What riders said after Philadelphia Supercross: 'It's time to make or break.'

NBC Sports

15-04-2025

Here is what the riders had to say and post after Round 13 of the Monster Energy Supercross at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
Chase Sexton — Winner, 450s: 'It's time to make or break. I felt great all day, and that's how you do it: one, one, one, one [fastest qualifier in both sessions, heat race win, Main Event win]. I'm looking forward to the next race, but today was awesome. Good, dry track, not like last weekend, and I'm feeling good on the bike. It's been fun and today was a good step in the right direction.'
Cooper Webb — Finished 2nd, 450s: 'It was a barn burner. We battled back the whole time. We both got [caught] up in that first turn [tangle]. He got going in front of me and we were coming through the pack together. He was able to charge through, I was coming with and just hoping I could pass guys just as fast as he did. And I did until we got to [Ken Roczen]. He got around Kenny and put in two or three sprint laps and kinda dictated the race. I had a bad line [in one corner] and it was killing me. I should have caught up on that first, should've started jumping that quad sooner; woulda-shoulda-coulda on a lot of things. But he rode great. We'll come back next weekend and kick his ass, though.'
Ken Roczen — Finished 3rd, 450s: 'When the race time comes, I always seem to buckle up and do what I do. Obviously, I'm not riding the best in general just because I haven't ridden during the week really since after Indy. It's been really tough; I'm pretty banged up with the shoulder and the ankle. I know its monotonous to talk about but that's really what's holding me back. Especially this track, because we had five right-hand turns to two left-hand turns, and it's my right ankle. So, I'm [losing] a lot of time in the turn just trying not to put my foot down, because it's not very fun [to dab the ground at speed]. So I haven't been in the best spot lately but I'm really trying to keep my head in there. I have a great support team behind me that kinda keeps me out here, because sometimes I do want to quit. But we always come back.'
Malcolm Stewart — Finished 4th, 450s: 'P4 in Philly, track was a tough one ! on to NJ😎.'
Joey Savatgy — Finished 5th, 450s: 'This sport gives you the highest highs and the lowest lows. As I've aged a (tiny) bit, I've learned to enjoy the highs and erase the lows. P5 on the weekend, felt good to have some clean air from Lap 1 🤪… starts and opening 5 [minutes] are my weakness right now, but I love the feeling of accomplishing a goal. So back to work this week, figure my starts out for the final stretch and see what it brings 🫡🙏.'
Justin Cooper — Finished 6th, 450s: 'It turned out pretty well after all the rain we got yesterday. I thought the track was good all day. The soil was a little tricky, I think no matter what, and that came into play in the main. I had a great day going all the way around, and a great heat race. I just got tangled up in the first turn. I went down there and had to come back from a first-turn pileup. I was riding okay, but the bike was a little bit bent up, so it made it a little bit tougher. I just kept charging all the way through and finished sixth. Obviously, it's not ideal, but we can't be too bummed about it. I'm riding well, but yeah, stuff happens. On to New Jersey.'
Benny Bloss — Finished 9th, 450s: 'Solid day in Philadelphia, season best qualifying and heat race finishes. P9 in the main, blew a chance at a really good result with some terrible laps in the middle part of the race but finished strong to get back in the top ten. Excited for these last four rounds.'
Mitchell Oldenburg — Finished 11th, 450s: 'P11 in Philly. Had a really strong pace going the first half of the main, but unfortunately pumped up🤷🏻‍♂️. Little bit of recovery and some more work this week and we will be ready for East Rutherford this weekend🤠.'
Shane McElrath — Finished 12th, 450s: 'Never a good feeling hitting the ground in the first corner—but in the spirit of Rocky, it's not about how hard you get hit, it's about how you keep moving forward! Philly had a lot of positives! We thought it might be another mudder, but the track turned out awesome—technical and fun. Had good speed and felt strong in the main, even after the crash. Stoked on the progress with the team, bike, and program—ready to keep chipping away this week! 👊🏼.'
Colt Nichols — Finished 13th, 450s: 'Made it tough on myself last night by starting terribly and just not having enough intensity at the beginning of the race. I'll keep working and try again at MetLife 👊🏽.'
Justin Barcia — Finished 14th, 450s: 'Well that was disappointing… Really made the best of yesterday with the finger injury pushed through the pain and not being able to use my front brake. Got the holeshot in the main event went to hit my rear brake after the finish and it wasn't there. Stuff happens it's Motorsports but it sure was a shame as that was going to be a fantastic race. Going to regroup this week try and get my finger healed up a bit and come out swinging in Jersey.'
