DAYTONA BEACH, Florida – The week began with a question of whether Eli Tomac is untouchable in Daytona Supercross races and it was answered emphatically: He is.Eli Tomac now has seven Daytona Supercross trophies. – Feld Motor Sports
For the seventh time overall and fifth consecutively, Tomac won the race most riders in the field equates to NASCAR’s Daytona 500. Fittingly, he tied the King Richard Petty for the seven wins in his sports’ iconic race.
Last year Tomac broke out of a tie with Ricky Carmichael for the most Daytona wins at six, but there was still a record hanging over him. Carmichael won his five Daytona races in a row. Tomac now also has five consecutively. Fittingly, he also broke out of a tie with Carmichael for sole possession of third on the wins’ list. James Stewart’s 50 wins is next on the horizon and no one doubts that will happen in the next few rounds.
“All the way from the start, me and Cooper [Webb] just locked up into two the whole time,” Tomac said from the top spot of the podium as the stands emptied and fans rushed the stage. “I think he hit neutral at the finish line on the triple and after that you had to be on your lines.
“Actually, before that we had contact on the double before the shelf, but we both stayed up. All I can say is I love you Daytona.”
Tomac looked beatable at the start of the day. He was outside the top five in practice, rose to fourth in qualification, but once the money was on the line, he won his heat to gain a great gate pick.
“I was struggling in practice straight up,” Tomac told James Stewart on NBC Sports. “My confidence wasn’t high. I was consistently getting beat by a second there, but when the lights come on here the track comes to me and I really find my flow again.”
Last year Tomac passed Webb late in the 2022 Daytona Supercross race and denied him the win, so the early lead was incredibly important. Tomac grabbed the holeshot by inches, but Webb took the early lead, but he could not shake the points’ leader. Tomac stayed on his back tire until a little mistake with 12 minutes remaining on the clock allowed Tomac to pass.
“It was a great fight. I have to tip my cap to myself and also to Eli,” Webb said. “I was trying my balls off up front. He’s just so damn good here it’s tough. I made a little mistake and we collided. I was hoping I didn’t bump him and mess something up on the bike. I hit neutral kind of randomly and he was able to get by. He put on the after burners and I was trying as hard as I could. It was a dogfight.”
RESULTS: How they finished for the 450 Main in Daytona
One lap earlier, an aborted block pass almost sent both riders to the ground. Tomac came into a bowl turn hot, but Webb would have nothing of it. He put his elbows wide and kept the lead.
For the third consecutive week and the fourth time overall, the top three in points stood on the podium together. Chase Sexton finished third, losing just a little ground in the standings. He is now five behind Webb and 10 behind Tomac in a season where none of these three riders have been able to gain a distinct advantage.
To get the third-place result, Sexton had to overcome a fierce battle with Justin Barcia. Racing for third midway through the race, Sexton pushed Barcia wide. A lap later, Sexton bobbled exiting a turn and the two made contact again.
Jason Anderson rounded out the top five for the third straight time and has not finished worse than seventh.
Making his debut on a 450, RJ Hampshire had a remarkable weekend and top-10 finish. He began the race among the top five and faded a little in the Main event, but no one can take away his first heat win in his first ever start on the bigger bike.
“It’s hard talking someone into to giving you a race when you’ve never been on a 450 before especially here at Daytona,” Hampshire told NBC Sports Will Christien. “Man this is special. I told the guys we were going to get a holeshot no matter what. Didn’t think we would hang on to it, but you know what: just so stoked.”
Following a disappointing round in Arlington when he barely earned an overall podium, Hunter Lawrence decided he would not wait for the race to come to him. On Lap 1 of the Main, he cleaned out last week’s winner Nate Thrasher. Lawrence scored his eighth 250 victory after pulling away from the field.
With this win, Hunter joined his Jett Lawrence as the only brothers to win this race as the 250 East points’ leader stood on the sidelines to watch. Jett won this race last year.
