Chase Sexton Dominates as Seth Hammaker Takes Control At New Jersey Supercross

The 2025 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship rolled into East Rutherford, New Jersey, for round 14 of the 450SX class and round eight of the 250SX East series.

MetLife Stadium, home to the New York Jets and Giants, played host to its annual Supercross round in front of an enthusiastic Northeast crowd. With Chase Sexton dominating the 450SX main event and Seth Hammaker claiming his second 250SX East victory of the season, the night saw major shifts in both championship battles as the season heads into its final three rounds.

450SX

Qualifying in the 450SX class has been unpredictable all season, and East Rutherford was no different. Chase Sexton and Cooper Webb went head-to-head in the time sheets throughout the sessions, but it was Justin Cooper who stole top honours with a late-session flyer of 51.443. Sexton was close behind on a 51.554, with Webb just a fraction off at 51.593. Ken Roczen and Malcolm Stewart rounded out the top five, posting times of 51.938 and 52.013 respectively.

In heat one, Sexton and Roczen jumped out front and quickly broke away from the pack. Roczen kept the pressure on early, but Sexton gradually stretched out his lead to cross the line six seconds clear. Barcia fought his way through to third, with Shane McElrath and Justin Hill rounding out the top five.

Heat two saw Justin Cooper grab the holeshot ahead of Webb, Aaron Plessinger, and Stewart. Webb and Cooper traded lines for several laps, but eventually Webb found a faster line through the whoops to take control. Their dice allowed Plessinger and Stewart to close the gap, but Webb held firm to take the win. Joey Savatgy finished fifth, while Fredrik Noren held off Mitchell Harrison for the final transfer spot.

Carrying momentum from his win in Philadelphia, Sexton was all business in the main event. The Red Bull KTM rider grabbed the lead early and immediately put his sprint speed to work, clocking the fastest lap of the night and opening a double-digit lead over Webb. As the race wore on, Sexton continued to build his advantage, eventually lapping up to eighth place and crossing the line 14.5 seconds clear to claim back-to-back wins.

Behind him, Webb gave chase but couldn’t match the pace, particularly in the whoops, where Sexton was blitzing while Webb played it safer. The Yamaha rider settled for second on the night and now holds just a nine-point lead in the championship with three rounds to go.

Barcia ran third for much of the race while under pressure from Plessinger, but a crash in the whoops late in the moto ended his charge. That allowed Plessinger to take third and notch another podium finish. Justin Cooper maintained a strong pace to finish fourth, with Dylan Ferrandis rounding out the top five.

Sexton was all smiles after his dominant performance, noting that everything clicked from start to finish:

“I felt good all day. The two whoop sections helped me out a lot. I really feel like I made a lot of time up there,” he said. “The KTM group has the bike working great. I had such a good flow that moto, and it really just felt like it was effortless for me, which is what we want. We’ll just try to keep that going, but I’m stoked. Fifth win of the season, so just try to keep truckin’ and focus week in/week out and see where we get. Overall, I’m having fun. I got a great start and made it happen.”

Webb was candid in assessing his runner-up ride, acknowledging Chase Sexton’s pace and his own struggles in the whoops:

“It’s tough, he was on it and he was killing me in those two sets of whoops,” Webb lamented. “It’s something we’ve tried to fix this year, but these are gnarly. They have ruts all the way down them. I’m still pretty mind blown how he was able to do it so good. You’re trying to just stay with him, and he rode awesome. He was inching away, and those whoops were really killing me. I got a little tight, and that was all she wrote. With that being said, he did what he needed to do, he rode a great race, he kicked my butt, and I didn’t put my money where my mouth was. We’ll go back, re-group. Definitely bummed on that finish, we wanted more fight tonight, but it is what it is and we’ll come back swinging… and try come win next week.”

Aaron Plessinger admitted the track took its toll but was satisfied to leave New Jersey with another podium:

“I was ready for this track to be over since second practice. It was gnarly, but it was just steep. I’ve been riding outdoors a little bit more than Supercross, so I got on this track and I was like, ‘Woah!’ But nonetheless, we had a good ride. These guys were on another level. I was just pushing as hard as I could. Heartrate got high and I slowed it down a little bit. Third’s good, five podiums now, and we’re going to finish this season off strong and head to outdoors feeling good.”

