450 Main
Spoiler: RYAN DUNGEY IS YOUR 2015 450SX Champion. Like Cooper Webb before him, Dungey’s road to a second 450 title was pretty clear entering Houston. The Dunge had an eighty-point lead entering the night, meaning if Eli Tomac won, Dungey would still have clinched with a third or better. Dungey was brilliant this season and rode another to another podium finish—his thirteenth in fourteen rounds to clinch the title.
Dungey’s title overshadowed a career first for Cole Seely, won took over the lead from Andrew Short early in the race and cruised to his first career 450SX win. As for Short, he held strong all race before being passed by Tomac for third. He finished sixth.
For a moment, it looked like Chad Reed and Jason Anderson would occupy the podium behind Seely, but the two came together in the corner after the finish and both went down. Anderson would go down again and finish sixteenth. Reed would bounce back for fifth. Reed’s teammate Josh Grant was strong again, holding off Reed for fourth. Davi Millsaps, Broc Tickle, Justin Barcia and Justin Brayton would round out the top ten.
250 Main
Spoiler: COOPER WEBB IS YOUR 2015 250SX WEST REGION CHAMPION. In his second supercross season, Webb has his first career championship following his fifth win in seven rounds. When Jessy Nelson pulled out earlier this week following a crash testing, Webb’s road to his first title got that much easier. He didn’t need a win to clinch—even with a Tyler Bowers win, a fourth would have gotten the job done—but it was within reach and he took it.
Shane McElrath got a fantastic start from the way inside to take the early lead. GEICO Honda’s Matt Bisceglia was a close second with Bowers and Webb following. Webb went on the attack early, getting past Bowers and then Bisceglia. Once past Bisceglia, a clear track stood between he and McElrath and he quickly gobbled him up. He would stretch his lead to 2.4 at race end. McElrath held on for second. Malcolm Stewart overcame a bad start to work his way into third. Webb’s teammate Aaron Plessinger would finished fourth. Alex Martin, Justin Hill, Zach Osborne, Bisceglia, Chris Alldredge and Tommy Hahn would round out top ten.
450 LCQ
A photo finish for the final transfer spot highlighted the LCQ. Adam Enticknap and Dustin Pipes battled to the finish with Pipes holding on for the final spot. Tevin Tapia grabbed the holeshot before giving up the lead to Killy Rusk. Mitchell Oldenburg—riding a 250F—went through as well. Rusk would go onto take the win over Oldenburg and Tapia.
450 Semi 2
There has been no love lost between Jason Anderson and Blake Baggett as of late. So, when Baggett grabbed the holeshot with Anderson close behind in second, things could have gotten a little testy. But they didn’t. Anderson made a clean pass on Baggett for the lead, then Baggett fought back to take the lead back. This back and forth lead to Eli Tomac getting involved. He passed Baggett before pressuring Anderson on the final lap. Anderson held on for a 0.240 lead at the finish. Tomac, Baggett, Kyle Chisholm and Nick Wey would all advance.
450 Semi 1
Justin Brayton held off Broc Tickle at the finish line to take the second heat win. Brayton got the holeshot, followed by Kyle Partridge. Tickle eventually got past and pressured Brayton all the way to the finish. Brayton held to win by 0.177. Partridge, Ben LaMay and Nick Schmidt would also advance to the main.
250 LCQ
You kind of had to feel bad for the rest of the 250SX LCQ lineup. A stacked field that included Malcolm Stewart, Shane McElrath, Zach Osborne, and Josh Hansen were all featured. The show played out accordingly. Osborne got the holeshot, with McElrath, Stewart and Hansen all in tow. McElrath eventually got Osborne, who fell all the way back to fourth. Stewart applied the pressure late and got McElrath on the final corner to take the win. McElrath, Hansen and Osborne would advance.
450 Heat 2
Seriously, we need to investigate Andrew Short for a turbo button or something. The crafty veteran grabbed his 100,000,000 holeshot of 2015. He led briefly before Cole Seely eventually took over. The man to watch in this heat was Eli Tomac. Following a bad start, he burned through the field until he reached Davi Millsaps. He and Davi went bar to bar for the final transfer spot with Millsaps winning out. Weston Peick finished third and will transfer.
450 Heat 1
Josh Grant grabbed the early in the first 450SX action of the night. But he had to deal with a hard charging Ryan Dungey. He held the Dunge at bay briefly, but eventually surrendered the lead. Dungey would cruise to the win, with Grant and Justin Barcia following. Chad Reed also advanced to the main event.
