It’s back to dry land on Saturday after two consecutive muddy races in the 2024 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship Series. This Saturday is also a return to the site of round one—Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. A twist is that this is a Triple Crown round—one poor result out of three Races can ruin your night. With that in mind, let’s put together some 2024 Anaheim 2 Supercross fantasy tips for fans playing the RMFantasySX.com game.
- Aaron Plessinger comes into A2 as the points leader. Plessinger also has a win, is the only rider in the top five at all three rounds, and is one of only two riders who haven’t been lapped this year in a Main Event—the other is Dylan Ferrandis. While that’s all impressive, it’s not enough for me to pick Plessinger for the podium on a dry track.
- Four riders lining up at A2 are past A2 450SX winners: Eli Tomac (three times) and one each for Ken Roczen, Cooper Webb, and (last year) Chase Sexton. When they were in the 250SX class, both Tomac and Webb had two wins. Other Anaheim 2 250SX winners in the 450SX class include Christian Craig, Dylan Ferrandis, Justin Hill, and Shane McElrath. That makes eight riders who have been at the top step of the A2 podium.
- Eli Tomac is the King of the Triple Crowns, and with his A2 successes under his belt, he’s my pick to win on Saturday. The last 2023 Triple Crown race was at Round 12 (Glendale). Tomac went 1-2-1 and took the series lead. Tomac has the format dialed, and three A2 450SX wins in the last five years tell you he knows how to win on Anaheim dirt.
- Jett Lawrence will be looking to prove something. He hasn’t been on the podium since his debut win at A1, and his PDA (Public Display of Anger) with Jason Anderson last week in San Diego did him no PR favors—something important for a rider ESPN calls “The Justin Bieber of Motocross”. All that aside, Lawrence is fast and has plenty of reasons to want to add his name to the list of A2 winners. He could beat Tomac, but Lawrence will have to put together three Races to do it.
- Chase Sexton won last year, so it’s hard to keep him off the podium. Sexton has a win this year, albeit in the Oracle Park swamp, along with an A1 podium. That’s enough to earn the defending Supercross Champion a podium call at A2.
- Having shown plenty of speed at A1 and San Diego, Cooper Webb is in the mix. Webb could certainly win or podium. However, he has just one top-five (a P2 last week) in three rounds. Let Webb earn a higher spot on the charts before handing it to him.
- As the only rider with three top-five finishes this year, Aaron Plessinger has to fill out the card. It’s easy to get behind the fan favorite and his good ol’ boy persona. However, despite his first-ever 450SX Main win last week, podiums are rare for Plessinger. Feel free to place him higher up, but the four guys ahead of him are a tough crowd.
- You’ll notice three prominent names outside the top five: Jason Anderson, Dylan Ferrandis, Ken Roczen, and Justin Barcia. They are all viable top-five picks. Anderson was P2 at A1, but he has to be consistent over three Races to do well in a Triple Crown round. Ferrandis looks strong with a 5-5-6 season on three tracks of different consistencies. How Ferrandis will fare against the five I’ve picked remains to be seen. Roczen’s 10-3-12 year so far leaves him a bit of a mystery. Roczen is a solid Triple Crown guy with an A2 win, though that was in 2015. Barcia is another enigma. He was on the podium last week, but Barcia struggled to P7 at A1. Again, any of these four riders are excellent top-five picks, but my top five is already full.
- The Wild Card is P12, so unfold your Ouija Board. P12 could be someone you expect to be slightly outside of the top 10, or it could be a high-quality rider who has one bad Race of three. Jorge Prado has gone 13-7-11, and Adam Cianciarulo is 12-8-13 this year. It’s incredible to think of two riders of that caliber finishing outside the top 10, but the numbers can’t be ignored. You can also consider Justin Cooper, Christian Craig, and Malcolm Stewart for P12, as the three have speed mixed with consistency issues. It’s an easy pick, right? I’ve got Cianciarulo.
- It’s another 5:30 p.m. local (PST) start time. Although Peacock is the only game in town, it remains an insanely good bargain at $6/month if you don’t mind commercials. As always, check our 2024 Supercross Television Schedule for all your viewing needs for Anaheim 2 and the rest of the season.
2024 Anaheim 2 Supercross Fantasy Picks
- Eli Tomac
- Jett Lawrence
- Chase Sexton
- Cooper Webb
- Aaron Plessinger
P12 Wild Card: Adam Cianciarulo
Exclusive photography by Will Embree / SMX Pictures
2024 Monster Energy Supercross Championship Series Standings (after 3 of 17 rounds)
- Aaron Plessinger, KTM, 60 (1W, 1P, 3 T5)
- Chase Sexton, KTM, 59 points (1W, 2P, 2 T5)
- Jett Lawrence, Honda, 56 (1W, 1P, 2 T5)
- Jason Anderson, Kawasaki, 49 (1P, 2 T5)
- Cooper Webb, Yamaha, 49 (1P, 1 T5)
- Dylan Ferrandis, Honda, 49 (1 T5)
- Eli Tomac, Yamaha, 48 (1P, 1 T5)
- Ken Roczen, Suzuki, 42 (1P, 1 T5)
- Justin Barcia, GasGas, 40 (1P, 1 T5)
- Jorge Prado, GasGas, 35
- Adam Cianciarulo, Kawasaki, 33
- Shane McElrath, Suzuki, 29 (1 T5)
- Hunter Lawrence, 27
- Dean Wilson, Honda, 24
- Justin Cooper, Yamaha, 22
- Derek Drake, Suzuki, 16
- Malcolm Stewart, Husqvarna, 14
- Christian Craig, Husqvarna, 12
- Cade Clason, Kawasaki, 10
- Justin Hill, KTM, 8
- Freddie Norén, Kawasaki, 3
- Austin Politelli, GasGas, 7
- Benny Bloss, Beta, 7
- Justin Rodbell, KTM, 5
- Kyle Chisholm, Suzuki, 4
- Jason Clermont, Kawasaki, 1