250SX

With the East Coast red plate shared between Seth Hammaker and RJ Hampshire coming into round eight—and Tom Vialle just two points behind, qualifying was always going to be intense. Hammaker delivered a statement lap in the final session, topping the timesheets with a 51.521, more than a second clear of Hampshire (52.595) and just ahead of Vialle (52.655). Austin Forkner (52.691) and Nate Thrasher (52.810) completed a stacked top five, setting up another tight night of racing.

In the opening heat, Chance Hymas launched to the front with Lane Shaw, Forkner, and Hampshire in tow. Early chaos in the rhythm lane saw Shaw lose momentum and Forkner hit the ground, though he quickly remounted and remained in the top five. Out front, Hymas looked strong, but Hampshire chipped away at the gap and set up a thrilling final corner. Despite a wide-sweeping move from Hampshire, Hymas held on to win by just 0.236 seconds. Devin Simonson secured third, while Forkner and Cullin Park completed the top five.

Nate Thrasher nailed the start in heat two, leading Jack Chambers early before Hammaker, Vialle, and Maximus Vohland moved into the top five. Hammaker applied pressure but couldn’t find a way around, and Thrasher controlled the race to take the win.

When the gate dropped for the 250SX main event, it was Thrasher out front again, but Hammaker wasted no time moving into the lead on lap one. The Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider was smooth and calculated up front, while Hampshire climbed into second after Thrasher crashed in the turn following the triple.

Though Hampshire stayed close, he was never able to mount a pass attempt. Hammaker negotiated lapped traffic with precision and maintained a four-second buffer all the way to the finish, taking his second win of the season and sole possession of the championship lead by three points.

Vialle worked his way into third by the halfway point and closed on Hampshire late in the race, but had to settle for the final podium spot. The defending champion now sits seven points behind Hammaker in the standings. Thrasher recovered to finish fourth on track but was later penalised one position, dropping him to fifth. Hymas, who had looked promising in his heat, saw his night end early after a big crash in the rhythm section forced him to retire.

Hammaker became the first repeat winner in the 250SX East division this season, delivering a flawless ride in East Rutherford to take the win and the red plate.

“It was a good day here at MetLife,” said Hammaker. “Took fastest in qualifying, then P2 in the heat behind Nate—he was riding well, but I felt solid. Got a great start in the main, passed Nate at the end of the rhythm lane and took the lead, which was key. He pressured me for a bit, but I found my lines, settled in, and started clicking off good laps. Navigated through lappers well and started jumping the whoops, which helped. Super pumped to get the win and finally have the red plate—great to do it close to home with family and friends here.”

After settling for second behind Hammaker, Hampshire was encouraged by his performance and the progress made throughout the day, noting improvements across the board and confidence heading into the final stretch of the championship.

“This one was a step in the right direction in pretty much all areas for me,” reflected RJ Hampshire. “I got a good start and just did my laps, as I just didn’t quite have it for Seth. The track was super tricky tonight and could catch you out if you weren’t careful, so I am happy with a P2. I feel like we’re peaking at the right time, so we’ll go out there and look for the win in Pittsburgh.”

Tom Vialle was content with a podium but admitted mistakes and a poor start cost him a better result:

“The track was pretty tough tonight, and my start wasn’t the best. I had to pass a few guys and then, I mean, Seth was first and he had a pretty good gap. I rode pretty much the whole race behind RJ, and I couldn’t do much more. I made a few mistakes. Tonight we end up third and we’re going to try again next weekend.” the Frenchman said.

Next up, the 2025 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship heads to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 26 for Round 15 of the 450SX series and Round 9 of the 250SX East. 

450 Main Event Results
Pos	No	Rider	Nat	Bike	Gap
1	4	Chase Sexton	USA	KTM	+0.000
2	2	Cooper Webb	USA	Yamaha	+14.645
3	7	Aaron Plessinger	USA	KTM	+29.143
4	32	Justin Cooper	USA	Yamaha	+31.635
5	14	Dylan Ferrandis	FRA	Honda	+37.765
6	27	Malcolm Stewart	USA	Husqvarna	+42.620
7	94	Ken Roczen	GER	Suzuki	+58.874
8	12	Shane McElrath	USA	Honda	+1 Lap
9	15	Dean Wilson	GBR	Honda	+1 Lap
10	46	Justin Hill	USA	Tedder KTM	+1 Lap
11	17	Joey Savatgy	USA	Honda	+1 Lap
12	28	Christian Craig	USA	Yamaha	+1 Lap
13	45	Colt Nichols	USA	Suzuki	+1 Lap
14	86	Mitchell Harrison	USA	Kawasaki	+1 Lap
15	49	Mitchell Oldenburg	USA	Beta	+2 Laps
16	11	Kyle Chisholm	USA	Suzuki	+2 Laps
17	33	Freddie Noren	SWE	Kawasaki	+2 Laps
18	51	Justin Barcia	USA	GASGAS	+2 Laps
19	57	Benny Bloss	USA	Beta	+2 Laps
20	711	Tristan Lane	USA	Privateer	+2 Laps
21	68	Jeremy Hand	USA	Kawasaki	+3 Laps
22	43	Grant Harlan	USA	Yamaha	+13 Laps

