Supercross 'Whoops' leaves Eli Tomac with championship-costing injury
While entering the whoops on the second lap of the penultimate Supercross race Saturday night, championship favorite Eli Tomac landed wrong in the whoops and ruptured his Achilles tendon.
Sadly, in front of his hometown crowd at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium in Denver, Tomac watched his nearly promised second consecutive championship slip away.
With one wrong move, the season’s script was flipped and Tomac's chances for another title are over with the premature season-ending injury with one race to go.
Tomac took the lead at the end of the opening lap from Shane McElrath as the crowd erupted into a roar. As he passed through the same section on the third lap, catastrophe struck when he landed wrong.
The crowd and crews scrambled to see what was wrong. Tomac exited the track straightaway, realizing early that the pain was not something that could be ignored and headed to the Alpinestar Medical trailer.
His season-ending injury would not be announced until the clock ran down to zero and the remaining riders started their final lap.
The talk leading into the event was about the variables needed for Tomac to possibly clinch the championship this weekend. Round 16 was already decimated due to a season of hard injuries that seemed to come to a head last week in Nashville.
Tomac’s biggest competitor, Copper Webb, was struck in the helmet during his heat in that round and suffered a concussion, which took him out of contention for the final two Supercross rounds. A few days after last week’s race, fifth-place in the points, Justin Barcia also announced the end of his season due to injuries he sustained in Round 15.
Eli Tomac is helped by medical personnel after being injured in Saturday's Supercross race in Denver. Photo courtesy Feld Motor Sports.
Quickly after Tomac exited the track, Honda rider Colt Nichols went down and had to be attended to by the medical staff. During this time, teammate Chase Sexton started his charge to the front.
Sexton entered this weekend intending to keep himself in the picture and stay in contention to battle Tomac for the championship next weekend at Salt Lake City. He was 18 points down but on a hot streak towards the end of the season that included two wins in the last six starts after bouncing back from his season-worst finish of 10th at Indianapolis.
Sexton’s run of crashes and bad luck in the middle of the season was a battle that the 23-year-old rider needed to conquer.
“It was not easy at all,” Sexton said of the period. “I’ve said before that it was tough, while those [races] were going on, to even go on my phone. Between people texting me and trying to help, everyone having their own opinions on what my problem was, and then going on Instagram and social media and seeing the comments.
“It was tough and it weighed a toll on me, I got a little bit negative in the middle of the season and some of those crashes I think were caused by being negative and not having confidence in myself. Having the break after Seattle and crashing while leading.
“It’s never over until it’s over. That’s something that I’ve said for the last three races. We have another round and we’ll see what goes on.”
While Sexton has statistically captured the 2023 championship, the rider is not willing to view it that way until he gets to Round 17.
“It hasn’t really sunk in, and you never know until you get to the last race. I haven’t heard anything,” Sexton said when asked about the championship.
Sexton chased down Adam Cianciarulo, who inherited the lead after Tomac retired from the track, and took the lead on lap four. Sexton had a bad start and had to challenge from sixth on the opening lap.
Once there, he would pull away from the field and there would be no contest for the rest of the evening. His first-place finish and Tomac’s DNF were enough to erase his deficit and place him in the lead by seven points going into the championship weekend.
As Sexton began to pull away, Cianciarulo had a new competitor in Ken Roczen. The veteran Suzuki driver had his work cut out for him after hitting mayhem early after a risky start. He went down in the first two turns, first on his own and again when he came across a group of already fallen riders.
“I went Caveman style,” Roczen said in the post-race press conference. “I charged forward and had fun with it. I had nothing to lose, I had fun out there and think that it’s the best that I’ve ridden in a long time.”
Roczen was turning the fastest laps in the closing quarter of the race and overtook Cianciarulo for second on the final lap. It was Roczen's seventh podium of the season and fourth straight.
Third-place finisher Cianciarulo beat his demons and captured his first podium since January 23rd, 2021, the third race of the Houston residency. Cianciarulo has been battling a wrist injury this season and has been slowed with multiple injuries throughout this stage in his career.
Third-place finisher Adam Cianciarulo gets emotional after earning his first podium in nearly 2 1/2 seasons. Photo courtesy Feld Motor Sports.
“I’ve laid in bed so many nights and imagined this moment right here; what I would say, and what I would feel, everything in vivid detail probably a few times a week,” Cianciarulo explained. “I love this sport with everything in me and always have. It’s no secret I’ve been battling some health problems and it’s difficult when you’re not sure what your best is going to be on Saturday. It’s been really difficult for me, but today is a good day."
The Denver event ended with a grateful and solemn podium shared by friends and competitors as all three men looked at the crashes and injuries that brought them to this point in their respective careers.
Justin Hill would finish fourth, improving on his career-best finish of fifth last season and after a strong first lap, McElrath held on for fifth.
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450SX Class Results
1. Chase Sexton, Clermont, Fla., Honda
2. Ken Roczen, Clermont, Fla., Suzuki
3. Adam Cianciarulo, New Smyrna Beach, Fla., Kawasaki
4. Justin Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., KTM
5. Shane McElrath, Oakland, Fla., Suzuki
6. Dean Wilson, Menifee, Calif., Honda
7. Josh Hill, Huntersville, N.C., KTM
8. Kyle Chisholm, Valrico, Fla., Suzuki
9. Grant Harlan, Decatur, Tex., Yamaha
10. Justin Starling, Riverview, Fla., GASGAS
450SX Class Championship Standings
1. Chase Sexton, Clermont, Fla., Honda (346)
2. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Yamaha (339)
3. Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., KTM (304)
4. Ken Roczen, Clermont, Fla., Suzuki (303)
5. Justin Barcia, Greenville, Fla., GASGAS (267)
6. Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.Mex., Kawasaki (242)
7. Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM (213)
8. Adam Cianciarulo, New Smyrna Beach, Fla., Kawasaki (191)
9. Justin Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., KTM (191)
10. Dean Wilson, Menifee, Calif., Honda (182)
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Western Regional 250SX Class Results
1. RJ Hampshire, Minneola, Fla., Husqvarna
2. Levi Kitchen, Havana, Fla., Yamaha
3. Jett Lawrence, Zephyrhills, Fla., Honda
4. Enzo Lopes, Chesterfield, S.C., Yamaha
5. Mitchell Oldenburg, Godley, Tex., Honda
6. Max Vohland, Granite Bay, Calif., KTM
7. Derek Kelley, Riverside, Calif., KTM
8. Carson Mumford, Simi Valley, Calif., Kawasaki
9. Cole Thompson, Brigden, Ont., Yamaha
10. Robbie Wageman, Newhall, Calif., Suzuki
Western Regional 250SX Class Championship Standings
1. Jett Lawrence, Zephyrhills, Fla., Honda (197)
2. RJ Hampshire, Minneola, Fla., Husqvarna (163)
3. Enzo Lopes, Chesterfield, S.C., Yamaha (137)
4. Levi Kitchen, Havana, Fla., Yamaha (135)
5. Max Vohland, Granite Bay, Calif., KTM (121)
6. Mitchell Oldenburg, Godley, Tex., Honda (117)
7. Cameron McAdoo, Sioux City, Iowa, Kawasaki (101)
8. Pierce Brown, Sandy, Utah, GASGAS (98)
9. Cole Thompson, Brigden, Ont., Yamaha (87)
10. Derek Kelley, Riverside, Calif., KTM (86)
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Contributing: Dan Beaver