2024 Supercross Championship

Through 16 rounds of bar-to-bar racing action the modern day gladiators of Monster Energy AMA Supercross and their fantastic flying machines have waged war on major stadium floors from the shores of California to the coast of New Jersey – and many points in-between – to decide, once the dust settles and mud stops flying, who are the top supercross racers on the face of the earth.

17 rounds of the absolute premier form of stadium dirt bike racing, beginning January 6th at Anaheim, Calif.’s Angel Stadium, and culminating at Salt Lake City’s Rice-Eccles Stadium this Saturday, May 11th, have provided a myriad of highlights for the voracious fans – worldwide – to consume each and every week during the first quarter.

With championships and overall podium finishes on the line, several Monster Energy racers, as is pretty much always the case, are poised to race for the sport’s most prestigious hardware – emblazoned with the series longtime title sponsor’s iconic M-claw logo.

Here’s a breakdown of what Monster Energy racers stand to gain this weekend in Utah – the East/West 250 Shootout and final 450 class main event of the 2024 Monster Energy AMA Supercross competition season.

250 Western Region (WSX) Championship

Who: Levi Kitchen (Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki) vs. RJ Hampshire (Husqvarna)

What’s at stake: Following a Kitchen 2nd place finish (with Hampshire 3rd) at the penultimate Denver SX round last weekend, the two racers enter the SLC East/West 250 Shootout in a tie for 1st place in the WSX standings, each with 186 points. And should Kitchen come out on top, it’d be the first 250 title for Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki since Adam Cianciarulo won the 250 outdoor title in 2019.

Also keep an eye on… Battling for the third and final 250 WSX podium spot will be two more Monster Energy-backed racers – Jordon Smith (Star Racing/Yamaha) and Honda’s Jo Shimoda. With his win in Denver last weekend, the first of the ’24 SX season, Shimoda pulled to within a couple points – 163-165 – of Smith for 3rd in WSX. And Nate Thrasher (Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha), who’s had an up and down season (win at San Diego, 21st place at Anaheim 1) was just off the podium at the last round (4th @ Denver). So he’s coming in to SLC, currently ranked 7th in the 250 WSX standings, with all sorts of speed and absolutely nothing to lose.

250 Eastern Region (ESX) Championship

Who: Haiden Deegan (Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha)

What’s at stake: Racing his second full 250 ESX season (runner-up in ’23), the popular, and at times polarizing, son of MX/SX/FMX legend Brian Deegan has his work cut out for him in SLC as he trails KTM’s Tom Vaille by 15 points (143-158)  the ’24 250 ESX title. And though stranger things have happened in past 125/250 MX/SX championships (See: Travis Pastrana ’01 Unadilla MX National ’01, Mike Alessi ’05 Glen Helen MX National), the young Deegan has a great deal of points to make up as the veteran European racer, Vialle, has six more years of race experience than Deegan – including two MXGP MX2 class overall championships. 

Also keep an eye on… Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Daxton Bennick had one of his best finishes of the season at the last 250 ESX round (Philadelphia) where he placed 4th, while Monster Energy’s Chance Hymas (Honda) was right behind Bennick with his best finish of the season (5th).

450 Championship

Who: Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Cooper Webb & Eli Tomac

What’s at stake: Facing a 20-point deficit (336-316), Webb would need to place 1st or 2nd and have series points leader Jett Lawrence (Honda) crash out, or fail to make the main event in some way, in order for Webb to win the title. Though certainly not the way Webb would want to win the title, the unlikely scenario bears explaining. The more plausible overall 450 class podium finish has Tomac and Honda’s Chase Sexton tied for the third and final podium spot (with Webb guaranteed at least 2nd overall), each with 282 points following 16 of 17 Monster Energy AMA Supercross main events this season.

Also keep an eye on… Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson. With his second-straight podium finish – 3rd @ Denver last weekend – Anderson has been flying as of late and would be a great bet to not only podium again at SLC, but also be recognized as one of the few racers who could win the 450 main event this Saturday. And last, but certainly not least, Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo will boot up at Rice-Eccles Stadium for the final Monster Energy AMA Supercross of his storied career.

Up next: Monster Energy AMA Supercross concludes it 2024 season at Salt Lake City’s Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday, May 11th. For more information, including tickets, hit up www.supercrosslive.com