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00:00There you go, Justin Cooper.
00:02His whole shot in that last start, that was his first one of the year,
00:07if you can believe that or not.
00:08He's tied with Ken Rockson.
00:10They both got four points going into this third race,
00:12so it's going to be interesting.
00:14I'd like to see him get his first win.
00:17Yeah, but he's got to hold off to 94.
00:19Last time Ken came in tied in the Triple Crown in the third race,
00:22it was at Houston.
00:23He ends up third, so for him, he knows how important this race is
00:27to get this overall and also cut in that 96-points lead.
00:30Speaking of that 96, he has been so good at getting out front early
00:35and putting himself in position to succeed.
00:38You saw what happened in that race, too, where he didn't do that.
00:41He got stuck in traffic.
00:42That led to a subpar position, so he knows what he has to do.
00:46Execute the start, and the rest will fall in place.
00:49Let's show you the UFO-plast moment of the race.
00:53Well, it was actually pre-race.
00:55It was earlier today.
00:56Eli Tomac went down hard in the whoops.
01:00He went to the Alpinestar Medical Unit, got checked out,
01:03and was gutsy enough to come back out for the next qualifying session.
01:08It was all too much.
01:10Injured hip.
01:12And that's a really hard scene to watch.
01:16And unfortunately, Eli is now out of the championship discussion,
01:20and he was unable to race at all today here in Cleveland.
01:24I get anxiety before these gate drops, James.
01:28It's just, I don't know, it's like we can't control it.
01:31At least when we were racing, we controlled what we did,
01:33and watching this, I just, it's so nerve-wracking for me.
01:38Just like, drop the gate, please.
01:39I know.
01:40All right, let's go.
01:41Let's get on with it.
01:42Watch Roxen.
01:43This could be a defining race in his quest for a championship.
01:47Cleveland, 450s.
01:49It's on.
01:50Great start, Roxen.
01:51He looks to his left.
01:52He knew he was there.
01:54He sneaks up, and Kenny gets the whole shot when he needs it most.
01:58Roxen in front of Cooper Webb and Chase Sexton and Justin Cooper.
02:03Great start for the 94.
02:05Ken Roxen, Cooper Webb.
02:07Hunter Lawrence did his best.
02:08He got pinched off.
02:09He was trying to get everybody on the inside, but got pinched off.
02:12Oh, it's game over for this crew right here.
02:15Kenny rising to the occasion.
02:18He's going to have a couple good laps here.
02:20If he's able to pull out a lead, I just feel it's going to be similar to a lot like
02:25his other wins.
02:26He's so good at managing.
02:29Wow.
02:30Yep, I agree, and you know everybody knows it.
02:32In the mud races or races like this, what you try to do if you're in Kent Roxen,
02:36you try to hit all the rhythm sections, get through the whoops, and get you a gap,
02:39and then what you'll see is that gap is starting to stabilize,
02:42but it'd be too far for these guys.
02:43So far, he's executing it perfect.
02:45Points leader, Hunter Lawrence, is way back in the top ten with work to do.
02:50Roxen has already skipped away from Cooper Webb quite substantially just on the opening lap.
02:57Here is the task at hand for Honda's Hunter Lawrence.
03:01Yeah, he's messing with his goggles a ton right there on every single jump that he would take off of.
03:07He kept fiddling with his vision there.
03:12He's going to get by Jordan Smith.
03:13Did it again.
03:14He's way back.
03:17Yeah, you can tell he's having visual problems because he probably should have got past Jordan Smith at that moment,
03:22but it's going to be an important race for, you know, Hunter Lawrence at this moment.
03:27I think he's going to have to just try to methodically make his way up as he tries to get
03:30there, what we see so far, JT.
03:34Yeah, I'm just wondering.
03:35I can still see tear-offs there.
03:37I was thinking if he maybe pulled all of his tear-offs on accident there,
03:39but it's so unusual for him to keep wiping.
