After 150 laps in the Iowa Corn 300, pole-sitter Helio Castroneves leads the way.
Castroneves, who lost the lead at the race’s outset to Tony Kanaan took the lead from Josef Newgarden around Lap 127 following a restart.
Following Castroneves is Newgarden, Kanaan, Scott Dixon, Graham Rahal, Ryan Runter-Reay, Carlos Munoz, Sage Karam, Ryan Briscoe and Ed Carpenter.
The first caution of the race might be the most important one all year. Points leader Juan Pablo Montoya slammed into the Turn 2 wall on Lap 10 after something broke on his No. 2 Chevrolet.
It’s his first DNF since recording one last year, also at Iowa.
A 14-lap caution period ended on Lap 24 but the remaining 23 cars couldn’t make it around the track once without more trouble.
Stefano Coletti pinched and made contact with Charlie Kimball against the outside wall, resulting in Kimball losing the left side of his front wing and another caution.
While Montoya’s accident benefits championship contender Graham Rahal, the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver at one point lost two laps after pitting just shy of the 60 lap mark for a low tire.
The Fontana winner quickly got back on the lead lap thanks to offsetting pit cycles and a caution.
Sebastien Bourdais, Will Power and Kimball each briefly led during green flag pit stops that began around Lap 80. Kimball having pitted for the damage from the Lap 24 accident finally pitted on Lap 100.
The third caution of the race waved on Lap 107 after Justin Wilson got loose and skimmed off backstretch wall, giving him a flat tire.
Newgarden took the lead on pit stops and led until pole-sitter Castroneves passed him on Lap 127.
Seattle Supercross by the numbers: Three riders separated by 17 points
Three riders remain locked in a tight battle with 17 points separating the leader Cooper Webb from third-place Chase Sexton and these are only a few Supercross numbers to consider entering Seattle.Chase Sexton made a statement in Detroit with his second win of 2023. – Feld Motor Sports
Webb and Tomac won the last four championships with two apiece in alternating years, but they were not one another’s primary rival for most of those seasons. On the average, however, the past four years show an incredible similarity with average points earned of 21.0 for Webb and 21.3 for Tomac. With five wins so far this season, Tomac (23 wins) leads Webb (19) in victories but Webb (43) edges Tomac (41) in podium finishes during this span.
Tomac has won two of the last three Seattle races and those two wins in this stadium are topped only by James Stewart. Fittingly, if Tomac gets a third win this week, he will tie Stewart for second on the all-time wins’ list. Tomac tied Ricky Carmichael for third with 48 wins at Oakland and took sole possession of that spot with his Daytona win.
Sexton still has a lot to say and after winning last week in Detroit, he is speaking up. The Supercross numbers are against him entering Seattle, however, because a points’ deficit this large after Round 10 has been erased only once. In 1983 David Bailey was 47 points behind Bob Hannah, and like Sexton he was also in third place. Bailey took the points’ lead with one race remaining.
The seven points Sexton was penalized last week for jumping in a red cross flag section in Detroit could prove extremely costly.
In fact, it has been a series of mistakes that has cost Sexton the most. In the last two weeks, he lost 10 points with a 10th-place finish to go with his penalty. Erase those, and all three riders hold their fate in their hands.
Plessinger’s heartbreak in Detroit is still fresh, but the upside of his run is that was his best of the season and could turn his fortunes around. Prior to that race, he led only seven laps in three mains. He was up front for 20 laps in Detroit with five of those being the fastest on the track.
Last week’s win by Hunter Lawrence tied him with his brother Jett Lawrence for 17th on the all-time wins’ list. With the focus shifting to 250 West for the next two rounds, Jett has a great opportunity to pull back ahead. The real test will be at the first East / West Showdown in East Rutherford, New Jersey on April 22.
Last Five Seattle Winners
450s 2022: Eli Tomac
2019: Marvin Musquin
2018: Eli Tomac
2017: Marvin Musquin
2014: Ryan Villopoto
