Entering Glendale, round four of the series, Eli Tomac was facing a 25-point deficit to Ryan Dungey and was seemingly lost in his setup. The team and he made changes prior to that round, and ever since, Tomac has been rolling. Behind three consecutive wins, and six of the last eight, Tomac has cut Dungey’s lead to 12. In the last three races alone, the Monster Energy Kawasaki rider has led 57 of a possible 69 laps. Last weekend in Indianapolis may have been Tomac’s most impressive performance of his recent stretch, as Dungey closed to within a second early in the race, only to have Tomac pull back away and cruise to a third win. With Marvin Musquin passing Dungey late in the race, Tomac made up a valuable five points. Six races remain with just 12 points separating the two. Buckle up, we have a series, folks!

Meanwhile in the 250 class, tensions are high between points leader Zach Osborne and the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki team following separate incidents in Indianapolis—in practice with Adam Cianciarulo and in the main event with Joey Savatgy. Jason Weigandt explained a little more about it in Racerhead:

Behind his third win of the season last weekend, Osborne stretched his lead back to nine over Savatgy, with AC 18 points back after a fifth place finish in Indy.

In injury news, Monster Energy Factory Yamaha’s Cooper Webb is back in action following a shoulder injury sustained in Minneapolis. It will be interesting to see if Webb can jump right back into the mix after a month away. Cameron McAdoo was supposed to make his GEICO Honda debut this weekend, but will sit out the next two rounds as he continues to deal with a deep cut to his hand. TiLube/Storm Lake Honda's Fredrik Noren is also out for today. He hopes to return in St. Louis.

"I'm sad to say that I will not be racing today, last weekend at Indianapolis I took a bad digger and I am pretty banged up, thankful to God it's nothing really bad and should be racing next weekend again at St. Louis," he wrote on Instagram.

Action kicks off with Daniel Blair and Jim Holley hosting qualifying live from Ford Field beginning at 12:50 p.m. EST / 9:50 a.m. PST on Supercrosslive.com. FS1 (FOX Sports 1) will carry coverage of Round 12 beginning at 7:00 p.m. EST / 4:00 p.m. PST. 

250 Qualifying Session 1

If there were any lingering concerns over the health of Adam Cianciarulo’s knee, he quieted those concerns in the first timed qualifying session in Detroit.

AC grabbed the top spot early with a 54.49. After briefly losing the spot to Christian Craig, Cianciarulo jumped back up front with a 53.664. Points leader Zach Osborne then got into the mix with a 53.542 on lap seven, but AC responded with a heater (52.874) on the following lap to take the top time. Osborne’s 53.542 would hold up for second over Joey Savatgy (53.684) and Craig.

For a second straight week there was contact between two riders. Late in the session, Craig got into Alex Martin prior to the finish line, and Martin went flying into the start straight. Martin was slow to get up, and then sat on a Tuff Block while being looked over by the Alpinestars Medical Crew. He did get back on the bike, but didn’t finish the session. His time of 53.947 was fifth fastest.

Jordon Smith, Dylan Ferrandis, Kyle Cunningham, Luke Renzland and Mitchell Harrison rounded out the top 10.

Injury Update

According to TLD/Red Bull KTM, Alex Martin is out for tonight.

Craig issued an apology for the incident on his Instagram and said he has been fined and penalized. Below is his full quote:

450 Qualifying Session 1

There was a ton of movement up top in the first 450 qualifying session. Marvin Musquin took the top spot early with a 52.642. Josh Grant jumped into second at one point, but would get pushed down to 10th by the end of the session. Points leader Ryan Dungey then catapulted into the lead with a 52.313. Musquin fired back with a 52.184 and seemed destined to hold onto first, but Broc Tickle came out of nowhere on the final lap to snag the top spot with a 52.009. Musquin would hold on for second.  

Dean Wilson came out firing in the first session and set the third quickest time ahead of Eli Tomac and Dungey. Davi Millsaps, Blake Baggett, Trey Canard, Cole Seely and Grant rounded out the top 10.

