When you look back on the first fifteen rounds of the 2025 Monster Energy AMA Supercross 450 Championship, round five in Tampa looms monumental in the landscape of the series. In the week leading up to Tampa, HRC Honda’s defending champion, Jett Lawrence announced his departure from the series after suffering a torn ACL in Glendale. Then in Tampa qualifying, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Eli Tomac injured his leg. Tomac suffered through the night despite the injury, but later found out the leg was broken. In the opening lap of a heat race, Hunter Lawrence went down with a crash and subsequent shoulder injury. In the main event and it was Progressive/ECSTAR Suzuki’s Ken Roczen who crashed out of the main event in spectacular fashion. Roczen avoided injury but the DNF put him way back in the points hunt.
After Tampa, it became clear that Red Bull KTM’s Chase Sexton and Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb were going to be the two fighting for the 450 Supercross Championship. Over the next ten races, the two racked up multiple wins and podiums, and heading into the penultimate round in Denver, Webb held a twelve-point advantage over Sexton.
Despite multiple duels, things have remained cordial between the two. You'll often see them shake hands after the race and show mutual respect in post-race interviews and press conferences. There’s been some trash talk gestures yes, like the battle of the finger guns, then Webb’s “rock the baby” last weekend, then a new move from Sexton this week, but it has not spilled into anything nefarious on the track.
But in Denver, things got a little weird. On the opening lap Chase felt that Coop cross jumped him in the first rhythm lane and that did not sit well with the 2023 champ. That allowed Webb to get the early lead, but Sexton caught him and went for an aggressive pass on the red plate holder at the end of lap four. Webb was able to keep it on two wheels, while Sexton rode away with the win, trimming his points deficit down to nine heading into the finale.
They each gave their view of the situation at the press conference. “I could feel him for sure,” said Webb. “He was coming in and he wanted the pass. You never know, I mean it for a championship, so it is always in the back of your mind. He thought I cross jumped him early and I get the frustration and stuff so you have to expect it, we are mindful of it. It was just good to not go down, and then he rode away from us,” Webb explained.
Sexton explained that he didn’t make an aggressive move on Webb because of the championship. He was just mad about the first lap.
“I was just really fired up from the first lap. I felt like it was a little dangerous,” Sexton said. “I think he may have gotten cross jumped a bit from the guy in the front and then I was in third and got the worst end of it. Luckily, I was able to see it and did not crash. I was seeing red at that point. I wanted to get to the lead, and I knew I could run some good laps, so if I got out front and break away, that was my goal.”
Cooper discussed what led to the cross jump and gave a bit of an apology admitting, “Like he (Sexton) said, Malcolm had the holeshot. Everyone is going left to get their line. He kind of went left on me, I went left, and that put us all at risk for sure. It’s unfortunate because I do not want to do that. I hate getting cross jumped, I think it is bullshit. Obviously, it’s not intentional by any means, and we are trying to make such quick work early, and it was a section that I would clip and get cattywampus all day. I think all of us besides Chase were really struggling with that jump in general. I didn’t mean to [do it], and I get it in the moment, hopefully he knows I would never do that on purpose.”
With one round to go and nine points to gain, Sexton is going to need a small miracle or get aggressive, to win his second championship next weekend in Salt Lake City. Despite everything at stake next weekend, Chase denied any temptations to force the issue next weekend.
“I mean, it is for a championship, but I’m not going to do anything dumb. Even tonight, that’s aggressive for my standards, on my part. I have cross jumped Coop a few times, so it’s not like I haven’t done it. I was just fired up; we all get emotional in the moment. I’m not a dirty rider. I just try to do what I can and see what happens behind me. That’s my goal. That is about as aggressive as it gets for me.”
For Webb, this is the closest points lead he has had to protect coming into a 450SX finale. He talked about how this compares to final round in his previous championship seasons. “It is more of a head-on battle.,” Coop explained. “In 2021 Kenny and I really went at it, the last two [titles] though, I had a bit of a breather. I went into the last round with like a twenty-point lead both years. Nowhere near that this year and it has been a dogfight, and every weekend is different, right? It has been good though, it’s what you live for. I feel like I have just been very consistent this year. I think I am riding the best I ever have, even compared to those championship years.”
Even with championship tension building, Sexton and Webb remained respectful towards each other. However, they did acknowledge that rivalry has built up throughout the season. “It’s just a championship rivalry, right? It’s good to have,” Webb professed. “We talk about it all the time. We are not friends by any means, but we have raced each other with a lot of respect, and we have raced each other for a long time now. You have run ins, you have heated stuff and I’m emotional, he’s emotional, and we both really want to win. I am sure when this is all over one day, we will get along great, but for the time being, it is business. You shake hands, you have respect, but you want to beat him, and vice versa. When you get two guys at the top going head-to-head, I think there should be a rivalry built up. It’s racing. It’s not sunshine and rainbows all the time, I think there should be some emotion.
Sexton echoed a lot of Webb’s thoughts. “I have a lot of respect for Coop. I grew up riding Yamahas, so we always parked together at Loretta’s and stuff like that. I was on 85’s and he was in the B class. For me, I have looked up to him my whole racing career. It’s cool to battle him, and we have had some run-ins, but there is nothing but respect. When you’re going for a championship, you have to be rivals and you must want to win, but you are not going to do anything blatant or stupid. We both have respect for each other, and it is cool to see where we have come from. I just remember those days when I was race 85 (9-11) and he was in the B class at Loretta’s. It’s just cool to see the journey from there.”
Through sixteen rounds, Webb and Sexton are responsible for eleven wins and are separated by just nine points. Often these tough title fights lead to hard feelings which translates into aggressive racing on the track. With Sexton admitting he's not much for overly aggressive riding, it's unlikely you'll see a 2017 Eli Tomac style "bunching" strategy next week, or a hard block pass attempting to knock Webb down. Unlikely, yes, but, a title is on the line, and emotions do play a part. How will Sexton and Webb play it in Salt Lake City.
