Returning to action following an extensive injury and illness, Honda’s Chase Sexton would have the fans roaring from the sideline(s) while he circled the Red Bud track on Saturday. Many awaited and were hypothesizing that he could contend with the dominance of Jett Lawrence; though the consensus was that it would also take time for the number twenty-three to acclimate to the pace and longevity that his opposition had become accustomed to in the motos that followed. Nevertheless, the Honda athlete would qualify second and immediately engage in a strong starting sequence to moto number one; where he began the trek near a fifth-place residency while seeking to make moves as quickly as possible. He would move to fourth on lap four while pushing his machine ahead of Adam Cianciarulo, with Dylan Ferrandis immediately passed thereafter to claim third by the time lap five had concluded. The objective was to then overtake Ty Masterpool, who had created a train of riders behind the rear wheel of Kawasaki. Many were having trouble working their way around the number eighty-one, but Masterpool's line of defense would eventually be infiltrated with a daring move to the inside of the initial downhill in the Pro Section. It was Sexton who out-charged the number eighty-one with a sly line to the far inside, dodging pot-holes and nearly clipping track markers before hooking into the furthest right-handed groove. And once second was claimed, there would be little that those behind him could do to stop him; however, Jett Lawrence appeared to be on a trajectory of his own. Sexton would then seem to conserve energy with the number eighteen now completely out of view...holding that narrative until the checkered flag was waved, claiming second in the final running order. For moto number two, Sexton’s opening lap quest (which was concluded in fourth), would have him just behind Aaron Plessinger — whom he’d passed before the end of the following lap. However “AP” was willing to fight, and combatted the charge of the Honda in the next few laps; which caused Sexton to tip-over in the latter corners of the Pro Section. However Chase quickly remounted and returned to the line of battle, making his way around the Ohio native before attacking the rear wheel of Dylan Ferrandis. The French rider was flowing with spectacularity, but Sexton wasn’t backing-down; where he seemed to vow to eat the roost that was flung by Ferrandis’ rear wheel, if it meant gaining a furthered position on the leaderboard. Yet regardless of how hard Sexton tried, the momentum shift seemed to be in Dylan’s favor; which allowed the number fourteen to push to the finish-line in second, while Sexton eventually claimed third. And with that latter moto performance, it was Chase who eventually resided third overall as well.