Tomac Returns to Form in Houston Supercross

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.

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

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.

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

450SX Point Standings

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.