Christian Craig — Finished 15th, 450s: 'Philly was a tricky one. My speed was there during the day, but I struggled a bit in the main and just couldn't get going. I feel like I'm making progress. I just need to put it together when it counts.'
Mitchell Harrison — Finished 16th, 450s: 'P16 Philly 🦅. Got lucky with a great start, thought I rode great. Then played way too nice of a lapper the last [five minutes] and [lost] some positions I shouldn't of. Oh well, confidence is getting better.'
Kyle Chisholm — Finished 18th, 450s: 'Not my best stuff in Philly unfortunately. But I gave it my best. Sometimes your best isn't THE best but it's not for lack of effort. Just wasn't comfortable on the track all day and felt off. But it happens and I still enjoyed my day doing what I love to do. 👍🏼.'
Kevin Moranz — Finished 19th, 450s: 'Stoked to battle our way back into transfer position in the LCQ to make our 10th 450 main event this season. ALL you need is a stock KTM 450😉. Luckily we were able to find a stock replacement engine for our bike, ... and I worked together most of Thursday and all day Friday to frame the bike and swap an engine.'
Grant Harlan — Finished 20th, 450s: 'Philly started out pretty rough. Waking up with the sore throat of doom followed by a goony crash in Q2. Was nice to nail the LCQ start and get another win in that but didn't really have anything in the tank for the main. Going to get some rest this week and be ready to go for the next one.'
Cole Davies — Winner, 250s: 'It was a really good night for me. I was able to make some quick passes pretty early in the main and just rode my own race from there. To win an East / West Showdown in my rookie season is an amazing accomplishment for me, but the work doesn't stop there. We're back to work next week. Let's keep this momentum going.'
Haiden Deegan — Finished 2nd, 250s: 'It took me a little bit to find my flow, and right in that middle [portion of the race] is where I really found my flow. It was like the best I've felt in a long time. I really just locked in perfect laps and didn't make any mistakes after I got around [Seth] Hammaker and [RJ] Hampshire. I was flowing, slowly reeling in Cole. He ended up getting the Dub [win], I got second. That just felt good. … That first part of that race, I was a little too slow. I think I didn't sprint hard enough, and I've just got to work on stuff like that. I don't know whether it's in my mind, like 'championship mode,' where I just try to be smart and not go down during those first few laps that's hindering me. I mean, it's working [for the points lead], so I don't want to change it too much. Yeah, I definitely need to pick it up those first few laps.'
RJ Hampshire — Finished 3rd, 250s: 'The things that went through my head going into that first turn, on the first start [when Hampshire crashed in the first start before the red-flag restart], I felt [my injured wrist] cracking and popping. It was literally locked in with handlebars with, I think it was [Coty] Schock on the inside. I just couldn't get out of it, and the things running through your head are, 'Man, did you do it again?!' I got up and felt pretty good. … You never want to see it, but a red flag came out. This one definitely worked in my favor. We got a re-start. You don't get these chances all the time. So I absolutely crushed that second start and it was literally perfect. I led a bit but just did not feel good… I'm thankful to get out of here with good points and tied for the lead now.'
Seth Hammaker — Finished 4th, 250s: 'Today went pretty well. I got second in the first qualifier, then ended up P1 in the second qualifier. Coming into the night show, I felt pretty good. We got a little bit of rain during the day, but I ripped a good start in the heat race and rode away with it, which felt really good and gave me more confidence. In the main event, I ripped the holeshot again and was riding away with it a little bit, but then the red flag came out and we had to go back to the gate for a full restart. The restart was pretty tough. I was just trying to stay calm, get back on the gate, take some deep breaths, and try to execute another good start. It's tough physically and mentally when you go out and have a two or three-lap sprint and then have to stop. I got another decent start on the restart, I was second behind RJ, but I didn't ride the best during the main event. I made a few mistakes and I was struggling to find the flow. I felt like I couldn't get a clean lap in to put it all together. After the restart, a couple of riders got around me. RJ and I were battling for a while, but I ended up P4. It's nice to have a good result in front of the home crowd. I wanted to be on the podium, but I got the heat race win and it was a good day in general with all my family and friends here. It's really cool and always special coming here. I still have the red plate heading into New Jersey. I feel pretty good about it, and we'll come out next week ready to go.'
