Supercross Statistics | Houston in Numbers

That’s strange, because the fourth round of the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross in Houston didn’t have the best on-track action. There were a lot of stories though, which is why ‘Supercross Statistics’ is so quick. There were questions that had to be answered asap! Spoiler alert for readers though: If you get bored of Eli Tomac and Chase Sexton discussions, this might not be for you. Below is a lot of analysis of both of them. If you want to enter the conversation, go to Vital MX stage or @VitalMX on social media.

• There’s a lot to unpack from Houston given the ever-changing dynamic between Eli Tomac and Chase Sexton. It makes sense for the race schedule to follow the same order and so we’ll take a look at the ridiculous time the ’23 logged in timed practice. Sexton was 1.095s quicker than anyone else on the day, but when was the last time someone was fastest by such a margin? It was actually Tomac at San Diego Murder in 2019, as he was 1.262s faster than anyone that day.

• This brings us to 450SX heat two, where a lot happened. We could spend hours watching the fight that the two contenders had, but we’ll keep this short. There’s a lot to analyze! Sexton’s average lap time in that eight-lap heat was 52.137, which was 1.139 faster than Tomac’s average lap time. Quite a difference, huh? As in timed practice, the best lap that Sexton set was 1.071s faster than the fastest time recorded by his foe.

• Again, it was just one summer and so there is little now. It would be interesting for me to ask Tomac what he learned from Sexton. Check out the lap times below and it becomes quite clear that he was a fish out of water before the ’23 took off and, possibly, showed him some places where he could have been a little better. To clarify, Sexton took the lead on lap two.

• Sexton gained so much time in heat two that he came in sector two, which was the Supercross triple to the start of the Whoops. Yes, it is a vast area. Sexton posted a 22.535 on that part of the track when he was at his best, which was 0.491 faster than the fastest run that Tomac had run in the heat. If you add that up, overall, Sexton took out a 5.172 on Tomac in the heat race in that sector. crazy, huh?

• We’ll have to dive into the pair’s pace in the sand (sector one) in the heat race, as it will be very helpful later on. Sexton was actually faster than Tomac in the sand but one lap into the heat (he was 0.120 slower on the fourth lap). Why did that dynamic change so much when the main event started? Give it time, because we’ll get there soon.

• Random fact of convenience: Sexton was incredible in his heat race, but there was one field where he was just the second fastest rider. Gasp! Dean Wilson was 0.021s quicker than him in sector four. Sector four was from the end of the whoops to the beginning of the final cadence. Like last week, there was a lot of momentum in one of Wilson’s sectors. It’s a strange coincidence to happen again.

• To put an exclamation point on the pace in Sexton’s heat race: this was the second heat he competed in, yet his fastest lap time (50.955) was not matched in a heat at all. Even the fact that the track was smoother couldn’t help Jason Anderson come close – his fastest lap was 52.066, so almost identical to what Tomak did. What ’23’ did in his heat cannot be underestimated, and it makes the main event even more interesting.

• The momentum shifted majorly and we’ll take a look at the other sector where Sexton had such an advantage. He didn’t go missing in the main event, believe it or not, because he was fastest in the field by 0.307s over Cooper Webb, who had the second fastest time. Tomac was 0.443s slower than Sexton (best time to best) in the main. In the end, Sexton had the six fastest times on that part of the racetrack (they were set between laps six and seventeen).

• The dynamic in sector two remained consistent from the heat races to the main event, but the first sector underwent drastic changes. Tomac had the fastest time in the main (10.602) and was 0.288 better than the best time (10.890) managed by Sexton. Sexton’s time made him the tenth best rider in that field. On eleven of the twenty-one laps the ‘1’ went fastest with Sexton. Yes.

• The table below gives a better representation of the speed difference in the main event in the sand. It was on lap seven that Sexton finally took second place, so this table starts from that moment. This is why so much emphasis was placed on the heat race at the start of the feature. It is truly incredible to think that these two races were run within an hour of each other, as the story was changed so drastically.

