Eli Tomac of Cortez on Saturday returned home to Colorado for the AMA Supercross in Denver and clinched his second 450SX title with a fifth-place finish at Empower Field at Mile Hile in Denver.
Starting in the No. 2 gate between Chase Sexton and Jason Anderson, series-leading Tomac broke quickly and was second to Sexton at the first turn. Anderson, the hard-charging series runner-up from Rio Rancho, New Mexico, was a close third, less than a second behind.
Tomac went to the lead in Lap 2 as Anderson hit Sexton, sending him to eighth place. Malcolm Stewart claimed third place, more than two seconds ahead of Justin Barcia.
Anderson relentlessly continued his charge to the front and passed Tomac for the lead in Lap 6. Tomac dropped back, trailing the new leader by more than 4 seconds in Lap 10 before surrendering second place to Stewart in Lap 11 and third place to Marvin Musquin in Lap 17.
His 2022 championship in hand, Tomac eased into a comfortable fourth place, more than three seconds behind Musquin, and as the race wound down, gave up fourth place to the recovering Sexton in the 23rd of 26 laps.
In official results, Anderson continued his fast track to the finish, beating Stewart to the finish by more than nine seconds. Musquin was third.
While clinching the 2022 title, Tomac, 29, finished off the podium for only the fifth time this season, which he dominated with seven wins and a total of 11 podium finishes in 16 races. He clinched the title with an insurmountable 359-324 lead over Anderson.
Tomac last won the 450cc Supercross title in 2020. He also has won three 450cc Motocross titles – in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Anderson posted his fifth win of the season, clinching second place overall before the series concludes May 7 in Salt Lake City.
In the series’ tight race for third place overall, Stewart has 295 points; Barcia, 291; and Musquin, 287.
Tomac started his morning at Empower Field with a qualifying lap of 44.677 seconds, good enough for second behind Honda’s Sexton, who reeled off his best lap in 44.624 seconds.
Anderson rode his Kawasaki to third at 44.711 seconds.
After lunch, Tomac wasted no time getting back to work.
Starting from the No. 1 gate in qualifying Heat 1, Tomac won the hole shot and stretched out a big lead. In the third of nine laps, Tomac posted the fastest lap of the race, at 46.352 seconds, and crossed the finish line 3.556 seconds ahead of Musquin’s KTM. Justin Brayton was third.
Interviewed after his heat win, Tomac said he could hear the Colorado crowd’s roar as he circled the track.
“I could hear it. Even as loud as four strokes are, you could still hearing it going around the track,” he said. “Colorado has a great Supercross fan base, and I think they’re bringing it again.”
Hear from @EliTomac after taking the win in 450SX Heat One 🗣#SupercrossLIVE @YamahaMotorUSA @MonsterEnergy pic.twitter.com/PSjZ9hov98
— Supercross LIVE! (@SupercrossLIVE) April 30, 2022
In Heat 2, Sexton won the hole shot and the early lead, then held off Anderson to win the race by 0.371 second. Stewart passed Barcia in Lap 8 to take third place.
Tomac entered Denver after a disappointing race April 23 in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Racing for the lead, he moved inside defending champion Cooper Webb’s KTM. But Anderson charged through on the inside, forcing Tomac into Webb’s back tire and stalling his engine. Tomac restarted, but dropped back and finished seventh.
After the race, Tomac skipped the post-race staging area, where reporters waited, and returned to his team. He later was fined for the protocol violation.
After the dust in Foxborough settled, analysts speculated that Tomac went to Plan B after the contact with Webb – settling for a comfortable and safe finish in Foxborough and looking for the title in Denver.
“He went big picture,” said Daniel Blair. “It was a smart move. … The backup plan was Denver. So, I think it was a great decision. That track was brutal.”
Motocross legend Ricky Carmichael agreed.
“He wanted to win this championship (in Foxborough),” Carmichael said. “But really, it’s a chip shot for him this weekend. I think it’s a pretty cool story … to be able to have the opportunity to win his second championship in his home state.”
The Monster Energy AMA Supercross series concludes Saturday, May 7, in Salt Lake City’s Rice-Eccles Stadium.
