Trey Canard's season-ending accident during the Semi in Detroit proves anything can happen to anyone in Supercross.
With Canard out, Ryan Dungey's points lead in the 2015 Monster Energy Supercross season went from 45 to 77 by the end of Round 12. Now boasting a three-race lead over Eli Tomac with five rounds remaining, it should be interesting to see if Dungey mails in the rest of the season.
Dungey doesn't need to win. At this point he simply needs to show up and finish, preferably somewhere in the Top 10, keep reducing his magic number over Tomac and bring home the Championship during the round Supercross should have been in Seattle.
Cole Seely is in fourth place, 91 points out from first, so he should be eliminated from Championship contention by the end of Round 13 on Saturday in St. Louis leaving only Tomac as a challenger for the title but he'll need a lot of help to catch Dungey. So, with Dungey presumably looking at securing the Championship rather than individual wins, there's still 125 points up for grabs to reach the final podium. Of course, if Dungey wins on Saturday and Tomac coughs up another 1 point race which he's done twice this year, Dungey can start testing for Motocross next week.
The race for the championship podium should be electric in the coming weeks as every rider in the Top 10, except for Canard, is in contention. Tomac has reached the podium in three of the last four rounds and the rookie Seely has two straight podiums and is just 14 points back from Tomac. Seely needs a win on Saturday to pass Canard in points, Tomac just needs a solid race.
Then there's Chad Reed, the veteran who has not placed lower than 11th place except for the disqualification at Anaheim 2. If not for that race, Reed could easily be in fourth, instead he's in a close fifth and a final podium appearance is easily within reach. Don't forget Ken Roczen who started the year as a title contender until an ankle injury sidelined him. With Canard out and two spots open for the Championship podium, if Roczen returns and ends the year the way he started, he'll be in the mix.
Blake Baggett and Jason Anderson, both rookies, each have a podium appearance and a strong push to end the year could put those two in the Top 5. Anderson started the year finishing in the Top 10 in the first 10 rounds, however, he bottomed out the last two including a gnarly crash in Detroit that might have lasting effects. Andrew Short and Brock Tickle complete the Top 10 but neither have a podium and would need season bests to finish the year as well as some luck just to climb into the Top 5.
Nick Wey looking strong for Round 13 in St. Louis
Nick Wey is the sole MotoSport sponsored rider in the Top 20 and in what's widely believed to be his last season, Wey is coming off his best race of the year and reached seven straight Mains. Wey has 48 points, is in 19th place and settling in the Top 15 to end the final season of his long career is doable. His 12th place result in Detroit could be all that's needed to gear up for some top 10 finishes in the remaining rounds.
Can Colt Nichols beat last week's sixth-place result?
In the 250s, it's the final round for the East class until East Rutherford on April 25 and the champion won't be settled this week or even in April. Marvin Musquin has a 13 point edge over Justin Bogle despite four wins in six rounds. Bogle, the 250 East defending Champion, got his first win of the season in Detroit and both riders are the only ones in the field to step on the podium every time out.
Kyle Peters is inching up the point standings
In a distant third is Jeremy Martin whose much talked-about failure to make the Main at Indianapolis dropped him far enough back he's been written off as a title contender. Martin and Bogle were neck-and-neck in the standings after Daytona but the loss of points could put even third-place in jeopardy for Martin as Joey Savatgy rode to his second podium of the year last week and is just 10 points back from third-place.
Mitchell Oldenburg is looking for another Top 10 finish in St. Louis
MotoSport riders are ripping it up in the 250 East class as Kyle Peters sits in eighth-place thanks to six Top 15 finishes. Peters can easily get into sixth-place for points and is within reach of the Top 5. Colt Nichols nailed down a season best sixth-place in Detroit helping him jump three spots to 11th and 10 points from the Top 10. Mitchell Oldenburg also had a season best last week and he's in 13th place.
Watch it all unfold at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Edwards Jones Dome. Buy tickets online or at the box office, 701 Convention Plaza in St. Louis, MO.
2015 Monster Energy Supercross Season Standings
450SX Class Season Standings
- Ryan Dungey (271)
- Trey Canard (204)
- Eli Tomac (194)
- Cole Seely (180)
- Chad Reed (170)
- Ken Roczen (156)
- Blake Baggett (154)
- Jason Anderson (145)
- Andrew Short (136)
- Broc Tickle (134)
250SX East Class Season Standings
- Marvin Musquin (144)
- Justin Bogle (131)
- Jeremy Martin (103)
- Joey Savatgy (93)
- RJ Hampshire (84)
- James Decotis (69)
- Anthony Rodriguez (68)
- Kyle Peters (65) - MotoSport rider
- Martin Davalos (63)
- Vince Friese (58)
