2024 Indianapolis Supercross | Kickstart Recap & Gallery
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2024 INDIANAPOLIS SUPERCROSS | COMPLETE COVERAGE
After just four laps, you could smell the brakes of the Chevy Tahoe. An up-and-coming young driver at the wheel can do that to an SUV marketed toward soccer moms, and there was a line of people from the Supercross Delegation ready to jump in the rig, complete with its three rows of seating, ready get their laps around the 2.5-mile oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
I was one of them. Sure, I’d done the ride along once before, during the previous Feld Motorsports field trip to the track in 2022, but a guide from the track was driving that time, not Christian Rasmussen. The Norwegian racer, who now lives nearby the race team HQ, was willing to go over 100mph and then carry the fast line into the 90-degree corners, getting as close to the concrete wall as the track insurance and the General Tires would allow.
You’d never know he’s yet to turn a lap at the track in an open wheel car, thanks in part to the simulator work with Ed Carpenter Racing, and shuttling passengers on a Friday afternoon was an even better way for him to get familiar with the 3-2-1 countdown reminders at the end of each straightaway.
“I’ve only been around this place in a Tahoe, a Corvette, or a Malibu,” he told me later. “I will soon, though, which is exciting and I’m looking forward to that. The Tahoe was super close to running out of gas, but we were running it on the limit to give everyone the experience.”
I was nearby for a conversation with Adam Cianciarulo and Max Anstie earlier in the day, a back and forth between racers that exposed the similarities and difference between two- and four-wheels. Both sides expressed the cutthroat competitive levels, the ways one earns a coveted seat, and who they knew from other forms of motorsport.
“It was super fun. I love to get inside of that when we have the opportunity, because we get very into our own world,” he continued. “It’s nice to see how other racing works. I haven’t watched a lot of races, except for the mud in San Francisco and Indianapolis last year.”
Adam Cianciarulo echoed the sentiment. The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider is known for his inquisitive demeanor, and to no surprise, he seemed to initiate the conversation on the finish line. “Anytime we can get insight into another sport is cool. You always realize, although they’re completely different worlds, we’re all pretty common, motorsports athletes and how we think,” shared AC. “I’ve never been here before and there’s a lot of history, so I’m trying to take it in. When you’re a good athlete, you take these little things for granted, so I realize how cool this is to be in the moment… He was talking to us with one hand on the wheel while we went into the first turn, just cruising.”
I’ll admit, as was wild as it was to do 107 miles an hour down the back chute at the Brickyard, it wasn’t the fastest I’d gone in a car. Hell, I’d come close to that number early in the week. I sometimes wonder if the racers I know are as cunning in traffic behind the wheel of their cars as they are their bikes, but Seth Hammaker might not have been the guy to ask. “I don’t, but I could see how people do,” joked the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider. “I’m pretty mellow, to be honest with you.”
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The 2024 Indianapolis Supercross was the tenth round of the Monster Energy Supercross Championship and the second of three Triple Crowns in this year’s schedule. Lucas Oil Stadium was the ninth venue to run the innovative format, and given the location’s history of soft tracks, there was plenty of concern about ruts in the days ahead.
Dirt Wurx has faced their share of challenges since San Francisco, but Indianapolis was one of the biggest efforts yet. The track crew knew that they’d only have a few minutes between races, and as soon as bikes were off the track, out came the heavy equipment to knock down ruts or smooth transitions.
A covered roof and reasonably dry dirt certainly helped, but one of the largest competitive turnouts of the season (47 in the 450 Class and 60 in the 250 East Region, a diverse mix of factory operations, independent team efforts, and privateers) took a toll on the track, especially in the afternoon. Timed Qualifying decimated the course, as both divisions required three groups of practice and LCQs to whittle down the field for the night show, but the ongoing work and very warm stadium made it much better for the point-paying races.
The track crew extended the base of the build with dirt, an effort to “lessen the impact” riders would have if they crashed off the track like Austin Forkner did a few weeks ago. Indianapolis was the first time that the safety measure had been implemented. Stay tuned for more on this.
The SMX Delegation joined Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Doug Boles and Ed Carpenter Racing driver Christian Rasmussen at the famed Pagoda on Friday afternoon. Racers were given a souvenir to remember the visit and laps around the track: bottles of “milk,” the official celebration drink of the Indianapolis 500 (https://us.motorsport.com/indycar/news/indy-500-why-does-the-winner-drink-milk-a-tradition-explained/10303437/). The white liquid in the bottle is a concoction of water and paint, and the caps clearly state they are not to be consumed.
Racers talking racing. ““Anytime we can get insight into another sport is cool. You always realize, although they’re completely different worlds, we’re all pretty common, motorsports athletes and how we think” said Adam Cianciarulo of the conversation with Rasmussen. The budding driver shared the sentiments, saying, “I’ve never been here before and there’s a lot of history, so I’m trying to take it in. When you’re a good athlete, you take these little things for granted, so I realize how cool this is to be in the moment… He was talking to us with one hand on the wheel while we went into the first turn, just cruising.”
Kiss the bricks.
Hunter Lawrence isn’t letting a busted scapula (“scapular” for the Aussies) keep him off the bike. The Team Honda HRC rider crashed in Daytona, sat out Birmingham, and was back in Indianapolis, where 10-10-12 scores put him 11th overall in the Triple Crown results.
Tommy Harris is ready for anything.
Two weeks of deep ruts on the start straightaways. We saw a few bikes up to their lugs on the flat turn during Timed Qualifying, and getting into and through this line cleanly was one of many make or break moments to a fast lap.
