2018 Foxborough Supercross Preview: Tomac Trying To Avoid Elimination
It’s that time of the year when Supercross riders look to clinch positions, and stave off elimination. Jason Anderson is the only rider in the field who controls his own destiny for the Championship, and he’s a prohibitive favorite with three rounds to go, including the race this Saturday at Gillette Stadium for the 2018 Foxborough Supercross.
Let’s take a look at the standings see who needs to do what under the sun for the rare daytime round of the 2018 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship.
- Eli Tomac has as many wins as the rest of the field, yet he faces likely elimination in Foxborough. With seven wins in 14 rounds, Tomac (Monster Energy Kawasaki KX450F) should be running away with the championship. Instead, injuries and crashes meant he was out of the top 10 at five races in 2018. That puts Tomac 65 points behind leader Anderson. If Tomac can’t cut 13 points from Anderson’s lead, Tomac is down to racing for pride. If Tomac wins (likely), Anderson would have to finish 10th or worse (highly unlikely).
- Jason Anderson can clinch the title at the 2018 Foxborough Supercross, but don’t count on it. Anderson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing FC450) would have to leave Gillette Stadium with a 52-point lead over Marvin Musquin. That repeats the 13-point gain requirement—Anderson would need a win, and Musquin would have to finish 10th or worse. Or, if Musquin doesn’t qualify for the main, Anderson could clinch the championship with a ninth place or better—don’t count on that. Either way, expect Musquin to continue the battle into Salt Lake City as the only possible challenger to Anderson.
- Marvin Musquin’s plan of being the Rider In Waiting is running out of time. Musquin (Red Bull KTM 450 SX-F) has put in four podiums in the last four races to keep himself in the hunt. However, Musquin has lost a point to Anderson over that stretch. Even if Musquin wins out over the next three rounds—remember that Musquin has just two wins in 2018—it would require a complete collapse by Anderson to make up 39 points when the checkers fall in Las Vegas.
- Justin Brayton will be trying to hold onto his fourth place position in the standings. Things are looking good for that. Brayton’s closest competitor is Blake Baggett. Baggett (Rocky Mountain ATV-MC/WPS/KTM) is just eight points behind Brayton (Smartop/Bullfrog Spas/Honda CR450R), but Brayton has beaten Baggett in five of the last six races—Brayton did horribly in the Seattle mud. At the beginning of the year, you wouldn’t have expected Brayton to be the top Honda rider for 2018, but he has clinched that distinction with three rounds remaining.
- With Cooper Webb out with a broken leg and Broc Tickle suspended, Dean Wilson has an eye on seventh place in the standings. Wilson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) is 19 points behind seventh place Tickle, so don’t expect Wilson to catch Tickle in Foxborough. However, Wilson can surprise—he scored a podium in Indianapolis. If Wilson snags a fourth place at Gillette Stadium, he’ll get the 19 points at he needs in to pass Tickle and Webb in one bite.
- Justin Barcia’s comeback went well in Minneapolis, so he will be eyeing a top 10 spot in the standings. Barcia (Monster Energy Factory Yamaha Racing YZ450F) needs to gain just three points on Malcolm Stewart (Autotrader/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing RMZ450F) to move into the top 10. Barcia has outscored Stewart by over three points in every Main Event that Barcia has finished, so expect Stewart to be passed in Foxborough.
- It’s an early start for the 2018 Foxborough Supercross. Television coverage starts at 3 p.m. EDT, and it will be on Fox Network, rather than Fox Sports 1. It’s great that there will be live coverage and that it will be on broadcast television. Don’t forget to bookmark our 2018 Monster Energy Supercross TV Schedule.
2018 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Standings (after 14 of 17 rounds)
- Jason Anderson, 311 points (4 wins)
- Marvin Musquin, 272 (2 wins)
- Eli Tomac, 246 (7 wins)
- Justin Brayton, 232 (1 win)
- Blake Baggett, 224
- Weston Peick, 202
- Broc Tickle, 184
- Cooper Webb, 181
- Dean Wilson, 165
- Malcolm Stewart, 134
- Justin Barcia, 131
- Vince Friese, 130
- Cole Seely, 124
- Tyler Bowers, 123
- Chad Reed, 122
- Ken Roczen, 102
- Benny Bloss, 99
- Kyle Cunningham, 86
- Christian Craig, 84
- Josh Grant, 83
- Ben Lamay, 71
- Kyle Chisholm, 48
- Cedric Soubeyras, 40
- Jeremy Martin, 36
- Alex Ray, 22
- Cole Martinez, 20
- Adam Enticknap, 19
- Justin Hill, 18
- Dakota Tedder, 18
- Henry Miller, 15
- Matt Bisceglia, 15
- Justin Bogle, 12
- Austin Politelli, 11
- AJ Catanzaro, 10
- Dylan Merriam, 9
- Bradley Taft, 5
- Jake Weimer, 5
- Justin Starling, 5
- Carlen Gardner, 5
- Cody Vanbuskirk, 4
- Collin Jurin, 4
- Theodore Pauli, 3
- Brandon Scharer, 3
- Scott Champion, 2
- Deven Raper, 2
- Josh Hill, 2
- Nick Schmidt, 1