Not much to separate the guys in the first session, as the top 12 were all in the 52s. The top 16 were all in the 53s.

250 Qualifying Session 2

Adam Cianciarulo once again set the pace early in the 250 session. He jumped out front early with a 52.946, a time that nearly lasted the entire session. But Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Dylan Ferrandis grabbed the top time of the day with a 52.549 on the ninth lap.

Cianciarulo would drop his time to a 52.846, but it was only good enough for third. His teammate, Joey Savatgy, took second with a 52.643. Points leader Zach Osborne was fourth with a 52.942.

Jordon Smith, Christian Craig, Anthony Rodriguez, Kyle Cunningham, Luke Renzland and Mitchell Harrison would round out the top 10 in the second session.

As noted, Ferrandis was fastest overall on the day, followed by Savatgy, Cianciarulo, Osborne, Smith, Alex Martin, who is out for tonight, Anthony Rodriguez, Kyle Cunningham and Luke Renzland.

A few observations. The preferred line over the wall jump is launching the wall and doubling out. The majority of the field was taking that line during both sessions. Also, it appears the start will no longer go into the stands. Instead, they will take a left-hander into the first rhythm section just before the stands.

450 Qualifying Session 2

The second 450 qualifying session was eerily similar to the first one, with a lot of movement at the top of the board. Davi Millsaps set the pace early with a 53.031. That held up briefly before Eli Tomac jumped to the top with a 52.935. That time wouldn’t last very long, though, as Ryan Dungey dropped down to a 52.242. Dungey would drop a 52.065 late, but Tomac held the top spot in the session with a 52.019. That time was good enough for second overall behind Broc Tickle, who was the fastest qualifier with a 52.009 in the first session.

Marvin Musquin wasn’t far off the pace in the second session, as he set the third fastest time with a 52.084. Similar to the first session, the top 10 were all in the 52s. Millsaps was fourth fastest, followed by Jason Anderson, Broc Tickle, Cole Seely, Dean Wilson, Trey Canard and Blake Baggettt.

Tickle was the fastest qualifier of the day, followed by Tomac, Dungey, Musquin, Wilson, Millsaps, Anderson, Seely, Canard and Baggett.

Like the 250 class, the preferred line over the wall is to launch it and double out. Eli Tomac and others are also tripling right before the finish line, and it appears to be a little quicker. The track is going to be very slippery tonight; a lot of guys were losing traction in the corners throughout the day.

Action starts at 7:00 p.m. EST on FS1.

250 Heat 1

Christian Craig led start to finish to claim the first 250 heat race win of the night over Joey Savatgy and Zach Osborne.

Craig grabbed the opening holeshot over Dylan Merriam, Luke Renzland, Savatgy and others. Merriam went down in the sand section on the first lap and failed to qualify for the main event after finishing 12th. With Craig opening an early gap, Osborne was buried in about seventh. By the second lap, Osborne had moved up to fourth, but it took until the final lap before he would work his way around Renzland for third.

Savatgy was able to close the gap on Craig at points, but he never challenged for the lead and finished 2.1 seconds back. It may be all for not though, as we’re hearing Craig was penalized for his incident with Alex Martin in qualifying and will get last gate pick in the main event.

Renzland took fourth ahead of Jesse Wentland, Anthony Rodriguez, Gannon Audette, Keith Tucker and Jerry Robin.

250 Heat 2

Dakota Alix grabbed the holeshot in the second 250 heat race but it lasted all of a second as Adam Cianciarulo blitzed his way into the lead on the first lap. Dylan Ferrandis, the fastest qualifier earlier in the day, followed AC’s lead and moved into second on the first lap.

Problems for Jordon Smith started early in this one, as he was pushed off the track in the sand section and was buried in seventh early.

Up front, Ferrandis was keeping AC honest, but never got within striking distance. He finished 3.37 seconds behind Cianciarulo.

By the fifth lap, Smith had caught up to Cunningham for third and went for a block pass prior to the whoops. It didn’t work, as both riders went down in a heap. Cunningham’s problems continued, as he couldn’t get his bike started and finished 18th. Smith, meanwhile, is headed to the LCQ as well, as he finished 11th.

