On Saturday, Star Racing Yamaha racer Eli Tomac of Cortez swept the triple crown races at Round 12 of the AMA Supercross series in St. Louis, breaking his tie with Ricky Carmichael to become the all-time podium leader with 217 podium finishes.
The record comes as Tomac battles to get back to racing form after a torn Achilles tendon in Denver last year, caused him to lose the 2023 Supercross title to Chase Sexton.
In the first race of the triple crown main event Saturday at The Dome at America’s Center, Hunter Lawrence got the hole shot, with Tomac close behind in second place. In the first few minutes of the race, a crash knocked Sexton and Jett Lawrence back in the standings.
As the racers chased after Hunter Lawrence and Tomac, Hunter Lawrence crashed, allowing Tomac to take the first place position. Aaron Plessinger also passed Hunter Lawrence and attempted to put pressure on Tomac, but despite the rocky start, Jett Lawrence quickly moved into second place position after passing Plessinger.
Tomac won the first race of the triple crown by nearly three seconds, with Jett Lawrence in second and Plessinger in third.
At the start of the second race, Jett Lawrence slipped past Tomac out of the gate to claim the hole shot, while Justin Cooper and Tomac battled behind.
Around the 10-minute mark, Cooper passed Lawrence, but didn’t hold onto the lead long before Jett Lawrence reclaimed the lead. Cooper Webb passed both Tomac and Cooper, who fell to third and fourth place, respectively.
With five minutes remaining in the second race, Tomac passed Webb to take second place, and crossed the finish line in second.
Though Jett Lawrence crossed the finish line first, he was docked two positions for jumping the final jump while a red cross flag was being waved.
Other racers dockers for not adhering to the red cross flag were Sexton, Webb and Plessinger, and Jason Anderson was docked four positions.
Because of the penalty, Tomac was given the win in the second race of the triple crown, and the new standings were Tomac, Hunter Lawrence, Jett Lawrence, Justin Barcia, Sexton, Webb, Anderson and Plessinger.
In the third and final race, Tomac blasted out of the gate for the hole shot, with Sexton not far behind in second place. While Jett Lawrence attempted to catch up with the leaders, he was broadsided by Barcia going around a corner, in what commentators called a “massive T-bone.”
Lawrence could be seen cradling his left arm before he regrouped to get back on his bike and rejoin the race, though without his usual competitive spark.
Meanwhile, Sexton and Webb battled for second place behind Tomac. With just a few minutes left in the race, Webb passed Sexton over the triple jump to take second place.
Tomac crossed the finish line in first, winning the triple crown and claiming his 52nd overall win in the premier class, as well as breaking the tie with Carmichael for the most podiums in history for the 450SX class.
“Eli Tomac is back on top,” the commentators said. “He is a winner again!”
In his post-race interview, Tomac expressed his excitement with the triple crown win, saying, “I feel like me again.”
The triple crown overall results showed Webb in second (placing fifth, sixth and second, in the night’s races) and Hunter Lawrence placing third after eighth, second and fourth positions in the night’s three races.
Following his crash, Jett Lawrence finished in last place, nearly two minutes behind the leaders. It is unclear whether he was seriously injured.
Later, Tomac was asked in the postrace news conference if the soft conditions had made training and preparing for races difficult.
“I was just struggling, straight up,” he said.
Tomac revealed that he had been fighting a different injury the past few weeks.
“The real story is that I tweaked my ankle like three weeks ago, and I haven’t been able to balance right either,” Tomac said. “Tonight that finally came around too, and my balance is back.”
Following the triple crown, the championship point standings showed Jett Lawrence in first place with 244 points, Webb in second with 236 points, Sexton in third with 224 points and Tomac in fourth with 215 points.
“I had so many questions, and honestly doubt, in my mind that at this point (in the season) before this weekend. You know, questioning the comeback and where I was. So to do this here, to feel that way, to get those rides in all through those motos, that felt like old me. So this was so awesome. … Thank you to the team for believing in me, Monster Energy Star Yamaha, everyone, so thank you St. Louis,” Tomac said.
The next Supercross races will take place at Foxborough, Massachusetts, in the Gillette Stadium on April 13.
