Tomac Reigns Supreme with Seventh Daytona Supecross Victory
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Eli Tomac wins another epic 450SX battle to add to his impressive tally of victories at the Daytona International Speedway / Mar 5, 2023 /
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Eli Tomac continues to add to his legacy, both in the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and at the Daytona International Speedway, scoring his seventh win last night at the iconic race track in Daytona Beach, Florida. It was another epic battle between 450SX championship rivals, with Tomac scoring his fifth win of the season and strengthening his points lead. Rookie Justin Cooper earned a career-best finish in sixth. Dylan Ferrandis was hoping to return to racing but, unfortunately, wasn’t feeling 100% and ultimately withdrew from the night show.
Although Tomac wasn’t in his comfort zone during the day, he had a good qualifying result in fourth. Once the racing got underway, the reigning 450SX champ came out swinging with the heat race win. In the main event, he grabbed the holeshot, and although he was shuffled to the runner-up spot behind his title rival, he reclaimed the lead around the halfway mark. Tomac kept cool under pressure and rode on to his seventh win at the Daytona International Speedway. The victory not only broke the record he set last year for Daytona Supercross wins but also tied NASCAR legend Richard Petty for overall wins at the venue. Tomac’s 49th-premier class win in Supercross also moves him closer to James Stewart who sits in runner-up spot on the all-time win list with 50 victories.
In his final 450 race of the season, Cooper was looking to keep learning and to earn his best result before switching gears to preparing for the outdoor season aboard the YZ250F. The New Yorker had a solid qualifying result in ninth and was fifth in his heat race. One of the most demanding tracks on the calendar had an extra element of challenge when it started to rain off and on during the main events. Cooper got a good start inside of the top 10 and was able to make his way forward from ninth to sixth despite the tricky track conditions. He had his sites set on a top five and looked to make the pass but ultimately settled with a career-best result in the 450 class and crossed the line sixth.
The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team heads to Indianapolis, Indiana, on Saturday, March 11, for Round 9 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and ththe SuperMotocross World Championship Series at the Lucas Oil Stadium.
Jeremy Coker – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 450 Team Manager
“It was a great night for the team. I don’t exactly want to say that Eli struggled earlier in the day, but he wasn’t in his comfort zone. When it was time to race, it was incredible. At the end of the day, it’s the race that matters, not qualifying. He rode phenomenally tonight, and to get seven wins here is amazing. Unfortunately, Dylan wasn’t quite feeling back to 100% yet. He’s going to keep working on getting ready to come back.”
Eli Tomac – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing
“It was an excellent night of racing for us. Daytona literally just feels like home to me. Every time the lights come on here, I just basically become one with the track. We went to battle again with Cooper (Webb) there in the main event. A lot of lines were changing throughout the race. Then at one point, we even made contact and then I finally got into the lead and just felt really good on the motorcycle. This was one of the best times that I’ve felt on a motorcycle racing here, so that was awesome. It’s pretty crazy to be tied with the NASCAR Champion, Richard Petty, with seven wins here. That’s a cool thing, and I’m just thankful for everything.”
Justin Cooper – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing
“It was tough like I expected. We even got a little bit of rain for the main event. The track definitely deteriorated, but they fixed some parts of the track that would have been really bad if they didn’t touch them after the 250 main. We just ticked off the laps. I had a really good pace going in the beginning and made a bunch of passes. Then I settled in behind Jason (Anderson), and I started running his pace. From there on, I had a couple of close calls with him, and I got alongside him a couple of times, but he was able to hold me back there. I was definitely pushing for that fifth spot but came up a little bit short and got sixth. It’s a career-best for me, so all in all, it was a great night. Now we get ready for the outdoors.
“I think we did exactly what we wanted to do with these 450 races this season. We got experience, and we learned a lot. The track’s way different in the main than it is in practice. That’s something I could have guessed, but it’s just good to see it here in person and to see how it works. Now we know what to expect coming into next year.”
2023 Monster Energy AMA Supercross 450SX Daytona SX Results
https://results.amasupercross.com/xml/SX/events/S2340/S1F1PRESS.pdf
2023 Monster Energy AMA Supercross 450SX Championship Standings
https://results.amasupercross.com/xml/SX/events/S2340/S1F1POINTSPOSITION.pdf