Roczen sweeps all three Triple Crown races, but it is the 250SX Class that features the drama.
Team Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen was the ultimate benefactor of a red flag race restart in the third and final race of the night allowing him to reset and get back to the front of the pack and sweep the first of three Triple Crown races in the 2020 Monster Energy Supercross season.
After dominating the first two races of the night, Roczen found himself in the middle of the chaos after his worst off the gate start of the night. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Jason Anderson was in the led and starting to pull away to race to what would have been his first win on the season. Due to a crash in the whoops section, the race was red flagged and had to restart from the gate since they were barely a few laps into the race. Ultimately Roczen got a better start and pulled away to race to his sweep of the night.
“There was a lot of madness in the races tonight,” said Roczen in the post race press conference. “I was semi shocked a little with how hard everyone pushed into that first corner at times without letting off the gas. I am super confident in my starts so that helped a lot tonight. A red flag is never fun to see, so to have additional starts with a difficult first turn to get through brings more to the nerves but I did my best to stay calm and focused. To have three main events win is awesome. I had a fun time tonight.”
Anderson, who was leading the race prior to the restart said, “I feel like I’m racing better and better as the weeks go on. I’ve been top five every race, but kind of like very quiet, in kind of a pleasant spot in the series. But I’m ready to start charging and see if we can make some headway. We’ll see how it goes, but I’m looking forward to battling and I’m enjoying it.”
Second place rider, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac, echoed a similar thought post race.
“Ken was lightning fast tonight,” said Tomac. “I did what I could. The racing was kinda wild. We had five starts tonight, that was tough. I mean, everyone’s doing the same thing, but there is a little bit of wildness in these Triple Crowns. Glad to get through the pack and stay second overall. In the last moto there, I missed my rear brake in turn two, that was it for that moto win, at least for having the chance at it. But overall still feeling good, ready for next week.”
Roczen becomes the first in the premier 450SX Class to be a multiple race winner on the 2020 season. Up until the Glendale race, three different winners had found the top step of the podium making for a little early season drama in the premier class.
Jason Anderson (21); Monster Energy Supercross; 2020 Season; Glendale; Triple Crown; State Farm Stadium; Glendale, Arizona; January 25, 2020; Photo: Tyler Tate/T Squared Sports Media 
250SX Class Podium; Michael Mosiman (left), Austin Forkner (center) and Dylan Ferrandis (right); Monster Energy Supercross; 2020 Season; Glendale; Triple Crown; State Farm Stadium; Glendale, Arizona; January 25, 2020; Photo: Tyler Tate/T Squared Sports Media 
450SX Class Podium; Jason Anderson (left), Ken Roczen (center) and Eli Tomac (right); Monster Energy Supercross; 2020 Season; Glendale; Triple Crown; State Farm Stadium; Glendale, Arizona; January 25, 2020; Photo: Tyler Tate/T Squared Sports Media 
Eli Tomac(3); Monster Energy Supercross; 2020 Season; Glendale; Triple Crown; State Farm Stadium; Glendale, Arizona; January 25, 2020; Photo: Tyler Tate/T Squared Sports Media 
Dylan Ferrandis (1w); Monster Energy Supercross; 2020 Season; Glendale; Triple Crown; State Farm Stadium; Glendale, Arizona; January 25, 2020; Photo: Tyler Tate/T Squared Sports Media 
Austin Forkner(52); Monster Energy Supercross; 2020 Season; Glendale; Triple Crown; State Farm Stadium; Glendale, Arizona; January 25, 2020; Photo: Tyler Tate/T Squared Sports Media 
Ken Roczen (94); Monster Energy Supercross; 2020 Season; Glendale; Triple Crown; State Farm Stadium; Glendale, Arizona; January 25, 2020; Photo: Tyler Tate/T Squared Sports Media 
Ken Roczen (94); Monster Energy Supercross; 2020 Season; Glendale; Triple Crown; State Farm Stadium; Glendale, Arizona; January 25, 2020; Photo: Tyler Tate/T Squared Sports Media
However, what little drama was being created in the 450SX Class, it holds no comparison to the drama the 250SX West Class.
After a mid race hard pass in Anaheim 2 that has created copious amounts of discussion from fans across all racing platforms, Monster Energy/Star Yamaha Racing’s Dylan Ferrandis looked to put that noise behind him and move forward. Ferrandis received a number of crowd boos and even threats online.
But it was Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Austin Forkner who benefited the most from the distraction surrounding Ferrandis as Forkner finally found his wheels and was able to come away with the much needed 10 points. Forkner dominated the first two 250SX Main Events then rode strategically in the third to cap the night with his second win of 2020.
“It is a long season,” said Forkner. “Obviously tonight helped a lot in my goal of winning the season title. I worked on a lot this past week to become stronger in the whoops section where I have struggled this season with a couple of crashes. I was 22 points behind Justin (Cooper) coming into the race but now I am only 10 behind after this race. I knew I had to dig out of the hole I created for myself and I still have some digging to go, but like I said it is a long season and anything can happen. You just have to take it race by race.”
The series moves to RingCentral Coliseum in Oakland, California next weekend with a return to the standard Heat Race and single Main Event format for each class. The next two Monster Energy Supercross Triple Crown events are on February 22nd at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and at the penultimate series round on April 25th at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.