Eli Tomac of Cortez, looking to build on Tuesday’s second-place finish, started fast Saturday night in Arlington and ended up third behind Supercross leaders Cooper Webb and Ken Roczen.
The series frontrunners – Roczen, Webb, Justin Barcia and Tomac – went to the head of the 450SX class in the first lap, signaling perhaps a final push toward the championship with just five races to go.
Tomac, starting in fourth place, passed Barcia for third place in Lap 4, and immediately charged to Webb’s back wheel, less than a half-second behind. Roczen raced in front, just 1.75 seconds ahead of Webb, and Barcia pursued Tomac as the series contenders raced in a tight bunch less than three seconds apart.
Chase Sexton, racing in fifth, crashed out of the race in Lap 4, opening the door for Jason Anderson.
As the race reached its midpoint, the top three seemed content to hold their own until a rush to the finish. Barcia faded slightly to a comfortable fourth place.
But in Lap 19, Tomac hit a track block, giving third place to Barcia, and in the next lap, Webb, who had been in a back-and-forth battle with Roczen, took the lead.
With four laps to go, Tomac battled back past Barcia to lock down third place in Lap 23, and his second podium finish this week at AT&T Stadium.
The finish left Tomac in third place in the series standings, 26 points behind Roczen. Webb extended his lead to 15 points over Roczen.
Qualifying roundsTomac was second-fastest in timed practice rounds, completing his best lap in 48.218 seconds. Sexton was fastest, at 48.143 seconds, and Roczen was third at 48.328 seconds. Dean Wilson and Webb rounded out the top five.
Tomac won his qualifying heat, passing Barcia for the lead in the fifth of nine laps after laying down the fastest lap of the heat, at 48.805 seconds in Lap 4. Barcia finished second, and was followed by Malcolm Stewart, Aaron Plessinger and Joey Savatgy.
In an unusually competitive second heat, Roczen broke fourth at the start, but moved into second place in Lap 1 to challenge Webb. He took the lead in Lap 6, and Webb, facing a pass by Sexton, crashed and dropped to fifth place. Anderson and Marvin Musquin benefited, finishing third and fourth, respectively.
What’s nextThe Monster Energy AMA Supercross series heads to Atlanta for races on April 10, 13 and 17, and then to Salt Lake City for the final two races, on April 24 and May 1.