Mitchell Harrison finished third ahead of Alix, Lorenzo Locurcio, Josh Cartwright, Henry Miller, Jeremy Smith and Paul Coates.

450 Heat 1

Another race, another wire to wire win. In the first 450 heat race on the night, Cole Seely got the jump over Chad Reed, Jake Weimer, and Marvin Musquin. Eli Tomac, meanwhile, was buried outside the top 10 off the start.

Up front, Reed was staying close with Seely, but as we’ve seen all night, wasn’t really able to get close enough to challenge for the win. Seely won by 3.1 seconds.

Musquin finished third, with Baggett taking the final transfer position. In his first race back from injury, Webb was outside a transfer position (in fifth), when he washed his front end in the corner after the finish on the final lap.

Justin Barcia finished just outside a transfer position in fifth. Davi Millsaps finished sixth, one spot ahead of Tomac. Weimer, Webb, Alessi and others are headed to the semi.

450 Heat 2

The second heat race of the night belonged to Ryan Dungey. And, as we’ve seen with the prior three races, it was a wire to wire win. The points leader grabbed the holeshot over Justin Brayton, with Dean Wilson, Trey Canard and Josh Grant trailing. Dungey opened a gap early and held it for the entire race, eventually winning by 4.8 seconds over Brayton.

The real action was behind the leaders, as Malcolm Stewart was barreling his way into a transfer position. On the fifth lap (of seven) Mookie blitzed the whoops to pass Trey Canard, who would lose another spot to Jason Anderson later that lap, to take the final transfer spot. He wasn’t done though. On the next lap, he passed Wilson for third in the long rhythm section. He pass forced Wilson to double the triple, allowing Anderson to close for the final transfer spot on the final lap. And with one corner to go, Anderson made a nice pass on Wilson to snag the final spot.

Wilson, Canard, Justin Bogle, Grant, Broc Tickle (the fastest qualifier earlier in the afternoon), and Vince Friese, among others, are headed to the semi.

250 LCQ

It looked like Kyle Cunningham would grab the holeshot in the 250 LCQ, but it entered too fast, and overshot the first turn, allowing Jordon Smith to get the holeshot. Cunningham was around fifth on the first lap.

Smith was never challenged, as he led start to finish to take a 3.4 second win over Cunningham. Behind the leaders, Tony Archer held the final transfer spot early before giving way to Zack Williams. On the final lap, Williams passed Gradie Featherstone to take third. Featherstone held on for the final transfer spot.

450 Semi 1

The first semi of the night offered the best racing we’ve seen thus far. It was Trey Canard with the holeshot over Vince Friese, Josh Grant and Jake Weimer. Davi Millsaps started in fifth, but he quickly moved forward.

By the third lap, Millsaps began to really pressure Canard for the lead, and actually made a pass stick before Canard got him back in the following corner. On the next lap, Millsaps powered through the whoops and then took Canard high to make sure the pass would stick. Once in the lead, he never looked back and took a 1.7 second win.

Canard finished second over Grant and Weimer. Teammates Mike Alessi and Friese battled it out for the final transfer spot with Alessi taking fifth on a spot in the main event.

Friese, Alex Ray, Cody Gilmore, Cade Clason and Justin Starling, among others, are headed to the LCQ.

450 Semi 2

Broc Tickle, the fastest qualifier of the day, snuck around Eli Tomac to grab the holeshot in the second 450 semi. Dean Wilson, Justin Bogle, Cooper Webb and Nick Schmidt followed.

Tickle’s lead wouldn’t last long, though, as Tomac took over the top spot on the first lap. He proceeded to open a gap that widened as the race went along, and eventually took the win by 5.2 seconds.

Tickle got some late pressure from Wilson, but he hung on for second. Wilson finished third over Webb, with Bogle taking the final transfer spot.

Justin Barcia was buried off the start and finished seventh. He, along with Kyle Chisholm, AJ Catanzaro and Nick Schmidt are headed to the LCQ.

