2017 Ironman Motocross TV Schedule and Viewing Guide | 8 Fast Facts

2017 Ironman Motocross Preview

After a long, arduous season for the riders, the final round of the 2017 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship Series is here. Ironman Raceway in Crawfordsville, Indiana is the site of the 2017 Christi Hubler Chevrolet Ironman National, the 12th round of the season.

Here’s what you need to know when watching the Ironman National on TV and in person.

1. You can watch the Christi Hubler Chevrolet Ironman National on MAVTV and NBCSN. From 1 p.m. to 3 p.m ET on Saturday, August 26, you can watch the first 450MX and 250MX motos live in each class on MAVTV. NBCSN is delaying showing the second motos—inexcusable for a final round. The broadcast starts at 5 p.m. ET. The hour-long Highlight Show on NBCSN is scheduled for 2 a.m. ET on Thursday, August 31.

2. NBC Sports Gold was fail for the second consecutive week. Last week there were problems with the Moto 2 playbacks in both classes. This week, the opening 10 minutes of the second moto of 450MX at Budds Creek was blacked out. How they can charge for such a sketchy service, we are not quite sure. This does not happen with the MotoGP and World Superbike packages.

3. Eli Tomac is in good shape going into the final round. While it looked like Monster Energy Kawasaki KX-F450 pilot Tomac was about to put the championship back in play with his seventh place finish in the first moto at Budds Creek, he stormed back to a win in the second moto to solidify his position. With three consecutive motos off the podium, Tomac’s hold on the championship was starting to look a bit shaky. Tomac’s moto win, along with Marvin Musquin and Blake Baggett both failing to make the podium in a moto at Budds Creek almost seals it for Tomac.

4. Blake Baggett and Marvin Musquin must beat Tomac in Moto 1 at Ironman Raceway. If Baggett fails to score four more points than Tomac, and Musquin fails to score six points more than Tomac, then Tomac is the 2017 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross 450MX Champion. That’s all it takes.

5. If Tomac finishes second in either moto, he wins the championship. 461 is the magic number for Tomac—if he scores that many points, he’s the champion. Tomac is at 439 points, so all he needs is the 22 points awarded for second place. Alternately, a pair of 10th place finishes (both worth 11 points) also clinches it for Tomac. Tomac can lose the title, but it won’t be easy.

6. Blake Baggett and Marvin Musquin are just two points apart. Musquin has a big edge in moto wins—7 to 2—so Baggett will lose a tiebreaker. Baggett must end the season with more points than Musquin to beat him for second place in the standings; Musquin can tie on points and take second. Remember, Baggett is riding injured, yet he still manages to find his way to the podium in almost every round.

7. Justin Bogle will be looking to catch Cole Seely for fifth overall for the year. Propelled by a 1-3 day and the first overall 450MX win in his career at Budds Creek, Bogle has fifth in his sights—Seely is just eight points ahead. Bogle definitely has major motivation; he’s a free agent as the RCH/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing team he rides for is disbanding.

8. Even though Zach Osborne and Jeremy Martin have clinched 1-2 in 250MX, third place is still up for grabs. After taking his first 250MX moto win and overall win, Adam Cianciarulo is now six points up on Joey Savatgy. However, Savatgy sat out Budds Creek with a foot injury and Savatgy’s status for the finale is unknown. Aaron Plessinger is 11 points behind Cianciarulo, so Plessinger is within striking distance. Ferrandis is 25 points back of Cianciarulo—doable, but definitely a longshot.

2017 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross 450MX Championship Standings (11 of 12 rounds)

1. Eli Tomac, 439, (9 moto wins)
2. Blake Baggett, 411 (2 moto wins)
3. Marvin Musquin, 409 (7 moto wins)
4. Dean Wilson, 320
5. Cole Seely, 294
6. Justin Bogle, 286 (2 moto wins)
7. Martin Davalos, 263
8. Weston Peick, 241
9. Cooper Webb, 237
10. Jason Anderson, 216 (2 moto wins)
11. Christian Craig, 190
12. Fredrik Noren, 188
13. Justin Barcia, 172
14. Broc Tickle, 146
15. Dakota Alix, 145
16. Josh Grant, 143
17. Henry Miller, 94
18. John Short, 63
19. Matthew Bisceglia, 62
20. Benny Bloss, 60

2017 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross 250MX Championship Standings (11 of 12 rounds)

1. *Zach Osborne, 451 points (8 moto wins)
2. *Jeremy Martin, 387 (4 moto wins)
3. Adam Cianciarulo, 330 (1 moto win)
4. Joey Savatgy, 324 (4 moto wins)
5. Aaron Plessinger, 319 (2 moto wins)
6. Dylan Ferrandis, 305 (2 moto wins)
7. Alex Martin, 296 (1 moto win)
8. Colt Nichols, 265
9. Mitchell Harrison, 250
10. Shane McElrath, 248
11. RJ Hampshire, 197
12. Austin Forkner, 184
13. Chase Sexton, 162
14. Sean Cantrell, 152
15. Luke Renzland, 129
16. Kyle Cunningham, 125
17. Nick Gaines, 105
18. Lorenzo Locurcio, 102
19. Justin Hill, 88
20. Bradley Taft, 68
    *clinched position