After a frustrating and injury-hit 2026 AMA Supercross season, Chase Sexton finally had something to smile about at the final round of the championship. The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider ended the campaign on a high by taking an emotional victory in a dramatic main event, showing the speed and composure that many expected from him throughout the year.
On a night where all eyes were on the title showdown between Ken Roczen and Hunter Lawrence, Sexton quietly put himself in the perfect position and capitalised when it mattered most. After battling through a difficult season that never truly got going, the win provided a timely reminder of his talent heading into the AMA Pro Motocross series.
“I almost forgot what it’s like to do a press conference, to be honest. This is only my third time this year. It’s no secret that it’s been a trying year for me and also the team. It just hasn’t been ideal so to get this win, it means a lot. I’ve been good here and this is my fourth win in a row, so I knew that I had a good shot. If I could just get off the gate, honestly, and today I’ve had two good starts in the heat race in the main event, and that was really the key. If I don’t put myself in position, it’s really hard, especially on how the tracks have been, to make passes, and my whoop speed hasn’t been the greatest. So my one area that I passed a lot of people in prior, it kind of got taken away. I had to get creative and try and make passes in other places, and I ended up starting to jump the whoops, and I started to get closer to Jorge and those in front. I was honestly kind of just like, I didn’t really know what to do because even Jorge said, but those guys in the front, I was like I felt good, like I knew I had a good flow, but I knew the track, how it was, you couldn’t push it, and I also didn’t want to interfere with what they were doing. I was just kind of riding around, and then obviously Hunter fell, and Jorge was right there. I’m like, I can make a pass in a second, and then Kenny kind of fell back to me, or I got a better flow as well too. I am stoked for Kenny but it’s really nice to end off the championship this way and just get a win, two for the season so hopefully we can carry some of this into the outdoors”.
The race itself was one of the wildest of the season, with the deteriorating track conditions making mistakes almost inevitable. Sexton admitted he almost felt like a spectator at times as the championship drama unfolded in front of him before he focused on securing the victory for himself.
“Honestly, I feel like I was watching a movie. It started from the start, I got a pretty good start. Hunter was on the inside. Kenny came from the outside, and then Kenny got him in the second turn. I’m like, oh, this is going to be good, this is what people wanted. The race for the championship, and when Hunter went off the track, and then he went down. I’m like, oh, now I can kind of just try and go for the win. I knew, especially how the track was and the whoops, like it was so easy to bite somebody, so I knew where Kenny was. He still skimmed the whoops, which I was really surprised about and I was trying to rev my bike, but I’m like, I’m behind you. I didn’t want to like cause any problems, and I told him, like, dude, I wasn’t trying to get close to you. I just wanted to get out front, because I knew Justin and Cooper and obviously Jorge were behind me, and I knew I had the speed to win. Like I said, it was a crazy race. The track was very gnarly. The whoops were sketchy, and I went to the jump line, which is normally not my forte, but it worked out”.
Sexton also revealed that his preparation for the finale was far from conventional. Instead of spending the week riding supercross, he focused on outdoors and decided not to overcomplicate things with bike changes heading into the final round.
“To be honest, I didn’t even ride supercross this week. I just rode outdoors, so maybe that was the key. I don’t know. I think for me, my riding, I mean, it may not look like it on the track or this season, but I don’t think I’ve been riding, especially during the week, I haven’t been riding super bad. It’s just, I haven’t had a lot of comfort. Today, I didn’t touch the bike, and if it’s not perfectly made, obviously, it’s clicker adjustments for the whoops, but no shock off, no fork off, nothing like that. I’m just going to ride it, and ride what I have, and it seemed to work out pretty well. But I told myself, I said, if I can get through the first 10 minutes, I haven’t been comfortable in the whoops, obviously, pretty much all year, and I told myself, if I can get through 10 minutes, and I’m still in the race, and I go to jumping, I have a good chance at winning. I told my dad that, I’m not skimming these whoops all the main event and this is not happening and plus, I wanted to make it to outdoors. It worked out in my favour. It kind of, everything I imagined kind of played out”.
Despite celebrating his own success, Sexton was equally emotional watching Roczen finally secure the Supercross crown after years of setbacks and injuries. Having spent years training alongside the German star in Florida, Sexton spoke passionately about Roczen’s journey back to the top.
“I got to do a cool ghost ride after the race, and obviously, I was stoked for Kenny. Honestly, I feel emotional a little bit, not even just about my win, just for like the championship, and how it came down. I like both of them, Hunter and Kenny. Kenny, I was very, very close with. He was like a big brother to me, ever since I moved to Florida, when I was 16. I’ve seen what he’s went through, and he’s a bad dude. Honestly, it gives me a lot of hope for the future. I mean, those guys, I mean, Kenny, you would have said three years ago, this guy, he’s never going to win a Supercross championship and it’s kind of over. And I mean, even Eli. It just goes to show that the sport’s not changing, but you can do it longer if you have the right mindset. Kenny, I’ve seen his dark days up close and personal and to see him come back from that is pretty special”.
For Sexton, the victory also carried extra personal meaning after a season that failed to meet his own high standards. A rider used to collecting trophies and fighting for championships admitted he simply wanted to finish the year with something positive to build on.
“Honestly, I was just super motivated to end the season. I don’t know who I told today. I said, I just want to get a trophy again. My motorhome normally at this point in the year is filled up, and like we’re shipping trophies back home because we don’t have any more room. But this year, it’s two of them that have dust on them, there’s no reason to ship them home. So, I just wanted to get a trophy. I was really motivated. And I think, obviously last year I was in a must-win scenario. 2023, I didn’t have to win and 2024, I kind of felt like I was in a little bit of a similar spot to there. I mean, my year was better than what it’s been this year. But I only had one win and I wanted to get it”.
“I didn’t want to go out on just one win, I wanted to get another one and I knew the track was going to be really difficult. If I could just ride smooth, it kind of came into my favour. I knew where I could be aggressive and where I couldn’t. The turns were pretty open where I could roll them pretty well. I knew from halfway on. I wasn’t pushing super hard, but I knew that I had a comfortable pace to keep it going. It just so happened. I do like this place. I won here on the 250’s when we stayed here for the seven weeks. It’s not become a home race, obviously, but it feels very familiar. I think that’s maybe why I feel so comfortable”.
While the 2026 Supercross season ultimately fell short of expectations for Sexton, ending the championship with a commanding win could provide the momentum he needs heading into the AMA Pro Motocross season. After months of frustration, the Kawasaki rider finally leaves Supercross with confidence restored and a reminder that, on his day, he is still one of the fastest riders in the sport.
