BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — After a two-week break, the intense racing of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship is back and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Chase Sexton earned the win inside Protective Stadium with (1-1-2) Race results in the third Triple Crown-formatted event of the season.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Malcolm Stewart gritted out three incredible finishes (3-2-3) after a crash in qualifying left him in severe hip pain throughout the night.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Aaron Plessinger led laps and earned his second podium of the season with (2-3-5) Race finishes.
The Birmingham Supercross capped off the Triple Crown championship; Sexton earned that title with 1-3-1 finishes at the Glendale, Arlington, and Birmingham Supercross events.
“Triple Crowns are tough because even if you win the first two races, just like what happened to RJ [Hampshire in the 250SX Class], something can go wrong in the first turn,” Sexton explained. “Thank God my starts were good tonight; I got the holeshot. I rode pretty solid. I wasn’t doing the [triple jump] in the last Race, just being a little conservative. It was a good race, Coop rode good, and I’m stoked to get that monkey off my back and get another win and get this season going in the right direction finally… This is my favorite part of the season, these last seven or eight rounds. It seems like it’s where I really shine… Coop is riding really good, he’s a fighter, so it should be a good fight to the end.”
Sexton trails Webb by eight points.
In 250SX class racing, Nate Thrasher took the event overall through consistent (3-3-2) Race scores. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s R.J. Hampshire (1-2-5) was in good position going into Race 3, but after being slowed by another rider’s crash in the first turn he found himself well outside of the top 15.
Hampshire raced his way up to fifth place, one spot shy of a finish that would have given him the overall. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle, the points leader entering the event, finished on the podium with (2-5-3) race results.
Vialle extended his points lead due to a DNS from Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Max Anstie who crashed out of the event during daytime qualifying. The winner of the previous round, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Seth Hammaker, crashed on the opening lap of Race 1 and could only recover to ninth. He took the win in Race 2 and Race 3, but his (9-1-1) was only enough to earn him a fourth place overall in Birmingham.
“I really felt coming into this season that this was going to be my year,” Thrasher said. “Tampa went okay, I ended up crashing on the first lap. But then we just kept fighting every round. I just knew that I’m tough enough to be out there. This week I was finally able to do two days [of practice] before coming to this race and those two days were great. I’m super excited and I’m just ready to get the ball rolling. We’re not out of [the championship] yet.”
