Chase Sexton Reacts to Arlington Struggles Heading to Daytona

It is truly difficult and rare to get three solid starts and finishes in a Supercross Triple Crown.

And Chase Sexton was just a few laps from securing the overall until back-to-back mistakes relegated him to third on the podium.

After a third and second from the first two Main Events, the third race was a tight battle among five competitors. After Aaron Plessinger took the holeshot and went down during the opening lap, it was a trio of riders fighting for the win and the overall. Ken Roczen would take an early lead before Sexton passed him for the lead on Lap 9. But later, Sexton would stall the bike and fall back to third. Climbing back up to second, he attempted a pass for the win on the last lap and crashed before the finish jump.

Sexton would drop to fifth in the race, third in the overall and lose the red plate after the dust settled in Arlington.

“There’s nothing to say,” Sexton stated.

Sexton, 25, entered AT&T Stadium sharing the championship lead with Cooper Webb. Webb would claim the overall victory and take sole possession of the red plate and points lead as the indoor series nears the halfway mark.

For Sexton, it’s been a struggle over the last few weeks. Sexton got snagged on the starting gate in Detroit and crashed during the Main Event in Tampa, two races where he was the fastest qualifier.

It was no secret the La Moille, Ill. native was frustrated with his situation, his luck and himself.

“When I get on the plane out of here, leave that in Dallas and try to move forward,” he said. “I’ve been grinding the past couple of weeks, and maybe it’s just time for some rest and come in to Daytona fresh. I got to go back and clear the slate a little bit. It’s been three weeks in a row of stupid stuff.

“It’s pretty frustrating.”

His team spoke on the issues and shared how they are still in full support of Sexton and his championship hunt. Shifting to Daytona Int’l Speedway couldn’t have come at a better time. Even though Sexton has never won there, he has podiumed in his last three races at The World Center of Racing and has two additional podiums in the 250SX class.

“You can’t cry over spilt milk,” said Ian Harrison, team manager for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing on the SMX Insider Post Race show. “It’s done. We’ve got to move on. Chase ended up in this position not from a lack of getting passed but a lack of trying to win, and it’s hard to criticize anyone when they do that. The harder he tries to win, I got to push him forward on that. We’ve just got to make less mistakes.”

The past is the past, and Sexton knows that a new day arises. He’s hopeful that will be the turning point for his hunt in the Supercross championship.

“At the end of the day, I only really judge myself on how I feel and who I am as a person,” Sexton continued. “It’s definitely tough for me mentally to do that. It’s not ideal, especially when I felt really good. But it is only Round 7, there’s 10 races to go, so I’m looking forward to Daytona next week. I’ve been on the podium there a lot, but I would love to get a win. Just up from here.”

Round 8 of the SMX World Championship and the indoor stadium season of Monster Energy AMA Supercross heads to beaches of Daytona this weekend. Coverage begins with Race Day Live at 1:30 p.m. ET streaming on Peacock. Gate drop is scheduled at 7:00 p.m. ET streaming on Peacock and on SiriusXM Channel 85.

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