DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — Eli Tomac enters Round 8 of the Monster Energy Supercross Series with a target on his back.
He set the record for the most wins on this track two years ago with six and extended that number last year. In fact, no one has been able to beat him in the last five years — and rest assured it has not been for a lack of desire in his competitor’s hearts of even for that matter, anything to do with their speed.
Tomac is just so good on this track that he’s in a world of his own.
MORE: This is Tomac’s house
For nearly a decade, only two riders have finished ahead Tomac at Daytona. Justin Brayton won in 2018; Ryan Dungey won in 2015. None of the riders who line up against Tomac this week have beaten him on this track.
Tomac finished second in both of those races. Another top-three finish this week would give him a decade-long streak of podium finishes — a remarkable record of which anyone would be proud.
Well, almost anyone.
That particular record means nothing to the rider who has dominated this track so intensely for so long.
“I don’t really think of those numbers,” Tomac told NBC Sports as he lined up for a Press Day ride on Friday. “I just like to show up here and have fun. I really get along with this racetrack — the way it breaks down — but for the numbers and the records, (it’s not as important).
The only number that matters for Tomac right now is eight. If Tomac can finds victory lane, he will have earned his eighth Daytona Supercross victory.
“The win record was very cool,” Tomac said. “A podium is a podium, but I like the wins. I won’t be satisfied with second or third even if that gives me some new statistic. Let’s talk about the wins.”
Last week’s podium was different. After an uncharacteristic mistake, he fell early in the Round 7 at Arlington and then mounted a charge that is vintage Tomac. Slicing through the field, he climbed all the way to second when the checkered flag waved to score his third podium of the season.
“I needed that.” Tomac said. “It’s the point of the season where I needed some momentum. We’re around the halfway point of the season. Being down in the points, you have to be strong at this stage.”
Tomac will need to reverse a trend he would also prefer not to speak about. After finishing second in San Francisco, he struggled in the mud in San Diego the next week. He finished second again the Triple Crown format in Angel Stadium and was then 10th at Detroit in his next outing.
But there are signs things are changing. Tomac narrowly missed standing on the box two weeks ago in Glendale with a fourth-place finish. For the first time in 2024, he enters a round with back-to-back top-fives, suggesting that he has completely put last year’s season-ending injury behind him.
Tomac is getting hot at the right time. Daytona is Tomac’s house and he’s preparing to put another wing on it.
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Jett Lawrence on Eli Tomac | Tomac on Lawrence (August 2023)