03:42Not that motion he was doing.
03:43He was wiping water away there.
03:45So, yeah, really peculiar.
03:46That would be a huge issue if he didn't have vision.
03:49Well, James, you talk about it a lot.
03:51There's times where you just got to make it happen, and I will tell you, this dude has done it
03:56all season long,
03:57any time where he's been in that spot.
03:59And I think right now this is one of these moments because Ken Rockson is going to make up a
04:04lot of points here this afternoon
04:06if he don't march up the field.
04:08Yeah, absolutely.
04:08This is one of those, as you mentioned, those moments for Hunter,
04:12but he's also got to be careful in the difference between the paths that this is a Triple Crown.
04:17It's a shorter race.
04:18It is wet out there.
04:19It's easy to make a lot of mistakes, but you can tell by his body position,
04:21he's a lot more aggressive than he was that first race, that second race.
04:26Meanwhile, this guy here, Ken Rockson,
04:28aboard the number 94 Progressive Insurance Cycle Gear X-Star Suzuki,
04:33has ran away to a four, five-second lead.
04:40Incredible in such a short amount of time.
04:43He's playing with fire on that rhythm lane right there,
04:47getting so close to the tough blocks, Will.
04:50Ricky, this version of Ken Rockson that we are seeing here in 2026,
04:55I don't know about you because your history goes a long way back with Kenny.
04:58I've never seen him in the zone that he's in.
05:01Just his confidence, how he acts under pressure,
05:04that whole shot there in that situation.
05:06Third race of a Triple Crown, Hunter Lawrence, guys, is down.
05:10Oh, no.
05:12Let's have a look at what happened to Lawrence.
05:15It is all going the wrong direction for the points leader.
05:18Oh, it's a big moment.
05:19You can tell by the end of the woods, I'm assuming.
05:21He probably got cross-rutted here.
05:23Tough gets in here.
05:25Oh, it looks pretty good.
05:26Now, there's a long run going down there.
05:28You can tell Hunter gets, yep, there he goes.
05:30Starts losing, everybody ran front end goes,
05:32and kind of gets off lucky, but that's going to be costly, Ricky, in these points.
05:36Big time, you can see right there, he was flirting, trying to go in between the ruts,
05:41and that is a very, very interesting decision because it's so narrow right there,
05:47and the margin for error is just so thin.
05:50And he goes sideways, like you said, James, and hits the deck.
05:54It was the whoops in Detroit that brought him undone.
05:58It's the whoops here in the final race in Cleveland.
06:01So his fuel hose has come off, and you can see fuel from his gas tank cover coming out
06:07and popping up into his chest and probably up underneath his helmet.
06:12Watch closely.
06:14They have a vent tube that comes out of the gas tank cover.
06:17He looks down, again, reaching for a tear-off.
06:24Yeah, great call, Ricky, and also what would happen is if he's getting enough of that fuel
06:28to get on this seat, make his bike slippery for a hold on.
06:32If you look at the points as they run right now, championship-wise,
06:37Ken Rocks is only two points back at the end of the way it does today.
06:41Staying here, I mean, going back to win.
06:44So Hunter Lawrence has four wins, Eli has four, and Ken Rocks only has three.
06:52So now they're going to be tied in wins most likely after this race.
06:57It's going to put even more pressure on both of these riders to go out and win these next three
07:04races
07:05because you don't want to go to a tied scenario.
07:07Boy, that would be crazy.
07:09Three races to go when the checkered flag drops here.
07:12Again, pulling another tear-off.
07:15I mean, just in one lap alone, he's gone for four, JT.
07:19Yeah, and just wondering if that fuel is splashing up there.
07:22Is that getting onto his goggle lens?
07:24You've seen him pull so many tear-offs, which is unusual because the rain has stopped,
07:28and he really has no roost in front of him.
07:29So you wonder if he's getting gas splashing into his goggle lens.
