The three riders at the top of the 450 points standings each experienced troubled in at least one of the three features that make up the Monster Energy Supercross Triple Crown format at Arlington, but when the checkered flag waved over Race 3, the results were the same as everyone has come to anticipate.
Cooper Webb won his second races of the season, Chase Sexton finished second and Eli Tomac was third, which tightened to championship battle. Only five points separate the three riders.
RESULTS: Click here for full 450 Overall Results; Click here for 250 Overall Results
The night got off to a rocky start for Webb. He was mired in traffic at the start of the Race 1 and could only limb as high as fifth in that feature. With Tomac winning and Sexton on the podium as well, he might have been counted out, but Webb did what Webb does.
Webb kept his composure and finished better in each successive round with a second in Race 2 and a win in Race 3. His 5-2-1 combined for eight points and tied Sexton, but by virtue of winning the final race, he owned the tiebreaker.
Sexton failed to win any of the three races, but his 3-3-2 was enough for eight event points as well. Race points are not paid out until the three features are totaled, so Sexton’s second-place finish overall allowed him to make up ground on Tomac in the championship hunt. Sexton is now five behind Tomac and three behind Webb for second in what is becoming a very compelling three-man contest.
Tomac rarely makes mistakes, so it was with a little shocking when he crashed while leading Race 3. As with Anaheim 1, he failed to navigate the tunnel jump, but where he was able to overcome his mistake in California, the Texas track was not as forgiving. Tomac dropped to fourth immediately following his crash and lost another couple of positions after losing his rhythm.
His 1-4-6 combined for 10 points and placed him third on the grid.
Click here for 450 Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Last Chance Qualifier
Like Webb, Jason Anderson got better in each race, but a crash as the start of the first feature was too much to overcome. He dropped to the back of the pack in that race and, while he climbed to eighth at the checkers, damage was done. He made a valiant effort by winning Race 2. His 8-1-3 combined for 12 points and placed him fourth overall.
Ken Roczen also earned 12 points with a 2-6-4, but with Anderson having the better finish in Race 3, Roczen was awarded fifth. That was still a solid rebound from last week’s 11th-place finish and Roczen’s fifth top-five in the first seven rounds of 2023.
Click here for 450 Overall results | Rider Points | Manufacturer Points
It turns out Hunter Lawrence can be beat.
Despite riding with a knee injury, Nate Thrasher swept the podium in the three-races of the Arlington Supercross Triple Crown and his results of 2-2-3 were enough to give him the overall victory. He has not yet stood on the top of the podium after an individual race, but his second-place finish in the 250 East opener in Houston contributes to his third-place standing in the points.
Thrasher’s teammate Jordon Smith had a mathematical path to the overall win before he bobbled in the whoops in the closing minutes of Race 3. Finishing fourth in the first feature put him at a bit of a disadvantage, but he rebounded to win Race 2. In the final tally, his 4-1-5 tied him with Lawrence in points and Smith was awarded second via the tiebreaker.
Click here for 250 Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Last Chance Qualifier
Perhaps the only thing keeping Lawrence off the top box of the podium is bad luck. He ran out of room entering Turn 1 of the final race and crashed. He might have overcome that still, if Max Anstie had not run over his bike and pinned Lawrence underneath for a few seconds. With a broken clutch lever, Lawrence had to ride conservatively in that race, but he climbed to sixth at the end and his 1-3-6 was enough to put him on the podium.
The European motocross star Tom Vialle continues to impress. He has been in contention for a top-five in every race this year and finally got it done in Arlington. His 5-9-2 placed him fourth on the chart.
Click here for 250 Overall results | 250 East Rider Points | Combined Rider Points
Anstie’s involvement in the Lap 1 crash of Race 3 dropped him to the back of the pack in that race; he was able to climb to only ninth at its end. With a third in Race 1 and fourth in Race 2, he combined to finish fifth overall.