Jo Shimoda — Finished 5th, 250s: 'P5 in Philadelphia. Good step forward yesterday, fought as much as I can but still need to find more, thank you everyone 🙏🏻.'
Tom Vialle — Finished 6th, 250s: 'P6 in Philly, overall I'm just glad to be alright and healthy after my crash in the heat race. We're only two points behind in the championship with three races to go! Time to turn it around let's go 🚀.'
Garrett Marchbanks — Finished 7th, 250s: 'Qualifying was solid today. I ran P1 for most of both qualifying sessions until the last lap, and I got bumped down to P2. Second was the best qualifying result I've had in a long time. I was feeling good all day through qualifying and I had a good gate pick going into the heat. The heat felt solid, I just didn't get off to the best of starts, made a couple of mistakes and got fourth. I was seventh gate pick going into the main, which was alright. The gates were pretty hammered this weekend because of how muddy they were. I had a little wheel spin off the first start, tried to make some quick passes, then the red flag came out by the time I got up to ninth. I was hoping to have a better start on the red flag restart but still had a little bit of a mishap off the gate. We are going to go back this week and work on starts in similar conditions. I blame myself a little for not learning that mistake for the second start so hopefully I can figure that out. During the main I tried to jump through the pack but got held up with some other riders. I felt like I was overriding for most of the main and just being too aggressive. Once I finally had a little bit of an open track I put some good laps together, but it was too late because those top six guys were too far gone. I'm a little bummed on how well I rode at the beginning of the day and didn't execute the main in a similar way. East / West Showdowns are pretty tough, but I'm looking forward to Salt Lake City for the third one. We've got Denver in three weeks, so we'll keep building, working hard, and figuring some things out.'
Maximus Vohland — Finished 8th, 250s: 'P8. We know what we need to work on.'
Chance Hymas — Finished 10th, 250s: 'P10 on the night. Happy with my speed all day and happy with the bike. Small crash [cost] me a lot but gotta learn how to limit the mistakes a bit better. Get to go at it again next weekend at least!'
Coty Schock — Finished 11th, 250s: 'P11 Philly. Struggled to say the least but these are the days we learn most so grateful for that. With the negatives, there's still positives. The one percent. … it means to try to be better each day whether you're succeeding or not. I've learned a lot about myself this year so just trying to hone in on all the little details to get where I want to be and WILL be. Thank you everyone for the love and support❤️.'
Nate Thrasher — Finished 14th, 250s: 'It was a tough day in Philadelphia. I woke up sick and managed through the day. I put in some good laps for qualifying, and in the heat race, I was riding well. I had to change my line in the whoops and went down. I had a big contusion on my right arm and messed up the bike, and I had to go through the LCQ. In the main event, I had a bad gate pick on the far outside and spun up really badly. Then a few laps in, my arm pumped up really bad from having the contusion. It was really difficult to hold on, and I just had to bring it home. It was a really rough night, but I'm not going to let it keep me down. I know what I'm capable of. We're going to keep working and get to the front.'
Cullin Park — Finished 15th, 250s: 'P15 for the showdown in Philly. Needed more intensity early in the main. Lost my clutch with two to go but luckily only lost one spot. Work on some things this week, I'll be ready to fight next weekend.'
Hunter Yoder — Finished 19th, 250s: 'Frustrated and disappointed. Felt like a clown on the track all day long. I've had a disappointing last couple [of] weeks but going to stay positive and make the best of every session I get on track for the rest of the season.'
Gavin Towers — Finished 20th, 250s: 'Yesterday was a big up and down day to say the least. Woke up feeling pretty under the weather. And from there it was a little snowball effect. Had some trouble in Q2, which caused me to miss the whole session. Was able to get everything dialed for the night show. Crashed in the heat, won the LCQ, which was awesome considering the guys in there. Main was a struggle after the restart. Taking the positives into my two-week break we will see you in Denver.'
Daxton Bennick — Finished 22nd, 250s: 'Happy to be somewhat ok from the crash in Philly. [I] got cross-jumped pretty hard after a bad start in the main, just trying to get through the pack. I [suffered a] compression fracture [of] a vertebra in my back and was knocked out for a short amount of time. Me and the team are gonna start working on a plan to get my recovery going and to come back when I'm ready.'
What Riders said after:
Foxborough | Seattle | Birmingham | Indianapolis | Daytona | Arlington | Detroit | Tampa | Glendale | Anaheim 2 | San Diego | Anaheim 1
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