Steve Cox | February 22, 2020
Attrition was the theme of the night tonight in Arlington, Texas, at round 8 of the 2020 Monster Energy/AMA Supercross Series, inside AT&T Stadium—the second of three scheduled Triple Crown events on this year’s calendar. The first to suffer from the night’s theme was Monster Energy Kawasaki’s perennial fast qualifier Adam Cianciarulo, who went down off of a Dragon’s Back and crashed into the face of the ensuing triple, breaking his left collarbone. He’ll be out a few weeks.
In the 450SX class, Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen got out front and fought off the advances of Red Bull KTM’s defending series champ Cooper Webb to take the win, while Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson, Monster Energy Yamaha’s Justin Barcia, and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac rounded out the top five. Tomac came through from well outside the top 10 for fifth in the short, 12-minute main event.
In the second main event, Tomac got out front early and checked out while Anderson came through from just outside the top five to grab second. But the night’s theme of attrition reared its head again a couple laps from the end of the second main event, when defending champ Webb made a nearly identical error over the same Dragon’s Back that took Cianciarulo out and did a front-flip onto his lower back directly onto the concrete floor that lined the track.
Webb had worked his way up into a battle with the day’s fast qualifier, Motoconcepts/Bullfrog Spas Honda’s Justin Hill, inside the top five, from outside the top 10 when the crash occurred. He was very slow to get up and was sent to the hospital. He was checked out and, according to his Instagram page, he suffered a hematoma on his pelvis and his sacrum. He might be lining up for the race in Atlanta, if his week goes really well.
Tomac sped off with the win over Anderson, Hill, Anderson’s teammate Zach Osborne, and Barcia.
In the final 450SX main event, Osborne got out to the early lead while Tomac tried to work his way forward from just outside the top five. Anderson passed Osborne for the lead, and at that point led the overall for the night, but Tomac was on his way to the front and was putting in laptimes nearly a second faster than anybody on the track.
Tomac went by Anderson for the lead with a handful of laps remaining, and then took off. A few laps later, while trying to hold off Roczen for second, Anderson went down at the end of the whoops and got back up in fifth place.
The win in the third main event, and overall, went to Tomac, with Roczen second in the main and overall. Anderson was third overall, with Barcia fourth and Osborne fifth on the night.
Tomac now leads the championship chase by 7 points over Roczen, 181-174, while Webb—officially 12th on the night—is exactly one full main event behind, with 155 points. But with his status up in the air, this championship may have just become a two-horse race between Tomac and Roczen.
In the 250SX East class, GEICO Honda’s Chase Sexton came into round two with something to prove. The defending 250SX East champ, Sexton had nothing for Monster Energy/Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Shane McElrath at the opening round. In the first of three main events, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s RJ Hampshire led before Sexton took over, but after Sexton took the lead, Hampshire punted him out of the way to take the lead back. Sexton got back going in fifth but rode angry on his way up to second in the main event, passing McElrath with a few laps left in the race.
In the second of three main events, Sexton went out and led every lap over McElrath, who came through from just outside the top five to take second. GEICO Honda’s Jeremy Martin—fifth in the first main event—ended up third over Smith’s teammate Garrett Marchbanks and ClubMX Yamaha’s Joey Crown. Hampshire came in sixth in front of Crown’s teammates Josh Hill and Enzo Lopes.
In the final main event, McElrath got out front early and held off Sexton for the entire 14 laps, while Sexton seemed happy to hang in second, secure in the knowledge that it would give him the overall win on the night. Hampshire finished third over Martin and Marchbanks.
Smith, who was in the battle for the win in the first main event and finished fourth, suffered from falls in the final two mains and ended up 13th overall on the night.
After two rounds, Sexton and McElrath share the championship lead, with Martin 9 points behind.
The series continues next Saturday afternoon inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. Racing starts at 4:30 pm Eastern time.
