BY RYAN NITZEN
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BROWNDOG WILSON
I
t ain't over 'til the fat lady sings.
Or at least until the checkered
flag flies. The 2022 Lucas Oil
AMA Pro Motocross Champion-
ship has become the closest title
fight in history after 11 rounds of
racing. And this time that's not
just a baseless quote. It's literally
the closest championship in 50
years of the sport's history. Eli
Tomac led Chase Sexton by just
one point coming into Ironman
Raceway and after 70 minutes
of wheel-to-wheel motos, the
standings stayed put after the
penultimate round. With Sexton
and Jett Lawrence both taking
overall wins at Ironman Raceway
in Crawfordsville, Indiana, their
respective title fights are going
down to the wire and will be de-
cided at the season finale.
450MX
The top two riders in the 450MX
class are pulling out all the
stops in these final rounds. It's a
no-holds-barred battle between
Sexton and Tomac as both riders
are willing to lay it all on the line
for a championship. For Tomac,
it's likely his last outdoor season
as a professional; rumors are
swirling of him being Supercross-
only in 2023. For Sexton, it
would solidify his name among
the sport's greats and be his first
major title in the 450 class.
Sexton did what he needed to
do at the Ironman National. He
got the overall win, but what he
really needed was a 1-1. Instead,
he traded moto wins with Tomac,
keeping the series leader,
Tomac, still just one point ahead
of him in the championship.
After a poor start in moto one,
Sexton put on a charge and ran
down Tomac, which is something
very few have done in the past.
Sexton looked to be stalking the
ROUND 11 / AUGUST 27, 2022
IRONMAN RACEWAY / CRAWFORDSVILLE, INDIANA
P60
MOTOCROSS I LUCAS OIL AMA PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP
Clutch wins for Sexton, Lawrence
take titles to the final round
DOWN
TO THE WIRE
