The famous Daytona International Speedway is the host venue to round 8 of the 2024 Monster Energy Supercross Championship, so let’s look back to round 7 and ahead to this Saturday’s highly anticipated round.
Words and Images by Feld Motor Sports, Inc.
450SX Class Recap: Arlington
Arlington’s SX GOAT: Cooper Webb took advantage of two late mistakes by Jett Lawrence to score his record sixth 450SX Class win in Arlington. It was Webb’s second win of the season and 23rd 450SX Class victory of his career. The victory moves him ahead of Ken Roczen for 10th on the all-time 450SX Class wins list. He now has 42 AMA victories, officially moving him into top 15 all-time tied with Mark Barnett, Jeff Emig, and coincidentally Lawrence. Webb only trails Lawrence by three points in the standings heading into Daytona, a location he has scored a perfect six podiums in six starts.
Beast Mode Engaged: Eli Tomac found himself 16th on the second lap after a wreck. The Yamaha rider quickly made moves through the pack and was inside the top 10 by the fourth lap. On lap 17 Tomac was in sixth with a host of riders in sight. He then passed Chase Sexton for fifth and Hunter Lawrence for fourth. By the 23rd lap he was in podium position after putting Aaron Plessinger behind him. Lawrence’s second wreck gave Tomac one more position and the 16th to runner-up comeback was complete only 3 seconds behind his winning teammate. Tomac now has 98 450SX Class podiums and 170 starts after his incredible ride.
Feeling Pressure: Rookie Jett Lawrence led the first 23 laps before his wreck in the 24th lap. He would then tie up with lapper Vince Friese on the last lap to drop out of a podium position. The fourth-place ride was good enough to retain the red plate, but with a slew of competition on his heels. Not even 20 points separate Lawrence from seventh place in the standings. Lawrence has two wins, three podiums, five top fives, and seven top 10s in his first seven 450SX Class starts.
Notes: Aaron Plessinger (3rd) Scored his seventh 450SX Class podium and third of the year. He looks to make his 200th career AMA start in Daytona. Plessinger is third in the points. Chase Sexton (6th) Struggled to 9-6 finishes the previous two rounds, dropping him to fourth in the points and -8 overall. Sexton has 51 450SX Class starts and 27 podiums, three coming this season. Justin Cooper (7th) Has nine top 10 finishes in his first 11 450SX Class starts. He is 103/112 (92%) in his AMA career for top 10 finishes. Dean Wilson (13th) Ties Jason Thomas for 24th on the all-time 450SX Class starts with 122. Carson Mumford (19th) and Robbie Wageman (21st) Made their first career 450SX Class starts. Jerry Robin (20th) Made his second career 450SX Class start and first since 2020.
450SX Class: Daytona Beach Historical Facts
History Lesson: On March 9th, 1974 in Daytona International Speedway, 40 riders competed in the first ever points-paying 450SX Class round. The round was scored and formatted like modern day Triple Crown rounds. Holland’s Pierre Karsmakers took the overall (2-1-1) and would win the Championship the following weekend in Houston. Buck Murphy placed his Penton second overall (8-3-3), eventually finishing third in the Championship. Jim Pomeroy (1-40-28) seemed to be the fastest rider on the track, winning the first ever Supercross race. He struggled with bike problems and wrecks for 40-28 finishes in the second and third races, dropping him outside of the top 10 overall. Pomeroy scored a redemption victory in the Houston Astrodome the next weekend.
Tradition Continues: Daytona International Speedway has hosted one race in each of the 50 seasons of Supercross. The 2024 Daytona Supercross will be the 51st running of the historic event, which is second all-time in 450SX Class races held. Including the 1971-1973 Daytona motocross rounds, this is the 54th consecutive season of dirt bike racing in the historic Speedway.
Changing of the Guard: In 2006 Ricky Carmichael won his fifth 450SX Class Daytona Supercross which replaced Jeff Stanton for most wins at the Speedway. Carmichael held that record for 15 years but was passed by Eli Tomac in 2022. Last season Tomac created separation with his seventh win and fifth in a row in Daytona. With a sixth consecutive victory, Tomac would tie Bob Hannah (Pontiac Silverdome) and Jeremy McGrath (HHH Metrodome) as the only athletes with six straight 450SX Class wins in a row at a single venue.
Championship %: The winner of the Daytona Supercross has won the 450SX Class title in 24/50 (48%) seasons and only four of the last 10.
Manufacturer Wins in Daytona Beach (Last Win)
Honda: 17 (2018)
Kawasaki: 17 (2021)
Yamaha: 10 (2023)
Suzuki: 4 (2009)
KTM: 1 (2015)
Can-Am: 1 (1975)
Top Winners in Daytona Beach
1) Eli Tomac: 7 (’16-17, ’19-‘23)
2) Ricky Carmichael: 5 (’00-’03, ’06)
3) Jeff Stanton: 4 (’89-’92)
3) Ryan Villopoto: 4 (’10-’11, ’13-’14)
450SX Class: First Time Winners in Daytona Beach
Pierre Karsmakers: 1974
Tony DiStefano: 1976
Rex Staten: 1980
Rick Ryan: 1987
Mike Kiedrowski: 1993
Ricky Carmichael: 2000
Justin Brayton: 2018
250SX Class Recap: Arlington
Ghost Rider: Haiden Deegan scored his first 250SX Class win and became the 122nd different 250SX Class winner with his victory in Arlington. His father Brian was the 43rd different winner when he performed a “ghost ride” on his Suzuki across the L.A. Memorial Coliseum’s finish line. Deegan became the 26th different rider to win their first 250SX Class race on a Yamaha. Deegan now has four wins in 28 AMA starts and is only seven points back of the red plate going into Daytona. Deegan scored a third in his first Daytona start last year.
