Tomac Returns to Form in Houston Supercross

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NRG Stadium, Houston, TX — February 3, 2023

The Astrodome hosted 36 Supercross races from 1974-2002, including multiple rounds from 1977-1983. The Astrodome is fourth all-time in races held only behind Angel Stadium, Daytona Beach, and Pontiac Silverdome. NRG Stadium took over hosting duties for the Houston Supercross in 2003.

NRG Stadium hosted Supercross races from 2003-2015 before a 42-year streak of Houston hosting Supercross came to an end in 2016. The series returned to NRG Stadium in 2018-2019 and in 2021 became the first venue in Supercross history to host the first three rounds of a season. 2023 will be the 19th 450SX Class race held in NRG Stadium and 55th held in Houston.

Upsets at Anaheim

Levi Kitchen became the 120th rider to win a 250SX Class race and the first ever to do so without actually crossing the finish line first in their first win. Kitchen went 4-2-2 to clinch the overall, becoming the second rider to nab their first win in a triple-crown format (RJ Hampshire, St. Louis 2022). Levi was making only his fifth 250SX Class start and previously hadn’t finished better than seventh.

Chase Sexton took the first and third Main Event en route to his second career 450SX Class win. Sexton only trails red-plated Eli Tomac by four points heading into Houston. He now has 13 podiums, and 21 top-five finishes in his 30 career 450SX Class starts. Sexton now has eight AMA victories, which is good for 53rd all-time (450SX, 450MX, 250MX).

250 SX East Heats

The 250 SX riders from the East get their first race of the season. As expected, Hunter Lawrence(96) showed he will be the rider to chase as he easily led wire to wire to take the win in Heat One. Nate Thrasher(29) ran second, with Chase Hymas(832) taking the third spot.

In Heat Two, Jordan Smith(58), Max Anstie(63), and Tom Vialle(128) ran one-two-three all moto to see who would have the best starting spot to challenge Lawrence in the Main Event.

450SX Heats

Cooper Webb(2) took the early lead in Heat One of the 450 CC bikes. Jason Anderson(21) closed, and the two battled for the top spot. The inability of either rider to pull away brought Aaron Plessinger(7) into the hunt. When Anderson made the pass for the lead, Plessinger worked his way past Webb for the second spot. The trio finished in that order.

In Heat Two, Eli Tomac shot out of the gate and grabbed the holeshot. However, Chase Sexton(23) hung on Tomac’s rear wheel and passed the points leader for the top spot early. Sexton was able to build a lead quickly, with Tomac settling into second and Colt Nichols(45) holding down third.

Justin Barcia(51) tried to put some pressure on Nichols but could not close the gap to less than a second until making the pass on the last lap. Sexton built his lead on Tomac and took the heat win easily.

250SX East Main Event

Hunter Lawrence took the holeshot but got passed by Vialle and Hymas when he was forced off course and had to dodge a tuff block. Lawrence kept his cool and worked his way past the two rookies. Lawrence steadily built his lead over Vialle while Hymas dropped down the running order.

Hunter Lawrence(96) out front at Houston Supercross / Photo Courtesy of Feld Motor Sports

Anstie passed Vialle for the second spot as the top three pulled away from the field. Vialle dropped his bike in a corner, costing him a podium finish. Jordan Smith was the benefactor of Vialle’s misfortune moving up to third.  Lawrence lived up to expectations taking the main event win. Anstie finished second, and Smith earned the final podium position in third.

Haiden Deegan(238), making his first pro start, finished a very respectable fourth.

250SX East Results

POS. # RIDER BIKE TEAM/SPONSORS
 1 96 Hunter Lawrence Honda CRF250R Team Honda HRC
 2 63 Max Anstie Honda CRF250R Fire Power Honda
 3 58 Jordon Smith Yamaha YZ250F Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing
 4 238 Haiden Deegan Yamaha YZ250F Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing
 5 6 Jeremy Martin Yamaha YZ250F Muc-Off FXR ClubMX Yamaha
 6 31 Michael Mosiman GASGAS MC 250F Troy Lee Designs Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing
 7 128 Tom Vialle KTM 250 SX-F FE Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
 8 832 Chance Hymas Honda CRF250R Team Honda HRC
 9 67 Cullin Park Honda CRF250R Phoenix Racing Honda
 10 57 Chris Blose Kawasaki KX250 Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki
 11 339 Talon Hawkins Husqvarna FC 250 Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
 12 285 Coty Schock Honda CRF250R Phoenix Racing Honda
 13 66 Henry Miller Honda CRF250R Ti-Lube, Storm Lake Honda, Innovation Concrete Inc, Rangeline
 14 62 Jace Owen Honda CRF250R Phoenix Racing Honda
 15 29 Nate Thrasher Yamaha YZ250F Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing
 16 99 Hardy Munoz Husqvarna FC 250 Namura, Invictus Speed Crew
 17 247 Brock Papi Kawasaki KX250 Mosites Motorsports Makripodis Olive Oil Kawasaki, Oneal, LS2
 18 91 Jeremy Hand Honda CRF250R Valley Ford Truck, Dean Hushon Insulation, Wiseco, SKDA, 6D
 19 460 Michael Hicks Honda CRF250R TiLube Honda Racing, Storm Lake Honda, FXR, 6D, X Brand
 20 125 Luke Neese Honda CRF250R Red Research Group, Honda of Lynchburg
 21 170 Devin Simonson Kawasaki KX250 PRMX Kawasaki
 22 330 A J Catanzaro Honda CRF250R The Moto Academy, Honda

 

450 SX Main Event

Tomac fires off to take the holeshot, and Plessinger shows the speed he displayed in his heat by holding onto second place. Last week’s triple crown winner, Chase Sexton, got pinched on the first corner and came out seventh.