“We didn’t get around the first turn too bad, but I just saw an opportunity in the sand section,” Lawrence said. “It wasn’t ideal, but I took it and never looked back. I got around Tom [Vialle] in the whoops and if got a little sketchy at the midpoint with a light sprinkle. We work too hard at this to not enjoy this.”
Lawrence had one previous start at Daytona. He finished a distant sixth in 2021, 20 seconds behind winner Cameron McAdoo.
After earning podium finishes in his first two races, Max Anstie struggled in the Triple Crown format in Arlington, but still finished among the top five. He apparently missed the limelight of standing on the podium because he outlasted most of the field to finish second and keep his top-five streak alive.
“It was a tough morning and I had to take a few belly breaths after the heat but we came back swinging,” Anstie told NBC Sports Will Christien.
Anstie’s runner-up finish elevated him to second in the points, 14 behind Lawrence.
Click here for full 250 Main Results
In his fourth 250 East start, Haiden Deegan scored his first career podium. It was not a huge surprise, however, since he finished fourth in his first two races at Houston and Tampa. Last week, Deegan struggled at Arlington on a track that was hard and slick. Before the Daytona race, he said the dirt was trickier than he expected.
“I’m through the roof,” Deegan said. “This is a sick moment for me right now. I’ve been working my butt off and a lot of people doubted me, but I ended up getting third place and the crowd is sick. I could hear them every lap going down the frontstretch and I am so excited to be up here in my fourth race.’
Jordon Smith backed up his second-place finish in Arlington with the fourth-place finish.
Jeremy Martin rounded out the top five.
After getting dumped by Lawrence, Thrasher was working his way back through the field and running 10th when he crashed a second time. He remounted and climbed back to 10th at the checkers. Compounding his disappointment, Thrasher was coming off a heat win.
2023 Race Recaps
Arlington: Cooper Webb wins for second time, closes to two of Tomac Oakland: Eli Tomac ties Ricky Carmichael with 48 wins Tampa: Cooper Webb gets first 2023 win Houston: Tomac bounces back from A2 crash to win third race of 2023 Anaheim 2: Triple Crown produces new winners Chase Sexton, Levi Kitchen San Diego: Tomac, Jett Lawrence double down Anaheim 1: Tomac wins opener for the first time
Daytona Supercross coverage
How to Watch Daytona Supercross RJ Hampshire to debut in 450s Dylan Ferrandis crashes in Daytona delaying return Title 24 podcast premieres Eli Tomac extends contract Power Rankings after Arlington Cooper Webb wins Arlington, closes on Tomac Results and Points after Arlington Max Anstie: You can’t skip steps Eli Tomac wins sixth Daytona SX race
ST PETERSBURG, Florida – It was shaping up as a battle royale between last year’s winner, Scott McLaughlin, and this year’s pole-sitter, Romain Grosjean, in Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
It was obvious that McLaughlin of Team Penske and Grosjean of Andretti Autosport had the two best cars in Sunday’s race. That’s just what race fans want to see, the two best battle it out all the way to the checkered flag.
McLaughlin, who won the NTT IndyCar Series opening race at St. Petersburg last year, led a race-high 37 laps. Grosjean, who won the pole on Saturday by four-tenths of a second over teammate Colton Herta, led 31 laps.
It appeared the race would be determined in a real battle after both drivers made their final pit stops.
Grosjean pitted on Lap 71 for what he hoped would be the final stop of the race. One lap later, McLaughlin pitted as the leader.
As Grosjean came down the frontstraight at full speed, McLaughlin left pit lane on cold tires and the two cars intersected at pit out in a side-by-side battle.
But as the two cars raced into the Turn 4 area, both made contact, and both crashed into the tire barrier.
Grosjean’s race was over, but McLaughlin would later continue in the race and finish 13th, one lap down. He was issued an “avoidable contact” penalty by IndyCar Race Control.