Factory Redemption: The top four finishers in Arlington were all involved in the Eastern Regional Opener’s first turn pile up in Detroit, giving them a bad points position going into the rest of the nine round Championship. Factory riders Deegan, Cameron McAdoo, Tom Vialle, and Seth Hammaker made some ground back up while Deegan gained the most back taking the victory. Deegan improved from 16th to 5th in the standings with his victory, McAdoo 15th to 6th, Vialle 18th to 11th, and Hammaker 21st to 13th. McAdoo earned his 18th podium in his 45th start while Vialle nabbed his first career 250SX Class podium. Hammaker now has eight top five finishes in 13 starts.
Shades of 2007: The 2007 Eastern Regional 250SX Class season saw multiple top riders suffer bad results early on, opening the door for some underdogs to fight for the title. Going into Round 3 Daytona, it was Boost Mobile Yamaha’s Ryan Morais and Matt Goerke who led the way with 40 points and finishes of 4-2 and 3-3 respectively. Morais held onto the lead until the finale where Townley eclipsed him by three points, even after a dead last finish in the Opener. 2024 has similar results with Max Anstie (2-6, 38 points) and Pierce Brown (5-5, 34 points) leading the way through two rounds. Anstie’s sixth place finish was good enough for him to claim the red plate and counted for his 21st 250SX Class top 10 finish in 28 starts. Brown also has 28 250SX Class starts and scored his 14th top five finish in Arlington.
Notes: Chance Hymas (7th) Is now 6/6 in top 10 finishes to start his 250SX Class career. The Honda rider is only 11 points off the red plate. Coty Schock (8th) Made his 25th 250SX Class start and is tied for third in the point standings after a 4-8 start to the season. Daxton Bennick (10th) Backs his first career podium up with a 10th but remains in the top three in the point standings going into Daytona. Ryder Floyd (16th) and Izaih Clark (17th) made their first career 250SX Class starts.
250SX Class: Daytona Beach Historical Facts
History Lesson: The first 250SX Class round held in Daytona was on March 6, 1985. It was the sixth 250SX Class round ever and second Eastern Regional. Eddie Warren won on a Kawasaki for his second of three wins in an Eastern Regional title run. Rodney Barr finished runner-up in Daytona and the Eastern Regional Championship.
40 Large: Daytona has held a 250SX Class round ever since the inaugural season in 1985. 2024 will represent the 40th 250SX Class round held at the Speedway. Last season the Daytona Supercross was the 600th 250SX Class round held. Daytona also hosted the 500th round of 250SX Class racing in 2017. This year it is #616 in 250SX Class racing, but #750 in 450SX Class racing.
Mad Mike/Mad Max: Max Anstie will be the first non-factory 250SX Class athlete since Mad Mike Jones in 1990 and 1988 to hold the “red plate” in Daytona. Mike Jones was the points leader after 6-3 finishes to start the 1990 250SX Class Eastern Regional Championship on his BT Racing Honda. He would hold onto his points lead after a third in Daytona, but eventually be swept up by Denny Stephenson in the final Championship tally. In the 1988 Houston East/West combined round, privateer Yamaha’s Jones was the highest finishing Eastern Regional athlete. The round coupled as the Eastern Regional Opener so Jones was the de-facto points leader going into Daytona. Anstie’s 2-6 finishes represent only the sixth time the red plate holder in Daytona hasn’t won a race yet. Jones 1988 and 1990 seasons are included in this list along with Tim Ferry in 1997, Brock Sellards in 2000, and Ryan Morais/Matt Goerke (tie) in 2007.
Championship %: The winner of the 250SX Class in Daytona has won the Championship in 24/39 (62%) seasons. Before 2016 this mark sat at 69%, but six straight seasons from 2016-2021 of it not happening brought the mark down. Brothers Jett and Hunter Lawrence broke the streak in 2022 and again 2023 by taking Daytona and the Eastern Regional titles.
Manufacturer Wins in Daytona
Kawasaki: 14 (2021)
Suzuki: 8 (2001)
Honda: 8 (2023)
Yamaha: 5 (2016)
KTM: 4 (2018)
Top Winners in Daytona
Brian Swink: 2 (’91-’92)
Travis Pastrana: 2 (’01-’02)
Christophe Pourcel: 2 (’09-’10)
Blake Baggett: 2 (’11, ’14)
Marvin Musquin: 2 (’13, ’15)
250SX Class: First Time Winners in Daytona
Todd DeHoop: 1988
Travis Pastrana: 2000
Marvin Musquin: 2013
Garrett Marchbanks: 2020
Cameron McAdoo: 2021
Daytona Track Map