07:33And guys, I've been in this situation.
07:35That fuel burned so badly over time, and there's still six-plus minutes to go in this race.
07:40He's in a really tough spot here.
07:42And that just shows you, JT, how valuable the time is.
07:46You don't want to stop and put that hose back on the gas cap
07:49because he don't want to lose those positions.
07:51Yeah, no, he's committed at this point.
07:56Watch this as far as the gas leaking.
07:59See it coming out of the top there?
08:02I mean, that is – it doesn't seem like much.
08:04That is a lot.
08:06It really is.
08:07Yeah, that's a lot.
08:09He ain't stopping.
08:11No, he's not.
08:12And it just kind of goes back to big picture.
08:14This is – it's uncharacteristic for Hunter to make these mistakes.
08:20I mean, he's been so clutch all season long.
08:23And I'll be straight up.
08:25I'm shocked by what I saw.
08:27I mean, it can happen.
08:28Everybody's human.
08:29But he just – I mean, I feel like he's just that good.
08:32Well, at this stage, every single pass is going to mean something big
08:37because the points as they run, there's only one between Hunter Lawrence and Ken Rockson.
08:44It started out as 10 before this Triple Crown began earlier today here in Ohio.
08:51So there's three races to go, three rounds to go in the Supercross portion
08:55of the Monster Energy SMX World Championship.
08:57Philly next week, followed by Denver, Colorado,
09:01followed by the Championship in Salt Lake City.
09:04We couldn't ask for things to be any closer in the Premier Class.
09:08Full-blown pressure cooker.
09:10Oh, my goodness.
09:10I mean, it's just coming down to the wire where basically you're going to have to win
09:13to win this championship.
09:15And I did not see this coming.
09:18But this is what I love about Monster Energy Supercross and SMX World Championship.
09:23You just never know.
09:25And this has been one for the ages.
09:27He gets by for the second time, gets by Triumph's Jordan Smith.
09:32So that was for 11th for Hunter Lawrence.
09:36Now he needs to set sights on Kawasaki's Garrett Marchbanks
09:41to break into the top 10.
09:46Yeah, we saw Justin Cooper.
09:48He was up a lot higher, and then he had a 107, so he obviously went down.
09:52But he also needs his pass on Dean Wilson to be able to get back up on the podium.
09:55As you can see, he's tied with Chase Sexton.
09:58We've got Garrett Marchbanks trying to make it difficult.
10:01And who this is helping is Hunter Lawrence.
10:03As they slow down, brings him back in the game.
10:05As he's a little farther back, he's going to need every position he can get.
10:09And let's not forget about the man out in front.
10:12Aboard his trusty Suzuki.
10:15Roxen is a whopping nine seconds in the lead.
10:19He's just cruising right now.
10:21This is such a great position to be in.
10:24James, you know it better than anybody.
10:26I mean, you can just maintain.
10:27You can play around.
10:29You can, you know, look to see where your competition is.
10:33Before time gets away from us, a quick reminder to stock up on Monster Energy drinks
10:37at True North Convenience Stores.
10:41So, the man in control, the man in the lead, and the man in the chase for the championship.
10:46What are Ken Roxen's thoughts on it?
10:49To be honest, the biggest thing is focusing on myself and control what I can control.
10:54So, starts, obviously no mistakes, no crashes or anything.
10:58But, yeah, it's time to be ahead of Hunter.
11:00And either win as many points as possible or lose as little as possible.
11:06You know, there's always the possibility of anything.
11:08So, I feel like that's the fun part about being in this situation.
11:12Just the unknown and the excitement about it.
11:14The day that started so well with a victory has turned into a nightmare for Hunter Lawrence.
11:19This third race of the Triple Crown has just been brutal.
11:25Now, it goes a lap down, and it is unraveling in front of our eyes right now.
11:30Never saw this happening, James, and this is crazy.
11:35Yeah, it's going to go up.
