Last week Eli Tomac caught Ricky Carmichael for third on the all-time wins’ Supercross wins list and if his 2022 and 2020 numbers are an indication, he will take sole possession of that spot this weekend in Arlington and close to within one of second-place James Stewart. Tomac also has recent momentum with four wins in the first six races this season, but one of his rough patches came at Anaheim 2 came in the third round of 2023 in a Triple Crown format. He’s going to have to survive three features this Saturday night.
It helps that Tomac is the defending winner at Arlington when consistency and a 3-2-2 finish gave him the overall win in 2022.
Last year, the winner of two of the Triple Crown features failed to take the overall prize. Jason Anderson finished sixth in the first main and lost too much ground to Tomac.
For Tomac’s seeming dominance in the first six rounds of 2023, the numbers are actually much closer than one might suppose entering the Arlington Supercross race. With one win each and a sweep of the top five, Chase Sexton and Cooper Webb refuse to give up much ground. Currently both riders sit seven points out of first. Three main events mean there is ample opportunity to make mistakes for any of the top three riders.
A week after struggling in Tampa and choosing to ride a risk-free race in order to protect his points’ lead, Tomac attacked Oakland and set five of the 10 fastest laps in his heat.
Sexton has had speed more often than Tomac, however. Through six rounds, he has been the fastest in 17 of the 24 races he’s run in 2023. If he can avoid mistakes like the one he had in Oakland last week, he will continue to challenge Tomac for the points lead. Accidents in Houston and Tampa were also rounds that simply got away from the Honda rider.
And, of course, Webb cannot be discounted. After winning in Tampa, he finished second in Oakland to tie Sexton for second.
Arlington is host to the site where Supercross had their closest finish. In 2019, Webb nipped Ken Roczen at the finish line to win by 0.028 seconds. Once Webb grabbed the lead with that win, he never relinquished it on his way to the championship.
Webb (4 wins), Tomac (3) and Roczen (1) each have wins in Arlington. So does Marvin Musquin, but it was reported this week that he is out indefinitely with a wrist injury.
Adam Cianciarulo will also be out of Round 7 in Arlington after aggravating an injury to his wrist.
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In the 250 division, Hunter Lawrence looks to keep his perfect streak of wins alive. He already has the SuperMotocross Power Rankings lead over his brother Jett Lawrence and would love another perfect night like he had in the 250 East opener in Houston.
With a field filled with rookies, no active 250 rider has won in Arlington.
Last week, Jett Lawrence tied Tomac for sixth on the all-time winners list in SuperMotocross, (combined Supercross and Motocross) with 24.
Last Five Arlington Winners
450s
2022: Eli Tomac
2021 Race 1: Cooper Webb
2021 Race 2: Cooper Webb
2021 Race 3: Cooper Webb
2020: Eli Tomac
250s
2022: Cameron McAdoo
2021 Race 1: Justin Cooper
2021 Race 2: Hunter Lawrence
2021 Race 3: Justin Cooper
2020: Chase Sexton
By the Numbers
Oakland
Tampa
Houston
Anaheim 2
San Diego
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Marvin Musquin out indefinitely with wrist injury
SuperMotocross Power Rankings after Oakland
Eli Tomac wins Oakland; ties Ricky Carmichael on wins’ list
Results and points after Oakland
Jason Anderson on probation for rough riding
Eli Tomac wins 2022 Arlington
