Ken Roczen, A Dream Come True: Celebrating My First Win at Daytona After 11 Years After 11 long years of racing at the legendary Daytona International Speedway, I finally have my first win in the books! To say I’m still a little shocked is an understatement: “I’ll be honest—there were times when I felt like giving up”…read more
After 11 long years of racing at the legendary Daytona International Speedway, I finally have my first win in the books! To say I’m still a little shocked is an understatement: “I’ll be honest—there were times when I felt like giving up.” But here I am, holding the Daytona trophy, my 23rd Monster Energy AMA Supercross victory, and it feels like the universe finally aligned for me. This wasn’t just a race; it was redemption, a testament to grit, and a love letter to the fans who never stopped believing. Let me take you back through the journey, the heartbreak, and that electric night on March 2, 2025, when everything clicked.
#### The Weight of Daytona: 11 Years of Near-Misses
Daytona isn’t just any Supercross stop—it’s *the* one. The infield of the tri-oval turns into a beast of a track: deep ruts that swallow tires, high-speed whoops that test your nerve, and a surface that evolves from tacky to treacherous as the night wears on. Riders dream of conquering it, but for me, it had been a personal Everest. My first Daytona 450SX main event was back in 2011, when I was a wide-eyed 16-year-old German kid fresh off my debut season in America. I finished seventh that night, solid but hungry. Fast-forward through a decade-plus of pro racing, and Daytona became my white whale.
Over those 11 attempts, I’d racked up two podiums—third in 2017 and second in 2024—but the win always slipped away. Crashes, mechanicals, bad starts, you name it. In 2016, I was leading early but washed out in the rhythm section. 2020? A rock in the airbox sidelined me. And last year, I pushed so hard for the lead that I overcooked a corner and dropped to second. Each time, I’d walk away frustrated, questioning if the Daytona gods just didn’t like me. “There were dark days,” I admitted in a post-race interview, echoing what so many fans had heard me say before. “Injuries piled up, teams changed, and yeah, there were moments I thought about walking away from the bike altogether.” But motocross is in my blood—it’s what got me out of bed every morning, even when the pain from my 2017 arm injury still throbbed.
What kept me going? My team at Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki. Larry Brooks, my team manager, has been in my corner since day one. He’s seen me at my lowest—post-crash in the hospital, doubting my future—and never wavered. “Ken’s got that fire,” he’d say. And the fans. Oh man, the Daytona crowd is unmatched. They roar like thunder through the grandstands, turning the speedway into a coliseum. Their energy? It’s rocket fuel. Every year, I’d hear chants of “Kenny! Kenny!” even when I was buried in 10th. That support turned “giving up” into “one more lap.”
#### The 2025 Build-Up: Nothing to Lose
Heading into the 2025 season, I wasn’t the favorite. The hype was on Cooper Webb and Chase Sexton, the points leaders with multiple wins under their belts. Jett Lawrence had taken the previous year’s crown, and no active rider had a Daytona win entering the weekend—guaranteeing a first-timer. Me? I was the veteran underdog on a resurgent Suzuki RM-Z450, sitting third in points but 16 back after seven rounds. At 30 years old, in my 13th pro season, I had zero pressure. “I have nothing to lose,” I told myself during Thursday’s practice. We tested new suspension tweaks, dialed in the engine mapping for the rutted Florida dirt, and focused on my starts. Starts have been my Achilles’ heel at Daytona—too aggressive, and you bin it; too cautious, and you’re playing catch-up.
Friday’s qualifying was a confidence booster. I clocked the fourth-fastest time in the 450 class at 1:19.042, right behind Sexton’s blistering 1:18.352. The track was already breaking down, with ruts forming in the turns and whoops turning into a washing machine. “Stay calm, section by section,” I repeated like a mantra. Heat race? I holeshot second, blasted past the leader on the front straight, and led wire-to-wire for the win. The crowd erupted—it felt like a sign.
#### Race Night: From Fourth to Forever
Saturday, March 2. The air was thick with humidity, the lights blazing over 60,000 fans packed into the stands. The 450 main event: 20 minutes plus one lap of pure chaos. I got a decent fourth-place start behind Aaron Plessinger, Jason Anderson, and Webb. Early laps were survival—dodging elbows, threading through the pack without washing out in the deep sand sections. Plessinger grabbed the holeshot and led the charge, with the crowd on its feet as he dueled Anderson.
Then, around lap five, just past the halfway mark, it was go-time. The track was a mess now: ruts two feet deep in the turns, jumps bottoming out unpredictably. I saw my line—the inside berm on the exit of the 180-degree hairpin, slinging me past Anderson on the outside. Clean. Next, I charged the rhythm section, double-pumping the first two jumps to carry speed into the triple. Webb was breathing down my neck, but I held the throttle steady, using the Suzuki’s torque to pull a gap. By lap eight, I’d sliced past Plessinger in the whoops—my favorite section, where precise throttle control turns a stutter into a flow.
Suddenly, I was out front. Alone. The lead bike’s view is surreal at Daytona: the banking of the tri-oval looming like a wall, the infield lights blurring into streaks. I could hear Webb closing in the final five minutes—he’s a beast on these tracks, always inching forward like a shark. With two minutes left, he lunged in the sand whoops, but I countered by tightening my line through the following flat turns. He got hung up in a rut, nearly lowsiding, and that was it. I crossed the line 1.2 seconds ahead, arms raised as the checkers flew.
Podium? Electric. Second for Webb, third for Plessinger, with Justin Cooper and Sexton rounding out the top five. RJ Hampshire stole hearts in the 250 class with an emotional win dedicated to his late dad—motocross magic at its finest. As confetti rained down, I soaked it in: “I honestly still can’t believe it. This is a dream come true.” Larry hugged me like we’d won the championship. And the fans? They chanted until security had to escort me off.
#### The Aftermath: Eyes on the Championship
This win vaulted me to third in the standings, 16 points behind Webb’s lead. It’s my 75th career podium, boosting my win percentage to 15%. But more than stats, it’s validation. Suzuki’s first Daytona win since 2009? Huge for the brand. For me, it’s fuel for the fire. We’ve got the East/West Showdown in Indy next, then the push to Salt Lake for the finale. The title hunt is wide open—six different winners in eight rounds. I’m not counting anyone out, including myself.
Looking back, those 11 years weren’t failures; they were the forge that made this moment unbreakable. To every rider who’s tasted defeat, keep charging. The ruts get deeper, but so does your resolve. Daytona, you broke me down, but tonight? You made me whole. Thank you to my family, my team, and you—the fans—for believing when I wavered. This one’s for us.