450SX Main Event:
1. |
Eli Tomac |
Kaw |
5-1-1 |
2. |
Ken Roczen |
Hon |
1-7-2 |
3. |
Jason Anderson |
Hus |
3-2-5 |
4. |
Justin Barcia |
Yam |
4-5-4 |
5. |
Zach Osborne |
Hus |
7-4-3 |
6. |
Justin Hill |
Hon |
6-3-8 |
7. |
Malcolm Stewart |
Hon |
8-6-9 |
8. |
Aaron Plessinger |
Yam |
9-10-7 |
9. |
Dean Wilson |
Hus |
13-9-6 |
10. |
Blake Baggett |
KTM |
10-8-13 |
11. |
Vince Friese |
Hon |
12-11-10 |
12. |
Cooper Webb |
KTM |
2-17-20 |
13. |
Chad Reed |
Hon |
14-12-16 |
14. |
Ryan Breece |
Suz |
18-15-11 |
15. |
Kyle Chisholm |
Yam |
19-13-12 |
16. |
Tyler Bowers |
Kaw |
16-14-14 |
17. |
Martin Davalos |
KTM |
11-20-19 |
18. |
Kyle Cunningham |
Suz |
17-19-15 |
19. |
James Weeks |
Yam |
20-16-17 |
20. |
Ronnie Stewart |
Hus |
21-18-18 |
21. |
Justin Brayton |
Hon |
15-21-21 |
22. |
Broc Tickle |
Suz |
22-22-22 |
250SX Main Event:
1. |
Chase Sexton |
Hon |
2-1-2 |
2. |
Shane McElrath |
Yam |
3-2-1 |
3. |
RJ Hampshire |
Hus |
1-6-3 |
4. |
Jeremy Martin |
Hon |
5-3-4 |
5. |
Garrett Marchbanks |
Kaw |
6-4-5 |
6. |
Josh Hill |
Yam |
9-7-6 |
7. |
Joey Crown |
Yam |
7-5-10 |
8. |
Enzo Lopes |
Yam |
8-8-7 |
9. |
Jalek Swoll |
Hus |
10-12-9 |
10. |
Jo Shimoda |
Hon |
14-10-8 |
11. |
Jordan Bailey |
Hon |
13-11-12 |
12. |
John Short |
Hon |
13-11-12 |
13. |
Jordon Smith |
Kaw |
4-20-14 |
14. |
Lorenzo Locurcio |
Kaw |
16-17-11 |
15. |
Curren Thurman |
KTM |
17-15-13 |
16. |
Dustin Winter |
KTM |
15-13-18 |
17. |
Richard Jackson |
Suz |
18-16-16 |
18. |
Jace Owen |
Hon |
11-21-21 |
19. |
Kevin Moranz |
KTM |
21-14-19 |
20. |
Isaac Teasdale |
Suz |
20-18-17 |
21. |
Wilson Fleming |
Hon |
19-19-20 |
22. |
Kyle Peters |
Hon |
22-22-22 |
450SX Points Standings:
1. |
Eli Tomac |
181/4 wins |
2. |
Ken Roczen |
174/2 wins |
3. |
Cooper Webb |
155/1 win |
4. |
Justin Barcia |
154/1 win |
5. |
Jason Anderson |
139 |
6. |
Adam Cianciarulo |
128 |
7. |
Malcolm Stewart |
122 |
8. |
Justin Hill |
110 |
9. |
Zach Osborne |
105 |
10. |
Justin Brayton |
105 |
11. |
Blake Baggett |
104 |
12. |
Dean Wilson |
100 |
13. |
Aaron Plessinger |
92 |
14. |
Vince Friese |
82 |
15. |
Martin Davalos |
65 |
16. |
Tyler Bowers |
49 |
17. |
Chad Reed |
31 |
18. |
Kyle Chisholm |
29 |
19. |
Ryan Breece |
25 |
20. |
Justin Bogle |
20 |
250SX East Points Standings:
1. |
Chase Sexton |
49/1 win |
2. |
Shane McElrath |
49/1 win |
3. |
Jeremy Martin |
40 |
4. |
RJ Hampshire |
38 |
5. |
Garrett Marchbanks |
37 |
6. |
Joey Crown |
31 |
7. |
Jordon Smith |
28 |
8. |
Josh Hill |
28 |
9. |
Jo Shimoda |
26 |
10. |
Enzo Lopes |
19 |
11. |
John Short |
19 |
12. |
Jordan Bailey |
18 |
13. |
Kyle Peters |
17 |
14. |
Jace Owen |
17 |
15. |
Jimmy Decotis |
14 |
16. |
Jalek Swoll |
14 |
17. |
Cedric Soubeyras |
10 |
18. |
Nick Gaines |
9 |
19. |
Lorenzo Locurcio |
9 |
20. |
Curren Thurman |
9 |
Arlington Supercross Qualifying
Qualifying is done in Texas for the Arlington Supercross, round 8 of the 2020 Monster Energy/AMA Supercross Series, with 22 racers moving through to the night show in each class, since tonight’s race is a Triple Crown event—where each class has three separate main events, but no heat races or night-time LCQs.
Adam Cianciarulo’s top-qualifier streak ended in Arlington after seven consecutive weeks qualifying on top. The Monster Energy Kawasaki racer will be out at least 3 weeks (probably longer) with a broken left collarbone suffered when he missed the top whoop on a Dragon’s Back and endoed into the face of a triple jump.
Taking over for Cianciarulo as the top qualifier? Motoconcepts/Smartop/Bullfrog Spas Honda’s Justin Hill, who threw down a 45.958 in the final timed qualifying session. Second in qualifying, for the 8th week in a row, went to current points leader Eli Tomac, with a 46.097. Then came Team Tedder/Monster Energy KTM’s Martin Davalos and defending champ, Red Bull KTM’s Cooper Webb.
