Ken Roczen on Saturday won the 450 AMA Supercross in Atlanta and gained a share of the series lead with Eli Tomac, who crashed early in the race.
Roczen led all 25 laps. Justin Barcia, who started the race in 11th place, finished second. He was followed by 2019 champion Cooper Webb, Tomac and Martin Davalos.
Tomac, coming off consecutive Supercross wins in Tampa and Arlington, was fast all day. He posted the fastest lap during qualifying rounds, ahead of Roczen, then won the second of two qualifying heats. Roczen won the first.
But in the main event at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Tomac got a bad start and dropped to seventh place early in the first lap. Then, in the fourth lap, he went underneath Blake Baggett, and both crashed.
Tomac dropped to 13th place, but recovered. He regained two places in the next lap, and by the 17th of 25 laps, was back in seventh. He made a late charge, and in the final five laps, moved into fourth place.
Baggett, meanwhile, dropped to last place immediately after the crash and would finish 19th of 22 riders.
Roczen’s win pulled him out of second place and into the series lead with Tomac, at 200 points apiece. Barcia’s strong performance landed him in third place in the 17-race series, at 177 points, just one point ahead of Webb.
Next Saturday, the Monster Energy AMA Supercross goes to the legendary Daytona, one of Tomac’s favorite venues, for the 10th race in the series. He won Daytona three times in the past five years – 2019, 2017 and 2016 – and placed second in 2018 and 2015.