Most of the pre-race attention was on Cooper Webb and Chase Sexton, but it was Ken Roczen who stole the show.
DAYTONA BEACH, Florida: Ken Roczen withstood a battle from Cooper Webb to win his first Daytona Supercross victory in Round 8 of the 2025 Monster Energy Supercross series. It was his 23rd career win.
Roczen came close to winning on multiple occasions earlier this season with second-place finishes in three rounds and another third. Last week he told reporters he simply wasn’t fast enough to win, but before the race, he told NBC Sports that he did not alter his routine this week. He trusted his speed.
That trust was rewarded.
“I honestly can’t believe it,” Roczen told Peacock’s Katie Osborne. “I really put my head down. I had some really good lines. When you make those passes, you have to put your head down or they will retaliate and come back.”
Webb stalled his bike twice during the race but challenged until the final laps when one final mistake dropped him to a five-second deficit.
“You can’t make mistakes, as many as I made, and still expect to win,” Webb told Jason Thomas. “Kenny rode great. He was charging through and he got around me, made the pass on (Aaron Plessinger) and he pulled away. It put the urgency on me and I made too many mistakes after that. Overall from a points’ position it was a great night.”
Webb doubled his points lead over Sexton. He has left Daytona with the advantage twice previously in his career and won the championship both times.
Plessinger rounded out the podium. He scored his first Supercross podium in 2021 and dedicated it to Dale Earnhardt, Sr.
Dale was still on his mind.
“After two 22nd-place finishes, a seventh, eighth, and ninth, it’s been a ride but we pulled it off.” Plessinger said. “I love this place and you know we’re always doing it for Dale.”
Fourth-place Justin Cooper and Chase Sexton rounded out the podium but it was an epic journey for Sexton who crashed hard in his heat and was forced to advance through the Last Chance Qualifier.
Ken Roczen wins first Daytona Supercross race, RJ Hampshire takes 250 East Feature in his home state
Most of the pre-race attention was on Cooper Webb and Chase Sexton, but it was Ken Roczen who stole the show.
Roczen change
DAYTONA BEACH, Florida: Ken Roczen withstood a battle from Cooper Webb to win his first Daytona Supercross victory in Round 8 of the 2025 Monster Energy Supercross series. It was his 23rd career win.
Roczen came close to winning on multiple occasions earlier this season with second-place finishes in three rounds and another third. Last week he told reporters he simply wasn’t fast enough to win, but before the race, he told NBC Sports that he did not alter his routine this week. He trusted his speed.
That trust was rewarded.
“I honestly can’t believe it,” Roczen told Peacock’s Katie Osborne. “I really put my head down. I had some really good lines. When you make those passes, you have to put your head down or they will retaliate and come back.”
Webb stalled his bike twice during the race but challenged until the final laps when one final mistake dropped him to a five-second deficit.
“You can’t make mistakes, as many as I made, and still expect to win,” Webb told Jason Thomas. “Kenny rode great. He was charging through and he got around me, made the pass on (Aaron Plessinger) and he pulled away. It put the urgency on me and I made too many mistakes after that. Overall from a points’ position it was a great night.”
Webb doubled his points lead over Sexton. He has left Daytona with the advantage twice previously in his career and won the championship both times.
Plessinger rounded out the podium. He scored his first Supercross podium in 2021 and dedicated it to Dale Earnhardt, Sr.
Dale was still on his mind.
“After two 22nd-place finishes, a seventh, eighth, and ninth, it’s been a ride but we pulled it off.” Plessinger said. “I love this place and you know we’re always doing it for Dale.”
Fourth-place Justin Cooper and Chase Sexton rounded out the podium but it was an epic journey for Sexton who crashed hard in his heat and was forced to advance through the Last Chance Qualifier.
RJ Hampshire survived the third red flag in three Monster Energy Supercross 250 East division to become the third class winner.
“It’s special,” Hampshire told Peacock’s Jason Thomas. “Man, I lost my dad a few months ago and this was his race. Growing up as a kid, this is where we came. It was the only Supercross I came to. He was with us today. Some guy came up to me in the pits and he had his old jersey that he raced with back in the day and it was something I didn’t have.”
Hampshire was fastest in qualification, won his heat and the Feature — the same path to victory as Max Anstie and Levi Kitchen in the first two 250 East rounds.
Hampshire earned the lead early and was riding away from the field when Kitchen crashed hard midway through the race. The Alpinestars Medical team needed a quiet track to help the dazed rider off the course and when the race returned to green, Hampshire had to hold off a determined Tom Vialle.
Kitchen was awake and alert after the crash before being evaluated at the track and transported to a local hospital.
East Coast 2024 champion, Vialle applied pressure for a lap, but once Hampshire found his rhythm, he built a 2.356-second lead.
“He passed me early in the race, I was leading for a couple of laps and he passed me,” Vialle said. “It was hard. The track was really tough and tricky. We had pretty much the same speed all moto. I wasn’t far (off), but I could not make a move, to be honest.”
The fiercest contest in the final laps belonged to Seth Hammaker and Chance Hymas.
Heading into the sand section, Hammaker sent it and passed Hymas in the air to take the final spot on the podium.
Hymas held on for fourth. This was his best career finish.
Max Anstie overcame an early crash to finish fifth and retain the red plate.
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