The Canton, North Carolina native is coming off another solid performance on the 250SX circuit and looks to continue his strong riding as the 2019 Monster Energy AMA Supercross season inches closer. The rider for Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM got his pro start in 2013 and is one of the bright young stars in AMA Supercross.
The 24-year old first made his mark on the AMA Supercross 250SX circuit in 2014 when he capped off a 9th place finish in his first season competing in the 250SX Western Regional. McElrath earned his first career 250SX top-5 finish of his career when he placed 5th at San Diego that season. 2015 would be the breakout year for McElrath as he went on to finish 2nd in the overall point standings in the 250SX Western Regional. He concluded the 2015 season with three top-5 finishes (including two 2nd place finishes) and eight top-10 finishes. 2015 also presented a tremendous opportunity as McElrath got his first career start in the 450SX class at East Rutherford. McElrath had a respectable showing in his 450SX debut by finishing 11th. In 2016, he switched over to the 250SX Eastern Regional where he finished 7th in the overall point standings. Despite inconsistency in his first three outings of the season, he rallied to finish strong by notching five consecutive top-5 finishes down the home stretch of the season. He would go on to win the 2016 Red Bull Straight Rhythm Lites Class championship.
McElrath could not ask for a better start to the 2017 250SX Western Regional campaign as he won his first career main event race to open up the season. He won the first two races of the season at Anaheim 1 and San Diego to get off to a lightning fast start in his quest for his first championship. It appeared he would go on to dominate the 2017 season as he podiumed in the following three races. Unfortunately, his hopes for a championship would come crashing down in Arlington when a mechanical issue caused him to finish last place. Despite winning once again in 2017 at Salt Lake City, his bid for a championship would ultimately fall short as he finished in 2nd place behind Justin Hill. McElrath completed his best season to date during the 2017 season with six podiums and his first three career wins. 2018 was another strong outing for McElrath on the 250SX Western Regional circuit. He opened up the season with a win at Anaheim 1 for the second straight season. He finished in the top-5 in five out of his first six races in the 2018 season and it looked like he would be in the running for a championship again. However, a 15th place finish at Oakland and a 13th place finish at Indianapolis would be too much to overcome. McElrath would finish in 3rd overall to conclude another magnificent run in the 250SX class.
McElrath has proven to be quite the competitor in the 250SX class over the past several seasons. He has flirted with a championship on numerous occasions finishing 2nd in 2015 and 2017 and finishing 3rd in 2018. Perhaps 2019 is the year when he finally gets over the hump and captures a 250SX championship.