With the best riders in the East and West lining up on the gate, and the 250SX West title on the line, all eyes were on Craig, who needed nine points to claim the crown. The Californian made a statement straight away by topping the timesheets in qualifying and scoring a resounding win in the heat race for the Western regional division. He then grabbed the holeshot in the showdown main event and was sitting in a good spot in second, but ultimately was passed by Thrasher. He was holding down third before a tip-over on Lap 6, but the points leader quickly rejoined and made his way to fifth. Craig then rode a smart race to finish eighth and accomplish a lifelong dream of winning a supercross championship.
It was a landmark season for Craig, who scored four wins and only finished off of the podium once to secure the 2022 250SX West title by a 10-point margin. The championship also was an emphatic finish to the supercross season for the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team. After winning their first 450 title last weekend, Craig's championship makes it four consecutive years at the top in the 250 class and their eighth 250SX number-one plate.
Looking to finish 2022 on a high note, Thrasher was all in to win in Salt Lake City. He had a solid qualifying in fourth and then took a runner-up finish behind his teammate in the heat race. The young rider from Tennessee also got a great start in the final showdown and was fighting for a podium position. After passing his teammate on the second lap, he kept charging hard and took the lead from Craig’s championship rival on Lap 3. In the final minutes, the competition closed the gap and put the pressure on, but Thrasher held onto the lead to take his first win of the season and end the year with a top-five finish in the points standings.
The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team gets a short break before the start of the 2022 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross season on Saturday, May 28, at Fox Raceway in Pala, California.
