the end.
01:14Does he save the best to last?
01:16Well, and that's why he has that red plate.
01:19It's been working for him all season long so far.
01:23He said, if I don't have the red plate, doesn't change the way I ride.
01:27Doesn't characterize me.
01:29Doesn't speak about me as the rider or the athlete.
01:32So we'll see if he keeps that red plate.
01:34Heading into the break.
01:35Third and final 4.50 race here in Indy.
01:38It's on.
01:41Lawrence with a blasting start.
01:43But Tomac's right with him.
01:46Malcolm Stewart's in the mix early.
01:48There's Justin Cooper and Jorge Prado as well.
01:53Tomac dives for the inside.
01:55Couldn't quite get it done.
01:56Lawrence is doing exactly what he needs to.
01:59And that was what Eli was talking about.
02:01He wasn't able to jump onto the triple.
02:03These whoops are absolutely brutal right now.
02:06Eli's still making it happen.
02:08Being able to blitz.
02:10Talked about Hunter.
02:11He needs to be better on these opening laps.
02:13He said it's very difficult to do that on this track.
02:16But he's making it happen right now.
02:18And it's championship time.
02:20We're getting into the last part of the series.
02:22There are no more mulligans left.
02:25Pretty slick move from Jorge Prado to get himself up to third ahead of Malcolm Stewart.
02:30And Justin Cooper.
02:31So a couple of nice moves there on this opening lap.
02:35Right here.
02:36This is going to come down to the wire.
02:38It's going to be a dogfight between these two guys.
02:41And it's no coincidence.
02:43That one point only separates these two gentlemen right now.
02:47When it comes time.
02:48When the bills are.
02:49It is time to pay those bills.
02:51These two the last several weeks have found each other.
02:54Yep.
02:54They sure have.
02:57In good story.
02:58In good story time too.
03:00Like for Hunter Lawrence getting his first career 450 main win.
03:04There is Ken Rockson recovering from that crash.
03:07That really scary crash in race two.
03:10He's ahead of Malcolm Stewart.
03:11Here's Cooper Webb.
03:12Nice switch back there to get by the Husbander rider.
03:15Incredible pass by the two three time supercross champ Cooper Webb.
03:21Doing that same line that Eli Tomac was working in race number two.
03:29Just for interest sake.
03:30Have a look at the bottom left of your screen.
03:32Points as they run.
03:34Lawrence and Tomac tied.
03:36Yeah.
03:37Lawrence would get.
03:38Get it on the tiebreaker.
03:40If he's able to.
03:41Look at this.
03:42Nice move.
03:43Roxen.
03:44Slick.
03:45I don't think Jacob saw that coming.
03:47But yeah.
03:48I mean Hunter would get it on the tiebreaker.
03:49Because if he's able to beat Eli.
03:52But a lot of racing left here.
03:54Tell you what.
03:55Roxen has the eyes on.
03:57He's disposed of those last two.
03:59Now he's working on Prado.
04:01Different line.
04:02But he's feeling it.
04:03What a shame about that second race.
04:06Yeah.
04:06That one obviously is going to hurt his chances.
04:09As he has been.
04:12Riding incredibly well here.
04:13You go back to that race.
04:15Win that he had.
04:16I believe back in 2023.
04:18How special it was.
04:19On that Suzuki.
04:23Here he is with Prado.
04:25Does he cut back underneath?
04:26No Prado is too smart.
04:27He's going to guard on that.
04:29No surprise.
04:31I think this is good for.
04:32For Jorge to come back.
04:34To have these three races.
04:36Under his belt.
04:36Recovering from that injury.
04:38Then he gets a weekend off.
04:39So it can help with that.
04:40That whole recovery process.
04:42And rehab process.
04:44And have the confidence to know.
04:45That he's made great starts here tonight.
04:47He's had some good races.
04:48And he's hung in there.
04:49The shoulder has made it.
04:51That's right.
04:52Will?
04:53He really wanted to come back for Daytona.
04:55And talking to him earlier.
04:56He was genuinely upset.
04:58That he didn't make it back for that race.
05:00Because he sees it as something.
05:01That would be a good strength for him.
05:03Being a MXGP rider from Europe.
05:06Broke essentially motocross for most of his career.
05:09As Ken Rotson gets the pass down on him.
05:13But he said if he wasn't going to make it back to Daytona.
05:16I really want to make it back to India.
05:18And he cited the conditions here too.
