Eli Tomac continues championship charge with win in Indianapolis

Published Mar. 19, 2017 10:35 a.m. ET

Samuel Reiman

Eli Tomac picked up his sixth win in eight races Saturday night at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

The Kawasaki rider now sits just 12 points back of points leader Ryan Dungey, who finished in third on his Red Bull KTM.

Tomac had a virtually flawless night, winning his heat race and getting a good start in the Main, although it was Blake Baggett who took the Holeshot. Dungey, meanwhile, had to go through to the Semi after Chad Reed just edged him out for fourth place in the heat race. Dungey made it into a Main with a second-place finish behind Justin Brayton in the Semi.

Dungey was able to get off to a good start in the Main, finding himself behind Baguette and Tomac. Baggett eventually faded behind the two championship rivals, but only lost third to Marvin Musquin during the middle of the race when he made a mistake. Musquin then ran down his teammate and passed Dungey for second in the closing stages, costing Dungey two more points in his championship fight. Cole Seely rounded out the top five on his HRC Honda after passing Chad Reed, who spent most of the Main event without a visor after it fell off early in the race.

"This [season] is everything you could ever dream of, other than winning the championship," said Tomac. "Right now we're winning races, so it's pretty cool. I don't know what to say, we're rolling right now. This is good for us. We're doing what we need to do, but we've got to keep doing it."

Meanwhile in the 250SX class, Zach Osborne extended his points lead after an aggressive pass mid-race on championship rival Joey Savatgy.

Despite going down in his heat race, Savatgy was still able to make it into the Main with a third-place finish and, come main event time, the Kawasaki rider was the first one out of the first turn, picking up his first holeshot of the year. Osborne pressured him all throughout the first half of the race until he finally made the pass after seven minutes of racing. Alex Martin had been running in third but went down in the closing stages, holding up his teammate Jordon Smith in fourth. Smith was able to sneak on by, however, and held onto the podium spot ahead of Martin and Adam Cianciarulo. Cianciarulo pulled off a top five finish despite being injured in a crash with Osborne during practice.

450SX Class Results

1.       Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki
2.       Marvin Musquin, Corona, Calif., KTM
3.       Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM
4.       Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., KTM
5.       Cole Seely, Sherman Oaks, Calif., Honda
6.       Davi Millsaps, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., KTM
7.       Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha
8.       Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Suzuki
9.       Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.M., Husqvarna
10.    Justin Barcia, Greenville, Fla., Suzuki

450SX Class Championship Standings

1.       Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM - 234
2.       Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki - 222
3.       Marvin Musquin, Corona, Calif., KTM - 185
4.       Cole Seely, Sherman Oaks, Calif., Honda - 185
5.       Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.M., Husqvarna - 155
6.       Davi Millsaps, Cairo, Ga., KTM - 136
7.       Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., KTM - 131
8.       Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha - 130
9.       Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Suzuki - 116
10.    Dean Wilson, Clermont, Fla., Husqvarna - 115

Eastern Regional 250SX Class Results

1.     Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna
2.     Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki
3.     Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., KTM
4.     Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., KTM
5.     Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki
6.     Christian Craig, Corona, Calif., Honda
7.     Dylan Ferrandis, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Yamaha
8.     Mitchell Harrison, Brighton, Mich., Yamaha
9.     Anthony Rodriguez, Cairo, Ga., Yamaha
10. Kyle Cunningham, Willow Park, Texas, Suzuki

Eastern Regional 250SX Class Championship Standings

1.     Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna - 111
2.     Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki - 102
3.     Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki - 93
4.     Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., KTM - 90
5.     Dylan Ferrandis, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Yamaha - 68
6.     Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., KTM - 60
7.     Christian Craig, Corona, Calif., Honda - 51
8.     Luke Renzland, Hewitt, N.J., Yamaha - 50
9.     Colt Nichols, Muskogee, Okla., Yamaha - 49
10. Anthony Rodriguez, Cairo, Ga., Yamaha - 46