Daytona Supercross: Eli Tomac and Richard Petty still tied; Jett Lawrence dominates main

Update: We have a new winner at Daytona

Eli Tomac's bid for a sixth straight Daytona Supercross victory, and eighth overall, was blown away Saturday by current 450cc points leader Jett Lawrence.

Lawrence was some 10 riders deep in the pack after the start but by Lap 5 he was leading and showing no signs of giving it away. His final winning margin over runner-up Tomac was nearly 6 seconds.

Lawrence completed 14 laps on a rain-softened track during the 20-lap main event.

Frenchman Tom Vialle won the earlier 250SX East main event.

DAYTONA BEACH — If Eli Tomac is to win a seventh 450cc AMA championship later this spring, it’ll help his cause to bag an eighth career Daytona Supercross victory Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway.

Tomac, currently fifth in points through seven of this season’s 17 events, is again among the favorites in an event that dates back to 1971. Rightfully so, given how his seven Daytona wins have come in just the past eight years — including all of them since 2019.

What was once a sideshow to Daytona’s week-plus of cycle racing has become a marquee event drawing upwards of 50,000 fans — they pack the center sections of the main grandstands and the banked trio-oval between the stadium and dirt track, which sits on the grass field separating the front-stretch from the pit lane.

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Daytona isn’t the series’ only “big league” setting. Supercross raced last week at the home of the Dallas Cowboys (AT&T Stadium) and in two weeks will put down a dirt track and race in the home of the Indianapolis Colts (Lucas Oil Stadium).

After an afternoon of practice and qualifying, heat races begin at 7:05 for both the 250 and 450cc classes. The 250 main event (a 15-minute race)  is slated to drop the gate just before 9 p.m., with the grueling 20-minute 450 main scheduled for 9:30.

Night-time TV coverage begins at 7, on Peacock.

Eli Tomac practically unbeatable at Daytona Supercross

Tomac, a 31-year-old Colorado native, has won four of his AMA 450cc titles in Motocross, two in Supercross. He has a combined 83 victories, with his seven Daytona wins serving some Speedway symbolism — it’s the same number of wins Richard Petty piled up in the Daytona 500.

“The best way to put it is that it just feels like home to me,” Tomac has said of a Daytona course designed each year by Supercross legend Ricky Carmichael, a five-time Daytona winner.

Just 17 points separate the top seven riders in the current 450cc standings, so Tomac will obviously have his hands full at Daytona. A pair of this season’s two-time winners — points leader Jett Lawrence and his closest pursuer, Cooper Webb — are both looking for their first Daytona wins.

General admission tickets are $55. For more info: DaytonaInternationalSpeedway.com.

After the AMA leaves town, the dirt track remains in place for the 15th annual Ricky Carmichael Daytona Amateur Supercross, which runs Sunday through Tuesday.

Daytona’s annual Flat Track racing is scheduled for Thursday and Friday on the third-of-a-mile dirt track outside the west side of the Speedway.

Saturday's Supercross schedule at Daytona

• 11:30–11:38 a.m.: 250SX Futures Free Practice

• 11:40–11:48: 250SX Group C Free Practice

• 11:50–11:58: 250SX Group B Free Practice

• Noon–12:08 p.m.: 250SX Group A Free Practice

• 12:10–12:18: 450SX Group A Free Practice

• 12:20–12:28: 450SX Group B Free Practice

• 12:30–12:38: 450SX Group C Free Practice

• 12:40–12:48: 250SX Futures Free Practice

• 1:05–1:15: 250SX Group C Qualifying

• 1:20–1:30: 250SX Group B Qualifying

• 1:35–1:45: 250SX Group A Qualifying

• 1:50–2: 450SX Group A Qualifying

• 2:05–2:15: 450SX Group B Qualifying

• 2:20–2:30: 450SX Group C Qualifying

• 2:35–2:45: 250SX Futures Qualifying

• 3:20–3:30: 250SX Group C Qualifying

• 3:35–3:45: 250SX Group B Qualifying

• 3:50–4: 250SX Group A Qualifying

• 4:05–4:15: 450SX Group A Qualifying

• 4:20–4:30: 450SX Group B Qualifying

• 4:35–4:45: 450SX Group C Qualifying

• 4:50–5: 250SX Futures Qualifying

• 6:30–7:05: Opening Ceremonies

• 7:05–7:13: 250SX Heat No. 1

• 7:19–7:27: 250SX Heat No. 2

• 7:33–7:41: 450SX Heat No. 1

• 7:47–7:55: 450SX Heat No. 2

• 8–8:10: 250SX Futures Main Event

• 8:20–8:27: 250SX Last Chance Qualifier

• 8:32–8:39: 450SX Last Chance Qualifier

• 8:56–9:13: 250SX Main Event

• 9:29–9:51: 450SX Main Event

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona Supercross: What Eli Tomac, Richard Petty STILL have in common