Eli Tomac Virtually Clinches 450 SX Championship in AMA Supercross

By
Ryan Valade
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Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, UT — June 17, 2020

The 250SX East riders are back on the track as Shane McElrath(12) and Chase Sexton(1E) try to settle their battle for the top spot in the standings. In the 450SX class, Eli Tomac could lock up his first 450 Championship if he can avoid trouble and add to his 24 point lead in the standings.

250SX East Heats

In Heat 1, McElrath conducted business as usual leading from start to finish unchallenged. For Sexton, it was not as easy, he came out of the gate in 7th at the start. Colt Nichols(13) grabbed the holeshot and lead early. Sexton worked his way through the field and when Nichols bobbled in the triple section Sexton closed and took the lead with just over a minute to go.

Once in front, Sexton stretched the lead setting up the 1-2 duel with McElrath in the Main Event.

250SX Main Event

As expected, it was McElrath and Sexton establishing themselves as the early leaders on Lap 1 of the 250SX Main. Sexton trailed, but he kept the pressure on waiting for McElrath. Just over three minutes in, McElrath rode high into a corner and Sexton charged inside, colliding with his rival and taking the lead.

Riding in top championship form, Sexton pulled away and added another three points to his lead in the standings over Sexton.

250SX Results

Position Number Rider Qualified Points
 1 1E Chase Sexton 2 26
 2 12 Shane McElrath 1 24
 3 13 Colt Nichols 4 21
 4 163 Pierce Brown 6 19
 5 84 Jo Shimoda 3 20
 6 38 Kyle Peters 8 17
 7 66 Enzo Lopes 19 30
 8 49 Chris Blose 17 24
 9 47 Lorenzo Locurcio 7 18
 10 73 Chase Marquier 14 13
 11 981 Curren Thurman 11 18
 12 56 Justin Starling 12 11
 13 77 Kevin Moranz 18 10
 14 352 Jalek Swoll 5 12
 15 157 Darian Sanayei 9 13
 16 59 Joshua Osby 21 7
 17 367 Hunter Sayles 16 6
 18 125 Luke Neese 20 5
 19 258 Justin Rodbell 22 14
 20 43 John Short 10 3
 21 75 Coty Schock 15 10
 22 67 Jerry Robin 13 8

250SX East Points Standings

Position Number Rider Points
 1 1E Chase Sexton 192
 2 12 Shane McElrath 186
 3 36 Garrett Marchbanks 119
 4 84 Jo Shimoda 107
 5 6 Jeremy Martin 105
 6 352 Jalek Swoll 100
 7 66 Enzo Lopes 97
 8 163 Pierce Brown 92
 9 38 Kyle Peters 86
 10 24 Rj Hampshire 80
 11 13 Colt Nichols 73
 12 159 Jace Owen 66
 13 39 Jordan Bailey 64
 14 43 John Short 58
 15 49 Chris Blose 56
 16 54 Jordon Smith 48
 17 56 Justin Starling 46
 18 47 Lorenzo Locurcio 45
 19 175 Joshua Hill 43
 20 981 Curren Thurman 37

450SX Heats

Tomac rode in Heat 1 and started back in the pack (7th) at the start. Martin Davalos(37) took the early lead. Halfway through Davalos landed wrong on a jump and dropped back into the pack, Dean Wilson(15) rode to the lead and Tomac charged his way into 2nd. With 2 laps to go Tomac was on Wilson’s rear wheel. Wilson fought off Tomac’s surge to the front to hold on for the Heat win.

Holly, Michigan’s Broc Tickle(20) put together a solid ride and finished in 7th, advancing to the Main Event.

In Heat 2, Ken Roczen shot off the line to grab the holeshot win over Jason Anderson(21). then disaster struck. On the second corner, Anderson rode inside Roczen forcing him to the outside of the track. Roczen got stuck in a rut and stopped with his front tire against a tuff block. Waiting for most of the field to pass, he pulled his bike out of the rut and rejoined the race in 19th.

Anderson won the heat, Roczen fought back to take the 7th spot. But, that will hurt his gate selection in the Main Event.

450SX Main Event

At the gate drop of the 450SX Main Eli Tomac got a terrible start and was dead last going into the 1st turn. On the inside, he surged up to mid-pack but was 12th at the end of Lap 1. Zach Osborne led, Cooper Webb(1) was 3rd, and Ken Roczen 5th.

To win the Championship, Tomac will need to pass both Webb and Roczen to gain enough points to lock up a full race lead heading to the final. One-by-one, Tomac picked off riders on his march through the field.

At the 15 minute mark, Tomac was 6th. Webb and Roczen had moved into 2nd and 3rd behind leader Osborne. After a fierce battle with Anderson, Tomac rode past and into 4th at the halfway point of the race.

Roczen tried to fight Tomac off, but Eli prevailed and set sail for Webb. Tomac caught Webb as they both worked through lappers at the 5-minute mark. The pair tracked down Osborne and when Webb made the pass on the leader Osborne bobbled and Tomac followed Webb as they now ran 1st and 2nd.

With 2 laps to go, the leaders again encountered lapped traffic. Webb was able to navigate the slower riders and seal the win. Tomac will have to wait for Sunday to clinch his first Championship. Roczen finished 4th and was eliminated from title contention. Broc Tickle finished in 16th position.

450SX Results

Position Number Rider Qualified Points
1 1 Cooper Webb 3 26
2 3 Eli Tomac 4 25
3 16 Zach Osborne 12 27
4 94 Ken Roczen 13 19
5 21 Jason Anderson 1 18
6 10 Justin Brayton 15 17
7 27 Malcolm Stewart 10 21
8 37 Martin Davalos 8 19
9 51 Justin Barcia 7 14
10 4 Blake Baggett 5 13
11 50 Benny Bloss 11 12
12 46 Justin Hill 9 11
13 15 Dean Wilson 2 11
14 7 Aaron Plessinger 6 12
15 22 Chad Reed 19 8
16 20 Broc Tickle 14 14
17 64 Vince Friese 17 6
18 44 Kyle Cunningham 21 5
19 11 Kyle Chisholm 20 4
20 31 Fredrik Noren 22 13
21 34 Tyler Bowers 16 10
22 61 Alex Ray 18 10

450SX Points Standings

Position Number Rider Points
 1 3 Eli Tomac 368
 2 1 Cooper Webb 344
 3 94 Ken Roczen 338
 4 51 Justin Barcia 269
 5 21 Jason Anderson 264
 6 27 Malcolm Stewart 238
 7 16 Zach Osborne 232
 8 15 Dean Wilson 219
 9 10 Justin Brayton 216
 10 46 Justin Hill 199
 11 7 Aaron Plessinger 198
 12 4 Blake Baggett 193
 13 37 Martin Davalos 176
 14 64 Vince Friese 147
 15 9 Adam Cianciarulo 129
 16 22 Chad Reed 100
 17 50 Benny Bloss 99
 18 34 Tyler Bowers 95
 19 11 Kyle Chisholm 80
 20 44 Kyle Cunningham 53

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