Saturday Night Live: One of Those Nights

“I hate losing, so that bit of a losing streak really sucked,” said Lawrence. “But [I’m] really pumped to come out and get it done here. Felt good out there [and] hit my marks. A big [bummer] for Kenny, I didn’t get to fully see [Roczen’s crash] because of all the smoke, but it looked like it was pretty bad, so I hope he’s okay or has a speedy recovery from that. But… this [win] is leading in the good direction, so hopefully we keep it going.” 

“I was feeling it in the beginning, I’ll tell you what,” said Tomac. “And I was just trying different lines, and I figured we would have to do something special to get out front. Unfortunately, I didn’t maintain the lead there. I tried my heart out, that’s for sure. [I] had so much fun being up front for those few laps there. I’ll try to get better and better. You know, get better in the second half of the race. And so overall, great night for us, thank you so much, Nashville.”

“I got off to a third-place start, and the guys just rode away from me,” admitted Webb. “So gotta give it: when you’re not on, you’re not on, and tonight I definitely struggled. So I’ll take it; to get on the podium is great. Those boys were riding awesome. And last year I ended my season here [with a crash], so you got a little bit of that in the back of your mind. So, it’s good to get out of here healthy, still in the points hunt, and yep, can’t get ‘em every weekend.“

Tomac moved into third in the series standings after Sexton crashed out.

"Crashed out tonight,” said Sexton in a KTM statement. “A stone cracked my throttle body and the throttle got stuck off of that single-single, which ended my night. Bummer, but nothing's broken, and we'll bounce back in Philadelphia."

Jason Anderson was fourth and Justin Barcia had his first top five since a podium at round three of the series back in January.

"Practice was decent, didn't feel like I was lighting the world on fire, and didn't qualify where I wanted, but all-in-all it was okay,” said Barcia. “Heat race, rode average, so I knew I needed to get it together, and we made a few changes for the Main Event. We got off to a decent start, made a lot of passes in the first couple of laps, and then I felt like I rode really well under pressure in the middle of the race. I made a charge toward the end and finished fifth – a top-five feels really good. We've been working hard, but it's been very challenging, and it's good to be closer to where we want to be. We've got a few more races, so we'll keep at it!"

As for the 250 East/West Showdown, the double Kawasaki trouble opened the door for the riders ranked second in points, RJ Hampshire (West) and Tom Vialle (East). They kicked it down from there, with Hampshire dominating the race for his third win of the year, and he also grabbed the West lead from Kitchen.

"First off, I'm so proud of this team," said Hampshire. "I had that feeling from the beginning – Practice went awesome with P1, then in the Heat race I came from the back to win that, followed by a holeshot in the Main Event to lead every lap for the win! That's the first time that's ever happened in my career and it came at a really good time to do it. Tonight I executed the start in that Main Event, and felt like that was what I really needed. I had the speed, so it was just giving myself a chance, and it was an awesome race from there. I had a couple of moments in the beginning, then settled in and it's a big weight off my shoulders. I knew I could close the points lead tonight, but didn't expect to get the red plate back – I'm so happy for my whole team and all of our supporters.”

 Vialle took third and with it the points lead in the East.

“To finish third overall and first on my coast, it was a really good race for me,” said Vialle. “I tried to stay focused on my own race and had a good pace. The track was pretty sketchy, so you really had to concentrate, and I actually liked it a lot today – I felt like my riding was good all day. Two races to go and we're getting closer to the end! I really look forward to the next two races."

Two other title contenders in the East had forgettable nights, as Haiden Deegan started poorly and had some bike issues in the main. 

Pierce Brown was up front early but made a mistake and dropped back, his first bad race of the year.

"It wasn't the best night and I'm a little frustrated. I was in a really good spot on the first lap of the Main, made a mistake in the whoops, and that cost me," said Brown. "I feel like I left a good result out there, but sometimes you've just gotta move on. We definitely need to improve the result in the next race, but I felt great on the bike all day and that's what matters. I just need to bring my best version of me to Philly."

Pro Circuit team owner Mitch Payton said “not yet” when as asked if he had any injury updates on his riders, although Kitchen later posted a photo of himself in a hospital bed (!) after somehow finishing 14^th in the main.