Injuries will play big role in deciding 2023 Supercross champion
It’s nothing new in Supercross for injuries to play a factor in the tapestry of a season, but 2023 took this as a challenge.
As we enter the seventeenth and final race of the season tonight at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah, four of the top 10 in points will not be racing, including Eli Tomac who entered Denver last week with a near-lock on the championship.
Tomac’s season ended a race early when he crashed in a jump in the whoops section, rupturing his Achilles tendon. Tomac is the defending 450 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Champion. The Denver native fell to second in championship points during the Denver race and mathematically can not fall any further.
The week prior, in the war zone we call Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Cooper Webb crashed on the opening lap of Heat 1 and was taken to the hospital, it was later revealed that he suffered a concussion and would be out for the rest of the SX season. Webb was running in second and fighting Tomac for the points lead for the majority of the season. He finished fifth or better in the first 14 rounds.
Tomac and Webb’s tragic and early exits set the stage for Chase Sexton, who quite honestly didn’t need any help shining during the second half of the season. Sexton entered Round 16 tied with Tomac with 11 podiums. Through the first eight races of the season, Sexton only had one win and was clearly hungry; he's gone on to win four of the last eight races.
Sexton was being pushed out of the points race by midseason mistakes and lack of wins; after his podium in Daytona where he finished behind Webb and Tomac, he had his worst race of the season in Indianapolis finishing 10th and a lap off the pace after crashing while challenging Ken Roczen for the lead.
Two weeks later, Sexton would crash from the lead in Seattle and have to settle for a fifth-place finish. Losing races in this fashion put the rider into a negative headspace.
“I’ve said before it was tough, while those were going on to even go on my phone,” Sexton said of how he started the year, “Between people texting me and trying to help, everyone having their own opinions on what my problem was, and then going on to Instagram and social media and seeing the comments.
"It was tough and it weighed a toll on me, I got a little bit negative in the middle of the season and some of those crashes I think were caused by being negative and not having confidence in myself. Having the break after Seattle and crashing while leading. I needed to clear my head, I didn’t ride at all that week, I told myself that I needed a break.”
Sexton turned to exercise and spent the week after Seattle with his trainer in Santa Barbara. When he came back and tested on the bike, he positively felt refreshed and the numbers speak for themselves as he’s had an average finish of 1.67 since.
Without the injuries to Tomac and Webb, Sexton was still going to be a factor going into championship weekend.
“Those race wins helped to build some confidence and you have to push through,” Sexton said. “When that stuff is going on you have to stay positive. I knew I could dig myself out of it, it was just a matter of time.”
23 in ‘23 Sexton Secures the Championship
This weekend, Sexton will be crowned the 450 Champion of the 2023 Monster Energy AMA Supercross season. Some came to the consensus that he won the championship last week but it’s a victory that he was not ready to claim in the wake of Tomac’s injury.
Sexton finished second in the Championship last year, seven points behind Tomac, this hard-fought championship marks the first one in two decades for Honda, with their last 450 wins coming from 2003 to 2023.
While not ready to celebrate, Sexton was not shy about why he thinks he’s still standing. The Honda rider credits the amount of work he puts in off the bike to his resilience throughout the season.
“All the training that I do during the offseason is to be durable and be able to last through 17 races,” Sexton said, “For me, that’s the biggest thing, I’ve had some big get-offs in the last few years and I don’t think, honestly, without my training program that I would be able to get up from those and keep racing.
"You’ve got to be durable and that’s why I do the hard work during the off-season and go to the gym. People say that I’m too bulky, too big. In 17 races, you need that.”
A non-exhausted timeline of the 2023 injuries
During practice for Anaheim 2, Malcolm Stewart suffered an injury that led to season-ending knee surgery. While Stewart was having a bad break to start the season, with accidents pushing him to midfield finishes at both Anaheim 1 and San Diego, he showed promise in his speed.
Dylan Ferrandis suffered from two accidents that called for rehabilitation periods, first in Round 4 at Houston and second three weeks later when he tried to return at Daytona and crashed during his practice run.
Christian Craig suffered a dislocated hip and elbow injury during Round 12 in Glendale forcing him to leave his first full 450 season early.
Aaron Plessinger crashed during practice in East Rutherford, injuring his hip. It was at the time he was hopeful to return the following week at Nashville, but he still has not yet returned to the gate. Plessinger was running seventh in points at the time of his injury.
The majority of this season’s attrition has come in the last few weeks, and the majority of that came during Round 16, commonly and none referred to as “Crashville”.
While Webb’s concussion was the main storyline to come out of Nashville Round 15, as the days ticked off more riders announced that they obtained season-ending injuries. Jason Anderson crashed in practice and ran the rest of the weekend events assuming he was fine.
After the round, Anderson went in for a CT scan and was found to have a non-displaced fracture at the C5-C6 vertebrae in his neck. Monster Energy Kawasaki announced that he would sit out the final two rounds of the Supercross season.
Justin Barcia was injured in the Nashville round but the team waited until after he successfully underwent surgery on his collarbone before announcing his season was over.
In addition to his collarbone, Barcia broke two ribs and his right shoulder. He won't be back until next season -- and the start of Motocross. As one of the more successful riders on the outdoor grid, this loss will be one of many to affect the season and how the final standings play out after the season finale Saturday in Salt Lake City..