After last weekend’s barnstormer in Texas, the AMA Supercross Championship moves on to Daytona this weekend for round 8 of the series, with just five points separating Eli, Tomac, Cooper Webb and Chase Sexton in the 450s.
Images and Stats courtesy of Feld Motor Sports, Inc.
It’s hard to count Jason Anderson out at this point too as has shown he has the speed to beat the above if he can stay out of trouble and his thirty-point deficit is far from insurmountable.
On the East Coast, 250’s Hunter Lawrence tops the standings but our British hope Max Anstie is primed and ready to mount a title challenge if Lawrence slips up. What out for Nate Thrasher, Haiden Deegan, Jordan Smith and Jeremy Martin as they could all with a good weekend close in on Anstie’s quest for the championship podium.
450 Class Recap: Arlington
Cowboy Cooper: Cooper Webb (5-2-1) stole a Triple Crown overall in Arlington for his 21st 450SX Class victory, moving him only two points behind the red-plate. Webb now sits alone in 10th on the all-time 450SX Class wins list surpassing Ken Roczen and Jeff Ward. Moving Up: Webb’s 50th podium ties him with injured teammate Marvin Musquin for 14th on that all-time list and his 63rd top-five moves him into a tie for 15th in that category. Stole It?: His fifth-place finish in the first of three Races is tied with Eli Tomac (2018 A2 & 2020 Arlington) for lowest first Race finish for an eventual Triple Crown winner, and that goes for both classes. Dallas GOAT?: His fifth DFW Metroplex victory gives him the most wins in the history of 450SX Class racing in the area, surpassing Chad Reed.
Sexton Streaks Into Sunshine State: Chase Sexton (3-3-2) scored his fifth straight podium with a runner-up finish in the Arlington Triple Crown. He had previously never recorded more than three straight 450SX Class podiums. Sexton already has 17 podiums in 34 starts, which places him 36th tied with Jimmy Ellis on the all-time list. He scored his 25th top-five finish in Arlington as well.
Tomac Takes Texas Tumble, Eyes Daytona: Eli Tomac (1-4-6) secured his 89th career podium and held onto the red-plate after a small slip ruined his plans for a seventh Triple Crown overall. He ties Kevin Windham for fifth all-time in top-five finishes with 113 and is looking ahead to Daytona where he is the all-time wins leader with six at the historic speedway.
Notes: Jason Anderson (4th) ties Era Lusk for 20th on the all-time 450SX Class starts list with 126; Ken Roczen (5th) ties Johnny O’Mara on the same list for 22nd with 123 starts; Justin Hill (10th) earned his first top-10 finish since the 2020 finale; Logan Karnow (22nd) scored his first start of the season after being in the LCQ for the first six rounds and failing to qualify.
450 Class: Daytona Beach Historical Facts
History Lesson: The 1974 Daytona Supercross was the first of two rounds in the “Yamaha Super-Series” and the first ever points-paying 450SX Class Supercross round. On March 9th, 1974 40 riders competed in a Triple Crown format event with Holland’s Pierre Karsmakers taking the overall (2-1-1). Buck Murphy raced his Penton to second overall (8-3-3). Jim Pomeroy (1-40-28) won the first ever Supercross moto, but struggled in the second and third tries.
Tradition Continues: Daytona International Speedway has hosted one round in each of the 49 previous seasons of Supercross. The 2023 Daytona Supercross will be the 50th running of the historic event, which is second all-time in 450SX Class rounds held. Including the 1971-1973 Daytona motocross events, this is the 53rd consecutive season of dirt bike racing in the historic speedway.
Changing of the Guard: Ricky Carmichael won his fifth Daytona Supercross in 2006 which replaced Jeff Stanton for most wins in Daytona at the time. Carmichael held that record for 15 seasons but was passed by Eli Tomac last year when he became the first rider to reach six wins in Daytona. He is looking to create some separation with his seventh win as no other active rider has won Daytona in the 450 Class.