Both drivers sat in their cars as they waited for the IndyCar Safety Team to reach the area. Grosjean climbed out of his car, walked over to the tire barrier and was furious.
WILD OPENER: Marcus Ericsson triumphs in chaotic Grand Prix of St. Pete
He pounded his fist into the stack of tires and was visibly upset.
After making the trip to IndyCar’s new medical trailer for the mandatory checkup, the Frenchman gave NBC’s Dave Burns a few cryptic comments alluding to the fact he thought McLaughlin was at fault (while also saluting his illustrious resume that includes three IndyCar wins and three Supercars championships).
“You saw it on TV, so I’m not going to elaborate too much on that,” Grosjean said. “I’m very, very disappointed, and I hope some rules will be put in place.
“We had a super fast car, but I’m really annoyed. What we saw today on the track was not racing.”
When Burns asked, what it was, Grosjean replied, “I don’t know. You tell me.”
Meantime, McLaughlin was able to finish the race, one-lap down in 13th-place finish.
Shortly after Marcus Ericsson of Chip Ganassi Racing crossed the finish line as the winner, McLaughlin drove his No. 3 Chevrolet down pit lane in front of his Team Penske pit.
Behind that pit area were some guests and VIPs from DHL, Grosjean’s sponsor. They stood against the rail and loudly booed McLaughlin, venting their displeasure at the driver they believed was responsible.
“You’re a bum, McLaughlin,” a fan yelled at the Team Penske driver. “You crasher.”
When McLaughlin took off his helmet, the dejection was evident on his face. The New Zealand native took it very hard and sat on the pit wall with his head dropped in dejection.
He shouldered the blame for what happened.
“First of all, I’m very sorry to Romain, he’s a friend of mine and I made a mistake,” McLaughlin said. “I just made a big mistake. I tried to push him on cold tires and didn’t have the grip on the inside like I did on the Greens. I locked the rears, and we made wheel contact that time and it took us both out.
“Look, I don’t race like that, I apologize. I’ve had plenty of good battles with many good drivers.
“I was racing for the win. I just made a stuff up. I really do apologize to Romain, and I’ll go see him in a bit. I knew if I could stay in front of him, I had a shot to win. I need to be better than that, I need to make better decisions. I was racing hard; I was racing for the win.
“I’ll go man up and I’m going to see Romain right now.”
McLaughlin was hoping to back up the first win of his career last year on the streets of St. Petersburg with another win to open the 2023 season.
Prior to that, the strategy was working well, and the car had speed. That is what made what happened so frustrating.
“The guys did an awesome job with strategy and Ben Bretzman (his engineer) gave me a great car,” McLaughlin told NBCSports.com. “There is nothing more they could have done.
“I wish we had pitted behind Agustin Canapino there. That cost us a couple of seconds.”
McLaughlin predicted the race would be wild, and it was. Two drivers went airborne in two separate crashes. Luckily, none of them were injured.
“We predicted it was going to be wild,” McLaughlin said. “Last year was wild and this year was wilder.
“I’m just gutted, man.”
True to his word, McLaughlin walked over to Grosjean’s transporter at Andretti Autosport to apologize and accept the blame for his role in the incident.
The two drivers hugged twice and Grosjean smiled.
“We all race, we all make mistakes,” Grosjean said. “Scott (McLaughlin) came over and apologized, which means everything to me. He did get a penalty.
“Unfortunately, that doesn’t really change anything for my race, but the fact that he comes here and says he’s sorry is a big deal.
“I know that we were the fastest car on track by a long way and that’s all that matters. We were competitive, we were up there, and we have 16 races left. We showed today with Andretti that we can be up there.”
As McLaughlin’s engineer, Bretzman believed changes to Turn 3 from last year’s race course created an all-out battle heading into Turn 4. That is why he was not surprised that so many of Sunday’s incidents came in that portion of the track.
