Red Bull KTM Factory rider Chase Sexton is beginning to get on something of a roll as he tries to add the AMA 450 motocross championship to his AMA supercross title. The American, who seems sure to line-up for Team USA at the Monster Energy Motocross of Nations in October, is really building momentum and points lead over Australian Hunter Lawrence.

Following a commanding 1-1 performance at the Spring Creek National, making it five moto wins in succession for a third overall victory of the season. After qualifying in fourth position, Sexton was unmatched, in sweeping both motos this afternoon. He climbed from third position in the early stages of Moto 1 to take over the lead just after halfway and go on to win by 10.130s at race's end.

In the second outing he was P6 as lap one was completed, again storming to the front of the field by lap 10 and taking the checkered flag 12.919s clear of the chasing pack just as heavy rain began to fall. In claiming his seventh race victory of the year and back-to-back overalls, Chase now has a margin of 13 points at the top of the points table following Round 7 of 11. The AMA 450 motocross points leader sat down and talked to the media, and this is what he told us.

MXLarge: Tell us about your day?

Sexton: I would say today my starts were a little bit better. First moto especially as I came out third, which is good enough to get the job done. Second moto, my start was good, but I got pushed really wide, the guys on the inside didn’t shut off and I got kind of sandwiched. I had to come from a little bit further back, but I felt good on the bike today. Qualification wasn’t great, I was riding like a little bit of an idiot. For the first couple of laps of the first moto, I was trying to calm down and get into a flow. Once I find the flow, it makes it a lot easier and the sand rollers were really gnarly, which was kind of the main point of the track for me. Second moto, I had a really good pace after about ten minutes in and kind of kept it going and I had a lot of fun. The track was difficult, and it was a little warm today, which made it for more separation.

MXlarge: Sand rollers, a lot of guys blasting through, but you seemed to find a good rhythm through the first set. Did you see that from somebody, or did you develop it yourself?

Sexton: I did it the last lap of the second qualification. I tripled, but it would kind of depend, as you could get lost on what roller you were on, so I would just kind of drop in and get three obviously. One, it was faster and two, it made it a lot easier. The rhythm was the biggest key for me today. Skimming them wasn’t really an option, which felt sketchy and then doubling them wasn’t super-fast. Tripling, if you could do it, and do it consistently, worked for me. I felt like the first moto I got it pretty good and the second moto, even better. Big separation in the sand and I talked to somebody, and I told him, those rollers are the biggest I have ever seen. I had never seen anything like that here or even Redbud, so they gave it to us today.

MXLarge: What made this track difficult?

Sexton: The sand rollers were gnarly and this track, especially in the sand section, has a really hard base underneath, so you really have to be on your toes. For me, I almost crashed in the sighting lap. And I told myself, I got to get it together, because this track can come up and bite you. I was really trying to stay on my toes and not over-ride it, because if you do that, this track can really bite you in a pretty bad way. It is almost like a MotoGP track, where you have continued turns and a lot of stop and go, so you have to open the turns up and make the arcs nice.

MXLarge: Your fitness seems to be there, but you seem a lot more confident and riding more comfortable. Does that allow you to take advantage of that fitness, when you feel comfortable?

Sexton: Yes, I would say for me, the first motos recently, were more difficult, because I was riding tight, while today, it was better, and I tried to fix that a little bit. My fitness is good, but I am more comfortable on the bike, and I think since Southwick, I got a lot more comfortable, and I think after that weekend, I just made a big improvement with my riding. We didn’t change much, bit I started picking apart the tracks more and with confidence, you trust more and for me, last week at Redbud I had a really good second moto and its just a continued build for me to be honest. Not so much the bike setup, but just picking apart the track and making it easier.

MXlarge: The last two overall wins, I believe are the first two on Redbud and Spring Creek. Did that give you a little bit more respect for the tracks, if you hadn’t won a moto here before and did it help being patient in the opening laps of the two motos?

Sexton: Redbud this year, felt more like something I grew up racing on. They put a lot of sand on it after 2017 and for the des Nations in 2018 and it kind of turned out worse. This year felt more like what I was used to riding, so I was more comfortable. Its just a confidence thing for me and while it is a riding thing, with confidence, like I said, comes more belief and you are able to move around on the track and trust a little bit more. For me, that is the biggest thing, just confidence and riding better, honestly. This track I have always had good speed, but I made mistakes that cost me the win and my plan was not to make mistakes and ride with confidence.

MXLarge: After five straight moto wins and the points you have made up on Hunter, are you starting to think you are taking control of this championship?

Sexton: To be honest, I am just focusing week in and week out. I don’t let my mind get too far ahead, because then stuff can go wrong. To be honest, I am just trying to have fun and be present. This might sound a bit weird, but after second practice, I went into the motorhome, turned the lights off and took a nap. When I woke up, I meditated for about half an hour to try and calm down and just centre myself and get ready for the motos. For me, the mistakes come when I get too riled up. It isn’t a lack of focus; it is just me getting too into it and too antsy honestly.

MXLarge: You didn’t race the 250 long outdoors and this is your third season on the 450. Did you have to change anything for your prep as far as fitness, or is it just business as usual?

Sexton: I would say, as far as how I have grown from a 17- or 18-year-old kid racing the 250s, compared to now. Back then I used to think you needed to win during to win during the week to win on the weekend, and that isn’t really the case to be honest. Obviously knowing I have enough now to win on the weekends, which is a big thing, but you cannot overdo it during the week, for sure not in Florida, because its pretty hot and you can overdo it. You want to be good during the week, but it isn’t where you win championships. You have to manage that and bring your best on the weekend. When I was young, I used to work too hard during the week.

MXlarge: This last two weeks, is your neck of the woods and growing up in this region, and then going 1-1 both weekends, those are weekends we dream of. Take me through experiencing that and being in that moment, with several thousand people cheering you on, that has to feel good?

Sexton: Last weekend was special, because that is a place I grew up racing at. Here (Spring Creek) I raced here a little bit, but it is like five hours from my house, so not as much, but its cool, because I know the Martins well and I would come up here and ride with those guys. It is pretty cool and nice to see so many familiar faces at the races.

MXlarge: Are you up for riding for Team USA this year?

Sexton: Of course, I hope I get picked and I would love to go. That track looks really cool, we will see, there is going to be a lot of competition, Australia obviously really good, Holland is strong, we will have our work cut out for us.