In an eventful night of racing, Team Honda HRC’s Jett Lawrence notched an inspired victory in Nashville for round 14 of the AMA Supercross series, building a five-point buffer over series rival Cooper Webb. Meanwhile, Hunter Lawrence was also on top form, but unfortunately, a collision early in the main event halted his momentum from an earlier heat-race win, limiting him to a seventh-place result. In the first 250SX East-West Showdown of the season, Team Honda HRC riders Jo Shimoda and Chance Hymas both fought hard to finish second and eighth, respectively.
When the gate dropped for the 450SX main event, Jett Lawrence rocketed his CRF450RWE into the first turn just behind Eli Tomac. Hunter Lawrence also enjoyed a good start and was running in fifth on the opening lap before a collision with another rider dropped him to the back of the pack. Meanwhile, Jett slipped back to third on the first lap before settling into his pace and closing on the riders in front. The 20-year-old Australian made the pass on race-leader Eli Tomac just before the halfway point, and from there, he built a sizable gap on his competitors before winning by nearly 10 seconds—his sixth victory of the season. Despite his early incident, Hunter Lawrence put in a valiant effort to come home in seventh.
For the first time this season, teammates Jo Shimoda and Chance Hymas were on the track together in Nashville. Shimoda nearly grabbed the holeshot aboard his CRF250R, and settled into second position. The Japanese racer logged consistent laps throughout the main event and notched his second runner-up finish in a row. Hymas was just inside the top 10 early in the race, and he worked his way into sixth. The Idaho native lost two positions late in the race and crossed the line in eighth.
NOTES
- A pop-up activation booth was once again hosted in the Team Honda HRC pits in Nashville and staffed by employees from Nashville dealership Mid Tenn Powersports.
- A group of American Honda associates made the four-hour drive from the Alpharetta, Georgia, campus to attend the race.
- The Nashville event saw the Supercross organizers and squads team up to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Many of the bikes wore special graphics, and riders donated gear to be auctioned off this week.
- As has been the norm of late, media day was canceled due to rain during the week, but Jett and Hunter Lawrence spent part of Friday participating in a meet-and-greet at Nashville’s Gibson Garage. In addition, race day saw Jett wearing special Alpinestars gear celebrating Gibson and legendary guitarist Slash.
- Free practice was canceled on Saturday, and Jett Lawrence took the top times in both 450SX qualifying sessions, over half a second quicker than the next-best rider. Hunter Lawrence was sixth-fastest. In the 250SX ranks, Jo Shimoda was sixth-best among the West Region riders, while Chance Hymas was 13th fastest in the East Region.
- For the second time this season, the Lawrence Brothers both won their 450SX heat races, with Hunter topping the first one and Jett best in the second outing. The other CRF450R riders to qualify included SmarTop/MotoConcepts Honda riders Vince Friese and Mitchell Oldenburg, Fire Power Honda’s Dean Wilson, and Valley Automotive’s Jeremy Hand.
- The 250SX East-West Showdown was preceded by separate heat races for each region, with Shimoda finishing fifth in the West race and Hymas seventh in the East race. Other Red Riders to qualify for the main included Fire Power Honda’s Max Anstie and TiLube Honda’s Henry Miller.
- This was only the third time that AMA Supercross has visited Nashville. With Jett Lawrence’s win, Honda has now topped the premier class on two occasions, one more than Kawasaki.
- Jett’s win gives him a five-point edge over premier-class title rival Cooper Webb (286-281), with three rounds remaining. Hunter Lawrence is 10th, while Jo Shimoda and Chance Hymas are fourth and ninth in the West and East points standings, respectively.
- AMA Supercross now heads to Philadelphia for round 15, set to take place this coming Saturday.