“The whole race was getting into Turn 4 – who can get there first and get out of there first,” Bretzman told NBCSports.com. “Looking back at it, the only thing we could have done better was pitting on the same lap as he did. Then, it would have been pit crew versus pit crew, and we’ll take that battle all day.”
Bretzman said there were a lot of cars that had issues in Turn 3 and Turn 4 in practice, similar to when changes were made to the track in 2020.
“There are 27 cars and luckily we finished 13th, so we take that as a positive,” Bretzman said. “It’s going to be tight. You have to keep finishing up front. If you can, you have to get what you can.
“I’m happy we were able to keep running and at least finish 13th. It’s better than the alternative.
“We have to keep bringing it, but it’s not going to be easy.”
So, what can Bretzman do to cheer up his driver?
“You just have to give him the night,” Bretzman said. “He’ll be back to normal, Monday.
“But he’s going to feel like a punching bag tonight.”
It was not a good day for Team Penske. Josef Newgarden finished two laps down after his Chevrolet had a sensor issue on the engine that caused a small fire.
“Pretty tough day,” Newgarden said. “Just terrible ending. We had something mechanically break unfortunately on the engine side. Had a small fire. Tried to come to pit lane and shut it off, get it back to pit lane and get the fire out.
“It’s unfortunate because I think we were on for a top-five. I made a mistake on the last restart unfortunately with about 25 to go. We were restarting fifth and I went back to either eighth or ninth. I just got wide. I think for sure a top-10. We were capable of producing a good day which would have been a good start. Unfortunately, we just had to stop early.
“A real good job to the team. We had a really solid race. Everything was executed just beautifully as always. The Hitachi car felt racy. We made some moves there in the middle. I was proud of everybody. It was a good first race to work together; a lot of new people on the crew. Everyone performed incredibly, really good stops. So, I feel really encouraged for the next round. We’ll just get back on it and get this thing tuned up and keep going.”
McLaughlin wasn’t the only Penske driver to be assessed an avoidable contact penalty.
Defending NTT IndyCar Series champion Will Power rebounded for seventh after being sent to the rear just past halfway for his role in an incident that took out Colton Herta, who had qualified second.
“We banged all the way in, and I went up the inside, and I had as much lock as I could,” Power said. “I feel bad that it ruined his day, but I thought for sure he knew I was there. I was up his inside, and I just understeered. It wasn’t like just a big divebomb. I was here, and he kind of hung on the outside.
“I hate to ruin anyone’s day. I do. I hate that. I like to race these guys clean, and he races me clean, so I feel really bad. He ended up out, and I was able to keep going. Still a very good day for us. I’m really happy to get the Verizon car in the top-10. A very hectic day.
“I will definitely talk to Colton and let him know that it was cold tires and marbles and as much lock in to give him as much room. It was unfortunate.
“I always feel bloody bad after incidents like that.”
It’s already been a difficult 2023 off the track for Power, whose wife, Liz, has been battling a serious staph infection that required spinal surgery and two hospitalizations.
With so much weighing on his mind, Power will take the seventh-place finish and move on to the next race at Texas Motor Speedway on April 2.
“A great day,” he said. “I’m really happy with the day. The guys made all the right choices on tires and strategy. Unfortunately, we got the penalty.
“That’s IndyCar racing. It’s very, very aggressive.
“The cars were on edge around this track this weekend. Turn 3 made it very difficult. I’m not surprised. It’s going to be a pretty hectic year.”
At 42, Power can take the long view of the season. He can also understand the torment that McLaughlin felt because he was racing for the victory in the battle with Grosjean that eventually cost both the race.
“It really sucks for Scott McLaughlin,” Power said. “Do you give up a win to finish for the championship, or do you go for the win? Those are the lessons you learn. It’s tough.
“You always want to win the race. Every driver has their own personality, so you know what you are dealing with when you are out there fighting at the end.”
It was a tough lesson learned by McLaughlin on Sunday, but in Power’s mind, it’s a lesson worth learning.
Follow Bruce Martin on Twitter at @BruceMartin_500