Championship %: The winner of the Daytona Supercross has gone onto win the 450SX Class title in 24/49 (49%) seasons and 10/20 (50%) of the last two decades. Tomac won Daytona in both of his title runs.
450 Class: Daytona Winners
Manufacturer Wins in Daytona Beach (Last Win)
Honda: 17 (2018)
Kawasaki: 17 (2021)
Yamaha: 9 (2022)
Suzuki: 4 (2009)
KTM: 1 (2015)
Can-Am: 1 (1975)
Top Winners in Daytona Beach
1) Eli Tomac: 6 (’16-17, ’19-‘22)
2) Ricky Carmichael: 5 (’00-’03, ’06)
3) Jeff Stanton: 4 (’89-’92)
3) Ryan Villopoto: 4 (’10-’11, ’13-’14)
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
250 East Class Recap: Arlington
Thrasher Triumphs in Texas Triple: Nate Thrasher (2-2-3) scored his fourth 250SX Class win with an exciting Triple Crown victory in Arlington. He now has five podiums and nine top-five finishes with his 21 250SX Class starts. For the second Triple Crown in a row and third time ever, the overall winner pulled a “reverse sweep,” in which you win an overall without winning a Race.
Smith Steals Second: Jordon Smith (4-1-5) earned his second podium of the season with a solid run in Arlington, including his first Triple Crown Race win. He is moving up the ranks in all-time 250SX Class categories: Sneaking up into the top-25 in all-time starts (52); Three podiums away from being top-20 all-time (16); Looking to tie Dean Wilson for 15th in all-time top-five finishes in Daytona (26).
Vialle Joins Impressive List: Supercross rookie Tom Vialle (5-9-2) scored his first 250SX Class top-five finish with a fourth in the Arlington Triple Crown. He has improved in each of the previous two rounds with finishes of 7-6-4 on the season. Vialle is a two-time MXGP MX2 Champion and joins an elite group of former foreign MX2 Champions with top-five finishes in the 250SX Class: Alessio Chiodi, Grant Langston, James Dobb, Ben Townley, Christophe Pourcel, Marvin Musquin, and Ken Roczen. All won 250SX Class titles except for Chiodi and Dobb.
Notes: Hunter Lawrence (1-3-6; 3rd) holds onto the red-plate heading into Daytona where he has only raced one time before, a sixth-place finish in 2021; Jeremy Martin (6-12-1; 6th) moves into 15th all-time with his 44th 250SX Class top-10 finish. His third-Race triumph was his third Triple Crown Race victory and first since 2018 Minnesota where he was the overall winner. Chris Blose (8-8-8; 9th) made his 62nd 250SX Class start, good for 16th on the all-time list. He now has two top-10 finishes in three starts.
250 Class: Daytona Beach Historical Facts
History Lesson: The first 250SX Class round held in Daytona was on March 6, 1985 and Eddie Warren won it on a Kawasaki for his second of three wins in his Eastern Regional title run. Rodney Barr finished runner-up and would also finish runner-up in the point standings.
Tradition Continues: Daytona has held a round in every year since the inaugural 250SX Class season in 1985. This will be the 39th time the gate will drop for a 250SX Class round in Daytona.
Number 600!: The 2023 Daytona Supercross will be the 600th 250SX Class round in Supercross history. Daytona also hosted the 500th round of 250SX Class racing in 2017 which was won by Adam Cianciarulo on a Kawasaki. Round 100: 1992 A2, Jeremy McGrath; Round 200: 1998 St. Louis, Carmichael; Round 300: 2005 San Diego, Nathan Ramsey; Round 400: 2011 Seattle, Cole Seely.
Championship %: The winner of the 250SX Class round in Daytona has gone onto win the championship in 23/38 (61%) seasons. Before 2016 this mark sat at 69% but six straight seasons from 2016-2021 of the winner not winning the title brought this mark down. Jett Lawrence broke the streak in 2022 by taking Daytona and the Eastern Regional title.
250 Class: Daytona Winners
Manufacturer Wins in Daytona
Kawasaki: 14 (2021)
Suzuki: 8 (2001)
Honda: 7 (2022)
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
