Fox Raceway MX Preview: Roczen, Tomac need to sustain momentum - MotorSportsTalk

After seven years without a Motocross round at Pala Raceway, the track returns to the schedule displacing Glen Helen.

At Glen Helen last year, Eli Tomac scored his second consecutive victory on the strength of two Moto wins to kick off his championship bid over Marvin Musquin (2-3) and Jason Anderson (4-2).

Tomac was heavily favored to win last week at Hangtown, but he was not able to overcome a poor start in Moto 1 and had to settle for a second-place finish. He needs to win this week before anyone questions his ability to earn a third consecutive MX title.

Now that he has the monkey off his back, Ken Roczen has something to prove as well and he will do so if he can at least win another Moto this week. Between his 2016 victory that began his winless streak and last week, Roczen scored only two Moto wins.

Roczen wasn’t the only rider to stage a comeback. Anderson picked up where he left off by finishing third overall at Hangtown. As with the other top finishers last week, his key to success is going to be in sustaining that momentum.

A good start and the willingness to ride flat out for 30 minutes in each Moto will be the key to success this week.

In the 250 class, Martin Davalos and Mitchell Falk both crashed hard at Hangtown. Despite taking a foot peg to his ribs that left him with cartilage damage, Davalos will race this weekend. Falk was not so lucky. Crashing early in Moto 1, he broke a collarbone and is out until further notice.

MORE: Eli’s Coming

Schedule:

Qualifiers: 1:15 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Gold
Race: Live, 4 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Gold (Moto 1) and 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN (Moto 2)

May 18 – 2019 Hangtown MX Classic

450: Ken Roczen (1-2) won over Eli Tomac (4-1) and Jason Anderson (2-5).
250: Adam Cianciarulo (2-1) beat Justin Cooper (1-4) and Colt Nichols (5-3).

September 10, 2011 – Pala Raceway

450: Pala Raceway returns to the schedule for the first time since 2011 when Ryan Dungey (2-1) defeated Ryan Villopoto (1-3) and Justin Barcia (3-2).
250: Dean Wilson (1-1) beat Blake Baggett (2-3) and Marvin Musquin (4-4).

Overall Wins

450:
[1] Ken Roczen (Hangtown)

250:
[1] Adam Cianciarulo (Hangtown)

Moto Wins

450:
[1] Ken Roczen (Hangtown)
[1] Eli Tomac (Hangtown)

250:
[1] Adam Cianciarulo (Hangtown)
[1] Justin Cooper (Hangtown)

Follow Dan Beaver on Twitter

It took four attempts for Kyle Larson to win his first High Limit Sprint Car Series race in the series he co-owns with brother-in-law Brad Sweet, but once he found victory lane, he has been undefeated with his win at Eagle (Nebraska) Raceway. For the second week, Abreu led early only to fall prey to Larson.

The win was Larson’s third straight victory and the fifth consecutive top-five, giving him a perfect sweep of the season after finishing 10th in last year’s inaugural race at Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville, Indiana.

Larson started third behind Abreu and Brent Marks but was embroiled in a fierce battle with Anthony Macri for third during the first dozen laps. Larson slipped by Macri in traffic until a red flag waved for a flip by Lachlan McHugh.

Meanwhile at the front of the pack, Marks retook the lead from Abreu on Lap 18. Larson followed one lap later and then caution waved again. Tyler Courtney lost power and fell to 24th after starting eighth.

Marks scooted away on the restart but tragedy struck in Lap 26. Leading the race, Marks hit a pothole in Turn 1, bicycled and then flipped, handing the lead to Larson.

Abreu caught Larson again during the final laps and in a reprise of their battle at Tri-City Speedway, the two threw sliders at one another for several laps until Larson built some separation and ran away to the checkers.

𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧. 𝗪𝗔𝗦. 𝗘𝗣𝗜𝗖.@EagleRaceway went above and beyond in their return to the main stage with the High Limit Sprint Car Series tonight!

pic.twitter.com/H3XKQEOpg6

— High Limit Racing (@HighLimitRacing) June 7, 2023

“I didn’t feel like my pace in [Turns] 1 & 2 slowed down a ton,” Larson said from victory lane. “I missed it once there and then I saw his nose in 3 & 4. I didn’t know if he nailed the bottom that well behind me and I think he might have slid me in the next corner, so he was definitely on the top.

“I was nervous to move up there because my car was really pogoing up in the entry of 1. I got up just in time, made a few mistakes and he threw a couple more sliders at me but he was just a little too far back and I was able to squirt around him. Then I really had to commit to hitting my marks – back my effort down a bit to avoid mistakes.”

After leading early, Abreu fell back as far as sixth, but faith in his car kept hope alive.

“I just needed to do a few things a few laps before I did and fix some angles, then my car got a whole lot better,” Abreu said. “I’m thankful for this team; they do an amazing job. They don’t give up on me. I know my car is going to be there right at the end of these races, so it’s just the discipline of being patient.”

For Abreu, it was his third near-miss this season. He was leading at Lakeside in the 2023 opener until a tire went flat in the closing laps and he lost the lead to Larson late in the Tri-City Speedway race. Abreu has finished sixth or better in his last three High Limit races with each result being progressively better until his pair of runner-up results.

Third-place finisher Scelzi was the hard charger, advancing from 17th.

“I had a very specific plan; don’t go near [the hole in Turn 1],” Scelzi said. “It worked out. No one wanted to start on the top. I think I gained a couple of rows there on the choose cone and ran the middle, which seemed to be better than right around the bottom.”

Michael “Buddy” Kofoid in fourth and Macri rounded out the top five.

World of Outlaws star and former NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne was one of 41 entrants, but he was not among the 26 starters. He failed to advance to the Main after finishing eighth in the B Main and seventh in his heat.

Feature Results

A Feature (40 Laps): 1. 57-Kyle Larson[4]; 2. 24-Rico Abreu[1]; 3. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[17]; 4. 71-Michael Kofoid[5]; 5. 39M-Anthony Macri[3]; 6. 9-Chase Randall[9]; 7. 26-Zeb Wise[14]; 8. 1X-Jake Bubak[15]; 9. 8-Aaron Reutzel[10]; 10. 14D-Corey Day[18]; 11. 11-Cory Eliason[12]; 12. 5T-Ryan Timms[11]; 13. 88-Austin McCarl[13]; 14. 21H-Brady Bacon[22]; 15. 48-Danny Dietrich[16]; 16. 7S-Robbie Price[19]; 17. 21-Brian Brown[23]; 18. 22-Riley Goodno[26]; 19. 52-Blake Hahn[25]; 20. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[21]; 21. 3J-Dusty Zomer[6]; 22. 14-Cole Macedo[7]; 23. 19-Brent Marks[2]; 24. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[8]; 25. 25-Lachlan McHugh[20]; 26. 53-Jack Dover[24]

2023 High Limit Sprint Car Series

Race 1: Giovanni Scelzi wins at Lakeside Speedway
Race2: Anthony Macri wins at 34 Raceway
Race 3: Kyle Larson wins at Wayne County Speedway
Race 4: Kyle Larson wins at Tri-City Speedway

Read more about Motorsports