Dungey extends championship lead with wire-to-wire victory in Arlington
Ryan Dungey extended his Monster Energy Supercross championship lead with a dominant victory inside AT&T Stadium on Saturday night.
The Red Bull KTM rider grabbed the holeshot in the 450SX Main Event and remained unchallenged for the remainder of the 20-lap feature, claiming his second win of the season ahead of Ken Roczen and Trey Canard. Dungey now holds a 12-point lead over Roczen, while Canard drops to 23 points back.
"Wins are important. You're especially going to need them as we get towards the end of the season," said Dungey. "We're doing the best we can each week, putting ourselves in a good spot and we need to keep doing that. I got a good start tonight and was able to ride my own race."
Davi Millsaps started the race with a first-lap challenge on Dungey, but was unable to keep pace and would begin to drop back before losing second to Roczen on Lap 5. One lap later, he crashed out of the race while battling Canard for third. Roczen tried closing the gap to Dungey, but was unable to mount a charge and would be forced to settle for second.
Rookie Blake Baggett continued his impressive rise through the standings with a career-best fourth followed by veteran Andrew Short in fifth. Jason Anderson, Eli Tomac, Josh Grant, Broc Tickle and Cole Seely rounded out the top 10.
With his win in Arlington, Dungey extends his podium-streak to six races. He also joins Roczen and Canard as the only two-time winners in 2015.
In the season opener for the 250SX East Class, Marvin Musquin led every lap to capture his fifth-career victory over defending champion Justin Bogle and Joey Savatgy.
Musquin, who was making his first Supercross start since 2013, jumped out to a huge lead over Bogle before the red flag flew on Lap 8. Since the 15-lap race was past its halfway point, the restart featured a staggered lineup of riders across the start straight. On the restart, the French rider reclaimed his spot out front and would cruise to an easy win.
"I had a great start then I just did my laps and kept doing what I had to do," said Musquin, who missed all of last season with an injury. "Just being consistent is what it's going to take and that's what I've been preparing for. I'm just happy to get it [a win] done this early, be here feeling good and healthy, and starting out strong."
The series heads to Atlanta next Saturday for round eight of the championship fight. Live coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on FOX Sports 1 and streaming live on FOX Sports GO.
450SX Class Results: Arlington
450SX Class Season Standings
Eastern Regional 250SX Class Results: Arlington
Eastern Regional 250SX Class Season Standings