Jeremy Martin won the final race of the night, but a dismal showing in Race 2 and 12th-place finish relegated him to sixth overall. In a race filled with accidents, Martin was as surprised as anyone that he stood on the top of the podium in that final feature.
2023 Results
Race 6: Eli Tomac, Jett Lawrence win Race 5: Cooper Webb, Hunter Lawrence win Race 4: Tomac, H Lawrence win Race 3: Chase Sexton, Levi Kitchen win Race 2: Tomac, J Lawrence win Round 1: Tomac, J Lawrence win
2023 SuperMotocross Power Rankings
Week 6: Perfect Oakland night keeps Tomac first Week 5: Cooper Webb, Chase Sexton close gap Week 4: Eli Tomac retakes lead Week 3: Ken Roczen takes the top spot Week 2: Roczen moves up; Sexton falls Week 1: Tomac tops 450s; Jett Lawrence 250s
The 24 Hours of Le Mans entry list for 2023 will feature eight cars with American ties that will compete for the overall victory as the “Ford vs. Ferrari” era returns to the world’s biggest sports car race June 10-11.
Cadillac will have three Le Mans entries with its V-Series.R cars, two of which race full time in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s Grand Touring Prototype class. They will compete for the overall victory in the Hypercar class, along with the Porsche 963s of Porsche Penske Motorsport.
Iconic team owner Roger Penske, whose teams have won 18 Indy 500s and three Daytona 500s, is trying to win the Le Mans overall for the first time. This year will be the 100th running of the marquee event at Circuit de la Sarthe.
Glickenhaus Racing, a U.S.-based high-performance automotive company that has competed in the World Endurance Championship and raced Le Mans in 2021, also has two prototype entries in the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year.
IMSA’s premier prototype division was been overhauled this season with the introduction of the rebranded GTP class of Le Mans Daytona hybrid (LMDh) cars that can cross over to the premier Hypercar category of the World Endurance Championship (the sports car series that includes the 24 Hours of Le Mans).
LE MANS ENTRY LIST: Click here for the cars racing in France this June
For the first time in a few decades (and harkening back to the 1960s heyday chronicled in the “Ford vs. Ferrari” movie), the GTP category’s LMDh cars will allow the same team and car to win the overall crowns at Daytona and Le Mans (though Meyer Shank Racing’s Acura, the 2023 Rolex 24 overall winner, won’t be racing at Le Mans this year).
The Cadillac Racing lineup will include Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 2 (drivers Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook) and No. 3 (drivers Sébastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande and Scott Dixon for an entry that’s No. 01 in IMSA). The Whelen Engineering Action Express No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R, which also competes full time in IMSA, will be driven by Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims and Jack Aitken.
“Cadillac is excited to build on its racing legacy by competing against the very best internationally and at one of the world’s toughest races,” GM sports car racing program manager Laura Wontrop Klauser said in a release. “We’re proud to be representing the United States and the Cadillac V-Series.R is a great continuation of our racing heritage.”
Cadillac made its Le Mans debut in 1950 with privateers Briggs Cunningham and Miles and Sam Collier driving Series 61 coupes cars powered by the Cadillac 5.4-liter OHV V-8 engine. Cadillac competed in the LMP division of Le Mans in 2000-02 with a 4.0-liter turbocharged V8-powered Northstar.
Penske Porsche Motorsport will be represented by the No. 5 (drivers Dane Cameron, Michael Christensen and Frédéric Makowiecki), the No. 6 (Kévin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and André Lotterer) and the No. 75 (Felipe Nasr and two TBA teammates).
There also are two more entries from IMSA for winners of contingency awards — the No. 13 of John Farano and Tower Motorsports in LMP2 (for the Jim Trueman Award) and the No. 16 of Ryan Hardwick and Proton Competition (for the Bob Akin Award) in LMGTE Am.
The Le Mans entry list also confirmed the Garage 56 slot for the Next Gen Camaro being prepared by Hendrick Motorsports and NASCAR.
