Cole Seely grabbed his first-ever 450-class win in Houston. Photography by Simon Cudby
Ryan Dungey pretty much had things locked up when he came into Houston’s NRG Stadium, owning an 80-point lead in the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Standings, but there is always a mathematical chance that something bad can happen, but the Red Bull KTM rider made sure nothing like that happened and after getting off to a mediocre start (He was 10th at the end of the opening lap) the “Dunge” cautiously worked his way into an eventual runner-up finish on lap 14 of the 20-lapper, more than enough to beat out second overall in the standings, GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac, to claim his second Supercross title with three rounds remaining on the schedule.
“To win in 2010 was awesome, but this time I felt we really earned it and deserved it,” explained Dungey. “It’s hard to know what to say, there’s just so much running through my mind right now. KTM brought me here four years ago to win a championship and we finally accomplished it. I pictured tonight going a little differently in my mind, but we caught a few breaks and kept it on two wheels. We had to work for it tonight.”
All the while, the number 14 of TLD/Team Honda HRC’s Cole Seely turned in the race of his life, leading every single lap of the main event. Seely has been on a roll since the series moved east, and in Houston the Honda rider was barley challenged.
“I’ve been having so much fun on the bike and I think that showed tonight,” said Seely. “If you asked me if I would have a win at Anaheim 1 or Phoenix, I would have probably told you no. But I feel like the past few races it’s been at my fingertips and I finally was able to capitalize. It feels amazing.”
Tomac, who rounded out the podium on his GEICO Honda, battled flu-like symptoms for much of the week, had to fight through the semifinals to earn his spot in the main event.
“I felt OK early in the day but kind of ran out of power in the evening,” Tomac said. “Considering I was flat on my back a few days ago, I guess I can’t be too upset with a podium finish. We’re still a solid second in the points with three races left, so even though the overall championship was decided tonight, there are still things to fight for down the stretch. More wins and more podiums would be good.”
Josh Grant turned in one of his best performances of the year on his Discount Tire Two/Two Motorsports Kawasaki, finishing fourth, just ahead of his boss and team owner Chad Reed. Meanwhile, BTO Sports’ KTM”s Andrew Short was sixth after again grabbing another amazing holeshot.
With the 250 class returning to the Western Regional 250SX Class Championship, Cooper Webb came away with a similar result as Dungey, winning his class championship, although the Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha rider did it by taking the win in his main event ahead of Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/Red Bull/KTM’s Shane McElrath.
The win was Cooper’s fifth main event of the season and left him with a 45-point lead over Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Zach Osborne, who was seventh on the night.
GEICO Honda’s Matt Bisceglia grabbing the SupercrossLive.com Holeshot Award just ahead of McElrath and Webb.
McElrath was able to make a move on Bisceglia to take over the lead, while Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Tyler Bowers passed Webb to assume third, although the muli-time Arenacross champ eventually dropped out of the race with a DNF.
Webb passed Bisceglia for second on lap four, and then finally took over the lead on lap nine. Once he got into the top spot Webb pulled away for the win to put an exclamation point on his championship-winning effort.
McElrath finished in the number two spot while GEICO Honda’s Malcolm Stewart moved up to finish third.
“This is unreal,” exclaimed Webb. “I dedicated my whole life for this moment right here and it paid off. I was a four-year-old chasing a dream and it came true. I put my head down [after finishing seventh at the first race of the season] because I knew I wasn’t a seventh place guy. I knew I belonged up here so I never quit. I kept fighting and here we are.”
450SX Class Results
1 Cole Seely, Laguna Beach, Calif., Honda
2 Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM
3 Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda
4 Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Kawasaki
5 Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Kawasaki
6 Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, KTM
7 Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki
8 Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Suzuki
9 Justin Barcia, Greenville, Fla., Yamaha
10 Justin Brayton, Murrieta, Calif., KTM
Western Regional 250SX Class Results
1 Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha
2 Shane McElrath, Canton, N.C., KTM
3 Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Honda
4 Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha
5 Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha
6 Justin Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., KTM
7 Zach Osborne, Chesterfield, S.C., Husqvarna
8 Matt Bisceglia, Weatherford, Texas, Honda
9 Chris Alldredge, Powell Butte, Ore., Kawasaki
10 Tommy Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda
