In Quotebook, a selection of riders detail how their races played out in round eight of the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross Championship at Daytona.

450SX

Image: Octopi Media.

Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – First:
It was an excellent night of racing for us. Daytona literally just feels like home to me. Every time the lights come on here, I just basically become one with the track. We went to battle again with Cooper [Webb] there in the main event. A lot of lines were changing throughout the race. Then at one point, we even made contact and then I finally got into the lead and just felt really good on the motorcycle. This was one of the best times that I’ve felt on a motorcycle racing here, so that was awesome. It’s pretty crazy to be tied with the Nascar champion, Richard Petty, with seven wins here. That’s a cool thing and I’m just thankful for everything.

Justin Cooper (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Sixth:
It was tough like I expected. We even got a little bit of rain for the main event. The track definitely deteriorated, but they fixed some parts of the track that would have been really bad if they didn’t touch them after the 250 main. We just ticked off the laps. I had a really good pace going in the beginning and made a bunch of passes. Then I settled in behind Jason [Anderson], and I started running his pace. From there on, I had a couple of close calls with him, and I got alongside him a couple of times, but he was able to hold me back there. I was definitely pushing for that fifth spot but came up a little bit short and got sixth. It’s a career-best for me, so all in all, it was a great night. Now we get ready for the outdoors. I think we did exactly what we wanted to do with these 450 races this season. We got experience, and we learned a lot. The track’s way different in the main than it is in practice. That’s something I could have guessed, but it’s just good to see it here in person and to see how it works. Now we know what to expect coming into next year.

Jason Anderson (Monster Energy Kawasaki) – Fifth:
The track layout this year was nearly identical to the Daytona track we raced on last year, so our bike set up was very similar to last year’s settings. However, this track broke down differently and became a lot deeper, which made it difficult to get comfortable. The rain we had leading up to the main event also made the dirt very slick in some spots. I tried my best to adjust to the changing track conditions throughout the race but, to be honest, I just couldn’t get myself in a rhythm. Overall, we still had a solid weekend and earned valuable championship points.

RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) – Eighth:
Man, it was an awesome day, and an awesome experience. Murph pushed hard for it, believed I could do it, and we got all the other guys on board. I was just happy I was able to prove myself today. We were solid from the beginning of the day, really. My qualifying times were decent, fifth. I holeshot the heat, led a few laps, and then reality hit that I might win this thing. I won my first heat, my first time ever trying to do it, and first ever race on a 450, so that was awesome. The main event start was decent and I just kind of rode my own race. I didn’t really race anyone hard and wanted to finish in the top ten of my first main and I did that. I’m just really stoked on our whole day and like I said, for the team giving me a chance to come out here and race tonight.

Cooper Webb (Red Bull KTM) – Second:
Daytona has always been good to me, I’ve been on the podium here every time I have raced and been close twice now. It’s been good competition for sure, we each have our strengths and I think we are elevating Supercross at the moment. I am sure we will all look back in 10 years and relish it, but right now, it’s every man for themselves. Moving forward, I really like Indy, Detroit, Seattle, and Salt Lake, so a lot of good rounds coming up.

Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM) – Ninth:
Daytona was looking to be fun and I enjoyed the track. I qualified 10th and it actually went pretty well – I felt good throughout the day. In the heat race, I got an alright start and worked my way into fourth. In the main event, I got an okay start and was trying to move forward, but I lost my flow and kind of struggled throughout the rest of the main. We will go back, do some homework, figure out what I did wrong, and come out swinging for Indianapolis.

Justin Barcia (TLD Red Bull GasGas) – Fourth:
This was my best practice and qualifying of the year. That was awesome, and I ended up sixth. Very happy with that. In the heat race, I didn’t get the best start but had some of the fastest lap times and moved up to third. In the main event, I got a good start and was running fourth. I had the leaders in front of me, and tried to make a pass and got a little tangled. Then I came back, tried to make another pass, and got tangled again. Fourth was all it wrote. I’m really disappointed. It definitely was a podium night with my speed and the bike was really good. I really like Indy. It’s a good vibe there and a good stadium. I do well there, and I want to be on the podium.

Chase Sexton (Team Honda HRC) – Third:
Speedways are cool to come to. You have to be very precise, but you can also gain a lot of speed and push the rhythm at the speed you’re comfortable with. Daytona is just a different animal though. My speed’s good – I’ve just got to limit the mistakes. I’ve got to keep pushing and get to these guys at the front. It’s good to be on the podium, but we all want to win.

Colt Nichols (Team Honda HRC) – DNQ:
It was a tough day at work in Daytona. I took a hit in Q1 and landed on my noggin pretty good. The team and I decided it would be best to sit out the rest of the day and get myself right. Thank you to my team and the people in my corner. It’s been a rough few weeks, but I’ll be back.

Dean Wilson (Fire Power Honda) – 11th:
Daytona was fun! I felt good in the main event and came through the pack for eleventh. I got held up a bit with the lappers whilst trying to make a charge for tenth, but I was happy with my riding. Thank you to everyone for the support!