250 Heat 2
This one got ugly real quick. Zach Osborne grabbed the holeshot with Malcolm Stewart, among others in tow. On the first lap Malcolm crashed in the rhythm section, sending his bike flipping into the next lane. There wasn’t enough time for the yellow flags to be pulled, and Osborne hit Malcolm’s bike. Both riders would DNF, with Osborne leaving holding his shoulder. Matt Bisceglia inherited the lead with a red-hot Cooper Webb lurking. Webb worked past Tyler Bowers and then quickly got Bisceglia too. He would cruise from there to the win. Bisceglia and Bowers finished out the podium.
250 Heat 1
Shane McElrath raced to the first holeshot of the night in the 250SX West Region. And then things got a little crazy. Justin Hill was pressuring Josh Hansen for second, when he dove to the inside and he and Hansen tangled and went down. Moments later, McElrath toss away the win with a mistake in the rhythm section. Austin Politelli inherited the lead and went on to win the heat race. Hill would rebound for second with Tommy Hahn third. Hansen would finish 11th.
450 A Session Two
Stop us if you’ve heard this before: Eli Tomac and Ryan Dungey were tops in… The two, first and second in points, were fastest in the second practice session. Dungey, who is looking to clinch his second 450SX title tonight, was fastest with a 46.621. Tomac was second with a 46.950. Again, the track was slowed down a tad, so neither time will top Tomac’s 45.204 set in the first session. Jason Anderson, Cole Seely and Broc Tickle were top five in the second practice. Justin Barica was twelfth in his return.
250 A Session Two
The changes the track crew made between sessions slowed the times down in the second practice. Malcolm Stewart’s 47.569 was tops, but it won’t touch Webb’s 45.656 in the first session. Toward the end of practice, Stewart went down hard, crossing lanes, with the bike hitting him in the back of the head. He got up under his own power and appears okay for tonight. Shane McElrath, coming off his first career podium in San Diego, was second with a 47.696. Webb was third with a 47.705.
450 A Session One
The first 450 session was a shootout. Josh Grant jumped to the top early, only to have Ryan Dungey take over with a 45.98. Then Cole Seely took the top spot. Then Davi Millsaps. Then Chad Reed. And finally Eli Tomac. The GEICO Honda rider set a 45.204 down late to take the pole in the first timed session. In all, the top nine were all under 46 seconds. This should be close for tonight.
250 A Session One
Cooper. Cooper. Cooper. The 250SX points leader is not letting off the gas, even with a huge lead in the championship. Webb laid down a blistering 45.656 in the first timed session before pulling off early. “I don’t think that time is going to get touched,” he said to the track reporter. And it wasn’t. The closest anyone would get was Justin Hill with a 46.435. The session was red flagged due to a Landen Powell crash. Powell was taken off the track on a stretcher by the Asterisk Mobil Medical crew. There is no word on his condition at this time. We will update once we know more.
Morning Report
Welcome to NGR Stadium, home to the Houston Texans and host of “Championship Weekend” in Monster Energy AMA Supercross. After a week off—the only one this season—supercross returns for Round 14 in Houston, Texas. Houston has a storied history in supercross, as Jason Weigandt explained earlier this week and it could make more history tonight, as both Ryan Dungey and Cooper Webb are on the brink of locking up their respective championships.
Dungey, winner of the last six of nine, is eighty points clear of Eli Tomac in 450SX. With only 100 possible points remaining, Dungey’s road to a second 450SX title is pretty clear—a win this weekend and he clinches. If Tomac wins, Dungey can still clinch with a third or better. Considering Dungey has only finished off the podium once this year—the opener at Anaheim—it’s safe to say there is a good chance he pops the champagne tonight.
The 250SX West Region returns for the first time since San Diego, way back on February 6—more than two months ago. If you need a refresher on how the west has played out, check out 250 Words this week. Cooper Webb, winner of four of six, is on the verge of clinching his first career title this weekend. Webb is thirty points clear of Jessy Nelson entering Houston. Nelson, who had a crash a few weeks back testing, is out for tonight. Webb’s next closest compeitior is Tyler Bowers, who is thirty-two points back of the leader. Like Dungey, a win for Webb will seal the title. Only fifty points remain out west, so his title scenarios vary. But, the clearest one is this: If Bowers were to win, and Webb finish fourth, he would still clinch the title on a tie-breaker.
The track in Houston is quite unique and could provide a challenge tonight. The start funnels into a left-hander and then all hell breaks loose. Seriously, this track is pretty confusing, so check out the track map below for a detailed verison.
Justin Barcia is back this weekend for the first time since sustaining a small crack in his pelvic bone testing before San Diego. As we reported earlier this week, Ken Roczen is still out with an ankle injury. There is no timetable on his return. In 250SX, as we mentioned above Jessy Nelson is out for the rest of supercross. His teammate, Darryn Durham is as well. Both will return for Lucas Oil Pro Motocross.
That’s it for now. Stay here all day for practice and race reports.
