At Lumen Area in Seattle, March 25th 2023, Eli Tomac grew to become solely the third rider in historical past to win his 50th AMA Supercross Fundamental Occasion within the premier class. He ranges with James Stewart for twond within the all-time listing, with solely the all-time King of Supercross, Jeremy McGrath, forward of them with a mighty 72.
Simply to check the main three within the all-time listing, MX Vice breaks down their numbers to see how they acquired there.
Phrases: Ben Rumbold | Featured Picture: Align Media
125cc/Lites/250F Profession
Eli is the one one of many three to have raced a four-stroke earlier than transferring as much as the premier class, and the one one to have simply gained the one coastal collection on his approach. His second straight title was denied him by Ken Roczen in 2013. McGrath had an additional 12 months to construct issues up, however like Tomac moved up full-time on the age of 21, with a handful of top-class appearances within the 12 months earlier than he did so. MC reached a better of 5th, while Tomac acquired as much as 4th at a spot he would come to interrupt data – Daytona!
Stewart, in distinction, moved onto a 250 two-stroke – towards a horde of 450 four-strokes – on the age of simply 19 in 2005, with none wildcard entries earlier than going full-time.
| Rider | MC | JS | ET |
| Ages | 17-20 | 16-18 | 18-20 |
| Years | 1989-92 | 2002-04 | 2011-13 |
| Seasons | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Coasts | West | West-West-East | West |
| Titles | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Races | 30 | 24 | 30 |
| Wins | 13 | 18 | 12 |
| Win %age | 43% | 75% | 40% |
| Yr 1 | 5 Races, 0 Wins (eighth) | 9 Races, 4 Wins (2nd) | 10 Races, 2 Wins (2nd) |
| Yr 2 | 9 Races, 1 Win (2nd) | 8 Races, 7 Wins (1st) | 10 Races, 5 Wins (1st) |
| Yr 3 | 8 Races, 5 Wins (1st) | 7 Races, 7 Wins (1st) | 10 Races, 5 Wins (2nd) |
| Yr 4 | 8 Races, 7 Wins (1st) | ||
| Champs | Ferry ’97 (Roncada 2nd) | Preston ’02 | Tickle ’11, Roczen ’13 |
The Street to 50
James Stewart was, as suspected, instantly quick on the large bikes, however suffered accidents which prevented him difficult for a title from the get-go. He did nonetheless win in his first season, on the 3rd try in 2005 forward of title combatants Ricky Carmichael and Chad Reed. The three of them would go bar-to-bar-to-bar for the title in 2006!
Jeremy McGrath exhibits the primary sliver of sunshine on the daybreak of a brand new period – his period – with a nice exhibiting on the Bercy Supercross of 1992. (Picture: Jack Burnicle)
Eli needed to wait till his second season to win his first race, however in fact McGrath solely needed to wait till the third spherical of his first full season, technically his sixth 250cc begin, to register his first win for the then-mighty Staff Honda. He solely took 12 extra races to register his tenth, amazingly identical to Stewart hitting double figures on simply his 21st try. Eli once more needed to wait simply that bit longer, as he has finished all through his profession. Amazingly, Stewart acquired to wins #20 & #30 quicker than McGrath did, however Showtime is the one one of many three to have gained 10 in a row, in that unbelievable 1996 season the place he gained all however one of many 15 rounds, as near unbeaten in as anybody has managed in a Supercross 12 months. His greatest profession streak ended at 13 races. Stewart’s greatest streak was 8 in a row from the top of 2007 into the primary race of 2008, while Eli has twice hit 5 in a row, as soon as in a shedding trigger towards Ryan Dungey in 2017, and once more in profitable style for Yamaha in 2022.
