Arlington in Texas is the destination for round 7 of the 2023 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship this Saturday.
Images and facts courtesy of Feld Motor Sports, Inc.
In the 450’s Eli Tomac has now eked out a seven-point lead over his closest rivals Cooper Webb and Chase Sexton, who will be keen not to let the gap grow any bigger. Sexton will be looking to eradicate the mistakes he has made this year when leading but the triple crown and shorter races seem to suit him. Webb relishes the longer moto’s so that is a strength he won’t be able to play on this weekend with three shorter races on the cards but the final deciding moto could be where he comes to the fore when the track is rougher. Jason Anderson needs to string a good result together if he is going to have something to say in the title race, and now he is on probation and keeping clear of carnage and clashes could see him start to rack up some strong results like the end of 2022.
The 250 class flip flops over to the East Coast series where Hunter Lawrence has won both Main events so far. British favourite Max Anstie has made it onto the both on both occasions too and will be looking to keep up this run and pile the pressure on Hunter in the series. Consistency will be the key as this is a Triple crown event. Teenage sensation Haiden Deegan has been close to the podium with two fourths so far so will be looking to notch it up a gear in Arlington.
450 Class Recap: Oakland
ET3 Ties RC4: Eli Tomac scored his fourth win of the season and 48th of his 450SX Class career when he took the checkers in Oakland. He is now tied with Ricky Carmichael for third on the all-time 450SX Class wins list. His 88th career podium pushes him beyond Carmichael for fourth on the all-time 450SX Class podiums list. Tomac is now the third rider in Supercross history to score at least one victory in each round joining Jeremy McGrath and Ryan Villopoto.
Weaving a Strong Webb: Cooper Webb nabbed his 49th 450SX Class podium with his third runner-up finish of the season. He remains 15th all-time on that list as he seeks his 50th podium in Arlington. Webb’s 62nd top-five finish pushes him into the top-20 all-time in that category. One more top-10 will tie him with Villopoto for 25th all-time in top-10 finishes.
Every Second Counts: Since 2003 there have been 20 450SX Class Main Event where the winner won by less than a second. 2023 Oakland is the 14th closest race since 2003 with a .881 differential. Of the 20 times this has occurred, Webb has been a part of eight of them with five victories and three losses. Oakland is the only city to appear on this list three times thanks to Jason Anderson over Ken Roczen (.839 seconds) in 2018, and Webb over Marvin Musquin (.760) in 2019. Webb has won three of the five closest 450SX Class Main Events since 2003 and been on the losing end of one of those five. 2019 Arlington (.028, Webb over Roczen) is the closest recorded Supercross ever.
Notes: Joey Savatgy (8th) made his 40th 450SX Class start and nabbed his 27th top-10 finish. Only five other riders have top-10 finishes in each race; Justin Cooper (10th) is one of just two riders with more than 20 250SX Class starts and a 100 percent top-10 percentage (Brian Swink 20/20, Cooper 28/28) and is now 3/3 in 450SX Class top-10 finishes.
450 Class: DFW Metroplex Historical Facts
History Lesson: The first Supercross held in the DFW Metroplex was on February 28, 1975 and was the season opener for the second installment of the “Yamaha Super-Series of Motocross.” The season had grown from two to four rounds and it was Jimmy Ellis who took the overall in Texas Stadium along with each of the other three rounds on his Can-am. Ellis repeated his Texas Stadium heroics in 1976 but it was Bob Hannah who took Texas Stadium and the sport over in 1977.
Three Different Venues: After a five-year hiatus the series returned to the DFW Metroplex from 1983-1985 and 1990 at Dallas’ Cotton Bowl. Texas Stadium would host the series again from 1986-1989 and 1991-2008 before it was demolished after 25 Supercross races. AT&T Stadium was built in Arlington and has hosted the Supercross every season since 2010 including three in 2021. That makes the 2023 Arlington Supercross the 45th race held in the DFW Metroplex and 16th in AT&T Stadium.
Three Races Again: Arlington was a Triple Crown in 2020 in which Eli Tomac won the last two races and the overall. Arlington hosted three rounds during the 2021 pandemic host site season and it was a clean sweep by eventual champion Cooper Webb. 2022 was another Arlington Triple Crown round and Tomac pulled the reverse sweep by going 3-2-2 to take the overall, the only time a 450SX Class Triple Crown event was won by a rider without winning a race. 2023 will be another Triple Crown and the fourth year in-a-row AT&T Stadium will host three races one way or another.
Championship %: In 19/42 (45%) seasons did the winner of the 450SX Class race in DFW go onto win the title. In 8/13 (62%) seasons in AT&T Stadium the winner has won the title including each of the last four seasons with Tomac and Webb.