With Cianciarulo out injured (even though he qualified 11th overall with his time from the first timed session), the 450SX LCQ transferred the top five to the night show. The HEP Suzuki duo of Kyle Cunningham and Ryan Breece swept the top two over Team Chiz/Ti-Lube/Rock River Yamaha’s Kyle Chisholm.
Monster Energy/Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Shane McElrath, who won last week’s 250SX East series opener in Tampa, topped qualifying for tonight’s race in Texas. In fact, the top three in today’s timed qualifying mirrors the main-event results from Tampa a week ago, with defending champ Chase Sexton second and his GEICO Honda teammate Jeremy Martin second and third.
Racing kicks off at 8:30 Eastern and 5:30 Pacific time on NBC Sports Network or on the NBC Sports Gold App.
450SX Qualifying:
1. |
Justin Hill |
Hon |
45.958 |
2. |
Eli Tomac |
Kaw |
46.097 |
3. |
Martin Davalos |
KTM |
46.319 |
4. |
Cooper Webb |
KTM |
46.364 |
5. |
Jason Anderson |
Hus |
46.600 |
6. |
Ken Roczen |
Hon |
46.765 |
7. |
Zach Osborne |
Hus |
46.892 |
8. |
Dean Wilson |
Hus |
47.125 |
9. |
Justin Brayton |
Hon |
47.185 |
10. |
Blake Baggett |
KTM |
47.241 |
11. |
Adam Cianciarulo |
Kaw |
47.252 (OUT) |
12. |
Aaron Plessinger |
Yam |
47.346 |
13. |
Malcolm Stewart |
Hon |
47.368 |
14. |
Justin Barcia |
Yam |
47.418 |
15. |
Chad Reed |
Hon |
47.464 |
16. |
Tyler Bowers |
Kaw |
47.820 |
17. |
Broc Tickle |
Suz |
47.867 |
18. |
Vince Friese |
Hon |
48.135 |
19. |
Kyle Cunningham |
Suz |
1st place, LCQ |
20. |
Ryan Breece |
Suz |
2nd place, LCQ |
21. |
Kyle Chisholm |
Yam |
3rd place, LCQ |
22. |
James Weeks |
Yam |
4th place, LCQ |
23. |
Ronnie Stewart |
Hus |
5th place, LCQ |
250SX East Qualifying:
1. |
Shane McElrath |
Yam |
45.406 |
2. |
Chase Sexton |
Hon |
46.331 |
3. |
Jeremy Martin |
Hon |
46.570 |
4. |
Jordon Smith |
Kaw |
46.871 |
5. |
RJ Hampshire |
Hus |
47.006 |
6. |
Josh Hill |
Yam |
48.152 |
7. |
Jace Owen |
Hon |
48.188 |
8. |
Garrett Marchbanks |
Kaw |
48.246 |
9. |
Enzo Lopes |
Yam |
48.310 |
10. |
Jalek Swoll |
Hus |
48.679 |
11. |
Joey Crown |
Yam |
48.702 |
12. |
John Short |
Hon |
48.725 |
13. |
Jo Shimoda |
Hon |
48.861 |
14. |
Kyle Peters |
Hon |
48.909 |
15. |
Wilson Fleming |
Hon |
48.983 |
16. |
Richard Jackson |
Suz |
49.037 |
17. |
Isaac Teasdale |
Suz |
49.048 |
18. |
Dustin Winter |
KTM |
49.054 |
19. |
Lorenzo Locurcio |
Kaw |
1st place, LCQ |
20. |
Kevin Moranz |
KTM |
2nd place, LCQ |
21. |
Jordan Bailey |
Hon |
3rd place, LCQ |
22. |
Curren Thurman |
KTM |
4th place, LCQ |
2020 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Schedule
Round 1 |
January 4 |
Anaheim, California |
Round 2 |
January 11 |
St. Louis, Missouri |
Round 3 |
January 18 |
Anaheim, California |
Round 4 |
January 25 |
Glendale, Arizona |
Round 5 |
February 1 |
Oakland, California |
Round 6 |
February 8 |
San Diego, California |
Round 7 |
February 15 |
Tampa, Florida |
Round 8 |
February 22 |
Arlington (Dallas), Texas |
Round 9 |
February 29 |
Atlanta, Georgia |
Round 10 |
March 7 |
Daytona, Florida |
Round 11 |
March 14 |
Indianapolis, Indiana |
Round 12 |
March 21 |
Detroit, Michigan |
Round 13 |
March 28 |
Seattle, Washington |
Round 14 |
April 4 |
Denver, Colorado |
Round 15 |
April 18 |
Foxborough, Massachusetts |
Round 16 |
April 25 |
Las Vegas, Nevada |
Round 17 |
May 2 |
Salt Lake City, Utah |