Also in typical Daytona Beach fashion, the track will surely be difficult. Very similar to the 2022 layout, this year’s build features an over/under bridge, two back-to-back sand straight sections slip up by a right, 180-degree turn, a set of whoops, and a very steep wall jump ahead of the finish line.

In the 250SX Class, Hunter Lawrence enters the day with a nine-point advantage over two-time podium finisher Max Anstie and a 16-point advantage over Arlington Supercross Triple Crown overall race winner Nate Thrasher. Hunter Lawrence claimed the first two wins on the season, but Anstie has molded into a championship threat with his consistency and Thrasher has looked really fast this year and has emerged as a championship contender, despite dealing with a knee injury the last two rounds and counting. Add in Haiden Deegan, who has been impressive to start off his 250SX career; Jeremy Martin, 2016 main event winner and multi-time podium finisher here; and Jordon Smith, 2018 Daytona 250SX main event winner; and even Tom Vialle and Michael Mosiman, and we have a handful of riders capable of taking the win tonight. Give us your pick in the comments section below.

In the 450SX Class, it would be tough to bet against Eli Tomac today. The Colorado native has claimed a record-breaking six 450SX main event wins at his venue in the last seven starts, his only non-win coming in 2018. If Tomac were to take the win tonight, he would not only claim a seventh 450SX win here at the speedway, but he would move into sole possession of third all-time on the 450SX wins list with 49. And most importantly, he would still leave tonight with the points lead. Despite being off to the best 450SX start of his career so far, he only has a two-point lead over Cooper Webb and a five-point lead over Chase Sexton—because both the #2 and the #23 are off to their best start to a 450SX season to date as well! Feld Motor Sports statistician Clinton Fowler said this is the closest gap separating first and third in the premier class of AMA Supercross through the first even rounds in history! Is it possible for either Webb or Sexton to leave tonight with the points lead tonight. But will it happen? Will Tomac continue his domination at Daytona International Speedway, or will another rider dethrone ET1? Tune in tonight to find out! Riders will be taking to the track shortly for track walk.

And two last things to note on the 450SX Class:

-RJ Hampshire is making his 450SX debut today aboard a Rockstar Energy Husqvarna FC 450. 

-Dylan Ferrandis had just returned from concussion protocol when suffered a huge crash during the press day riding session yesterday. We heard he is okay and is expected to race today.

Free Practice

250SX

Max Anstie claimed P1 in the 250SX group A free practice session, barely edging out Michael Mosiman’s 1:16.271. Points leader Hunter Lawrence, Nate Thrasher, and Jordon Smith rounded out the top five. These times do not count towards overall qualifying.

450SX

In the 450SX group A free practice, Justin Barcia led the field around. Eventually, Sexton, Webb, and Barcia all go sub-1:15.000 to claim the top few times. The riders were taking different lines on the left side of the track. A bunch of riders tried to triple (single over table) and use the final jump before the tunnel jump in order to jump over the tunnel jump. No one was able to get it clean though. Not yet at least. We will see if anyone gets it during the second qualifying session. But the best line for the 450cc guys appears to be a quad-out line (single, over table, single). RJ Hampshire finished fifth in his first pro session on a 450cc machine. Remember, these times do not count towards overall qualifying.

Take a lap with event grand marshal Justin Brayton.

Check out Tom Journet's raw video from free practice below. 

First Qualifying Session

250SX

Nate Thrasher’s 1:15.473 was the first fast lap early in the first 250SX group A qualifying session. Hunter Lawrence put down a 1:15.863 that bumped him up to P2 in the session. Then Lawrence put down a 1:14.599 to take over P1. The #96 claimed the top spot, but it was with a 1:14.365 on the very last lap that stood as the top time. Chance Hymas finished third in the session with a 1:16.203. Max Anstie and Jeremy Martin rounded out the top five.

450SX

Similar to the free practice session, Justin Barcia led the 450SX group A first qualifying session as Chase Sexton was also up there as well. The duo was leading the times on the board as well, as Sexton’s 1:13.861 was P1 as Barcia’s 1:14.210 was P2. Sexton got faster, dropping a 1:13.071 as Ken Roczen (1:13.502) and Cooper Webb (1:13.738 on the very last lap) also went sub-1:14. When the session ended, that was the order of the top three. Typically, the track gets more beat up at Daytona International Speedway, so the times do not get faster in the first qualifying session.

