Roczen Tightens Points Race with AMA Supercross Win at Atlanta 2
250 SX racer McAdoo races to a podium finish despite a gnarly crash
April 15, 2021
By Joy Burgess
Photos Jeff Kardas
Fans of Team Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen haven’t had much to get excited about in the weeks since he swept all three AMA Supercross races at Indianapolis, a dry spell that allowed Red Bull KTM’s Cooper Webb to stretch his points lead in the following weeks.
That is until round two at Atlanta, where Roczen showed speed all day and pulled away from the pack for a decisive win that allowed him to gain some big points on Webb, who struggled to finish in sixth place.
While Roczen trailed Webb by 22 points coming into the race, he’s now just 13 points back, which makes things a lot more exciting with just three races left — one at Atlanta on April 17 and two in Salt Lake City.
After the race Roczen acknowledged his struggles. “The last race wasn’t a good one,” he said, “but after a race I try to kick myself in the ass, come back and do my best. I tried to set the tone in practice and it paid off tonight. I tried to leave everything that happened behind and focus forward. It’s not over ’til the fat lady sings. We’ve got a little racing to go and a little ground to make up.”
Roczen’s teammate Chase Sexton took second, with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson finishing third in a truly heroic effort. Anderson had to transfer to the main via the Last Chance Qualifier (which he won) after crashing during his heat race when Alex Ray overjumped and landed on top of him, pile-driving them both into the dirt. Despite gating seventh for the main, Anderson catapulted his way to a gritty third place, the 2018 AMA Supercross Champion’s best finish since Arlington 1.
The 250 SX West racing was equally exciting, and while Justin Cooper ended up with the win, it was Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Cameron McAdoo who awed and inspired fans despite finishing third. McAdoo had what looked to the entire world like a night-ending (and maybe career-ending) crash on a tabletop on the first lap, which led to a red-flagged race. Although he sustained injuries to his shoulder and thigh, medics cleared him to race. He lined up for the restart despite the pain and, with no front number plate on his bike, pulled off a spectacular, third-place run.
“I was laying up there and had a contusion on my thigh,” McAdoo said, “but finally I got moving. I want to give it up for my whole team. The bike was mangled — it still is — but they worked as hard as they could to get it going. I’m so happy to be on the podium,” he commented before limping off the rostrum.
With so much excitement surrounding Atlanta 2, fans will want to tune in Saturday, April 17 for the Atlanta 3 AMA Supercross race, which will air on both NBCSports and the Peacock app at 7 pm Eastern. You can also keep up with the racing at amasupercross.com, which offers AMA Live Timing & Scoring, up-to-the-minute results, exciting event photography, and more.
