Did You Know Justin Cooper Has Only Missed One Pro Motocross Race Since Turning Pro in 2017?

Justin Cooper 🤝 Always showing up

How about this for interesting facts you did not realize: Justin Cooper has only missed ONE round of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship since turning pro. Seriously!

Cooper turned pro at the end of the 2017 season and since then, the only time he did not race a moto of Pro Motocross was the 2023 High Point National, when a qualifying crash left his neck bruised and swollen, which resulted in a trip to the hospital. He qualified for the motos but did not end up racing. But that is the only time he has not raced a Pro Motocross race! Other than that, Cooper has started all 92 Pro Motocross races that have taken place since his debut at the ’17 Unadilla National.

Cooper has missed some races in Monster Energy AMA Supercross, mostly when he missed the entire 2021 250SX due to a broken foot. But when it comes to Pro Motocross, Cooper is always there, fast, gets out of the gates good, and he always finishes the races.

JCoop made all the races in 2024. And again in 2025. That’s a heck of an accomplishment but one that usually goes unnoticed. 

With that in mind, Cooper was selected as our Racer X Rider of the Year for 2025.

Attendance counts for Justin Cooper, and that’s why he’s the 2025 Racer X Rider of the Year.

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And showing up each weekend and doing well paid off for Cooper, who entered the SMX Playoffs as the #1 seed this year, having the red plates on his 450 for the first time at the first playoff race in September. He finished fifth in the SMX World Championship this year, earning an extra $150,000.

In those 92 Pro Motocross races, Cooper’s average overall finish is 4.6. In terms of overall finishing positions, he has:
-4 wins
-44 podiums
-69 top fives
-86 top tens
-6 total overall finishes outside the top ten (worst is 15th overall)

I asked him about this stat (92 starts in 93 races) at the SMX Media Days. Here is what Cooper said when I asked if he is durability gets overlooked: 

“Yeah, I think so. And, yeah, going back to that to that stat, I missed High Point, yeah, the one year and I had a qualifying crash. And, yeah, I pretty much was ruled out. I didn’t really want to race that day. I jacked up my neck, like I got a bar to the neck so that that took…I was pretty scared, actually. So, yeah, going back to that, I feel like I could send it a little bit more. I feel like that’s a little bit too good, right? So, it kind of makes me wonder if I’m, you know, leaving anything on the table. But yeah, I just try to be a calculated rider, and smooth and the sport is really gnarly, so just trying to keep everything that I can in my control. Safe riding and not try to ride over my head too much. So, I think I’ve gotten lucky in my career but also try to put my best foot forward when I when it comes to being safe.”

Does this mean we will see a different Justin Cooper in 2026? One that’s willing to take more risks? We’ll see.

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