Series leader Chase Sexton faces a match point on Saturday at the Budds Creek National, the penultimate round of the 2024 AMA Pro Motocross National Championship Series. Sexton comes to Budds Creek MX Park in Maryland with a 28-point lead over Hunter Lawrence. If Sexton goes home with a 50-point lead, it’s over. That’s unlikely, but the possibility exists. Several exciting storylines in this round affect your decisions on RMFantasyMX.com, however, so let’s start with the 2024 Budds Creek Motocross fantasy picks.

1. Three former Budds Creek National 450MX winners will compete on Saturday, and none of them are named Chase Sexton. Jason Anderson (2022), Dylan Ferrandis (’21), and Eli Tomac (’18-19). Not included are 2016 winner Ken Roczen and the once again injured Cooper Webb. These wins aren’t enough for me to knock Chase Sexton off the top spot in RMFantasyMX, but if you need a desperate attempt, you have three guys to consider. Otherwise, Sexton is still dominating and is the man you should pick to win.

2. Hunter Lawrence looked great on the 2025 Honda CRF450R at Unadilla and earned his way back to the P2 spot. Lawrence broke Sexton’s winning streak at Unadilla by taking the first moto win. However, Sexton re-established himself as the best 450MX racer in the second moto. Feel free to give Lawrence a shot at his first 450MX overall win. I’m sticking with Lawrence for second place.

3. Five drivers are in contention for the podium: Jason Anderson, Justin Cooper, Dylan Ferrandis, Aaron Plessinger and Eli Tomac. All five are legitimate options, so let’s take a closer look at them.

4. In the last four laps, Plessinger achieved the best results of the four drivers fighting for P3. Plessinger has five moto podiums, two P4s and one P5, making him a candidate for P3 at the 2024 Budds Creek National.

5. Jason Anderson and Justin Cooper will fight for P4. The two were neck and neck for the final four rounds. However, Anderson is a former Budds Creek winner and Cooper was a bit behind. In the final three rounds, Anderson was 2-5-5 and Cooper was 7-4-7. With that in mind, Anderson is in 4th place and Cooper is right behind him.
   

   

   6. Dylan Ferrandis is certainly a threat to the top five. After a series of P5 and P6 finishes in six rounds, Ferrandis finished on the podium in the second round at Unadilla. Ferrandis is also a former Budds Creek winner. That’s not enough for me to put him in the top five, although he’s a good pick for someone willing to take a risk to earn points in leagues. A podium seems very unlikely, although he could certainly finish in the top five.

7. Like Cooper Webb last week, Eli Tomac is an unknown quantity. I left Webb out of the top five last week, and that was the right decision. There’s no way to tell how Tomac will do in two motos, so I’ll just wait and see. Tomac’s two Budds Creek Nationals were a long time ago, so it’s hard to argue that they make a big difference. Plus, Tomac is just preparing for the FIM World Motocross Championship Series, so he probably won’t want to risk much. Consider Tomac an outsider for the top five, but still an option.

8. RMFantasyMX.com gives it their all in the Wild Card – P15. That’s more of a guess, so here’s a list of riders with a P15 finish this year: Cullin Park (twice), Harri Kulas (twice), Derek Kelley (twice), Kyle Chisholm (twice), Christian Craig, Jerry Robin, Romain Pape, Jeremy Hand, Garrett Marchbanks, Broc Tickle, Anthony Rodriguez, Lorenzo Locurcio, and Phil Nicoletti. The overall P15 list is Craig, Pape, Kelley, Park, Justin Hill, Gert Krestinov, Phil Nicoletti, Freddie Norén, and Cooper Webb. With two P15 moto finishes and a P15 overall, Derek Kelly and Cullin Park are your best options. Of course, both had miserable Unadilla Nationals, but Park was P15 the round before that. I’m going with Park for P15.

9. It’s an east coast round, so tune in early. Race Day Live begins at 7 a.m. PDT (10 a.m. local time) and racing begins at 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. local time). Check our 2024 Pro Motocross TV schedule to catch replays a day later on USA and CNBC.

2024 Budds Creek Motocross Fantasy Tips

1. Chase Sexton
2. Hunter Lawrence
3. Aaron Plessinger
4. Jason Anderson
5. Justin Cooper

Wild Card P15: Cullin Park

Photography by Align Media, Octopi Media and BrownDogWilson Photography

Standings of the 2024 AMA Pro Motocross National Championship Series (after 9 of 11 rounds)

1. Chase Sexton, KTM, 407 points (5 overall wins, 8 overall podiums, 8 overall top 5 finishes)
2. Hunter Lawrence, Honda, 379 (8P; 9 T5)
3. Aaron Plessinger, KTM, 319 (4P, 7 D5)
4. Justin Cooper, Yamaha, 317 (3P, 7 T5)
5. Jason Anderson, Kawasaki, 295 (1P, 5 T5)
6. Dylan Ferrandis, Honda, 273 (3 T5)
7. Malcolm Stewart, Husqvarna, 238
8. Jett Lawrence, Honda, 210 (4W, 4P, 4 T5)
9. Christian Craig, Husqvarna, 188
10. Freddie Norén, Kawasaki, 160
11. Justin Barcia, GasGas, 148 (2 T5)
12. Phil Nicoletti, Yamaha, 141
13. Harri Kullas, KTM, 137
14. Grant Harlan, Yamaha, 128
15. Marshal Weltin, Yamaha, 126
16. Shane McElrath, Suzuki/Kawasaki, 97
17. Romain Pape, GasGas, 80
18. Derek Kelley, KTM, 72
19. Cullin Park, Honda, 67
20. Kyle Chisholm, Suzuki, 59
21. Garrett Marchbanks, Yamaha, 50
22. Kyle Webster, Honda, 45
23. Anthony Rodriguez, KTM, 41
24. Justin Hill, KTM, 35
25. Ken Roczen, Suzuki, 31
26. Dean Wilson, Honda, 28
27. Lorenzo Locurcio, GasGas, 25
28. Jerry Robin, Yamaha, 22
29. Alvin Östlund, Honda, 20
30. Broc Tickle, Kawasaki, 17
31. Gert Krestinov, Honda, 15
32. Jeremy Hand, Honda, 15
33. Cooper Webb, Yamaha, 14
34. Henry Miller, Honda, 13
35. Max Miller, Suzuki, 13
36. Scotty Verhaeghe, GasGas, 9
37. James Harrington, Yamaha, 8
38. Colt Nichols, Suzuki, 8
39. Bryce Shelly, Yamaha, 6
40. Henry Jacobi, KTM, 5
41. John Short, Kawasaki, 5
42. Trevin Nelson, Yamaha, 5
43. Ryder Floyd, Honda, 4
44. Carson Brown, Yamaha, 3
45. Tristan Lane, KTM, 3
46. Jake Masterpool, GasGas, 3