450 Championship Standings
Pos	No	Rider Name	Points
1	2	Cooper Webb	300 points
2	4	Chase Sexton	291 points
3	94	Ken Roczen	255 points
4	32	Justin Cooper	221 points
5	27	Malcolm Stewart	220 points
6	7	Aaron Plessinger	204 points
7	51	Justin Barcia	185 points
8	46	Justin Hill	161 points
9	14	Dylan Ferrandis	152 points
10	21	Jason Anderson	151 points
11	12	Shane McElrath	150 points
12	49	Mitchell Oldenburg	110 points
13	17	Joey Savatgy	108 points
14	57	Benny Bloss	104 points
15	45	Colt Nichols	102 points
16	3	Eli Tomac	80 points
17	1	Jett Lawrence	71 points
18	96	Hunter Lawrence	62 points
19	11	Kyle Chisholm	58 points
20	86	Mitchell Harrison	55 points
21	28	Christian Craig	39 points
22	77	Jerry Robin	39 points
23	146	Kevin Moranz	30 points
24	33	Freddie Noren	20 points
25	122	Justin Starling	19 points

250 Main Event Results
Pos	No	Rider	Nat	Bike	Gap
1	56	Seth Hammaker	USA	Kawasaki	+0.000
2	24	R.J. Hampshire	USA	Husqvarna	+4.885
3	1	Tom Vialle	FRA	KTM	+6.719
4	59	Cullin Park	USA	Honda	+47.985
5	41	Nate Thrasher	USA	Yamaha	+10.432
6	92	Maximus Vohland	USA	Yamaha	+52.695
7	83	Austin Forkner	USA	Triumph	+1 Lap
8	55	Henry Miller	USA	Honda	+1 Lap
9	88	Devin Simonson	USA	Yamaha	+1 Lap
10	125	Luke Neese	USA	Yamaha	+1 Lap
11	89	Trevor Colip	USA	Honda	+1 Lap
12	682	Izaih Clark	USA	Honda	+1 Lap
13	192	Jack Chambers	USA	Kawasaki	+1 Lap
14	97	Bryce Shelly	USA	Yamaha	+2 Laps
15	148	Justin Rodbell	USA	Honda	+2 Laps
16	195	Lance Kobusch	USA	Kawasaki	+2 Laps
17	129	Lane Shaw	USA	Yamaha	+2 Laps
18	351	Jack Rogers	USA	Yamaha	+2 Laps
19	350	Chandler Baker	USA	Husqvarna	+3 Laps
20	62	Mark Fineis	USA	Kawasaki	+12 Laps
21	468	Michael Hicks	USA	Yamaha	+12 Laps
22	10	Chance Hymas	USA	Honda	+17 Laps

250 East Championship Standings
Pos	No	Rider Name	Points
1	56	Seth Hammaker	142 points
2	24	R.J. Hampshire	139 points
3	1	Tom Vialle	135 points
4	59	Cullin Park	109 points
5	41	Nate Thrasher	106 points
6	10	Chance Hymas	103 points
7	92	Maximus Vohland	90 points
8	31	Max Anstie	78 points
9	34	Daxton Bennick	77 points
10	55	Henry Miller	71 points
11	83	Austin Forkner	68 points
12	60	Carson Mumford	51 points
13	87	Hardy Munoz	45 points
14	192	Jack Chambers	43 points
15	89	Trevor Colip	43 points
16	75	Gage Linville	42 points
17	47	Levi Kitchen	39 points
18	195	Lance Kobusch	37 points
19	148	Justin Rodbell	25 points
20	125	Luke Neese	25 points
21	50	Cameron Mcadoo	20 points
22	62	Mark Fineis	20 points
23	682	Izaih Clark	18 points
24	74	Lorenzo Locurcio	14 points
25	88	Devin Simonson	13 points