450 Class: Wins in DFW Metroplex
Manufacturer Wins in DFW Metroplex (Last Win)
Honda: 13 (’11)
Kawasaki: 10 (’20)
Yamaha: 10 (’22)
KTM: 6 (’21)
Suzuki: 3 (’14)
Can-Am: 2 (’76)
Top Winners in DFW Metroplex
1) Chad Reed: 4 (’03-’04, ’06, ’08)
1) Cooper Webb: 4 (’19, ’21 X3)
3) James Stewart: 3 (’05, ’07, ’14)
3) Rick Johnson: 3 (’85, ’87-’88)
3) Eli Tomac: 3 (’18, ’20, ‘22)
First-Time Winners in DFW Metroplex
Jimmy Ellis: 1975 (Texas Stadium)
J.M. Bayle: 1990 (Cotton Bowl)
Doug Henry: 1995 (Texas Stadium)
James Stewart: 2005 (Texas Stadium)
Marvin Musquin: 2017 (AT&T Stadium)
250 West Class Recap: Oakland
Jett Airliner: After guest appearing in Tampa in support of his brother Hunter, Jett Lawrence showed no lag while pouncing his competition and riding into his 10th 250SX Class checkered flag. His 10th win ties him for 17th all-time and an 11th win would move him into ninth all-time. He will sit on his red-plate until the Seattle Supercross in late March when Western Regional racing returns to action.
RJ Hampshine: RJ Hampshire collected his third podium in four races with a runner-up finish in Oakland. He now has 10 250SX Class podiums. His 26 career 250SX Class top-fives and 41 top-10’s are 16th and 20th all-time respectively in 250SX Class career lists.
250SX Ironman: Mitchell Oldenburg made his 74th 250SX Class start and nabbed an eighth-place finish. He is now sixth on the all-time 250SX Class starts list only two behind Nathan Ramsey. His 52nd 250SX Class top-10 finish ties him with Brock Sellards and Zach Osborne for sixth all-time also behind Nathan Ramsey who has 57. His 11th season with a 250SX Class start is good for eighth all-time.
Notes: Austin Politelli (17th) made his first 250SX Class start since 2016; Julian Benek (19th) made his first 250SX Class start and is only the third Western Regional rider to debut in 2023 with Hunter Cross and Wilson Todd being the others; Matt Moss (22nd) made his first 250SX Class start since 2012 which was 10 seasons between starts in the class. Only Josh Hill (12), Larry Ward (12), Todd Dehoop (11), and Josh Steel (11) have longer gaps in their 250SX Class careers.
250 Class: DFW Metroplex Facts
History Lesson: The first 250SX Class race held in the DFW area was on May 4, 1985 in Dallas’ Cotton Bowl. Bobby Moore won the East/West combined Main Event on his Suzuki and would clinch the Western Regional Championship a few months later in the Rose Bowl.
40th: Irving’s Texas Stadium hosted a 250SX Class race from 1986-1989 and 1991-2008 before it was demolished. The Cotton Bowl held two races, 1985 and 1990. AT&T Stadium has hosted since 2010 including three in 2021. That makes the 2023 250SX Class Arlington Supercross the 40th 250SX Class race in the DFW Metroplex and 16th in AT&T Stadium.
Three Races Again: Just like the 450SX Class this will be the third year in-a-row we will see three races by either Triple Crown or separate rounds in Arlington. There have been no repeat winners in nine straight 250SX Class Main Events (including Triple Crown races) in AT&T Stadium and Hunter Lawrence is the only returning former Arlington winner lining up.
Champion’s Paradise?: The winner of the DFW 250SX Class race has gone onto win the Championship in 23/37 (62%) seasons, including six of the last eight. Cameron McAdoo won the Triple Crown overall last season but Jett Lawrence won the Eastern Regional title.
250 Class: Wins in DFW Metroplex
Manufacturer Wins in the DFW Metroplex (Last Win)
Kawasaki: 15 (‘22)
Honda: 9 (’21)
Suzuki: 6 (’10)
Yamaha: 6 (’21)
KTM: 2 (’15)
Husqvarna: 1 (’18)
Top Winners in the DFW Metroplex
Dean Wilson: 2 (’11, ’13)
Ryan Villopoto: 2 (’06, ’08)
Grant Langston: 2 (’01, ’05)
Jeremy McGrath: 2 (’91-’92)
250SX Class: First Time Winners in the DFW Metroplex
Bobby Moore: 1985 (Texas Stadium)
Ty Davis: 1988 (Texas Stadium)
Grant Langston: 2001 (Texas Stadium)
Ryan Villopoto: 2006 (Texas Stadium)
Blake Baggett: 2010 (AT&T Stadium)
Adam Cianciarulo: 2014 (AT&T Stadium)
Seth Hammaker: 2021 (AT&T Stadium)
Hunter Lawrence: 2021 (AT&T Stadium)
Arlington Track Map
