With a convincing victory at the 250SX East/West Showdown in Rice-Eccles Stadium on Sunday, GEICO Honda’s Chase Sexton successfully defended his 2019 AMA Supercross 250SX East crown, earning the 2020 title with a nine-point margin over second place. The series finale featured the top riders from both the East and West regions, and Sexton was dominant, overtaking title-rival Shane Mcelrath and pulling away to win by over four seconds.
Having used a consistent approach to wrap up last year’s 250SX championship with a single victory, Sexton was much more assertive this season. He opened the nine-race series with a solid second-place result in Tampa in February, then reeled off a pair of wins in Arlington and Atlanta, followed by another runner-up finish at Daytona. At that point, the series took an unscheduled 12-week hiatus, prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but in its return for a five-race stretch in Salt Lake City, the Illinois native notched three more wins, another second place and a fourth (his only non-podium finish). His victory at the finale was his third in a row.
"Man, it feels good," Sexton said. "Everyone said I got lucky last year, and that kind of fired me up coming into this season. I won five main events, and I couldn’t be more excited. I can’t thank my team enough; they’ve been behind me since day one."
Sexton signed with Factory Connection in 2015, first racing for their Amsoil Honda amateur program and then for their GEICO Honda squad after turning pro in 2017. Sunday’s win came at his final race as a 250 rider, as the 20-year-old will now transition to Team Honda HRC to campaign a factory CRF450R alongside his friend Ken Roczen in the AMA Pro Motocross series.
"It’s been such a pleasure to work with Chase and his family over the years," said GEICO Honda co-owner Richard "Ziggy" Zielfelder. "He came up through our grassroots program, earning multiple titles as an amateur and now two championships as a professional 250 AMA Supercross rider. We’re proud of his accomplishments, and of graduating another rider to Honda’s factory program, where we expect his success to continue."
"On behalf of everyone at American Honda, congratulations to Chase and the entire GEICO Honda team," said Brandon Wilson, American Honda’s Manager of Advertising & Motorcycle Sports. "It’s been a joy to see Chase’s performance this season, as he has reached a truly impressive level. His maturation over the years is a testament to his skill, hard work, family and team, and I can’t wait to see what he does on the factory squad."
The day also saw Sexton’s fellow GEICO Honda rider, Jo Shimoda, earn 250SX Rookie of the Year honors.
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About American Honda
American Honda Motor Co., Inc., is the sole distributor of Honda motorcycles, scooters, ATVs and Side-by-Sides in the United States. American Honda’s Powersports Division conducts the sales, marketing and operational activities for these products through independent authorized Honda retail dealers. For more information on Honda products, go to powersports.honda.com.