Dylan Ferrandis(14) crashed and brought out the red flag just over three minutes into the moto. Riders were forced to resume the action with a staggered start that actually created some space between the frontrunners. Following Tomac and Plessinger, Anderson ran third, Sexton fourth, and Cooper Webb(2) in fifth.

the 450 SX Main Event restarts after red flag halts action. / Photo Courtesy of Feld Motor Sports

Anderson put a move on Plessinger and took over second. Plessinger dropped to fourth as Sexton was also able to follow Anderson past. Tomac quickly built a two-second lead and looked like he might pull away. But, when Sexton passed Anderson for second place, he began to cut into Tomac’s lead. At the midpoint of the race, Sexton trailed Tomac by 1.3 seconds.

The interval continued to shrink as the leaders caught lapped traffic. However, on a clear track, Tomac was able to stretch the advantage. The defending champion refused to yield to the pressure from Sexton and widened the lead to take the win and extend his points lead. Anderson rode to a third-place finish, with Plessinger in the fourth spot.

450SX Results

POS. # RIDER BIKE TEAM/SPONSORS
 1 1 Eli Tomac Yamaha YZ450F Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing
 2 23 Chase Sexton Honda CRF450R Team Honda HRC
 3 21 Jason Anderson Kawasaki KX450SR Monster Energy Kawasaki
 4 7 Aaron Plessinger KTM 450 SX-F FE Red Bull KTM
 5 2 Cooper Webb KTM 450 SX-F FE Red Bull KTM
 6 51 Justin Barcia GASGAS MC 450F Troy Lee Designs Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing
 7 32 Justin Cooper Yamaha YZ450F Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha
 8 94 Ken Roczen Suzuki RM-Z450 Progressive Insurance Ecstar Suzuki
 9 17 Joey Savatgy Kawasaki KX450SR Rick Ware Racing
 10 9 Adam Cianciarulo Kawasaki KX450SR Monster Energy Kawasaki
 11 28 Christian Craig Husqvarna FC 450 RE Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
 12 15 Dean Wilson Honda CRF450R Fire Power Honda
 13 45 Colt Nichols Honda CRF450R Team Honda HRC
 14 80 Kevin Moranz KTM 450 SX-F Tank Masters, Red Line Oil, Next Level KTM
 15 12 Shane McElrath Suzuki RM-Z450 Twisted Tea Suzuki Progressive Insurance
 16 60 Justin Starling GASGAS MC 450F FXR, General Grind & Machine, JSR Motorsports
 17 68 Cade Clason Kawasaki KX450 PRMX Partzilla Kawasaki
 18 73 John Short Kawasaki KX450SR MaddParts.com, Big Buildings Direct, Ronnie Prado Company
 19 519 Joshua Cartwright Kawasaki KX450 Psychic Motorsports/T3 Civil/Ronnie Prado Company, Cardinal
 20 46 Justin Hill KTM 450 SX-F Team Tedder Monster Energy Mountain Motorsports
 21 14 Dylan Ferrandis Yamaha YZ450F Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing
 22 44 Benny Bloss Yamaha YZ450F Yamaha,Truck Central LLC, FXR, Arai, Alpinestars, Pod

 

450SX Point Standings

POS. # RIDER HOMETOWN TOTAL POINTS
 1 1 Eli Tomac Cortez, CO 95
 2 23 Chase Sexton Clermont, FL 88
 3 2 Cooper Webb Newport, NC 83
 4 21 Jason Anderson Rio Rancho, NM 76
 5 94 Ken Roczen Clermont, FL 73
 6 51 Justin Barcia Greenville, FL 65
 7 7 Aaron Plessinger Hamilton, OH 64
 8 14 Dylan Ferrandis Tallahassee, FL 56
 9 9 Adam Cianciarulo New Smyrna Beach, FL 56
 10 17 Joey Savatgy Clermont, FL 53
 11 45 Colt Nichols Murrieta, CA 49
 12 28 Christian Craig Clermont, FL 46
 13 15 Dean Wilson Menifee, CA 39
 14 46 Justin Hill Yoncalla, OR 30
 15 12 Shane McElrath Oakland, FL 22
 16 60 Justin Starling Riverview, FL 18
 17 32 Justin Cooper Tallahassee, FL 16
 18 27 Malcolm Stewart Haines City, FL 15
 19 47 Fredrik Noren Indian Trail, NC 14
 20 80 Kevin Moranz Topeka, KS 13
 21 11 Kyle Chisholm Valrico, FL 12
 22 25 Marvin Musquin Corona, CA 11
 23 519 Joshua Cartwright Fort Worth, TX 11
 24 68 Cade Clason Chesterfield, SC 9
 25 73 John Short Pilot Point, TX 7

 

Next week the series moves to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The Lasco Press will be live in Tampa to bring you all the exciting action.