Saturday Night Live: Daytona

Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's Eli Tomac scored a strong second place finish, ending his streak of five straight wins at the venue. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Chase Sexton and Tomac led Lawrence early, but the 450 rookie mounted an impressive charge using a big quad combination in a rhythm section to make up time. Tomac was not as willing to jump the quad, and he was also dealing with a smoking motorcycle through much of the main. 

“No, to be totally honest I didn’t look over at my pit board so I didn’t see anything [about the bike smoking], I didn’t feel anything, the motorcycle’s fine," said Tomac. "There are treacherous conditions out there. For me, I’m on the clutch a lot and with the ruts that deep, obviously [those conditions] make the bike hot. But I powered through there. Thinking back to the race, [I’m] frustrated I didn’t do the quad; [that] cost me. So gotta take more risks next time. That’s that. So, yeah, second place.”

“Yeah, that’s all what it came down to," said Tomac when asked about the quad. "And then I moved over to the right side and… the depth of the rut was a lot smaller, and [I’m] just bummed that I didn’t take that [line] earlier. But, ah, try to live and learn and go to the next one.”

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Chase Sexton led the pack at the start and finished up with a third-place finish in front of record-high attendance for Daytona Supercross. 

“It’s definitely a step in right direction. I’ve had a rough couple weeks with my hand being hurt… It was a good first couple laps. I was doing this section next to the tunnel jump pretty good. Then I started getting a little sketchy and stopped doing it, and I paid the price for it [with slower lap times]. So overall this is a building block, and we’ll go back to work this week. I finally got to ride this week with my [injured but healing] hand, and yeah, we’re not done yet. Just gotta keep building and keep moving forward.”

The Eastern Regional 250SX Class held its third round and Tom Vialle fought forward to earn his career-first Monster Energy AMA Supercross win. Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Cameron McAdoo led early but a mistake sent him off track and into second place. Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Seth Hammaker rode strong on the challenging track to nab a third-place finish.

“It’s nice to grab that win," said Vialle. "I had my first podium last weekend and first win today in Daytona. Track was tough. I actually feel good, I could have [ridden] like 30 minutes, I think. So, it’s pretty nice, bike was nice. I didn’t have a great start, but I passed a lot of guys and just feel so good. It’s amazing to win and I want to thank everyone – my team, everyone who works with me during the week, my trainer – really everyone who supports me; and all those fans, it’s amazing to ride here in Daytona, so thank you everyone.” 

“Yeah, it was really about patience, and I think I did run out of a little bit of patience a couple times, and maybe [that] cost me that lead; but gosh, this was awesome," said McAdoo. "I love coming to Daytona… And just for the opportunity to be here and do what I love to do is awesome. I had a great time out there and we’re just going to keep plugging away…. This is a dream life that I get and I’m just so grateful for it. If you would’ve told Cameron McAdoo, even five years ago, that this would be his life, he would’ve laughed. So this is my dream, it’s coming true. I love what I get to do, and yeah, shout out to everyone, my family back home, my mom and dad, they didn’t get to make it out. Without them none of this is possible… I’m just grateful for the position I’m in and I’m excited to keep working at this.”

“[I’m] stoked on that ride," said Hammaker. "Like you said, I got off to a pretty good start and me and Haiden were going at it for the first couple laps. He bobbled in the sand, got around him, and I was actually able to pull a gap on them, so that felt nice. I just kind of failed to hit my lines consistently, but yeah, [overall I’m] stoked on that ride here at Daytona.”  

The 250 SX East standings are crazy, with Max Anstie suffering another bad start and finishing eighth, and yet still he holds the points lead. But seven riders are within eight points of the lead! Last week's winner, Haiden Deegan, had a huge crash in practice and salvaged fourth in the main.

The second Supercross Futures race of 2024 lined up the future stars of the sport. Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green’s Drew Adams fought hard for the win. Troy Lee Designs GASGAS’s Cole Davies challenged for the top spot and crossed the line in a very close second place. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Casey Cochran fought forward from a poor start to grab the final spot on the SX Futures podium at Daytona.

“My arms got pumped up, [and then] it’s hard to pull the clutch in," said Adams, who stalled a few times while leading, which allowed Cole Davies to nearly catch him at the finish. "Yeah, I had a few mishaps, and I was worried for the last two laps there. But I just rode solid the whole time, got a good start this time and had a great race. You know, it’s awesome to get [a win] here at Daytona. A little bit of wet dirt, something different this year, and it was a great time. And thank you to all the fans, I love you guys!”