Can Ken Roczen Shake the Title Nobody Wants?
By
Ken Roczen has the most career 450SX wins without a championship. He’d like to give that record back.
When Ken Roczen won the opening round of the 2022 Monster Energy Supercross Championship, he assumed sole ownership of a record no rider wants to own:
Most victories without a title.
Of the 10 riders on the chart below, nine of them have finished second in the championship at least once.
Most 450SX Wins w/o Title
Re-order table by tapping column headers.
It’s a ‘hot potato’ milestone that Damon Bradshaw took from Broc Glover early in the 1992 season, over two years before Roczen was born.
Bradshaw never should have held on to this record, but that’s a completely different story.
James Stewart ‘won’ it briefly in the middle of the 2007 season but he gave it right back to Bradshaw when he wrapped his first championship that same year.
Eli Tomac held it for a little over two years. He unburdened Bradshaw after winning his 20th career race (2018 Minneapolis SX) and ran the tally up to 33 wins!
In June 2020, Tomac dumped it back on the Beast from the East when he won his first championship.
And now Ken Roczen, who has finished runner up in the championship twice, is trying to give it back to Bradshaw.
Roczen’s 22 wins puts him in 11th on the all-time 450SX wins list and it’s a fool’s bet to say he won’t get a 23rd (or more).
On Any Sunday Merch!
On Any Sunday #1 Tee
$34.99
He’s won a race for five straight seasons (Tomac is the only other rider to do that) and he got on the podium six times in his 14 starts in 2024.
But a championship? That would set a completely different record: he’d be the first rider to win the crown past his 30th birthday.
Notable Ken Roczen facts from 2024…
- 7th in 2024. Missed the final three rounds due to a fractured leg and foot (remember the bucking bronco ride?)
- At the 2024 Seattle SX (his 144th 450SX start), Roczen raced his first ever LCQ!
- He’s 30 now. If he picks up another win, he’d be just the 11th different rider to win a 450SX past age 30.
- Avg. 2024 main event gate pick: 5.5 (3rd best)
We Went Fast Swag
The Stealth Hat
$34.99