05:20These wraps.
05:21The conditions.
05:22All stuff that perhaps his skill set from MXGP lends itself to Jorge.
05:28He's doing a great job right now.
05:31Oh, look at Cooper Webb.
05:33Trying to make the move on his teammate.
05:36Side by side.
05:37Webb on the outside.
05:39Justin Cooper.
05:40Handlebar to handlebar.
05:47Man, his teammate racing him hard.
05:50No team tactics going on right here.
05:53Now he works on Prado.
05:56Roxen's just disappeared.
05:58He's taken off.
06:00Oh, look at that, man.
06:02He is blocking.
06:04Jorge Prado is really trying to make sure these guys don't get by.
06:09There's been a little chatter.
06:11Track chatter about it.
06:12And there's going to be some frustration there.
06:15But, hey, you know what?
06:17He's out there trying to do the best he can, just like the rest of the guys.
06:21A lap later, Cooper Webb tries the same move on Justin Cooper.
06:25At the moment, same result.
06:26So now he switches lines.
06:28Switches back to the inside.
06:30This time it works for Cooper Webb.
06:32Yeah, great pass.
06:34Sticking with it.
06:35Keeping that intensity.
06:42How about Jordan Smith?
06:44Back there in eighth.
06:45He got a great start.
06:47And he's been there pretty much all race long thus far, the Triumph pilot.
06:52So that's good stuff.
06:53He's ahead of McElrath and Justin Hill and Christian Craig.
06:57I mean, this is just absolutely incredible here when I watch these two guys.
07:01And, again, I'm like, well, you know, Kenny and Cooper definitely mathematically are still there.
07:07But I just feel like these two riders are in the driver's seat.
07:12And they have established themselves as the top guys.
07:17And it was going to take something from Cooper Webb and Ken Rockson to really get that point scat below
07:2520 points.
07:27Because each race that passes from now on is just going to be like you're going to be in a
07:33desperate situation almost.
07:35And you're going to need some help.
07:36And it's going to be hard.
07:37And when you start getting that position, it's difficult, especially when Eli and Cooper are riding at such a high
07:45level.
07:46Or Eli and Hunter are riding at such a high level.
07:50Yeah, the Monster Energy star Yamaha riders dispose of Jorge Prado.
07:54We're over the halfway mark.
07:55Quick reminder to stock up on Monster Energy drinks.
07:58And Kroger, we go back up front.
08:00This is what 1.1 seconds looks like.
08:03And there's five and a half minutes plus a lap left on the clock.
08:06I feel like Eli has lost a little bit of his advantage that he had on Hunter now that the
08:12woods have become complete jumpers.
08:15I feel like Eli, I mean, he's fast everywhere.
08:17And I'm sure there's a couple other sectors on the track that he might be a little bit quicker than
08:22Hunter.
08:23But still, that advantage that he had there has kind of gone away.
08:27Teammates here fighting it out over fourth place.
08:31I think going back to the first Triple Crown of the year, Hunter Lawrence lost the overall by one point.
08:40Don't think for a second that that hasn't been a driving, motivating force here tonight.
08:47And I think the biggest thing with these two guys being so close and with still a fair amount of
08:53the riders still in the field,
08:54I personally believe, and put my championship hat on, it's going to be the guy who is able to be
09:01the most consistent
09:02and not cough up that sixth place or eighth place finish.
09:06And really, the reason that Hunter is outside of how great he's riding has the points lead is because his
09:12worst finish has been fourth.
09:14And that's not the case for anyone else on the field right now.
09:17And now, oh, no, Joey Sovaci, this amazing run has come to an end.
09:25Guy who's had two top five finishes this year is in need of some attention from the Alpine Stars medical
09:34team.
09:34This guy has got Eli Tomac right here on the ropes, and he's going to need some help from these
09:39lappers.
09:41Hopefully, they will adhere to the blue flag.
09:43And there's a race for the lead, and you're not in it.
09:46Give way.
09:46Great job by March Banks.
09:48You can see the gap right there.
09:50If he is able to get through these two guys right now, he is going to have a very nice
09:55gap that I think he can maintain to the checkered flag.
09:59JT.
10:00And he's certainly trying to.
10:02These lappers have been a storyline all night.
10:04But just thinking big picture for a minute, we've seen Hunter Warrant be the second-place guy,
10:09that bridesmaid position, if you will, so many times in his career.
10:13And, Ricky, these championships are simply too difficult.
