Progressive Honda star seals the overall on the final-moto tiebreak to maintain narrow 450SMX championship advantage over Tomac
Just a week after racing at one of motorsport’s most iconic venues, the Monster Energy SMX World Championship rolled into the racing heartland of Indianapolis, where a huge crowd packed Lucas Oil Stadium for round nine of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship. The second Triple Crown of the 2026 season delivered another dramatic night, with 450SMX points leader Hunter Lawrence (Honda HRC Progressive) claiming his second victory of the year via tiebreak over title rival Eli Tomac.
Race 1, run over 12 minutes plus one lap, belonged to Ken Roczen. The Progressive Insurance Cycle Gear Suzuki rider charged to the front early and controlled the race for a clear win by 5.4 seconds. Behind him it was all fight, with Lawrence securing second and Tomac (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) salvaging third after starting outside the top 10. Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb was fourth after spending much of the race in second, with teammate Justin Cooper completing the top five.
Race 2 reshuffled everything and effectively ended Roczen’s overall hopes. On the opening lap he mistimed a rhythm lane and came down on Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), taking Plessinger out and dropping Roczen to the back of the pack. Up front, Tomac looked set after moving past early leader Justin Cooper, but Cooper regrouped, found his flow and closed back in before making the pass to regain the lead. Cooper went on to win by 3.5 seconds over Tomac, with Webb a steady third. Lawrence’s race unravelled when he tangled with lapped traffic, losing third and finishing fourth.
With the track breaking down in the final race, position was everything, and Lawrence and Tomac put themselves where they needed to be from the start. Lawrence grabbed the holeshot and controlled the race from the front, hovering around a second clear early before gradually stretching the advantage as lapped riders came into play. Roczen rebounded to third, while Webb and Cooper went at it over fourth, Webb ultimately getting the better of the duel. Lawrence’s wire-to-wire win came by 5.5 seconds over Tomac.
That Race 3 performance proved decisive in the overall. Lawrence and Tomac finished the night tied on points, seven each, but Lawrence’s 2-4-1 scores beat Tomac’s 3-2-2 on the Triple Crown tiebreak thanks to the better final moto result. Webb and Cooper also ended level on points for third overall at 11 apiece, with Webb awarded the spot on his 4-3-4 finishes over Cooper’s 5-1-5.
The Indy result marked Lawrence’s biggest win of the season so far, extending his championship lead to four points over Tomac heading into the lone off weekend of the 17-round series. Webb remains third, 25 points back from the lead.
Hunter Lawrence – 1st Place
“This win means a lot. This is my fifth day riding in-a-row this week testing with the team. Those guys will never give up, nor will I. This is the ultimate thank you for going through the ringer this week, riding five days in-a-row, and coming out and performing. This is cool. It’s a Triple Crown, so it’s a tough one.”
Eli Tomac – 2nd Place
“I made one mistake [in the final race] and Hunter [Lawrence] pulled out a second or two. I just wasn’t able to bring that back. I had a sketchy moment in the whoops and feel like I lost the race there. I started jumping but got a little squirrely and then started skimming again at the end and it was better. I don’t know, I’m glad to get out of here [with a good finish]. It’s just a tough night of racing here with the Triple Crown and this soil.”
Cooper Webb – 3rd Place
“Overall, it was kind of a plateau night for me across the board. I’m bummed because I felt great yesterday and today, so I’m pretty bummed with those results, if I’m being honest. I felt like I could come in and compete tonight, but those two ahead of me were on another level. We’ve got work to do and will try to get better. We’ll keep our head down. There’s a lot of racing left and anything can happen.”
ROUND 9 INDIANAPOLIS TRIPLE CROWN RACE RESULTS
Race 1 – Indianapolis (450)
- Ken Roczen (Suz)
- Hunter Lawrence (Hon)
- Eli Tomac (Ktm)
- Cooper Webb (Yam)
- Justin Cooper (Yam)
- Jorge Prado (Ktm)
- Joey Savatgy (Hon)
- Aaron Plessinger (Ktm)
- Malcolm Stewart (Hus)
- Christian Craig (Hon)
- Jordon Smith (Tri)
- Shane McElrath (Hon)
- Justin Hill (Ktm)
- Grant Harlan (Ktm)
- Vince Friese (Kaw)
- Cole Thompson (Yam)
- Kevin Moranz (Ktm)
- Mitchell Harrison (Kaw)
- Colt Nichols (Suz)
- Garrett Marchbanks (Kaw)
Race 2 – Indianapolis (450)
- Justin Cooper (Yam)
- Eli Tomac (Ktm)
- Cooper Webb (Yam)
- Hunter Lawrence (Hon)
- Joey Savatgy (Hon)
- Jorge Prado (Ktm)
- Malcolm Stewart (Hus)
- Christian Craig (Hon)
- Garrett Marchbanks (Kaw)
- Ken Roczen (Suz)
- Shane McElrath (Hon)
- Colt Nichols (Suz)
- Justin Hill (Ktm)
- Jordon Smith (Tri)
- Vince Friese (Kaw)
- Mitchell Harrison (Kaw)
- Kevin Moranz (Ktm)
- Freddie Noren (Yam)
- Grant Harlan (Ktm)
- Tristan Lane (Yam)
Race 3 – Indianapolis (450)
- Hunter Lawrence (Hon)
- Eli Tomac (Ktm)
- Ken Roczen (Suz)
- Cooper Webb (Yam)
- Justin Cooper (Yam)
- Jorge Prado (Ktm)
- Malcolm Stewart (Hus)
- Jordon Smith (Tri)
- Shane McElrath (Hon)
- Christian Craig (Hon)
- Justin Hill (Ktm)
- Vince Friese (Kaw)
- Garrett Marchbanks (Kaw)
- Freddie Noren (Yam)
- Grant Harlan (Ktm)
- Mitchell Harrison (Kaw)
- Tristan Lane (Yam)
- Kevin Moranz (Ktm)
- Joey Savatgy (Hon)
- Colt Nichols (Suz)
AMA SUPERCROSS 450SX STANDINGS
- Hunter Lawrence — 196 pts
- Eli Tomac — 192 pts
- Cooper Webb — 171 pts
- Ken Roczen — 168 pts
- Justin Cooper — 140 pts
- Joey Savatgy — 125 pts
- Chase Sexton — 122 pts
- Aaron Plessinger — 98 pts
- Malcolm Stewart — 90 pts
- Jorge Prado — 89 pts
- Dylan Ferrandis — 87 pts
- Jason Anderson — 84 pts
- Justin Hill — 84 pts
- Christian Craig — 81 pts
- Shane McElrath — 67 pts
