New Points Leader After Indy Supercross

Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN — March 11, 2023

Round Nine of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross season stops in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium. The first 450SX Class race held in Indianapolis was on March 21, 1992, at the RCA Dome, and Jeff Stanton won on a Honda. It was Stanton’s second of only three wins in the season, and he would win the title by only three points over Damon Bradshaw (331-328).

The Eli Tomac / Cooper Webb battle for the top spot in 450SX points this year is tight. Tomac dominated Daytona but only added three points to increase his margin to five over Webb. And don’t count out Chase Sexton, who is only five points behind Webb in third.

On a track that seems to develop deep ruts quickly, it may be survival of the fittest to determine who comes out ahead at the end of the evening.

250SX Heats

In Heat One, the veteran Chris Blose(57) took the lead early and looked like he might run away and hide from the field.  Jordon Smith(58) did not allow that to happen, but he was the only rider able to hang with Blose as they quickly separated themselves from the remainder of the riders. Smith passed Blose at the midway point to secure the victory.

Haiden Deegan(238) continues his impressive rookie campaign with a third-place finish in Heat One.

Hunter Lawrence(96) and Nate Thrasher(29) line up side by side for Heat Two of the 250SX bikes. But it was Anstie(63) that came away with the lead, and Lawrence settled into second, with Thrasher in fifth place.

At the three-minute mark of the moto, Lawrence made the pass for the lead. Anstie was able to hold off Thrasher as the red flag was displayed with two minutes remaining for a crash by Larry Reyes(552).

This bunched up all the riders for a single-line start. It was a big break for Thrasher as he was losing time to Lawrence while trying to get by Anstie. Immediately after the restart, Thrasher slipped by Anstie and took off after the leader.

Lawrence pulled away for the win, with Thrasher and Anstie holding the next two spots to the checkered flag.

450SX Heats

Cooper Webb(2) did not have to contend with Eli Tomac(1) in Heat One of the 450SX bikes, and he rode away at the start. However, he did have to contend with Ken Roczen(94) and Justin Barcia(51) as both riders passed him by the mid-point of the moto.

It was Barcia who showed the speed as he tracked down Roczen and blew past to take the Heat Win. Webb went down on the final lap, forfeiting third place to  Adam Cianciarulo.

In Heat Two, Tomac clearly won the holeshot. On lap one, Aaron Plessinger(7), Chase Sexton(23), and Jason Anderson(21) ran three wide for second. Sexton edged out the other two riders, then managed to catch and pass Tomac.

Plessinger was also able to work his way past Tomac into second place. By the time the moto finished, Anderson took down the points leader to finish third. It is a bit of a surprise to see Tomac surrender three positions when out to an early lead.

250SX East Main Event

Hunter Lawrence flew out of the starting gate to take the holeshot in the 450SX East Main. Nate Thrasher and Jordan Smith held podium spots early as Lawrence pulled away on every lap. Haiden Deegan hung around in fourth but has a lot of work to do to be competitive with the top three.

No change in the top three as five seconds separated first to second and second to third. Jeremy Martin(6) moved past Deegan, who will not get his second podium of the season at Indy.

The top three remained unchanged as the timed portion of the event expired. Deegan suffered a fall in the whoops that cost him two positions at the end of the race.

250SX East Main Event Results

250SX East Points Standings

450SX Main Event

With a rutted track and a full field, all looking to make a move on Eli Tomac, the 450SX Main should be a real battle over the 20 minutes plus a lap. Chase Sexton earned the holeshot with Ken Roczen right behind him. Tomac was out of the gate and across the line in eighth. Roczen moved to the lead as Sexton and Cooper Webb swapped the second spot several times early. Tomac dropped to 11th on the first lap.

Sexton was the first contender to encounter trouble. Trying to catch the leader, Sexton came out of the whoops, caught a deep rut, and went down, dropping to 12th in the field.

Webb had rut trouble of his own but stayed upright. It allowed Barcia to pass for the second spot, and he began to reel in Roczen. At the 10-minute mark, it was Roczen, Barcia, Webb, Plessinger, and Anderson in the top five. Tomac sat in seventh.

Webb hung with Barcia, and their battle was the closest among all the top ten riders. With five minutes to go, positions remain the same at the front of the pack. Sexton was able to pick up two positions. He was the last rider on the lead lap running in tenth.

With time running out, Barcia was able to put some space between himself and Webb while drawing closer to the leader, cutting the deficit to less than one second. Roczen held off the charge of Barcia to secure the win that was heralded by the Indy crowd.

The victory was Roczen’s first Supercross win since the opener at Anaheim in 2022.

Tomac dropped a position to eighth and gave up the points lead to Webb as the series heads to Detroit next Saturday.

Just one point separates Webb and Tomac atop the standings at the halfway juncture of the season. Get tickets for next week’s hometown race online at Supercross Live.

450SX Main Event Results

450SX Points Standings