• Another random fact for you to enjoy: A lot has been said about Tomac and Sexton, yet their time in Sector Four was pretty mediocre. Tomac had the tenth-fastest time on that part of the track (0.346 slower than the fastest posted by Aaron Plessinger) and Sexton had the twelfth-best time (0.496 slower than the KTM rider). Sector four consists of a double, a tabletop and two flat turns. Maybe we should make a track like that and then enjoy the parity?

• There was clearly a key moment in the main where Tomac turned a gear to the Key of Sexton in the Bay. Before we get to that period, let’s look at the lap times from lap seven (when the ’23’ came in second). It appears to be heading in the same direction as the heat race. Show this chart to anyone and it becomes clear that Sexton is really exaggerating his allegations.

• It was on laps fifteen and sixteenth that Tomac got into the clutch – he dropped his time and ran consecutive times in the 52.000 range for the first time after laps seven and eight. It was another change of pace between the two and reinforces the fact that Sexton needed to pounce on Tomac as soon as he got it, in a similar fashion to the Heat. Easier said than done, of course. the nineteenth lap was the nail in the coffin

• Much has been said about the rivalry between Tomac and Sexton thanks to what transpired outside. What if I told you that this was only the third time they finished first and second in the main event? It first happened in Atlanta 1 in 2021 and again in San Diego last term. Does this speak to the fact that the Sexton is still fairly ‘new’ in the 450SX segment? Does this make any sense? No? OK, we’ll move on…

• If you want to keep track of Yamaha’s success, the win Eli Tomac took was the forty-seventh win in Monster Energy Supercross for the YZ450F. This was the tenth victory that Tomac has also claimed as a member of bLUcRU. To move up in the ‘blue’ record books, he would have to overtake James Stewart, who claimed nineteen victories on his YZ450F. Reaching that point may be a step too far for Tomac until he takes another stab at Supercross in 2024.

• Another random Yamaha fact! Tomac helped bLUcRU tie Kawasaki for most 450SX wins at Houston. The manufacturers are now sitting on fifteen, while Honda are languishing on three twelve. Saturday night was just the second time Tomac won in Houston — his first win inside NRG Stadium came in 2021. The last time bLUcRU won in that city was in 2009, believe it or not. James Stewart won that year.

• When was the last time a rider won three of the first four stops in Monster Energy Supercross? That was back in 2016, when Ryan Dungey began his title-winning tenure with a 2-1-1-1. Dungy had a seventeen-point lead that season, while Tomac is currently sitting on a seven-point cushion. Tomac led the class by six points after four rounds of the previous season, despite the fact that he had won only once in the first four rounds.

• Jason Anderson just took his thirty-sixth podium in the 450SX class! time flies, huh? It was the seventy-sixth time that he had achieved a mainstay in the top five. It was also his one hundred and ninth top ten finish in the Premier Division, so there is that. Anderson has been around a lot and is always there, huh? It’s so easy to forget about that.

• Anderson was very aggressive at points in the main event, so it was a surprise to see him finish a distant third. It is even more shocking to see that he only had the sixth fastest lap in the Main Event – Tomac, Sexton, Webb, Barecia and Plessinger set a lap time that topped his fastest lap. Sexton had the fastest lap of the race (52.014) and Anderson’s time was 52.799. Although the ’21 had the third fastest average lap time.

• This statistic was shared in the ‘Supercross Stats’ feature after Anaheim 1, but it’s poignant. Plessinger has now completed 55 Mains in the 450SX division and, almost incredibly, his seventh finish inside the Houston top five was. The fact that he has had such limited success is a blow to the system. Houston was the second time he finished fourth in the 450SX division – the first time he did so in Atlanta in 2021.

• Plessinger left NRG Stadium in Houston with his season-best finish, but who accomplished the same feat in the fourth round of the current season? Joey Savettgi (ninth), Dean Wilson (12th), Shane McIlrath (15th), Justin Starling (16th), Kevin Morange (14th), Cade Clawson (17th) and John Short (18th). It’s a great time to be a privateer in Monster Energy Supercross, huh?