If historic Supercross numbers are an indication, Eli Tomac must be considered the favorite to win the championship heading into Indianapolis since the points’ leader after Daytona has won the title 78 percent of the time. Since 1990, after the series began racing 16 or 17 rounds, that number increases to 88 percent of the time.Can anyone take the red plate from Eli Tomac? The numbers suggest it’s going to be difficult. – Feld Motor Sports

Additionally, the first rider to reach four wins in a season won the championship 78 percent of the time. Tomac scored his fourth win of 2023 at Oakland on a night when he tied Ricky Carmichael for third on the all-time wins’ list. Last week in Daytona, Tomac took sole possession of that position with his record-extending Daytona Supercross win and sits within one victory of tying James Stewart for second.

In post-race coverage, Stewart asked Tomac to just get it over with. As the defending winner of this race, Tomac might just catch Stewart on Saturday.

Entering Indianapolis, the Supercross numbers show that the champion has won five or more race in 42 of 49 seasons. Tomac is there, and we are just now cresting the halfway point of 2023.

But Tomac has not completely been able to separate from either Cooper Webb, who he leads by just five points, or Chase Sexton (-10) in a battle that has seen the margin shrink as often as it expands. The reason is: This is the third consecutive race and the fourth of 2023 these three riders stood on the podium together.

Last week, Daytona featured a battle between Sexton and Justin Barcia. Notably, their 10-lap average at the beginning of the race was within 0.08 seconds on one another. Both riders have won a pair of 250 East championships, (Barcia in 2011 and 2012, Sexton in 2019 and 2020), and with how close there were on course, it was inevitable that the two would make contact.

“I made that mistake onto the tunnel and I heard him to my right, but I was in front so I felt that I had the line,” Sexton said in the post-race news conference. Barcia disagreed and chirped his disapproval after the race.

Through 35 starts, Sexton and Barcia have each earned two wins and have an almost identical count of top-fives, (Sexton 26, Barcia 25), but Sexton has doubled Barcia’s output of podium finishes with 18.

Ken Roczen has the most Indianapolis wins after sweeping the residency in 2021. He’s probably going to need another if he wants to be included in the conversation about who might with the championship. Tomac has two wins there and is the only other active rider with multiple victories. The injured Marvin Musquin also has two.

In the 250 class, Hunter Lawrence’s eighth Supercross win allowed him to break into the top 25 on that list, tied with Dean Wilson and three other riders. It was his ninth SuperMotocross win, which puts him in the top 50 there.

Lawrence has now stood on the podium 17 times in 25 starts.

Haiden Deegan scored the first podium of his brief, four-race career on one of Supercross’ most challenging tracks last week and in doing so, already earned half as many as his famous father Brian Deegan. We suspect there will be more to come.

Last Five Indianapolis Winners

450s 2022: Eli Tomac 2021, Race 3: Ken Roczen 2021, Race 2: Ken Roczen 2021, Race 1: Ken Roczen 2019: Marvin Musquin

250s 2022: Jett Lawrence 2021, Race 3: Christian Craig 2021, Race 2: Colt Nichols 2021, Race 1: Colt Nichols 2019: Austin Forkner

By the Numbers

Daytona Arlington Oakland Tampa Houston Anaheim 2 San Diego

More SuperMotocross coverage

How to Watch Indianapolis Supercross Power Rankings after Daytona Adam Cianciarulo returns at Indy Jordan Jarvis blazes new trails in Supercross Haiden Deegan’s podium, a family affair Title 24 podcast premieres Max Anstie: You can’t skip steps Results and Points after Daytona Eli Tomac extends record with seventh Daytona win Last year’s Indy: Eli Tomac wins, widens points’ lead

Some events matter more to certain riders and four-time Women’s Motocross (WMX) rider Ashley Fiolek is finding a home and building her own unique community in events like the Red Bull Day in the Dirt Down South, in Dade City, Florida.

Basically, Fiolek is “just a girl who loves to ride.”

Fiolek already had accomplished so many feats in her 25-year-career as she entered the 2023 edition of the Day in the Dirt Down South, from gold medaling in the 15th X Games, to earning multiple factory rides, to her crowning glory as a four-time WMX champion. And all of this was accomplished at a disadvantage. Fiolek was born deaf, which led her to rely on different senses and physical cues than her competitors. 

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“Honestly, Red Bull Day in the Dirt Down South is one of my favorite events,” Fiolek told NBC Sports. “It’s all about having fun and sharing a fun experience with families and friends. I can’t miss this opportunity.”

As a result of being deaf, Fiolek is forced to run a different race than the rest of the field. She can’t hear when other riders are gaining on her, so she has to race full throttle the whole time. On the other hand, she can’t hear someone racing behind her, revving their engine and trying to get into her head. 

“I just learned by feeling the vibrations on when to shift and when not to shift,” Ashley said. “I hold my lines very carefully, so I won’t cut anyone off. I do look for other riders when I turn to make sure I’m in a good spot.”

Events like the Day in the Dirt take riders like Fiolek back to their beginnings. The focus is on competition, but it is also steeped in community and fan engagement. 

“Fans are awesome,” Fiolek said. “This is why I’m doing it. Seeing them cheering me on and that they want to be part of my racing experience. Itʼs also fun to hang out after the races and do autographs and photos.”

Fiolek has the weight and privilege of representing the deaf community in these events. On one occasion, she was cut off by a young girl flying by on a 50cc while cruising in a golf cart after the race. 

“I was at a race,” Fiolek related. “It was the end of the day and I was driving my golf cart around and this little girl on a 50 flew by me and I almost hit her. Later, my dad brought her over to me and said, ‘This little girl wants to meet you, she is Deaf!’ We became friends and she was a racer too so we eventually raced together.”

The Red Bull Day in the Dirt is made up of several events and results in individual races are less important than the overall feeling of success.

This past weekend at the Day in the Dirt Down South helped her get familiar with her new Yamaha 125. After a tough start on Saturday, Fiolek found her groove when the course got rougher on Sunday.

“The track was brutal on Sunday,” Fiolek said. “But I think I did better than [I did on] Saturday on a smoother track. I love rough tracks.”

She’ll take this experience and prepare for a few rounds of GNCC Racing (Grand National Cross Country) and attempt to race in in the Loretta Lynn Nationals, one of the traditional feeders into the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Series.

With the disbandment of WMX, standalone events like this are some of the few chances that Fiolek has to race and when asked if WMX could come back, Fiolek was realistic about the chances and obstacles.

“That is hard to say,” Fiolek said. “I hope so. That would be amazing. It had some issues when I was racing and hit a lot of rough patches so it would need to be thought out better the next time, if it came back.”