450 LCQ

Vince Friese took the holeshot in the 450 LCQ, but by the end of the first lap the lead belong to Nick Schmidt. Meanwhile, Justin Barcia was working his way to the front after a third place start.

A lap after Schmidt took the lead, Barcia made a pass stick in the corner prior to the small whoop section and went on to a 4.2 second win. Friese held on for third, with Kyle Chisholm taking the final transfer spot. Alex Ray was Just Short.

250 Main Event

We have a major shakeup in the 250 title chase. Zach Osborne, who entered the night with the points lead, was caught in a first turn pileup at the start of the 250 main event and finished 18th. After going down, Osborne pulled into the mechanics area with what appeared to be a problem with the spokes on his front wheel. We’ll try and confirm the exact problem later.

Meanwhile, up front, Joey Savatgy was taking full advantage. Adam Cianciarulo held the early lead, with Dylan Ferrandis and Savatgy close behind. Ferrandis struck first and took the lead briefly, before Savatgy made a pass shortly after. Savatgy opened a brief gap on Ferrandis, while early leader Cianciarulo washed out in the corner after the finish lap jump and dropped back to fifth. As we mentioned in the practice report, the track was slick and it caused problems for the Pro Circuit guys, as Savatgy washed out in the corner going into the stands a little while later. This allowed Ferrandis back into the lead, and Jordon Smith, who came through the LCQ (which he won) into second.

On lap 10, Smith went for a pass on Ferrandis and got pushed a little wide. This opened the door for Savatgy to take second, but Smith fought back on the next lap and regained the position.

On lap 13, Smith had again moved into a position to make a pass stick for the lead, and this time he made it work prior to the wall jump. Later that lap, Savatgy moved into second after the long rhythm prior to the finish, and almost took over the lead in one swoop.

The drama was far from over though. Savatgy actually passed Smith prior to the finish and took the white flag in the lead. Smith fought back in the next corner and retook the lead. Savatgy didn’t give up and pressured Smith to the final corner, but came up just short. Smith held on for his first career 250SX main event win.

Cianciarulo passed Ferrandis on lap 16 (of 18) in the same corner as Smith took over third and held on for the final podium spot. Ferrandis finished fourth. Kyle Cunningham finished a quiet fifth.

Mitchell Harrison, Christian Craig (who had the last gate pick), Gannon Audette, Anthony Rodriguez and Luke Renzland rounded out the top 10.

Savatgy now holds a nine point lead in the championship over Smith. Osborne is another point back. Cianciarulo is another two points back.

450 Main Event

Like the 250 class, the start played a huge role in the 450 championship chase tonight in Detroit. While Ryan Dungey was buried in about eighth, early leader Marvin Musquin and Eli Tomac were opening a gap on the points leader.

Musquin took the holeshot in the main with Tomac, Davi Millsaps and Josh Grant in tow. Tomac went right to work, charging hard and pressuring Musquin. By lap three, Tomac had pulled close enough to try and make a pass and made it happen as he powered through the sand. By lap eight, he had stretched what was a 1.9 second lead on lap five, to 7.06 over Musquin.

Dungey, meanwhile, was left to salvage as many championship points as he could. On lap seven, he had moved into fourth with a pass on Grant after the finish line, and began to catch Millsaps for third. He pulled close, but wasn’t able to make anything happen until lap 21, when he made a pass stick in the corner prior to the wall jump. With Dungey and Millsaps making it hard on each other, it allowed Blake Baggett to make up a ton of ground on the two. By the time Dungey did get around, Baggett was all over Millsaps for fourth. Baggett applied the pressure over the final few laps, and finally made the pass stick on the final lap to grab fourth.

With Dungey unable to make a pass stick on Millsaps, it allowed Musquin to open a gap on third. By the time Dungey got around Millsaps, he didn’t have the time to put pressure on Musquin.

Tomac has now won seven of the last nine races, and trails Dungey by just seven points. Jason Anderson took sixth after an early washout after the finish line. Broc Tickle finished seventh, with Grant, Dean Wilson and Cole Seely rounding out the top 10.