The place to be on Friday night in Tampa Florida was at the Raymond James Stadium for round number eight of the 2018 Monster Energy AMA Supercross FIM World Championship.
The night was drama filled as there were many notable newsworthy storylines happening across all of the riding classes, highlighted by Eli Tomac who picked up right where he left off a week ago when he completed dominated in Arlington, TX to win his second main event race in a row.
However, unlike in when he had the fastest qualifying time, secured a heat win, and won the 450SX series final event from start to finish, Tomac again had to work a little bit harder to get the main event victory on this night. In fact, Tomac had to put a magical run together and come from behind in the latter half of the race as his main competitors, Cooper Webb, Marvin Musquin and Justin Hill, charged ahead of him, pushing him back to fourth place.
Even though it looked as though Tomac was not going to get another victory since his riding was pretty mediocre at the beginning of the race, he made quick work of his competitors through some excellent turns, a few cat and mouse moves, and a giant quadruple jump that propelled him to the lead and eventual podium win. Tomac rides a Kawasaki, his team manager is Dan Fahie, and his mechanic is Brian Kranze.
Another notable storyline on the day in Tampa was the history-making start of Chad Reed. A two-time Monster Energy Supercross Champion, Reed made his 228th career start. It was a monumental moment for the star who ended up finishing among the pack in the 450SX Tampa event. He is the oldest rider on the Supercross circuit at the age of 36, but even as the elder statesman of the sport, he is still one of the best. Reed rides a Yamaha, his team manager is Jim Perry, and his mechanic is Mike Gosselaar.
A final notable storyline of the event was Hill, mentioned earlier as one of the riders Tomac passed to win Tampa, and how he jumped up a class to compete in the 450SX series race. It was the first time the rookie rider ever competed in the 450SX series from the 250SX series and even though he was passed by Tomac in the later half of the race, he still hung on and managed to finish in sixth place overall. It was a strong showing for the 23 year old who turned pro in 2013. He rides a Kawasaki, his team manager is Mitch Payton, and his go to mechanic is Shawn Bell.
The 2018 Monster Energy AMA Supercross FIM World Championship is made up of two different main classes, the 250XS series and the 450XS series, with other classes including a KTM Jr. Supercross Class. The next big major event for all classes is the Monster Energy Cup on Oct. 13, 2018 in Las Vegas, NV at Sam Boyd Stadium.
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