00:00and what his role was for the guys being on the opposite side.
00:03He always had so much respect for the people that he was competing with.
00:09Heat 2 of 250 East Division coming up with championship hopeful Seth Hamaker
00:14aboard the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki.
00:17He is in this one.
00:18Speaking of 250s, guys, guess who's going to join us for the 250 main event?
00:22The superstar Jed Lawrence, SMX World Champion,
00:27motocross champ, supercross champ.
00:30Can't wait to catch up with Jed, get an update on his injury,
00:33his progress and his comeback for round one of pro motocross.
00:37That's coming up a little later this afternoon.
00:43Great story here.
00:44Nick Romano, multiple years away from the sport,
00:47got the call up to come back and he has not disappointed.
00:50He has been a regular in the top 10.
00:53Looked pretty speedy earlier today as well.
01:08nothing like hearing that roar.
01:11Look at Daxton Benick got a good start.
01:13Hamaker got an even better one.
01:15Nate Thrasher emerges out in front.
01:25Romano taking the fight to Hamaker.
01:27Hamaker able to skip away in second place there
01:29and begin the chase on Nate Thrasher.
01:32Yeah, and Hamaker, he got a pretty decent start,
01:34especially a jump out of the gate.
01:36He just pushed out a little bit wide in that first corner.
01:38But, James, I believe this is a big weekend for Seth Hamaker.
01:42And the reason that it is, he's 11 points down.
01:44We're running out of time.
01:46And I'll tell you what, Cole is riding so well.
01:49Now he's got to come out, and I think he's got to get to win
01:51to really save this championship hopes.
01:54Yeah, I think more just for his belief.
01:56I mean, even at some point, he's got to be able to beat Cole straight up.
02:00And clearly he has his speed as he's making a few mistakes here
02:02in this rhythm section.
02:04But Seth has all the tools to be able to get it done.
02:07He should be able to, Will.
02:09What was missing, he said, James, after the race last weekend,
02:12was perhaps a level of intensity.
02:14He talked a couple of times post-race about kind of turning that up
02:17and the need to sort of, as he put it, hang it out.
02:19I was interested what his take would be on it this week.
02:22Well, after becoming the fastest qualifier again here this weekend,
02:26he doubled down on that, just saying, yep, it's time.
02:29We've seen Seth in these modes where he just kind of seems to switch
02:32to another gear mentally, and he's ready to get the job done,
02:35I think, again today.
02:36Well, a little bit to that, too, and expand on what you just said, Will.
02:40As I go back to that podium interview he had last week,
02:43and normally he's got a little smile on his face,
02:45and he seemed a bit deflated, maybe like his confidence was knocked down.
02:49And he said exactly to what you were just talking about, Will,
02:52how he needed to ramp up the intensity.
02:55But with that comes risk.
02:57In the past, that is what has kind of eluded him.
03:00I feel like he's gotten that under control the last couple years,
03:03especially last year when he's basically made the move to go to the Dog Pound.
03:08He made huge strides.
03:10So, again, there is a risk with that, but for sure he's going to have to turn it loose a
03:14bit more
03:14if he wants to hang with Cole.
03:16Dog Pound is the training facility in Florida,
03:18and those two years that he's spent in Florida has been a turning point in Seth Hammock's career.
03:24Luke Cloud on the 101 is the rider at the top end of this angry little pack here.
03:29He leads the way, but look at the challenges.
03:31They're coming thick and fast.
03:32Isaiah Clark, Jeremy Hand, Derek Kelly.
03:35Screw the sand section.
03:37Yeah, it looked like he had two for one right there, and he got caught up in that sand section.
03:41You're talking about intensity.
03:42Just imagine being in this battle right here.
03:45These guys are trying to play it cool because they're all in the transfer position,
03:48but at the same time they want to move up.
03:51I think about Nate Thrasher, he's just one of those guys, James, you and I have talked about it.
03:56Like, the potential is there.
03:58I mean, he is capable of winning these races, JT, and it's no surprise to see him out here leading.
04:05Yeah, and he mentioned earlier this week that his shoulder being back to 100% really unlocks rides like this
04:12because he was simply not healthy earlier in the season.
04:15Ricky, he's from just an hour down the road in Livingston,
04:18so it would be a heck of a homecoming story here if he could find his first win of the
04:22season in Nashville.
04:22Oh, boy, did you see Seth Hammock trying to turn up the heat there on Nate Thrasher
04:26and just got caught up through that sand section, and that's allowed Nate to get away a little bit.
