Eli Tomac, of Cortez, Colorado, racked up his fourth straight win and his seventh win in the past nine races with a victory in the 450SX Supercross Saturday night at Detroit’s Ford Field.
The Kawasaki rider now trails leader Ryan Dungey, of KTM, by seven points in the Monster Energy Supercross series, with five races to go.
Tomac got a good start, in second place behind KTM rider Marvin Musquin. Dungey started slow and was in seventh place at the end of the first lap.
Racing in deep sand and facing pressure from David Millsaps in third, Tomac muscled past Musquin on the outside of a tight turn at the 1 minute mark and never looked back, leading 21 of the 24 laps. With Tomac running in front, fans turned their eyes to to Dungey, who continued to struggle through the pack, eventually finishing third behind Tomac and second-place Musquin. Dungey lost five points to Tomac, who trailed the leader by 12 points before the start in Detroit.
Rounding out the top five, Blake Baggett finished fourth after passing Millsaps late in the race.
“I’m putting myself in a good position in the main event,” Tomac told Fox Sports. “This is what we wanted tonight on this sketchy surface, and I was able to attack it. It was another really good night of racing.”
Tomac next races Saturday in St. Louis for Round 13 of the 17-race series.