The penultimate round of the 2022 AMA Monster Energy Supercross Championship Series is here, and Eli Tomac has the championship firmly in his grasp. Tomac only needs to finish in P14 or better to clinch his second 450SX title in three years. So, we have an unusual challenge this week when picking a Top 5 in RMFantasySX.com leagues. Let’s dive into the unknown and look at the 2022 Denver Supercross fantasy tips and picks.Jason Anderson
Jason Anderson is the only rider left who can prevent Eli Tomac from becoming the 2022 Supercross Champion. Anderson needs at least two podiums to score his second 450SX crown, which would require almost no points from Tomac. While that is extraordinarily unlikely, Anderson still has a strong motivation to win. Tomac signaled last week in Foxborough that he will play it safe rather than take any risk—his P7 in Massachusetts was his worst finish of the year—so don’t look for a Tomac win in Denver. Go with Anderson for the win at Tomac’s home race.
Chase Sexton
Chase Sexton has shown himself to be one of the few riders to run consistently at the top, and he will want to add to his one-win total this year. Sexton is behind only Tomac and Anderson in podiums in 2022, and Sexton is tied with Anderson for third-most Top 5s behind Tomac and Malcolm Stewart. Look for Sexton as a possible winner, but more likely a P2 finisher.
Marvin Musquin
With four podiums in the last five races, Marvin Musquin is good to go for P3. Yes, he had a P10 hiccup on the superspeedway supercross track in Atlanta. However, his form has been podium-earning of late, and there’s no better choice.
Malcolm Stewart
Picking P4 and P5 is tough, as there are more potential riders than slots. Defending champion Cooper Webb is on a 4-6 roll, and would probably like to finish a disappointing 2022 with a bit of a flourish. Stewart is doing a bit better, going 5-4 in the last two races. Justin Barcia has 5-5-6-5 Main Event finishes the previous four times out. Plus, Tomac is the great unknown. Stewart’s recent record compels me to give him P4, and his 11 Top-5 finishes are only bested by Tomac. Barcia seems to be in P5 mode, and he has as many Top 5 finishes as Anderson and Sexton. I think Tomac will want to steer clear of the likes of Barcia and Anderson, so give Barcia P5. Yes, I’m leaving Tomac out of the Top 5, and I won’t be surprised to regret that.
Justin Barcia
The Wild Card is P7, and that’s where Tomac finished in Foxborough. With the title on the line, it would not be shocking to see Tomac play it safe and bring it home with another P7 finish. He’s my pick.
Eli Tomac
Last week was another less-than-stellar RMFantasySX.com performance by me. I’m plagued with a classic problem—I pick the Top 5 guys, or close, but not in the correct order. You can get all Top 5 nailed down and get just 20 points, compared to 107 points if you get them in order. I dropped slightly out of the Top 25-percent after last week, so I’m probably not the guy to look for when it comes to picking the order. The Wild Card picks have been eluding me for some reason, with the frustration of often being one position off.
2022 Denver Supercross Track Map
Saturday is the last of the daytime races for 2022, and those in the Pacific Time Zone will need to get up early to watch Qualifying live. Qualifying practice starts at 6 a.m. PDT, with the racing starting at noon. NBC shows the race live over the air, which explains the odd start times. Peacock covers the Qualifying, Heats, LCQ, and Main Events live, as always.
tl;dr 2022 Denver Supercross Fantasy Picks
Jason Anderson
Chase Sexton
Marvin Musquin
Malcolm Stewart
Justin Barcia Wild Card P7: Eli Tomac
Photography by Tyler Maillet / AJAK Photos2022 AMA Monster Energy Supercross Championship Series Standings (after 15 of 17 rounds)
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This week, in the first segment Editor Don Williams talks to us about the new Kawasaki Versys 650 LT. It’s the middleweight ADV style machine that uses the same 650 parallel twin motor as the Ninja 650, so it’s an excellent performer in a user-friendly, good looking package.
In the second segment, I chat with one of my dearest industry friends—now retired Honda PR executive, Jon Seidel. Jon’s fascinating career spans some 30 years with Big Red, and gave him some great experiences with some incredible machines. I was fortunate enough to be invited on many of the press launches that he organized. His new project is documenting and saving many of the old archives from years gone by—and incidentally, if you have anything that may be of value to the project, please contact us by email at producer@ultimatemotorcycling.com and we’ll pass it all on to Jon.
So on that note, from all of us here at Ultimate Motorcycling, we hope you enjoy this episode!
