Courtesy of RacerX
May 7, 2017 11:05am
by Jason Weigandt
That’s a wrap on the 2017 Monster Energy Supercross season, and what a season it was. With championships often decided a round or two before the season finale in Las Vegas, it was refreshing to be able to contemplate championship deciding scenarios and it offered up the most exciting main event of the year.
Jason Anderson got his first and only win of the season after shadowing Ryan Dungey and Eli Tomac for most of the race and finally got into the lead on the last lap after Tomac put one final block pass on Dungey. Anderson ended his season with four podiums which had to be a relief after starting the season with two fourth place finishes and a disqualification after hitting Vince Friese.
Tomac took second place in the race and the championship after taking one last shot at Ryan Dungey on the last lap. Eli slowed down to let Dungey by and put a block pass on him that held them both up. Tomac finished the season with nine wins and 12 podiums.
Josh Grant also got his first podium of the season and his first since finishing second at the New Orleans Supercross in 2012. Grant finished the season 10th in points and only missed two races. A solid return after having two ankle surgeries last year.
Dungey finished in fourth place after running second for most of the race. The fourth was enough to win the 450SX championship by five points when it was all said and done. Dungey ended his season with three wins, 13 podiums, and finishing no worse than fourth.
All four riders spoke with the media at the press conference after the race.
Racer X: Josh, about midway through that main event you had caught that lead pack. Obviously you could see what was in front of you, your teammate [Eli Tomac] and his contender for the championship [Ryan Dungey], but you also probably had some personal goals tonight. How were you able to manage and balance the situation that was in front of you with your own personal goals in mind?
Josh Grant: Yeah, obviously it was a little difficult because we knew going into it the objective here was to get as many points as we could. It was craziness and I couldn’t make a judgment call on it. I just didn’t really know what was going on until I caught up to the guys. It was a wild ride.
On the personal side, happy with the podium and the way to close out the championship?
Grant: Yeah. Obviously it’s been a while since I’ve been up here. Just injuries and going through all the stuff that I’ve dealt with. I’ve been working hard so that’s all that matters. I’m just looking forward to taking this momentum into outdoors and hopefully doing some work.
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RacerX 2017 Las Vegas Supercross The Conversation