CHASE SEXTON INTERVIEW: SEEKING FOR SUPREMACY

CHASE SEXTON INTERVIEW: SEEKING FOR SUPREMACY

At only 22 years old, HRC Honda’s Chase Sexton is battling for motocross supremacy. Of course, his main rival is 29-year-old Eli Tomac on his Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha. One of the best championship battles in recent years, it truly is a changing of the guard in motocross. Going into the final race this weekend, Tomac holds a one point lead. Keep in mind, these two have over 90 points on third-in-points Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson. Certainly, there is a lot at stake, and the 450 motos at Pala will likely be talked about for the entire upcoming off-season. We caught up with Chase Sexton at Ironman after his fourth overall win.

BY JIM KIMBALL

2022 FOX RACEWAY II NATIONAL | FULL COVERAGE


It’s pretty exciting watching Chase Sexton and Eli Tomac go back and forth every weekend.

CHASE, WAY TO GO WITH ANOTHER OVERALL WIN. That is my fourth overall, and I finally tied Eli with that. This has been the best year for me, so that is positive. Obviously, the goal is to win next weekend but for me, I just want to keep going to race my race, and if I can keep doing what I am doing, I am going to be in a good spot next weekend.  

SOME MIGHT ALMOST THINK THAT YOU GUYS ARE EXCHANGING MOTO WINS TO MESS WITH PEOPLE (LAUGHING). No, I just think every time we get close, and one wins one moto, the next time they come out and that guy that finished second in the first moto just gives it that much more. That was the case for me today. I knew I had to win the second moto to put pressure on him going into Pala. I got that done, now we go back to work this week, recover for next weekend, and come out swinging.

Chase has had a tight nit of supporters throughout the years.

ELI HAS BEEN LONG KNOWN AS A GUY THAT IF HE IS IN SECOND BEHIND YOU, HE IS GOING TO TRACK YOU DOWN. BUT NOW YOU ARE ALSO DOING THAT. My goal is to be able to be the best, and you must beat the best, and that is Eli right now. For me, that is my goal and that is something that I had to accomplish before I go on to other things. That goal for me is to be able to beat him in the second moto when he is at his strongest. I did a lot of work this off-season and now I am kind of seeing those results and it is cool to see. My trainer has been stoked. People are questioning what I am doing during the week, some saying I am cheating. Honestly, it is all just hard work, and it is cool to see.

Chase has dominated the past handful of rounds at Fox Raceway. Will he do it one more time and take the title?

YOUR DAD IS STILL WORKING WITH YOU AND HELPS YOU, DOESN’T HE? My dad is my practice bike mechanic, and pretty much my riding coach. That is how it has been since I first started riding. It is cool to have that small of a group and still have the people around me that I started my pro career with. It is nice to see my progress throughout the years. I have never been a great outdoor guy until this year, so that is something that I wanted to accomplish and now that we are better, we have one goal. That is to win and for me, I am in a good spot to do that.  

MANY WOULD SAY THAT IRONMAN MAY BE YOUR HOME TRACK.  HOW FAR IS THIS FROM WHERE YOU LIVED IN ILLINOIS? So, this is one of my home tracks. Red Bud, I consider probably my home race. I raced a lot there growing up and this one is a similar distance like three hours, so, it is close. I raced the GNCC here twice and that was cool before there was even a track here. I have always loved this track, coming here and it worked well for me today. I know Eli is good here. He is good everywhere, but this track, he has won a lot at. It was good for me to overcome that, and I knew I was capable of it. I do like this dirt and the ruts; it paid off.  

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THERE SEEMS TO BE LOT OF MUTUAL RESPECT BETWEEN YOU AND ELI. I DON’T THINK YOU HAD ANY TYPE OF OVERLY AGGRESSIVE RACING WITH HIM. That is what is cool. Eli and I obviously have a lot of respect. I know from my side, I have a lot of respect for him and for what he has done, and it is cool to be racing him. It has taken me time to realize that I am racing one of the best guys that has ever raced, so that is cool. I feel I have overcome that now and I want to win and these last couple of races, I have made that proven. It is cool racing him and I am stoked to go to this last race with him.

AFTER THE FINALE AT PALA YOU CAN’T REALLY RELAX TOO MUCH WITH MOTOCROSS DES NATIONS COMING UP. No matter what goes on next weekend, result-wise, I will probably take the next week chill. I will be in California and then I am going to go home to Illinois and train there for MXDN. So, I will be back home, riding tracks I am familiar with. I will ride Red Bud a few times, so that will be cool. We want to win there. I know Eli wants to win and that is our game plan coming in.

One point separates the two championship contenders. Who will take the title?

CAN YOU EXPAND ON HOW IMPORTANT MOTOCROSS DES NATIONS IS? For me, next week is going to be a big race but MXDN is a race that I have always dreamed of going to. My goal is to go there, do my job, and my part. I know Eli is going to do that, and Justin as well. Our goal is to win, obviously. It is at home, and we have not won in a while. I am excited for that, and I think we have a good team and strong team. I think the comradery will be good too.

2022 FOX RACEWAY II NATIONAL | FULL COVERAGE

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