BARCIA VS. STEWART & THE AMA // 2022 SALT LAKE CITY SUPERCROSS THE AFTERMATH
BARCIA VS. STEWART & THE AMA // 2022 SALT LAKE CITY SUPERCROSS THE AFTERMATH
The Salt Lake City Supercross marked the final round of the 2022 season. Even though two championships were already claimed, the one was left in doubt was the 250 West class and it was Christian Craig’s to take. Not only were all eyes on the 250 class, but the 450 class had one podium spot that three of the fastest riders in Supercross were eyeing to get. Malcolm Stewart, Justin Barcia, and Marvin Musquin were all within several points of the final podium position for the 2022 season—with Malcolm Stewart first in line for the spot. What we were not expecting was the amount of drama and chaos that would ensue for the third place position when the 450 Main Event gate dropped. So scroll down below to find out everything you need to know about what went down at the last round of the 2022 season.
2022 SALT LAKE CITY SUPERCROSS | FULL COVERAGE
CHRISTIAN CRAIG CROWNED 250 WEST CHAMP
It was a long time coming for the Craig family.
Since the beginning of the season, Christian Craig made it known that he was going to be a top contender for the championship podium. After the most successful series of his career, Christian Craig had an 18-points lead heading to the final round in SLC. With his healthy points lead in hand, Christian would only need sub-par results in Slat Lake to keep nab the title. Christian Craig grabbed the holeshot in the 250 East/West main and would only lead the race until Hunter Lawrence took the first place position in turn two. Christian would play it safe with so much on the line, and even fall over once before getting up, and finishing in a distant eighth.
His family was pretty stoked.
- Christian Craig was crowned 250 West champion.
- Craig would have 9 consecutive podiums, with 4 race wins before his 8th place at SLC was enough to win the championship.
450 SX CLASS REVIEW // JASON ANDERSON GOES BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK
For the past four weeks we’ve been extendind the title the name of this portion of “Aftermath” and we couldn’t help ourselves this week either. Jason is starting to make t “winning races” thing look too easy.
The 450 main event wasn’t as exciting for Jason Anderson as as the rest of the competition. Justin Bogle was first across the holeshot line, but Jason would overtake the lead shortly after. Then, Chase Sexton would follow in Jason’s footsteps riding in second place. Pretty much nothing happened with these two as they rode their own race and would finish in that order.
- Jason Anderson got his 7th win of the season and his 14th career win with his win at SLC.
- Anderson closesdout the season with 4 consecutive wins.
- Anderson also led the most laps, 135 to Tomac’s 69.
- Kawasaki now has 176 brand wins.
BARCIA & STEWART’S 1v1
The crowd wasn’t hesitant to share their feelings when the carnage commenced.
As the 450 main continued, Justin Barcia held the third place position while Malcolm Stewart had made his way up to fourth after passing Cooper Webb. With a third place spot available in the series championship, all eyes were focused on these two. Eventually, Malcolm Stewart would carry incredible speed through a lower rut in a berm, passing the GasGas rider. Half a lap later, Malcolm’s fate would change as Justin Barcia set his eyes on Malcolm’s front tire, T-Boning the Husky rider right off his bike. The stadium erupted.
Justin continued in third place while Malcolm got back on his bike and would fight through the pack to catch up. Malcolm eventually did, but it was too late as they crossed the checkered flag with Justin ahead of Malcolm . What was really unfortunate was that Jason Anderson was celebrating his fourth victory in a row while the thundering boos echoed in the stadium. Barcia’s questionable move for a third place finish would come at a cost though. He was still on probation for incidents with Bogle, Stewart and Anderson earlier in the season. Thus the AMA docked Justin Barcia 10 points which dropped him down to fifth in the point standings (and cost him a lot of Feld Motorsports and Kawasaki bonus money).
CHASE SEXTON GOT SECOND, BUT YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T KNOW IT
While the crowd was so fixated on the battle between Malcolm and Justin, Chase Sexton rode quietly into a second-place finish. Just thought you might wanna know, cuz, you know, second place is pretty good.
JUSTIN BRAYTON’S FINAL RACE OF HIS CAREER
Cheers Justin! You rode an amazing career and we’re looking forward to seeing what the future has in store for you.
- Justin Brayton finished 7th and called it a career.
- Brayton recorded his 190th career start, which would tie him with Larry Ward, for 5th on the all-time starts list.
