The stage is set at the Daytona International Speedway for round eight of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series. This is by far the toughest track of the year and we witnessed another great night of racing. In the end it was Eli Tomac taking his seventh Daytona win, while Hunter Lawrence claimed victory in the 250s.
450SX Main Event
We knew we were in for a treat when Eli Tomac, Cooper Webb and Chase Sexton all started at the front of the pack in the 450SX main event. Cooper Webb took control of the lead by turn two and held that spot over Tomac for the first half of the race.
Tomac and Webb battled closely and even made contact at one point. The turning point came when Webb made an uncharacteristic mistake just after the finish line which allowed Tomac to slip by. After that, Webb stayed close but never managed to get a pass back on Tomac. They finished just 1.7 second apart at the finish.
Chase Sexton had an eventful night in third. He’d get close to the two leaders but somehow made a mistake every time he was within striking distance. Two run ins with Justin Barcia didn’t do him any favors either as that only let Webb and Tomac slip away. Sexton finished 12 seconds back at the finish.
450SX Final Results (Top 10)
| 1. | Eli Tomac | (Yam) | 17 Laps |
| 2. | Cooper Webb | (KTM) | +01.791 |
| 3. | Chase Sexton | (Hon) | +12.046 |
| 4. | Justin Barcia | (GG) | +23.001 |
| 5. | Jason Anderson | (Kaw) | +29.075 |
| 6. | Justin Cooper | (Yam) | +29.428 |
| 7. | Ken Roczen | (Suz) | +35.285 |
| 8. | RJ Hampshire | (Hus) | +37.580 |
| 9. | Aaron Plessinger | (KTM) | +42.675 |
| 10. | Christian Craig | (Hus) | +53.914 |
250SX Main Event
All the players in the 250SX championship started up front at the gate drop of the 250SX main event. Hunter Lawrence started just outside of the lead but made a few key passes in the opening lap. A run in with Nate Thrasher put the Yamaha rider down in the sand while Lawrence continued forward. He’d pass for the lead just after that and run away with the main event win.
Max Anstie put himself back on the box tonight. Anstie technically got the holeshot and stayed up front while others made their fair share of mistakes. The Honda rider has seen a career resurgence as of late and logs another 250SX podium on the toughest track of the year.
Haiden Deegan grabbed his his first career podium tonight in Daytona. The 250SX rookie looked fast all night and soldiered his way into podium territory by the half-way mark. This is Deegan’s first podium in just his fourth-ever Supercross start
250SX Final Results (Top 10)
| 1. | Hunter Lawrence | (Hon) | 13 Laps |
| 2. | Max Anstie | (Hon) | +09.127 |
| 3. | Haiden Deegan | (Yam) | +24.514 |
| 4. | Jordon Smith | (Yam) | +29.360 |
| 5. | Jeremy Martin | (Yam) | +30.641 |
| 6. | Chance Hymas | (Hon) | +42.027 |
| 7. | Chris Blose | (Kaw) | +1:04.369 |
| 8. | Coty Shock | (Hon) | +1:06.565 |
| 9. | Cullin Park | (Hon) | +1:07.446 |
| 10. | Nate Thrasher | (Yam) | +1:14.251 |
Qualifying
450SX
Chase Sexton continues his qualifying hot streak in Daytona. He topped the charts with a 1:11.99, the fastest time by almost half a second.
Ken Roczen’s 1:12.39 was good enough for second with Jason Anderson another half second back for the third best time.
Eli Tomac clocked fourth with RJ Hampshire making his 450 debut in fifth. Last week’s winner Cooper Webb qualified seventh fastest.
450SX Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. | Chase Sexton | (Hon) | 1:11.990 |
| 2. | Ken Roczen | (Suz) | 1:12.399 |
| 3. | Jason Anderson | (Kaw) | 1:12.889 |
| 4. | Eli Tomac | (Yam) | 1:13.070 |
| 5. | RJ Hampshire | (Hus) | 1:13.416 |
| 6. | Justin Barcia | (GG) | 1:13.449 |
| 7. | Cooper Webb | (KTM) | 1:13.580 |
| 8. | Justin Cooper | (Yam) | 1:13.949 |
| 9. | Christian Craig | (Hus) | 1:14.411 |
| 10. | Aaron Plessinger | (KTM) | 1:14.420 |
250SX East
Hunter Lawrence took the top spot this morning by seven tenths over last week’s winner Nate Thrasher.
Thrasher was the only other rider in the 1:13 range and is always a threat in this wide open speedway tracks.
His Yamaha teammate Jordon Smith was third with Mosiman and Anstie rounded out the top five.
250SX East Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. | Hunter Lawrence | (Hon) | 1:13.286 |
| 2. | Nate Thrasher | (Yam) | 1:13.902 |
| 3. | Jordon Smith | (Yam) | 1:14.201 |
| 4. | Michael Mosiman | (GG) | 1:14.601 |
| 5. | Max Anstie | (Hon) | 1:14.856 |
| 6. | Tom Vialle | (KTM) | 1:15.174 |
| 7. | Jeremy Martin | (Yam) | 1:15.577 |
| 8. | Haiden Deegan | (Yam) | 1:15.663 |
| 9. | Chance Hymas | (Hon) | 1:15.969 |
| 10. | Chris Blose | (Kaw) | 1:16.832 |
Press Day
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