Supercross Statistics | 2024 Glendale 2

Glendale, Arizona, provided another victor and added more fascination to the clash for the Monster Energy Supercross crown. It was an additional example of a rider leading from start to finish, much to the chagrin of some fans, but there was still an influx of information that came from State Farm Stadium. Some of that is outlined in this text.

This 'Supercross Statistics' feature on Vital MX is designed to pave over the cracks and draw attention to points of interest that would have been skipped. The 2000 words below will add additional layers to the viewing experience as the circus that is 2024 Monster Energy Supercross marches on to the delight of the extensive fanbase.

• Jason Anderson claimed pole position for the 21st time in his professional career and 16th time as a rider in the premier class. Anderson's last pole position was at round fourteen, East Rutherford, in the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross series. There have been just three instances where Anderson has been able to secure pole position within the first six events of an indoor term (2018, 2022 and now 2024). Note how the first two were his most successful seasons.

• Alas, a streak has ended. Chase Sexton had qualified in the top three at 26 rounds of Monster Energy Supercross in succession. The run dated back to Atlanta in 2022's series! Unfortunately, a hand injury restricted him to eighth in Glendale's qualification session. Sexton hasn't qualified as far down as that since round two of 2022 Monster Energy Supercross, Oakland, where he occupied that same position. Sexton has qualified in the top three in 39 of his 51 starts in the premier division.

• This is a useless statistic. However, the pattern is of interest. Eli Tomac has qualified inside of the top three at the sixth round of Monster Energy Supercross in 12 of his 13 starts at the event. Therefore, this is his most successful event in terms of qualification performance. In contrast, he has won at the sixth round just twice in his career (2013 in 250SX and 2023 in 450SX). Unfortunately, the tally was not added to on Saturday night.

• The popular opinion was that it was quicker to jump over the tabletop in the first rhythm section and Anderson all but confirmed that in his heat race. Not only did he set the best sector time, but he also set the four fastest times in that section. Consider that the heat lasted for seven laps and that statistic resonates even more! It is perplexing that he was not the only one leaping over the tabletop, so what made him so superior to his competition?

• Anderson was competitive in that sector in the main event too: he had the three fastest times on that portion of the track. Such data would lead one to think that he had a much better average time there, but that was not the case at all. Anderson's median, 17.239, was just 00.132 quicker than the second-best average, a 17.385 from Aaron Plessinger. Note that Plessinger was the second best in individual times too.

• 20 laps were held in Arizona's main and Anderson, who pursued Ken Roczen for the duration, posted quicker times than his rival in that sector on 14 of those. Roczen had one of the best median times there (ranked in third place) and so this is a testament to Anderson's sheer brilliance in the rhythm section. '21' secured his second podium finish of the season, in the end, and he has only secured more podiums than that across the first six rounds twice (five podiums in 2018 and three in 2022).

• It was, of course, Roczen who claimed the win, his 22nd in the premier division. The 'bump' to 22 has ensured that he is tied for 10th in the record books again. Cooper Webb had sole possession of that rank after his triumph at Anaheim 2. This marked Roczen's third win inside of State Farm Stadium: he also won in 2016 (aboard an RCH Suzuki) and 2020 (via a Triple Crown sweep with Honda HRC). The state has been a profitable area of exploitation.

• Note that Roczen just clinched his 66th podium in the premier class and tied Jeff Ward for ninth place on the all-time list. The medal was his 82nd in Monster Energy Supercross when accounting for 250SX podiums. Also note that Glendale marked his 110th top five finish (91 in the premier class and 19 on the smaller bike) as well as his 146th top ten (123 and 23). This was the 162nd time that he has started a main event in Monster Energy Supercross.

• Roczen established an immediate buffer and so some would presume that he managed the race from that point on, but that could not be further from the truth. '94' was the quickest rider on seven of the laps and most of those came within the first half of the main event, so he hammered for a while. The last time that he was the fastest on track was lap 12 – he did monitor the situation in the final quarter. Roczen set the best lap of the race on lap six.

• Jett Lawrence was the quickest rider on eight laps of the main event and Anderson did that just twice, which is a real shock. Tomac and Malcolm Stewart were the fastest riders out there on one lap apiece. Stewart was the quickest on the final lap, for context, as he was locked into a battle to the death with Webb. In fact, Webb set his best time in sector two on the last lap and Stewart achieved the same in sector three. It was a sprint to the checkered flag.

• Lawrence became rather effective on lap seven, once he jumped past his brother and could reap the benefits of a clear circuit. The times that he posted in comparison to Roczen are available in the table below. Note that Roczen was the fastest rider on track on lap eight and so he was still running at his peak – the event was far from over at this point and there was little reason to back it down. In fact, he could mark Jett over the wall jump.

• The period above showcases the amount of time that it took Lawrence to close up on Tomac. It would be remiss of this scribe to not share the comparison between those two for the same period, no? The moment where Tomac was the best rider on track, the 13th lap, was two laps before he lost third place. '3' tried to 'stop the bleeding' but it was in vain. The fact that he could unleash that speed is a positive to hold onto though.

• Roczen was, of course, one of the riders who pulled a season-best result in Glendale. Hunter Lawrence in fifth, Malcolm Stewart in eighth, Christian Craig in 12th and Vince Friese in 13th achieved a similar feat. Devin Simonson, who finished in 22nd, qualified for the main event for the first time this season. Note that just 12 stars have a perfect record in the premier division. The number is dwindling at quite a rate.

• Kudos to Anderson, who featured within the top 10 for the 150th time in Monster Energy Supercross. That total is inclusive of both classes (124 in the 450SX class). '21' has missed the top 10 in just 16 of his premier class starts – it has happened in three of his last nine starts. The next milestone will be his 50th podium aboard the 450F. Glendale was the 48th time that he has taken a medal in the class, so watch this space.

• Three different nationalities filled the podium for the second week in succession. Before Detroit's race, the last time that three different flags were represented was at Indianapolis 3 in 2021. When was the last time that it happened on two successive weeks? That was at rounds 12 and 13 of 2019's Monster Energy Supercross term. Marvin Musquin, Roczen and Tomac filled the box in Seattle. Webb, Musquin and Dean Wilson took the medals a week later.

• Tomac did not miss the podium on consecutive weekends at all in 2023's Monster Energy Supercross series. Glendale marked the second week in a row without a medal – this is the first time that he has experienced that since rounds 15 and 16 of 2022's Monster Energy Supercross season. The fact that he was so effective last year has been overlooked and disregarded quite quickly, no? It was a brilliant season.

• Sexton battled a hand problem in Glendale, which meant that he was classified in ninth, and Plessinger could not finish better than that after a crash on lap three. This meant that there was not a KTM 450 SX-F in the top eight for the first time since round eight of 2020's Monster Energy Supercross series. Blake Baggett was the best 'orange' rider on that night in tenth place. 1,450 days have passed since that event.

• This is not too relevant to Glendale, but it is a revelation of sorts. Plessinger recovered to clinch 10th – a respectable result with all that happened. '7' has finished worse than that just once in his last 22 starts. Who would have bet on him being such a firm fixture in the top 10 across the last two seasons? It's a stark reminder of how much he was overlooked and disrespected in pre-season discussion. Even this scribe is culpable.

• Justin Barcia had plans to rebound in Glendale, but a crash derailed that and he hit the finish line in 18th. Barcia has not finished as far down as that since Indianapolis 3 on February 06, 2021, after a late crash robbed him of a podium. Note that he was ranked in 21st in Nashville just last term, but he didn't complete that main event and so it would be unfair to count it as a 'finish' in this feature. A delicate line to walk.