| Rider | MC | JS | ET |
| 1st Win | ninth Race, Anaheim ’93 | third Race, Irving ’05 | fifteenth Race, Phoenix ’15 |
| tenth Win | twenty first Race, San Jose ’93 | twenty first Race, Seattle ’06 | 58th Race, Indy ’17 |
| twentieth Win | thirty eighth Race, Orlando ’95 | thirty fourth Race, Indy ’07 | 77th Race, Minn ’18 (TC) |
| thirtieth Win | 52nd Race, Orlando ’96 | forty sixth Race, A3 ’09 | 104th Race, Tampa ’20 |
| fortieth Win | 62nd Race, Tampa ’96 | sixty fifth Race, A2 ’11 | 139th Race, Arlington. ’22 (TC) |
| fiftieth Win | ninetieth Race, Daytona ’98 | a hundred and fifteenth Race, St Louis ’14 | 159th Race, Seattle ’23 |
| sixtieth Win | 113th Race, Vegas ’99 | ||
| seventieth Win | 129th Race, Vegas ’00 |
TC = Triple Crown
Profession Progress
James Stewart, identical to McGrath earlier than him and Eli Tomac after him, moved to Yamaha and gained a title instantly.(Picture: Simon Cudby/Crimson Bull Content material Pool)
Because the desk beneath exhibits, there have been only a few occasions in McGrath’s profession that he didn’t win, solely stopping when RC got here by as Jeremy hit 30 years outdated. Stewart encountered RC on the finish of his profession, and really almost took a title from him earlier than gaining the crown with an emphatic 13-win season of 2007.
Tomac couldn’t crack the Austrian machines of Ryan Dungey, Jason Anderson, and Cooper Webb till the 7th 12 months of his profession, profitable lots of races however solely discovering title-winning consistency in 2019. He hits 50 wins in his 10th season, simply as Bubba did, however James had lots of accidents and points that prevented him even beginning as many races as he ought to have finished. Jeremy hit 50 in simply his 6th season, en path to his 5th title, earlier than reaching his final whole of 72 in three extra years.
McGrath’s profession was actually on the next trajectory than those that joined him on the Half-Century bar, nevertheless it must be mentioned that the timing was in his favour. He arrived as Jean-Michel Bayle left the game, and just about hastened the top of the careers of Damon Bradshaw and Jeff Stanton as his domination simply shut the earlier megastars out of the winner’s circle. From there, while Mike LaRocco and Mike Kiedrowski have been nice Outside Champions, Jeremy at all times had the measure of them indoors. You may argue that his competitors wasn’t as nice as a result of he wouldn’t permit them to be, however you’ll be able to’t argue that he needed to cope with the multi-champs that each Stewart and Tomac needed to take care of. The likes of Ryan Villopoto, Dungey, Webb, Reed and Carmichael would certainly have made McGrath’s life harder, however he did increase the bar and deserves to nonetheless sit a lot larger, with virtually 50% extra wins than JS7 and ET3, after over twenty years of individuals attempting to catch him.
| Rider | MC | JS | ET |
| Ages | 20-30 | 19-30 | 21-30 |
| Years | 1992-2002 | 2005-16 | 2013-2023? |
| Seasons | 10 (1992 raced 6 rounds) | 11 (2015 Suspended) | 10 (2013 raced 4 rounds) |
| Titles | 7 | 2 | 2 |
| Races | 161 | 123 | 160 |
| Wins | 72 | 50 | 49 |
| Win %age | 45% | 41% | 31% |
| Yr 1 | 16 Races, 10 Wins (1st) Kiedrowski 2nd with 2 Wins, 57 Pts Again | 6 Races, 3 Wins (tenth) RC Champ, Stewart behind Preston in standings after harm | 9 Races, 0 Wins (thirteenth) Villopoto Champ, Reed simply behind Tomac after harm |