Ken Roczen (Progressive Ecstar Suzuki) – Seventh:
I was up on the board pretty much every practice, I had a really good heat race, but unfortunately messed up the start in the main. With a better start, my result could have been a lot better. What I’m most excited about is that I haven’t really done any bike adjustments today. I could simply just ride the track and ride my bike. I’m really excited to be there. Our result doesn’t really show how good we’ve been in the last week and we’re going to continue working hard. I’m looking forward to Indy already.

Shane McElrath (Twisted Tea Suzuki) – 13th:
What a day it was today. We’re continuing to learn and continuing to get better. I’m super happy with the progress. I’m happy with how I rode tonight. My heat race was fairly good, I stayed with the guys ahead of me consistently. In the main, I didn’t have a good start, but I fought hard for most of the race. That’s the longest and the hardest that I’ve fought. I’m excited about it. We’re in a good place to keep growing and to keep making strides and I’m excited.

250SX

Image: Octopi Media.

Hunter Lawrence (Team Honda HRC) – First:
The bike was great – we didn’t really change anything all day. It’s cool when you can just trust in your setup and not try to reinvent the wheel. Early in the main, I just kept getting roosted in the sand and had to race hard to get to the front. I just didn’t look back after that. This was where I got my first heat race win too [in 2021], so it’s pretty cool to capture a main event win here.

Chance Hymas (Team Honda HRC) – Sixth:
Today was alright. I qualified third in the first practice, but they made a ton of changes during the day and it felt like a new track. I got to run up front with Hunter in the heat race, which gave me some confidence. In the main, I got bottled up on the inside in the first corner and was basically dead last at that point. I’m happy to have worked my way up to sixth by the end of the race. Overall, my riding was good and improvements were made, even if we aren’t where we want to be yet.

Max Anstie (Fire Power Honda) – Second:
I am proud of my team today! We made sure that we were in a good spot when the gates dropped for the main event. Finishing second at Daytona is a dream come true, but I felt like I had a little more in the tank. Let’s keep this ball rolling in Indianapolis.

Jordon Smith (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Fourth:
Daytona was a little bit up and down for me. We battled from a bad start in the main to finish fourth. I’m looking forward to Indianapolis!

Haiden Deegan (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Third:
Daytona was a good one for me. Qualifying went alright, and we ended up where we usually would be. Daytona is definitely a man’s track, so you had to adapt to it, and it was rough. My heat race was good. I had a few passes and ended up third. Then in the main event, I didn’t get a great start, but I knew I had the speed for a podium. I put my head down and started charging, ending up in third. Jordon [Smith] and I had a couple of good battles – it was fun racing.

Nate Thrasher (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – 10th:
The day started off well. I was second in qualifying and got the heat race win. I was feeling pretty good and felt my speed was there. I got a good start in the main, but unfortunately, I went down in the sand and then was coming back through the pack and went down again. We’re going to put it behind us and come back stronger at Indy.

Chris Blose (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – Seventh:
Even though I’ve only been with the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki team for a short amount of time, I feel like I’m starting to find my stride and confidence. From the start of the first practice to the main event, I felt extremely comfortable on the KX250 and that showed in my riding tonight. Even with a tip-over in the sand section during the main I was still able to move up the field and finish in seventh, my best result of the season so far. I’m looking forward to another week of practice with the team and feel like we can be in the hunt for a top-five finish soon.

Talon Hawkins (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) – 18th:
Daytona was pretty good, I got my best qualifying position so far, so that’s definitely something to be happy about. I ended up in the LCQ after the heat race… I just had a little spill, so I have some corrections to make and some stuff to work on. But I was running eighth in the main and had a little mishap and went down. That caused a little bike problem, my fault. I’ve got to stay off the ground and keep on keeping on. I know what to work on, so we’ll get back to Baker’s Factory and make something happen next weekend.

Tom Vialle (Red Bull KTM) – DNF:
First time for me in Daytona was pretty good, I felt great in the practice and qualified sixth. I had a great start, I was first in the Heat on the start and I finished second, felt good. I had another great start in the main event and when Hunter Lawrence passed me, I was sitting well in second position, but on lap three I tipped over on a triple – I landed a little bit short and just tipped over. For sure, that was frustrating because I feel like we could have delivered a strong result, but that is how it is and we are going to do a great week with training and be ready for next weekend.

Michael Mosiman (TLD Red Bull GasGas) – DNF:
You know what? Today had a lot of positives. I was riding a lot better. I felt like my bike was in a good spot. I felt fast and in control. I felt good in my heat race, and just felt racy. In the main event, I didn’t have the best gate pick and slid off the gate. I made the most of it, got banged around a little bit, and just tried to make my way up through the pack. I think I was in sixth, catching fifth, and I caught a haybale and got bit. It’s super tough to end my night on a crash. I’m not stoked on that. But I can’t let the sour ending take the place of so many of the positives. So, we’re going to focus on the positives, focus on the good riding, and try to carry that momentum into the next one.

Marshall Weltin (Twisted Tea Suzuki) – 11th:
Every session we progressed. I’m comfortable on the bike and learning, so we went into the night show feeling great. My body’s feeling good. We ended up ninth in the heat. Going into the main I had a good mindset, thinking I’m going to give everything I have and lay it all out there. There was a lot of carnage. It’s tough here with the lights creating shadows – it was slick and then it started raining a little bit. I’m happy to come away with my personal best with an eleventh place. It’s close to a top 10 and it just feels nice to make progress week to week.