- Brayton would finish his career with 137 Top 10’s and would finish 9th in the points this year. It was his 10th time being in the Top 10 in the final points standings over the course of his career.
COOPER WEBB AND MARVIN MUSQUIN’S FINAL RACE OF THE YEAR?
If you missed the Webb and Musquin this season, well you might have to wait a whole year to see them again.
With a Supercross-only deal in store for Marvin and Cooper Webb recently announcingthat he will be taking the remainder of 2022 off as they check on his health which has been on a decline after a handful of major crashes over the past couple years. It’ll be strange not seeing these guys at the 2022 AMA 250/450 Nationals this year, but it will be cool seeing Ryan Dungey and Tony Caroli filling in their spots at KTM.
- Marvin Musquin rounded out the Top 5. It was his 10th Top 5 of the season.
- Defending champion, Cooper Webb, finished 6th on the night and 7th in the points. The defending champion would go winless.
- Cooper Webb would have 7 Top 5’s for the season.
450 SUPERCROSS POINT STANDINGS
Jason Anderson would finish in second place in the points, just 9 points behind Eli Tomac who elected to not race the final round to preserve his health.
| POS. | # | NAME | Total Points | ||
| 1 | 3 | Eli Tomac | 359 | ||
| 2 | 21 | Jason Anderson | 350 | ||
| 3 | 27 | Malcolm Stewart | 314 | ||
| 4 | 25 | Marvin Musquin | 305 | ||
| 5 | 51 | Justin Barcia | 302 | ||
| 6 | 23 | Chase Sexton | 292 | ||
| 7 | 1 | Cooper Webb | 278 | ||
| 8 | 41 | Brandon Hartranft | 178 | ||
| 9 | 10 | Justin Brayton | 176 | ||
| 10 | 15 | Dean Wilson | 152 | ||
At first I thought this was photoshopped, but nope they really had made a giant mascot head of Malcolm Stewart.
250 EAST/WEST SX CLASS REVIEW // NATE THRASHER WINS
While everyone was looking forward to Christian winning the title, Nate swept in and took the win in Salt Lake City.
Nate Thrasher had been riding excellent all day long setting a very fast qualifying time. While Christian led the Main Event, his teammate would catch him and take the lead. Nate’s position would be contested by Hunter Lawrence but Nate held on and would win his first Main Event of the season.
Hunter Lawrence had his win streak broken and would finish in second place. He also finished second for the season.
Pierce Brown would finish third and third in the points.
CHRIS BLOSE’S FINAL ROUND
Chris’s retirement may have gone under the radar ,but his accomplishments span a fulfilled career including his new suspension business. Farewell Chris!
250 EAST SUPERCROSS POINT STANDINGS
Jett Lawrence won the championship back in Foxborough and was going to race in Salt Lake City but a crash during qualifying would take him out.
| POS. | # | NAME | Total Points | |
| 1 | 18 | Jett Lawrence | 192 | |
| 2 | 24 | Rj Hampshire | 158 | |
| 3 | 44 | Pierce Brown | 149 | |
| 4 | 54 | Mitchell Oldenburg | 132 | |
| 5 | 80 | Enzo Lopes | 117 | |
| 6 | 90 | Jordon Smith | 116 | |
| 7 | 48 | Cameron McAdoo | 114 | |
| 8 | 81 | Jace Owen | 101 | |
| 9 | 33 | Austin Forkner | 98 | |
| 10 | 331 | Derek Drake | 88 | |
Rj Hampshire would finish in second.
250 WEST SUPERCROSS POINT STANDINGS
Christian Craig won the 250 West championship.
| POS. | # | NAME | Total Points | ||
| 1 | 28 | Christian Craig | 230 | ||
| 2 | 96 | Hunter Lawrence | 220 | ||
| 3 | 29 | Michael Mosiman | 197 | ||
| 4 | 30 | Jo Shimoda | 162 | ||
| 5 | 49 | Nate Thrasher | 152 | ||
| 6 | 62 | Vince Friese | 150 | ||
| 7 | 66 | Chris Blose | 120 | ||
| 8 | 35 | Garrett Marchbanks | 117 | ||
| 9 | 69 | Robbie Wageman | 109 | ||
| 10 | 31 | Jalek Swoll | 106 | ||
Michael Mosiman rounded out the championship podium in third place.
SALT LAKE CITY SX CAPTURED
Here are some of our favorite moments from the day in Salt Lake City. Supercross may be fun from the other side of the TV but it’s a thousand times better in person. Captured by Brian Converse.
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