Starting blocks of the stars. Eli Tomac’s platforms have a peg for the grate, an extra leg that touches the dirt on the ground, and traction tape for the toes of the Tech 10s.
Fredrik Noren uses the super common adjustable two-piece setup from Motorsport Products, which retail for $75.
Benny Bloss, the tallest rider in the 450 Class, has some of the tallest blocks in the 450 Class.
Justin Cooper’s steps are very subtle and very trick: one piece of folded metal with grip tape on top.
Cooper Webb’s blocks are also available for purchase. A small bungee cord has been added to the bottom and is hooked to the holes of the starting grate so that they remain straight.
John Short is stoked to be 199 this year. The Shoei-backed rider has replicas of TP’s iconic barbed target circle painted onto two of his lids.
Cooper Webb gets a few custom kits from THORMX each year, and the yellow/black/white setup the Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha rider had at Indianapolis was one of the best yet. The look, which included one-off boots, was produced by longtime designer Moses Bennett and was inspired by the Caterpillar heavy equipment used to build the tracks each weekend.
Round ten already. The Supercross season has flown by, and as expected, the 450 title fight really took shape over the past four weeks. What do you expect to see happen during Seattle or STL, and in the five-round run from Foxborough to Seattle?
Another weekend, another record setting crowd. Indianapolis has become THE race for fans in Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio/Illinois/Michigan’s lower half, and more than 64000 of them filled Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday night.
We bumped into Jeremy Hand and his father, Carl, at the will call trailer on Friday morning. The Ohio privateer is someone we always keep an eye on, thanks to his solid results and willingness to change things up on race weekends. After making the 450 Main Event in Birmingham, Hand figured he’d have the speed to do well in the 250 East Region with the Triple Crown format and dropped down to the small-bore bike. Good call, as was among the top-18 in Timed Qualifying (being in B Group paid off) and posted 14-12-14 finishes for 15th overall.
Who’s your pick for the 250 East Region title: the older and wiser speed demon, the two-time MX2 world champion, or the teenage prodigy? They’ll face off again in Massachusetts.
Shoutout Levi Kilbarger for making the top-22 in Indianapolis. The Ohio racer’s name caught our attention on the entry list, and to be honest, we didn’t know what to think. Was this an AMA typo or a legit entry? Was Kilbarger much younger than we remembered? A text from Chris at Race Tech answered our questions about the 30-plus owner of Bonzi Suspension made his way into the night show directly out of qualifying nearly a decade after his last attempt in SX. Isn’t racing awesome?
Glossy colors, gold leaf numbers, exposed carbon fiber. apdesigns checked all the boxes on this unreleased HJC helmet that’s being worn by Colt Nichols.
Hey Benny, this was a good look. The colors and patterns of the new FXR gear, the gray Arai helmet, Flintstone print Oakley goggles, and neon Alpinestars boots, worked really well together. Hope your collarbone feels better.
A battle for position, shot in one spot over three laps, featuring Jason Anderson, Cooper Webb, and Chase Sexton.
There were legit concerns that Haiden Deegan would be booed by the crowd in Indianapolis after an eventful night in Birmingham, and the Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha rider kept a low profile during the week, but his fans flocked to the rig during Fan Fest and roared when he came out third-to-last in opening ceremonies. A few weeks to get better and a “must win everything” title scenario make him one to watch in the remaining rounds of the East Coast Region.
See who is where at the start in 450 Race Two.
Adam Cianciarulo and Shane McElrath went at it during the Indianapolis Triple Crown, a close battle for position that had our attention when they got together as both riders unleashed their years of experience on the other to get ahead. If you’re going to Seattle or STL, be ready for a rematch.
Just another practice moto for these two…
Look, Jett doesn’t need to get the Rookie of the Year honors. Yes, he’s certainly earned it, but damn, give someone else a chance for some year one on the 450 glory. If you could vote between Justin Cooper or Hunter Lawrence, who would you give the award to in SLC?
Launching into the whoops was a big move that a few tried in the afternoon, but only a few did consistently during the night show.
Jeremy Martin has an up and down record in Indianapolis, a trend that sort of continued in 2024. The Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX/Yamaha rider was outside the top-18 in Timed Qualifying, but raced his way in via the LCQ win and went on to finish seventh on the night through 7-9-7 finishes.
Home race for Trevor Colip. Bowling Green, Indiana, the TiLube Honda rider’s listed hometown, is 68.4 miles from the front gate at the stadium. The rookie went 18-20-17 for 20th overall in the 250 East Region.
As usual, there are a lot of Hondas racing the 250 East Region. Now that both coasts have done the same amount of rounds, we should to put a brand breakdown together that outlines the bikes-parts-gear used.
Defend your vision. After getting popped in the eye with some roost on Saturday, we’re really considering wearing safety glasses on the floor. It seems to be a revived trend with mechanics, too.
Think of the talking points on these two we’d be going over if it wasn’t for the 18? Think about it: the defending champion goes to his biggest competition’s old team and gets some big changes made, all while the rival returns to the powerhouse squad that shaped his career. And they’re separated by a handful of points ten weeks in.
Flex.
Three straight and three for three.
The Indiana soil took some abuse on Saturday, and while we admittedly weren’t on the bike, the track looked a lot better than everyone had anticipated against all the laps of the Triple Crown. Well-timed grooming by Dirt Wurx kept the ruts from being anywhere as bad as last year and the heated building helped the material dry out as the day went on. The next Triple Crown is in St. Louis, a round that riders praise for having the best dirt of the schedule.
Onto Seattle.