HEP Motorsports Suzuki posted a video update on Kyle Chisholm, who is out for today’s action following a practice crash during the week.

Dylan Ferrandis Update

The #14 was set to make his return to racing this weekend but suffered a huge crash yesterday during the media day riding session yesterday. Ferrandis rode the first two qualifying sessions of the day LeBig USA told us and the #14 was going to eat and see how he felt, however, he is too banged up to give it a shot for the final qualifying session and tonight's racing. 

Second Qualifying

250SX

I apologize in advance…the updates are minimal on the second qualifying session as I had an impromptu meeting with Start Varg individuals.

Hunter Lawrence claimed the top spot in the second qualifying session with a faster 1:13.286, besting his 1:14.365 from the first session. The Honda HRC rider claimed his third consecutive P1 overall qualifying mark of the season. Nate Thrasher’s 1:13.902 was the next closest time, followed by Jordon Smith, Michael Mosiman, and Max Anstie.

450SX

In the final 450SX group A session, Chase Sexton put in a blazing 1:11.990. Similar to the 250SX Class, the times got faster, which is not always the case here at the speedway. Sexton, Ken Roczen (1:12.399), and Cooper Webb (1:12.889) all managed to go sub-1:13 in the session. Sexton claimed his class-leading sixth top 450SX qualifier of the 2023 season. Eli Tomac’s hot lap of 1:13.070 was the fourth fastest. RJ Hampshire completed an impressive qualifier in his 450SX debut, finishing the session 1:13.416. The #24’s time put him fifth in the second session and fifth on the overall qualifying sheet. Cooper Webb qualified seventh with a 1:13.738, but we will likely see more from the #2 come the main event.

Heat Races

250SX

Heat 1

The gates dropped on the first heat race of the night, and it was French rider Tom Vialle taking the holeshot! Vialle lead Nate Thrasher, Coty Schock, Michael Mosiman, and Haiden Deegan. Vialle led the first lap, taking the green flag, but Thrasher got a great run through the whoops and blew past the #128 machine to take over the race lead. Thrasher would cruise to the race win as Mosiman and Deegan both got around Schock. Mosiman tipped over in a turn and would eventually finish fourth as Deegan made a pass. Chris Blose came through the line in fifth.

Heat 2

Jordon Smith holeshot the second 250SX heat race, barely edging out Hardy Munoz for the early race lead. Hunter Lawrence was in third and was able to make his way up to the lead on the end of the third lap, as Lawrence made a pass for the lead in the whoops. Early on Lawrence had his teammate Chance Hymas all over him. Smith held off the charging Hymas at the checkered flag. Jeremy Martin claimed fourth place as Munoz rounded out the top five. Henry Miller went down hard about halfway through the race and did not finish.

450SX

Heat 1

As the first 450SX heat exited the first turn, it was Eli Tomac edging out Chase Marquier for the early race lead. Ken Roczen quickly shuffled into second place, and Marquier was eventually dropped back by Justin Barcia, Aaron Plessinger, and Justin Cooper. Roczen made a late-race push at Tomac, but it was too late as Tomac held on for the race win. Dean Wilson got wild in the jumps after the whoops and jumped off track, although he stayed up and did not crash. Bubba Pauli ended up going down in the whoops. There was a pretty solid gap from first through fifth, as Cooper had about a 15-second gap back to sixth-place Justin Hill. Cade Clason ended up in the final transfer spot.

Heat 2

As the gates dropped on the 450SX heat race of the night, it was Florida’s own RJ Hampshire grabbing P1 right off the bat in his first ever 450SX heat race! The #24 took the holeshot and did not look back, as his teammate Christian Craig ran second. Hampshire had about a second-and-a-half lead. Fredrick Noren went down in the whoops early and was dead last after being inside the top ten off the start. Cooper Webb was able to take second from Craig, and then Craig had to deal with Jason Anderson. Chase Sexton entered the party as well, bumping Craig back to fourth. Sexton passed Anderson on the left side of the starting straight as he went after Webb, who was going after Hampshire! At the checkered flag, Hampshire was able to hold off Webb by just 0.668 seconds! Sexton (about another second and a half back), Anderson, and Craig rounded out the top five. Impressive stuff from Hampshire there. The best part about the race was the top three guys (Hampshire, Webb, and Sexton) all had their fastest lap of the race on the last lap. The #24 celebrated his first ever 450SX heat race win with a huge fist pump. Next up is some track maintenance before the LCQs.

