ET Ties GOATs
Eli Tomac put his red-plated Yamaha on the top step of the podium for the first time as he became the 10th different rider to win a 450SX Class race on three brands (Honda, Kawasaki, and Yamaha). 450SX Class lists: His 75th podium moves him into a tie for sixth with Kevin Windham and James Stewart and his 97th top five moves him into a tie for sixth with Ricky Carmichael. His 120th top-10 ties him with Andrew Short for ninth.
Back-to-Back Rare Occurrences
A week after two first-time winners took the checkers in San Diego another rare occurrence and 450SX Class first went down. With Tomac winning there have been four different winners in the first four rounds, something that has only happened four times in Supercross history. For the first time ever, this has happened in back-to-back seasons (1976, 2012, 2021, & 2022). The number of most winners in one season was eight in 1985.
Mellow Yellow
Suzuki’s HEP/Twisted Tea team placed two riders in the top-15 (Brandon Hartranft 12th & Justin Bogle 14th), something Suzuki had not done since Rd. 11 of 2019 (Chad Reed 11th & Justin Hill 14th).
Hitting Milestones (450SX Career Stats Only)
Made at Anaheim 2: Justin Barcia (120th start, ties James Stewart for 22nd all-time), Dean Wilson (90th start, moves into 50th all-time), Josh Hill (85th start, ties Ryan Clark and Jake Weimer for 55th all-time), Bogle (60th start, ties John Dowd for 84th all-time). Potentials in Glendale: Marvin Musquin (89 starts), Cooper Webb (79 starts), Justin Brayton (179 starts).
History Lesson: The First 450SX Class race held in Arizona was on May 10, 1986 in Tempe, Arizona’s Sun Devil Stadium (Arizona State University) and Rick Johnson won on a Honda. It was the penultimate race of the 1986 season and Johnson had already wrapped up the Championship. Sun Devil Stadium hosted four more races through 1998 before the series moved to the Arizona Diambondbacks’ Chase Field (Phoenix) from 1999-2015. The Arizona Cardinals’ State Farm Stadium (Glendale) became home to Supercross in 2016 and last season was the first year Arizona wasn’t on the schedule since 1992-1996.
Breaking it Down: Arizona has hosted five races in Tempe, 17 in Phoenix, and five in Glendale. This will be the 28th race held in the Arizona market and the sixth for Glendale’s State Farm Stadium.
Thrice as Nice: For the second time in-a-row Glendale will be a triple-crown event. The 2020 Glendale triple-crown featured the one and only sweep that either class has seen in a triple-crown when Ken Roczen won all three motos. Glendale joins Anaheim as venues to host multiple triple-crowns in their history.
Goose Egg: The winner of the Glendale Supercross is 0/5 in winning the 450SX Class title. That is a stark contrast to the 13/22 riders who won Tempe or Phoenix and went on to win the championship.
Still On Top
Christian Craig stole the show once again in the 250SX Class for his sixth career victory. His sixth win ties him for 35th on the 250SX Class wins list with a slew of talent (Chad Reed, Dylan Ferrandis, Chase Sexton, Ezra Lusk, Aaron Plessinger, Damon Bradshaw, Davi Millsaps, Jeremy Martin, and Jeff Emig).
Far From Over
Even with Craig’s dominance of the field in 2022, his points-lead is easily surmountable with one bad race. Hunter Lawrence (-11) and Michael Mosiman (-14, 1 win) are riding better than they ever have and should not be dismissed as title contenders. Mosiman made his 25th career 250SX Class start and earned his sixth career podium with a runner-up finish. Lawrence nabbed his eighth career podium with a third in just his 14th career start.
Thrasher Improving
Nate Thrasher seeks to change his image as a two-hit Atlanta wonder from 2021 with improving stadium finishes in 2022. Fourth place in A2 was his season’s best and he has compiled a top-five finish in two of his past three starts (he only had three last season). Yamaha has 13 separate top-10 finishes through the first four rounds of 250SX Class Western Regional racing. (Craig-4, Thrasher-3, Robbie Wageman-3, Garrett Marchbanks-2, Dom Thury-1).
Rookies
Richard Taylor (21st) and McClellan Hile (18th) each made their first appearance in a 250SX Class Main Event. Kaeden Amerine, Brandon Ray, and Dylan Walsh are the other three 250SX Class Western Regional first timers this season.
History Lesson: The First 250SX Class race in Arizona was on May 10, 1986 and Willie Surratt won on a Honda. Surratt went into the final two Western Regional races down 24 points to Donny Schmit and won those final two rounds, but he came up 12 points shy of Schmit for the second ever 250SX Class Western Regional title. Willie’s son Ryan is a current competitor in the 250SX Western Regional who has made three of four mains in 2022 and 12 in his 250SX Class career.
Ramsey the Great: Nathan Ramsey won the first 250SX Class Phoenix Supercross in 1999 and won it again in 2006, seven seasons after his 1999 victory. This is the longest a 250SX Class rider has gone between winning at any specific venue. Ramsey’s victories came on two separate brands (Kawasaki and KTM).
First Football Stadium of the Year: This is the first time Supercross will visit State Farm Stadium in the same year as a Cardinals playoff berth. The Superbowl was played in this stadium in 2008 and 2015 as well.
Better Odds in 250SX: The winner of the Glendale 250SX Class race has won the Western Regional title in 2/5 seasons. The winner of Phoenix won the title in 8/17 races and the winner of Tempe took the title in just 1/5 seasons, bringing the total to 11/27 in Arizona 250SX Class racing.
