The championship points leader gets to have their number plate background in red. This shows they are the championship points leader, multiple riders will get to hold this if there is a tie for the lead. I wondered how many instances or total races that riders have held the “red plate” (or just led the points) throughout Supercross history. In this article, I will go over:
- Total number of races a rider held the points lead/red plate
- The highest number of consecutive races holding it
- Number of different seasons a rider held the points lead/red plate
- The highest number of points leader changes in a season
This will be from 1974-2026. Premier class only for this article!
Most Supercross Races Holding Points Lead | 1974-2026
48 different riders have held the points lead in Supercross history:
| Rank | Rider | Rounds Led |
| 1 | Jeremy McGrath | 106 |
| 2 | Ryan Dungey | 63 |
| 3 | Ricky Carmichael | 62 |
| 4 | Ryan Villopoto | 53 |
| 5 | Chad Reed | 52 |
| 6 | Eli Tomac | 49 |
| 7 | Cooper Webb | 36 |
| 8 | Bob Hannah | 34 |
| 9 | James Stewart | 28 |
| 10 | Ken Roczen | 27 |
| Rick Johnson | 27 | |
| 12 | Jeff Ward | 26 |
| 13 | Jean-Michel Bayle | 20 |
| 14 | Jeff Stanton | 18 |
| Mike Bell | 18 | |
| 16 | Jason Anderson | 17 |
| 17 | Damon Bradshaw | 13 |
| Jett Lawrence | 13 | |
| 19 | Jeff Matiasevich | 12 |
| 20 | Donnie Hansen | 11 |
| Johnny O’Mara | 11 | |
| 22 | Jeff Emig | 10 |
| 23 | Broc Glover | 9 |
| Davi Millsaps | 9 | |
| Hunter Lawrence | 9 | |
| Mark Barnett | 9 | |
| 27 | Chase Sexton | 8 |
| David Vuillemin | 8 | |
| 29 | David Bailey | 7 |
| Marty Tripes | 7 | |
| 31 | Justin Barcia | 6 |
| 32 | Doug Henry | 5 |
| Jimmy Ellis | 5 | |
| 34 | Darrell Shultz | 4 |
| Jim Weinert | 4 | |
| Pierre Karsmakers | 4 | |
| 37 | Mike LaRocco | 3 |
| 38 | Aaron Plessinger | 2 |
| Ezra Lusk | 2 | |
| Josh Grant | 2 | |
| Kevin Windham | 2 | |
| Tony DiStefano | 2 | |
| 43 | Greg Albertyn | 1 |
| Jim Pomeroy | 1 | |
| Josh Hill | 1 | |
| Kent Howerton | 1 | |
| Marvin Musquin | 1 | |
| Sebastien Tortelli | 1 |
- I knew Jeremy McGrath would have the record, but I didn’t expect it to be 43 races more than second place!
- It is not surprising to see Dungey, Carmichael and Villopoto in the top 4 as they are the only other riders with 4 or more titles.
- I thought Roczen would actually be higher than he is here, but he only led the points for three races in his 2026 title season.
- Tough for Tomac to have 13 more than Cooper Webb as a 2x champion and Webb a 3x champion.
- Pretty wild that a rider like Millsaps (a great rider!) has more than Chase Sexton.
- Shoutout to Josh Hill for holding the red plate for one race!
Lets now look at consecutive races holding the red plate.
Most Consecutive Supercross Rounds as Points Leader | 1974-2026
| Rank | Rider | Consecutive Rounds |
| 1 | Jeremy McGrath | 58 |
| 2 | Jeremy McGrath | 32 |
| 3 | Eli Tomac | 23 |
| 4 | Chad Reed | 17 |
| Mike Bell | 17 | |
| 6 | Chad Reed | 16 |
| James Stewart | 16 | |
| Jason Anderson | 16 | |
| Ryan Dungey | 16 | |
| Ryan Dungey | 16 | |
| 11 | Jean-Michel Bayle | 15 |
| Jeremy McGrath | 15 | |
| Rick Johnson | 15 | |
| 14 | Ricky Carmichael | 14 |
| Ricky Carmichael | 14 |
- They call McGrath the King for a reason!
- Eli Tomac’s streak is from 2022-2023 and it did not end because of his achilles injury! Cooper Webb took the points lead mid 2023 and Tomac got it back before the unfortunate injury.
- Chad Reed and Mike Bell’s 17 round lead are from leading every round start to finish. For Bell, that is 1980. For Reed, that is 2008. Reed did the same thing in 2004, but there was one less round.
- Jason Anderson’s 2018 championship season contains his 16 round streak. He led the points for all but one round, the opener at A1.
Lets now look at the total number of seasons a rider has led the points at any point.
Most Different Supercross Seasons Leading Points | 1974-2026
| Rank | Rider | Seasons Led |
| 1 | Ken Roczen | 9 |
| 2 | Jeremy McGrath | 8 |
| 3 | Chad Reed | 7 |
| Eli Tomac | 7 | |
| 5 | James Stewart | 6 |
| 6 | Cooper Webb | 5 |
| Ricky Carmichael | 5 | |
| Ryan Dungey | 5 | |
| Ryan Villopoto | 5 | |
| 10 | Bob Hannah | 4 |
| Jeff Stanton | 4 | |
| Jeff Ward | 4 | |
| Justin Barcia | 4 | |
| Rick Johnson | 4 |
- Kenny has led the points in 9 different seasons! 9 of his 13 full time 450SX seasons!
- Pretty crazy the difference with McGrath and Roczen…McGrath 7 titles, led points in 8 seasons. Roczen 1 title, led points in 9 seasons!
- Would not have thought Stewart would have had more than Carmichael.
- How about Barcia with 4! It helps he won the opening round 3 consecutive years.
Most Supercross Season Points Lead Changes | 1974-2026
Note: This counts changes in the set of leaders, including changes into/out of ties.
| Rank | Year | Rounds | Leader Changes | Champion |
| 1 | 1992 | 16 | 9 | Jeff Stanton |
| 2 | 1985 | 11 | 7 | Jeff Ward |
| 2006 | 16 | 7 | Ricky Carmichael | |
| 2009 | 17 | 7 | James Stewart | |
| 2024 | 17 | 7 | Jett Lawrence | |
| 6 | 2019 | 17 | 6 | Cooper Webb |
| 2025 | 17 | 6 | Cooper Webb | |
| 2026 | 17 | 6 | Ken Roczen | |
| 9 | 1981 | 12 | 5 | Mark Barnett |
| 2001 | 16 | 5 | Ricky Carmichael | |
| 2010 | 17 | 5 | Ryan Dungey | |
| 2011 | 17 | 5 | Ryan Villopoto | |
| 2012 | 17 | 5 | Ryan Villopoto | |
| 2017 | 17 | 5 | Ryan Dungey | |
| 2020 | 17 | 5 | Eli Tomac | |
| 2023 | 17 | 5 | Chase Sexton |
- 9 changes in 1992!
- In seasons with 15+ rounds since 1974 (41 seasons), the average number of leader changes is 3.61.
- 7 of those seasons have had just one points leader (no ties) start to finish.
Thanks for reading! Any questions, hit me up on Twitter or Instagram: @MXReference
