450SX Main Event 1
Tomac entered the night show with the fastest lap of qualifying, and he carried the momentum into the opening Main Event. The shortest race of the night required the biggest need for a good start and Tomac took care of that by putting the No. 3 into the lead. It was exactly what the Kawasaki rider needed as he was able to sprint out to an early lead that he easily maintained throughout the 14 laps of the race.
With Tomac untested out front, the attention shifted to the rest of the Monster Energy team. In his first race back from an injury that forced him to sit out six races, Monster Energy/Yamaha Factory Racing’s Justin Barcia slotted himself into the top three, right behind point leader Jason Anderson. With all the down time Barcia had while recovering from a broken hand he was chomping at the bit, and he set an impressive pace considering the long layoff. So much so that he too would go unchallenged for the position.
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Tyler Bowers hoped to build of a career-best outing last weekend in Seattle, and he began his night in Minneapolis with a top-10 start. From there Bowers was able to continue a march forward with a pair of strong passes.
While all his fellow Monster Energy riders enjoyed a solid start to the evening, Monster Energy/Yamaha Factory Racing’s Cooper Webb unfortunately saw his night end before it really even began. An incident on the opening lap of the Main Event left Webb in need of attention from the trackside medical team after another rider landed on him as the field jockeyed for position. Webb later confirmed on social media that the news surrounding his injury was grimmer than everyone had hoped, and he suffered a broken tibia.
Out front, Tomac was on cruise control en route to the opening Main Event win, which set the tone for the performances that followed. He took the checkered flag 4.2 seconds ahead of Anderson, while Barcia put two Monster Energy riders into the top three in third. Bowers finished eighth.
450SX Main Event 2
All three Monster Energy riders had their work cut out for them to start the second Main Event, with Tomac leading the way after a seventh-place start. Bowers and Barcia followed right behind him in eighth and ninth. The early lead went to Justin Brayton, with Blake Baggett right behind.
With the longer length of the second Main Event, Tomac refrained from forcing the issue in his quest to move through the field and instead was able to let the race come to him. He moved into sixth place after just three laps and then watched as the action unfolded in front of him. Both Baggett and Anderson began to apply pressure on Brayton for the lead, which allowed Anderson to slip into second. As he attempted to pass for the lead Anderson made contact with Brayton and went off track, which dropped him right behind Tomac.
Soon Weston Peick, Marvin Musquin and Tomac found themselves within striking distance of Brayton. Musquin took advantage of Peick’s efforts to challenge Brayton and took over second, which put Peick into Tomac’s sights. Musquin grabbed the lead in the waning stages of the Main Event and went on to grab the Main Event win by a slim 1.5 seconds over Brayton. Peick was able to fend off Tomac for third, with the top four separate by a mere 3.5 seconds.
Both Barcia and Bowers were successfully able to maintain their positions inside the top 10 and finished in seventh and eighth, respectfully.
With one Main Event remaining all three Monster Energy riders were in position to collect strong finishes. Tomac was in control of his own destiny as the leader, and his path to victory was helped when Anderson was docked one position for cutting the track after his earlier incident, which dropped him to sixth.
450SX Main Event 3
Tomac stepped it up when he needed to most in the final Main Event and put his Kawasaki into the top four on the opening lap. In need of a win, Anderson seized the opportunity to grab the early lead, which put the pressure on Tomac to respond.
As they ran, Anderson and Tomac sat tied for the overall, but by virtue of being in the lead for the final Main Event Anderson was in position to collect the tiebreaker. That meant Tomac needed to grab at least one position on the track.
Peick and Tomac battled for third, but Peick handed over the spot by tipping over right in front of Tomac. The incident briefly stopped Tomac, which caused him to have to fend of Barcia for the position. After Tomac successfully did so he then was forced to deal with a hard-charging Musquin, who soon dropped Tomac back to fourth and into a tie for the win.
Musquin’s momentum then carried him past Brayton for second, which opened the door to Tomac to make his return to third. The Kawasaki rider was aggressive through the track’s two most dynamic rhythm lanes and successfully moved back into podium position, which was also a winning position in the overall classification.
Anderson went unchallenged throughout the remainder of the Main Event and crossed the line more than two seconds ahead of Musquin. After he initially gave pursuit of Musquin for second, Tomac later chose to settle into third to ensure his overall victory. Barcia finished the night strong in fourth, while Bowers earned his best result of the night in sixth.
The penalty Anderson received in the second Main Event proved to be the difference maker, as Tomac’s combined eight points edged out Anderson’s nine. Musquin completed the overall podium in third.
"We're out here to win and that's what we did. We got it done tonight. It's been a long, hard day and everyone worked their butt off when we got here. Just a great way to cap off the night."
Barcia enjoyed a successful return to competition in fifth, while Bowers followed up his career-best result from the week prior with another top 10 in seventh to put a trio of Monster Energy riders inside the top 10.
It was the second Triple Crown victory for Tomac, which awarded him the first-ever Triple Crown Championship trophy. The win helped Tomac maintain his hold of third in the championship standings, where he faces a 26-point deficit to Musquin for second and a 65-point gap to Anderson in first.
450SX Class Results
1. Eli Tomac, Monster Energy Kawasaki
2. Jason Anderson, Husqvarna
3. Marvin Musquin, KTM
4. Justin Brayton, Honda
7. Tyler Bowers, Monster Energy Kawasaki
22. Cooper Webb, Monster Energy/Yamaha Factory Racing
450SX Class Standings
1. Jason Anderson, Husqvarna – 311
2. Marvin Musquin, KTM – 272
3. Eli Tomac, Monster Energy Kawasaki – 246
4. Justin Brayton, Honda – 232
5. Blake Baggett , KTM – 224
8. Cooper Webb, Monster Energy/Yamaha Factory Racing – 181
11. Justin Barcia, Monster Energy/Yamaha Factory Racing – 131
14. Tyler Bowers, Monster Energy Kawasaki – 123
20. Josh Grant, Monster Energy Kawasaki – 83