LCQs

250SX

Josiah Natzke got out to the early lead in the 250SX LCQ, leading Caden Braswell, Talon Hawkins, and Brock Papi as Garrett Hoffman sat in fifth, on the outside looking in. Papi went down in the sand, but it was Devin Simonson who moved into the fourth and final transfer spot as he made a move on Hoffman before Papi’s miscue. Natzke held on for the race win as Hawkins, Braswell, and Simonson claimed the three final transfer spots.

450SX

In the 450SX LCQ, it was Chase Marquier and Logan Karnow battling for the race lead early. Marquier took the race win ahead of John Short, Karnow, and Josh Cartwright claimed the final transfer spot, barely holding off Max Miller at the checkered flag!

Main Events

250SX

When the 250SX main event got out of the gates, it was Tom Vialle, Hunter Lawrence, and Nate Thrasher out front early. Vialle had the early lead but Thrasher quaded out before the tunnel jump and went wide. Going wide in the next turn, he and Lawrence collided, and Thrasher went down! The #29 remounted in dead last as Hunter Lawrence went on to take over the race lead. Then, Vialle went down hard in the jumps after the whoops. He eventually got up under his own power, but his race was over. He went back to the pits. Lawrence lead Max Anstie, Jeremy Martin, Chris Blose, Hardy Munoz, Cullin Park, Haiden Deegan, Jordon Smith, and Talon Hawkins. Deegan charged up to take away fourth from Blose and then got by J-Mar to take over third as the #6 had a little tip over. A slight rain started to fall halfway through the race. Lawrence clicked off lap after lap out front as the top three separated themselves from the field. Thrasher had gotten up to 12th, then tenth, until a big crash dropped him back to 20th place. Michael Mosiman had a fall that collected Park. Caden Braswell and his teammate Jace Owen got together, and Braswell’s front wheel locked up, as his night was done. Lawrence claimed the win ahead of Anstie and Deegan.

450SX

Right out of the gates for the 450SX main event, it was what we wanted to see: the three title favorites out front. Eli Tomac appeared to have the early jump, but Webb made a move in the second rhythm section that allowed him to jump ahead and into the lead as Chase Sexton was third ahead of Justin Barcia and Jason Anderson. A slight rain picked up, just as it had halfway in the 250SX main event. Justin Cooper made a two-for-one pass on both RJ Hampshire and Aaron Plessinger in the right-hand, 180-degree sand turn. Webb and Tomac were battling out front, as Webb was going wide in the turn and then blitzing the whoops, as opposed to Tomac’s inside line and jumping the whoops (really the opposite of what we normally see). Tomac then went for the inside line in the sand turn while Webb went wide, and Tomac’s line cut over in front of the #2, who moved right and fought right back. Eventually, Tomac blew by Webb as the two hit the rhythm section after the finish line jump. Sexton then joined the front pack and Barcia was still right there as well. Barcia’s 1:14.073 on the fifth lap was the fastest of the race as he hung in there with the top trio. Sexton has a mistake that cost him his tow on the back of Webb, then he and Barcia had a run-in that sent the #51 off the track and around the standard supercross triple on the far right of the track. Anderson made a mistake of his own while running a distant fifth, which almost allowed Justin Cooper to close up enough to almost make a pass. Tomac made his final run through the whoops and held off Webb. The 1.791-second gap gave Tomac his fifth win of the 2023 season, his 49th career 450SX win (plus sole possession of third on the all-time premier class wins list) and allows him to continue to have the red plates. Webb and Sexton rounded out the podium, respectively, as Barcia and Anderson rounded out the top five. Cooper finished sixth, Ken Roczen seventh, RJ Hampshire eighth in his 450SX debut, Aaron Plessinger ninth, and Christian Craig tenth.