11:36Marsh Banks on off, gets in here, triples.
11:40I wonder if he catches back tire right here.
11:41There you go.
11:42Gets down.
11:43He wanted to slow down and try to get underneath Garrett.
11:46But Garrett goes down.
11:49This is earlier in the race.
11:51Ooh.
11:52Justin Cooper.
11:53Oh, my goodness.
11:54Oh.
11:55That could have been way worse right there as he gets off somewhat luckily but costly.
12:01As far as having a shot at winning this thing.
12:04But it looks like he's back in a position.
12:09This is going to be a massive points day for Ken Rockson here tonight, JT.
12:14Massive.
12:15Yeah, and there's one other risk here that I don't even want to speak into existence.
12:19But if he lost a lot of fuel here, they optimized for these triple crown races with fuel.
12:25I don't even want to mention him, but the fact that he could be running low on fuel weight here
12:29has to be somewhere in the mechanic's mind.
12:32It's already gone so poorly.
12:33We'll just hope he has another minute 15 left in this thing.
12:36Very good point.
12:38Yeah, and remember, when he's fallen down, the gas tank has been on the lower side.
12:43So, you have to assume that fuel was coming out as the bike was laid over as well.
12:50Try to see if we can see some still coming out.
12:53That'll indicate and give us a good gauge as to is there plenty in there for probably another three laps.
12:59Just sort of splash out there.
13:00That's a good sign.
13:01Yeah, I was starting to think that maybe as it got lower, it wouldn't come out as much.
13:05But the only silver lining in this is that he did get lapped by Ken Rockson.
13:09So, if he stays here, he's not going to lose any more positions as far as the way it is,
13:14unless he doesn't finish his race.
13:17We're going to this.
13:20Well, the thing about it, with fuel injection these days, back in the day, you'd be able to tell if
13:26the bike was going to run out of the gas.
13:28It would start to run very, very lean.
13:30It would make a certain sound.
13:33Whereas, with fuel injection, you get no warning.
13:36It completely shuts off.
13:37So, let's hope that that won't happen.
13:40I think we're going to be all right.
13:42Not a lot of drag on the motorcycle.
13:44Back up front.
13:46Ken Rockson.
13:49What a job done, man.
13:51Time is up.
13:52Two to go from here.
13:54And if Kenny can hang on and get his fourth main event win of the year, it will be his
14:0227th career victory.
14:04That ties him for 10th overall with Bob Hurricane Hannah.
14:10One to go for Kenny.
14:14Great, Rod.
14:15Go back to that opening triple crown.
14:17You know, the way Hunter won that opening race in a triple crown looks very easy.
14:23Normall extended that shift.
14:25Kenny stayed there.
14:26And then look at what we have right now.
14:28Here it is, crowd.
14:36That is incredible.
14:38Justin Hill, he almost got on the podium last weekend and it went away from him later in the race.
14:44Now he's surging late in the race on the Team Tedder KTM and just passes former factory KTM rider Chase
14:51Sexton.
14:53That podium is there.
14:54Look at Kenny.
14:55He knows the win is his.
14:59And here he is looking at it.
15:02Ken Rockson wins the triple crown in Cleveland and is right in this championship.
15:09Turned down for what?
15:10He did a motto for you, Lee.
15:12That's right.
15:13He popped a motto.
15:16Great job by this dude.
15:18He told us.
15:19He told us he could run with these guys.
15:21It's a tough day at the office for Hunter Lawrence.
15:25But Kenny has done it again.
15:30It's the first time in 10 years that he has won three races in the second half of the season.
15:38People doubting his second half performance was the catalyst for him to turn things around when he was annoyed.
15:47He was angry.
15:48He said, just watch me.
15:49And now he's just got his fourth main event winner of the year.
15:53And is one point out of this championship chase.
15:56What a raise.
15:58And one of the first people to come up and congratulate him was Hunter Lawrence.
16:02See him come by.
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