10:16You have to go and take it.
10:18And I just wonder if that's what we're seeing.
10:21We've seen him now.
10:22He got that win in Arlington.
10:23And now he is taking this race by the reins.
10:27Are we seeing Hunter Warrant become the guy that is not the bridesmaid anymore?
10:31He's finally going to step up to be that championship guy.
10:34120% we are, JT.
10:37And you think about the only place that he really need to improve and put the emphasis on is early
10:43race intensity.
10:44And if you take a snapshot from what the first three races look like to where we have been the
10:50last four races,
10:51he is a completely different guy.
10:53And he has the composure.
10:55Lee, you talked about it.
10:56Hey, if he doesn't have the red plate, it doesn't change his riding.
10:59He is so strong psychologically.
11:02That's right.
11:03And look, these guys are still going at it.
11:06The star Yamaha teammates, Cooper Webb and Justin Cooper.
11:11Cooper, confidence has skyrocketed with Jay Coop after that first career win in race two.
11:19There's two minutes 20 left on the clock plus a lap.
11:22And this is going to continue this fight.
11:25Roxen's nicely positioned in third.
11:28He's kind of in his own little space there.
11:30It cleared out from these guys.
11:32And then Jorge Prado will get three sixth places in this triple crown event.
11:37If he stays where he is over the closing couple of minutes,
11:39it'll be a welcomed eighth place for Jordan Smith in just his third race back.
11:50He finished 19, 17, and he's going to get an eighth and a triple crown.
11:57That's awesome.
11:58Yeah, I mean, and again, these races are action-packed.
12:01And you listen to the riders, and they tell you how hard it is.
12:04There's more laps and just brutal.
12:06So to be able to do that a lot like his teammate in the 250 division, Jalik Swole, having a
12:11great ride.
12:12That's a boost in the arm for that race team, and they sure needed it.
12:18And you look at the leaderboard on the top left of your screen,
12:22and just look at the time that Hunter Lawrence and Tomac have pulled out
12:28on Ken Roxen and Cooper Webb, the guys who third and fourth in points.
12:32And that's what we've been talking about really all race long.
12:36And what we have seen in the last three weeks, these guys are just, it seems like they've been able
12:41to find another gear.
12:51JT.
12:52Ricky, I just wanted to touch on what you said there.
12:55This race, this race three especially, feels like such a microcosm of where the championship is.
12:59And you find these defining moments in championships where you really can't hide anymore.
13:05You can't find a way to stick around and look at the two guys,
13:09the guys that have separated themselves by 20 points.
13:11When it counts, here in race three, here they are again, separating themselves once again.
13:16Well, that's right.
13:17They find a way.
13:18They know what is at stake.
13:20All these guys know what at stake.
13:22But, man, with that points gap, they had a 20-point lead over Roxen and Webb.
13:30And they just know it's time.
13:33And it's so fun to watch these guys.
13:35And it's really which guy can be the best and which guy can execute.
13:40And, again, not cough up that ball and be picture perfect.
13:45And this is the final lap.
13:46And this guy has done a great job.
13:48And he's put Eli in a position.
13:51I really, I truly believe that.
13:55Look, we touched on this last week.
13:57Yeah.
13:58And the Lawrence family is an extremely tight-knit family.
14:03And when you want to take on the Lawrences, you don't just take on one.
14:06You take on them all.
14:07And with Jet being absent through injury,
14:10it was big brother Hunter's time to step up
14:13and enjoy his time in the spotlight.
14:16Where he's answered endless questions about his little brother,
14:20which he answered with such maturity and grace,
14:22saying,
14:22If I'm not being the right big brother,
14:26I'm not helping my little brother.
14:27Well, it's not about Jet now.
14:29This is Hunter Lawrence's time.
14:31A win for the second time this season.
14:35He gets the overall and will keep that red plate.
14:40Hunter Lawrence goes to the brakes.
14:42The championship leader.
14:44Adding three points to that championship lead.
14:47And look at this.
14:49Camaradermy sportsmanship.
14:51Love to see it.
14:52Hard workers.
14:55What an incredible win.
14:57Again, like his first win,
14:59he got in the 450 pass of quality.
15:01And this was a quality run.
15:03Eli had all the opportunities to challenge him for the win.
15:08And he tried.
15:09And this comes up a little short.
15:11A lot of racing left.
15:12But, man.
15:14He has won two of the last three races overall.
15:21He may have had five.
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