Eli Tomac places second in Indianapolis after ‘rough night’ of racing

Eli Tomac placed second overall in Round 9 of Supercross’s Triple Crown in Indianapolis. He is now four points behind overall points leader Hunter Lawrence. (Photo courtesy of Red Bull KTM from a previous week of racing)

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Eli Tomac placed second overall in Round 9 of Supercross’s Triple Crown in Indianapolis. He is now four points behind overall points leader Hunter Lawrence. (Photo courtesy of Red Bull KTM from a previous week of racing)

Eli Tomac finished second in the Triple Crown during Round 9 in Indianapolis, trailing Hunter Lawrence after what he described as a “rough night” of racing. Entering the round, Lawrence and Tomac were separated by just one point in the standings. Lawrence now leads by four.

Poor track conditions, especially in the whoops section, made it difficult for riders to gain time and make passes. Tomac went 3-2-2 in the three races to take second overall.

In the first race, Tomac’s teammate Jorge Prado grabbed the holeshot with Justin Cooper and Cooper Webb close behind. Tomac, who struggled off the start, began midpack.

Webb quickly moved past Prado for the lead, and Ken Roczen passed Cooper for third. Roczen then challenged Prado for second. Behind them, Lawrence moved past Christian Craig for fifth, and Tomac advanced to eighth behind Joey Savatgy and Lawrence.

Roczen made a push for the lead and took the top spot through the whoops. Tomac passed Craig and closed on Lawrence, who was less than a second ahead. Tomac worked past Lawrence for fifth and continued forward, eventually passing Prado for third.

Lawrence also advanced and closed the gap on Tomac. Tomac cut into Webb’s lead and moved into second after Webb made a mistake. Lawrence followed into third. Just before the finish, Tomac was slowed by a lapper, allowing Lawrence to take second. Roczen won the race, followed by Lawrence and Tomac.

In the second race, Tomac and Lawrence were side by side through the holeshot before Roczen and Aaron Plessinger crashed on the opening jumps. Cooper passed both Tomac and Lawrence to take the lead. Tomac held second, staying close to Cooper, before passing into first. Lawrence remained third.

Cooper later reclaimed the lead before the whoops, pushing Tomac to second. Webb moved into third after passing Lawrence. Cooper won the race, with Tomac second, Webb third and Lawrence fourth.

Heading into the final race, Tomac led the Triple Crown standings with five points, while Cooper and Lawrence each had six.

Lawrence secured the holeshot in the final race with Tomac right behind and Prado in third. Commentators said the duel between Lawrence and Tomac would come “down to the wire.”

“It’s going to be a dog fight between these two guys,” they said.

They also noted the deteriorating track.

“These whoops are absolutely brutal right now,” they said.

Roczen surged forward to take third from Prado, and the top three held their positions to the end. Lawrence won, with Tomac second and Roczen third. The result gave Lawrence the Triple Crown victory, with Tomac finishing second overall.

“Kind of a sketchy moment in the whoops,” Tomac said after the race. “I thought I lost the race in the whoops because I started jumping a little squirrely… but the end was better. Glad to get out of here. This place is just a tough night of racing here with the Triple Crown and this soil. So, glad to get out of here healthy.”

Round 10 of 17 is scheduled for Saturday, March 21, at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama, following a weekend off.