Another Wild Night at Round Two in San Diego

Finishing second was Jordon Smith, who just one week earlier delivered the Triumph brand it's first supercross podium.

"The track was tight, I was kind of rushing some of the areas with easy rhythms. I had to calm it down," Smith said.

Preseason title favorite Haiden Deegan again didn't have the night he was looking for. It was better than last week, but he's still in search of that elusive first win of the season, thanks in part to getting a bad start. Afterward he admitted arm pump played a roll in his night.

"Definitely the boys rode good today, I gotta work on this arm pump, but it’s nothing, not a hurdle we haven’t figure out before," Deegan said. 

In the 450 ranks, in a race that took the battle down to the final lap, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's Eli Tomac grabbed the win inside Snapdragon Stadium to earn his 53^rd career Monster Energy AMA Supercross victory. Significantly for the crowd favorite, Tomac takes over the points lead for the first time since suffering what was potentially a career-ending injury in 2023.

Team Honda HRC Progressive's Jett Lawrence was on Tomac’s rear fender until the very end but never mounted an attack for the top spot; Jett’s second place finish marked a strong improvement from his 12^th place finish at the Anaheim Opener. Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's Cooper Webb led early but was overtaken by Tomac and Lawrence nearly simultaneously at the race’s mid-point. Webb, under the weather, held off a late race charge from Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki's Ken Roczen to keep his podium spot. 

 "I think the days of getting a big lead and coasting to the win are not going to come often," Tomac said. "The whole 20 minutes we were wide open. You’re getting through the rut and the chop and I didn’t want to sit on my butt there. This is a huge win to just prove I’m in a better place than last year, and in better shape, and to bounce back from last week." 

"He got me at the start there we went back and forth on the first few laps," Lawrence said. "He got me back again. I picked up on it but it took me too long to pick up on it. Those little things, and after the supercross triple he was race caring it there and I was trying too hard to get back to the right. I’d have to work to hard to get that time back. I like that kind of racing, it was clean, it was cool to watch from my POV." 

"For sure we found something, we found more control in the forks and the rear," Lawrence said, regarding his struggles from last week. "It’s crazy to think that our frame from last year is a stiffer frame and we’re able to run softer suspension. We went back on gearing, on the start we were just wheelie boys. I wheelied and that put me in a bit of a pickle at the start. That and getting that full control and feel where the front is. At A1 we had a crust on the top and it would blow through. Also trying to break habits from the old bike, which was really high in the rear. This bike tracks better, so better traction. We ended up making a bar change. I was getting a bit lazy and dropping my head back. Just figuring it out, you know. Different chassis and different tracks compared to what we’ve done before." 

"I got passed and kind of dropped but I’m happy with a podium, we’re off to a consistent start, it definitely wasn’t my best main event ever," Webb explained in the postrace press conference. "The pace tonight was extremely high and I didn’t have that. Its’ nothing flashy but we’re putting solid results up. Tonight I didn’t have much more than I had. It’s pretty evident I need to be faster, but I’m happy with the bike and being on the podium."

And Sexton? He went down on the first lap and was forced to come back through the pack before eventually finishing sixth. 

“On the first lap I almost got landed on and then in [about] the next turn I fell over," Sexton said. "It was just me not being ready to go at the gate drop, honestly. That kind of lit a fire under me and after that I really feel like I rode the best that I’ve ridden in a long time. Some nighs aren’t your night so we’ll come back at A2 and try to get back on the top step.”