| Yr 2 | 15 Races, 9 Wins (1st) LaRocco 2nd with 3 Wins, 48 Pts again | 16 Races, 8 Wins (2nd) RC Champ with 6 Wins, 2 Pts forward of JS & CR tied! | 17 Races, 3 Wins (2nd) Dungey Champ with 8 Wins, ET 85 Pts again |
| Yr 3 | 14 Races, 10 Wins (1st) L. Ward 2nd with 0 Wins, 50 Pts Again | 16 Races, 13 Wins (1st) Reed 2nd with 1 Win, 51 Pts again | 17 Races, 1 Win (4th) Dungey Champ with 9 wins, Roczen & Anderson forward of ET |
| Yr 4 | 15 Races, 14 Wins (1st) Emig 2nd with 1 Win, 132 Pts Again | 2 Races, 1 Win (twenty third) Reed Champ with 9 Wins, Stew injured at Spherical 3 | 17 Races, 9 Wins (2nd) Dungey Champ with 3 Wins, ET 5 Pts Again |
| Yr 5 | 15 Races, 2 Wins (2nd) Emig Champ with 5 Wins, MC 15 Pts Again | 17 Races, 11 Wins (1st) Reed 2nd with 3 Wins, 4 Pts again | 16 Races, 8 Wins (third) Anderson Champ with 4 Wins, Musquin 2nd |
| Yr 6 | 16 Races, 7 Wins (1st), Lusk 2nd with 4 Wins, 51 Pts Again | 3 Races, 1 Win (twentieth) Dungey Champ with 6 Wins, Stew injured Spherical 4 | 17 Races, 6 Wins (2nd) Webb Champ with 7 Wins, ET 18 Pts Again |
| Yr 7 | 16 Races, 8 Wins (1st) Lusk 2nd with 5 Wins, 83 Pts Again | 17 Races, 5 Wins (4th) Villopoto Champ with 6 Wins, Stewart 38 Pts Again | 17 Races, 7 Wins (1st) Webb 2nd with 4 Wins, 25 Pts Again |
| Yr 8 | 16 Races, 10 Wins (1st) Vuillemin 2nd with 4 Wins, 35 Pts Again | 11 Races, 2 Wins (seventh) Villopoto Champ with 9 Wins, Stew injured at Spherical 11 | 17 Races, 3 Wins (third) Webb Champ with 8 Wins, Roczen 2nd |
| Yr 9 | 16 Races, 2 Wins (2nd) RC Champ with 14 Wins, MC 64 Pts Again | 14 Races, 1 Win (tenth) Villopoto Champ with 10 Wins, Stew injured Spherical 15 | 17 Races, 7 Wins (1st) Anderson 2nd with 7 Wins, 9 Pts Again |
| Yr 10 | 16 Races, 0 Wins (third) RC Champ with 11 Wins, DV12 2nd | 17 Races, 5 Wins (4th) Villopoto Champ with 7 Wins, Stewart 96 Pts Again | 11 Races, 6 Wins (2nd) Win #50 at Rd 11 |
| Yr 11 | 4 Races, 0 Wins (thirty second) Dungey Champ with 9 Wins |
Bikes
The three Half-Century Hitters are additionally among the many only a few to have gained on three manufacturers of machine, with MC’s domination on Honda proving to be essentially the most profitable. Each Eli & Bubba gained essentially the most in inexperienced, and actually McGrath gained his first ever 125cc Supercross on a Kawasaki too, and has returned to them as an impressive model ambassador.
In leaving the mighty staff Honda and changing into the primary rider ever to win Championships on two totally different manufacturers, McGrath ended over a decade of the crimson staff’s dominance of the game. Solely Carmichael has gained a title for them since. Ricky is the one rider to have gained titles on three totally different manufacturers (Kawasaki, Honda, and Suzuki), while Stewart & Tomac are the one different males to have gained titles on a couple of model.
Chad Reed stays the one rider to have gained top-class Supercross Fundamental Occasions on 4 totally different manufacturers.
| Rider | MC | JS | ET |
| Bikes | Honda – 43 Wins | Kawasaki – 25 Wins | Honda – 3 Wins |
| Suzuki – 2 Wins | Yamaha – 19 Wins | Kawasaki – 34 Wins | |
| Yamaha – 27 Wins | Suzuki – 6 Wins | Yamaha – 13 Wins |