04:31Now, we always talk about how important the start is.
04:34Well, guess what?
04:35You can bet on the 450 main event whole shot winner right now.
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04:50I like that line, that Seth, this thing on the inside of that triple or up before
04:54because it's going to open his next corner up, and if he stays close to Nate,
04:57he might have an opportunity to sneak on the inside of him after they land.
05:01He'd have to get it before.
05:02And sometimes just taking a different line, even if it's not necessarily faster, but it's the same speed.
05:08It's kind of nice to get a fresh breath of air and not get pelted by the rocks,
05:12but keep your eye in this sand section all night long because during afternoon, pardon me, all qualifying session,
05:19that place was claiming some victims.
05:21Very tricky when you jump into that sand.
05:24You don't have that forward drive going forward.
05:26It's easy to bury the front end and go down.
05:30This afternoon time slot's got your track, hasn't it?
05:32Yeah, it does.
05:33It does, yep.
05:35Nate Thrasher got his first heat win of the season a couple of races ago in Detroit.
05:40And as James alluded to, he also had a heavy crash.
05:43So this is looking a lot smoother for Nate Thrasher, despite that challenge, that ever-present challenge
05:49from the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider in Seth Hamaker.
05:57He's a local.
05:58He's from Tennessee.
05:59He's from Livingston.
06:01Let's hear him talk about his hometown.
06:06Yeah, we had some T-shirts, yeah.
06:08Hopefully they'll be wearing it.
06:09And, yeah, I'm just pumped to see everybody.
06:12Haven't seen them in a little bit.
06:13And I go there normally in the off-season, so I know it's a small town.
06:16Everybody knows everybody.
06:17So, yeah, they'll be by the rig, and it should be pretty wild.
06:20So I'm excited for it.
06:23It'll be good.
06:24Now the fans and family, they're like, hold them off, hold them off.
06:29But so far, it looks like Seth has a better run through the whoops.
06:33Let's see if he can get a little closer.
06:34He tried doing it, but here we go.
06:36Look at this.
06:38Seth Hamaker on the inside.
06:40Forceful, but fair move for the lead.
06:42Yeah, you can see that setting up, but Nate's not having any doubt.
06:45He was really nice.
06:46If Seth could get back, keep that traction in the whoops.
06:49Nice move.
06:50Good run by both these guys.
06:52That sand section right here.
06:54It'd be interesting to see if some of these guys start making,
06:56going to that inside line there on the right-hand side of your screen,
07:00most of these riders using the outside lane.
07:03I think as the afternoon goes on and that outside gets kind of, uh-oh,
07:08I would say deteriorates, it's going to force these guys to go to the inside
07:12in the multi-groove racetrack.
07:14Is it possible for Seth Hamaker as he begins the final lap
07:17to take the fight to Cole Davies in the main event?
07:20We don't know yet, but that move, that comeback,
07:23and then that pass was vital in his mental strength.
07:26Yeah, absolutely.
07:27At any time, I mean, Nate's no slouch.
07:30I mean, he's won these races before,
07:31but I like the aggression that you're seeing for the number 10.
07:34He looks really comfortable.
07:35He made a few mistakes.
07:36Yeah, this is Justin Cooper.
07:37He should be back with his bike by the time we're on.
07:45Looks like Seth's found another gear here
07:48as soon as he made the pass by Thrasher.
07:53Looking really good.
07:54Track looks really skatey compared to what it was earlier,
07:56like those marbles, but Seth's got it figured out.
08:00He's had a remarkably consistent year.
08:04Just like Davies, he's been on the podium all but one race.
08:08He wins this heat.
08:10To go with his heat win in Arlington earlier in the year,
08:13continuing this, it's a good scrap
08:15for that ninth and final position.
08:18Derek Kelly.
08:19Whoa, whoa.
08:20Hang on to it, Derek.
08:21There he is on the 77.
08:22Just getting a little out of his rhythm
08:24has been a really hard-fought battle
08:27between Luke Clout, Luke Neese,
08:29Derek Kelly, and Marcus Phelps.
08:31There's Phelps.
08:33On the 174, trying to make his first main of the year.
08:36Oh, he slid out right there.
08:38I thought he was going to try to go up the inside,
08:40but uh-oh.
08:42Here we go.
08:42It's not over yet.
08:44The South African switches lines,
08:45but the checkered flag came up a little too quick.
08:50And Derek Kelly says,
08:52Oh, thank goodness I got there.
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