Conventional wisdom say races are not won on the first lap, but that was far from true in Arlington. Webb got a great start and pushed holeshot winner Dean Wilson wide on Lap 1 and never looked back. When the checkers wave a little more than 20 minutes later, he had a four-second advantage over the field.
More importantly, Webb gained nine points on Ken Roczen and left the first race of the Arlington residency with the red plate after a nine-point swing over Ken Roczen.
After winning the opening round in Round 1, the first of three Houston races, Justin Barcia settled into second at the checkers. It has been a seesaw year so far for Barcia in 2021. After winning the first race, he alternated top-fives with results outside that mark until the three-race stint in Florida. He finished fourth and third at Orlando, but slipped to sixth last week at Daytona. He rebounded to second Saturday night in Arlington.
Jason Anderson scored his first podium of the season in third.
RESULTS: Click here for 450 results; Click here for 250
For Anderson it was a hard-fought and controversial race, however. Midway through the event it was reported that Supercross was looking into a couple of on-track incidents when he rode Malcolm Stewart wide and forced Dylan Ferrandis to crash.
In his second race after crashing out of the second round of the Houston residency, Chase Sexton finished fourth to score his first top-five of 2021.
Aaron Plessinger finished fifth after winning his heat. That top-five was his third of 2021 and came on the heels of his career-first podium last week.
Ken Roczen got a terrible start to Round 10 after crashing in his heat and finishing seventh. His poor showing early in the night forced him to pick his gate late and he rolled off the grid in a deep rut.
Joey Savatgy earned his best result of 2021 in seventh.
It was also a difficult night for Eli Tomac. He hoped last week’s victory in Daytona would kick start his defense of the 2020 championship, but another bad start put him deep in the field. Tomac finished eighth.
Dean Wilson in ninth and Martin Davalos rounded out the top 10. This was the first top-10 for Davalos.
Click here for Round 8 450 Main results | 450 Rider Points | 450 Manufacturer Points
Seth Hammaker rode a smooth race to win his first 250 Main after scoring his first Heat win earlier in the night. Hammaker became the second first time winner in the 250 West series, following his teammate Cameron Mcadoo.
Early in the race it was apparent Hammaker would have to beat his teammates if he wanted to ascend to the top of the podium. \
Hammaker and Jordon Smith spent the first three minutes riding side-by-side until Smith spun his rear wheel exiting a turn and skidded off course. Smith lost a couple of positions, and was later embroiled in a battle with another teammate Cameron Mcadoo before he crashed at the five-minute mark and retired from the race.
Smith’s trouble allowed Hunter Lawrence to climb to the second rung of the podium. He finished 1.8 seconds behind the leader. This is Lawrence’s first podium of the season after finishing fifth at Orlando and sixth last week in Daytona. With that consistency, he holds onto third in the points.
Mcadoo extended his 250 points lead by two over Justin Cooper with his third consecutive podium finish. He took the lead last week after earning his first 250 win.
The points battle was intense. Cooper caught Mcadoo in the closing laps and was briefly able to get around him as the white flag waved. On the final lap, he charged into a corner hard and had his bike slip out from underneath him. Cooper maintained the fourth position and held onto the second position in the points.
Garrett Marchbanks rounded out the top five. He has swept the top five in the first three rounds of the 250 West Championship.
Jalek Swoll in sixth, Stilez Roberstson in seventh, Mitchell Harrison in eighth, Chris Blose in ninth and Nate Thrasher in 10th rounded out the top 10.0
This was the best finish of the season for Harrison and Blose.
Smith would go on to fall once again at the five-minute mark while battling Mcadoo. He finished last.
Click here for 250 West Main results | 250 points standings | 250 Manufacturer points
Next Up: AT&T Center, Arlington, Texas March 16.
POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 1 AT HOUSTON: Justin Barcia, Christian Craig take early lead
POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 2 AT HOUSTON: Eli Tomac closes gap, Jett Lawrence wins his first
POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 3 AT HOUSTON: Ken Roczen earns one-point margin; Colt Nichols, Christian Craig share 250 lead
POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 4 AT INDIANAPOLIS: Ken Roczen wins to extend points margin, Colt Nichols doubles down
POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 5 AT INDIANAPOLIS: Ken Roczen makes it two in a row; Colt Nichols threepeats
POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 6 AT INDIANAPOLIS: Ken Roczen continues to roll; Christian Craig stops Colt Nichols
POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 7 AT ORLANDO: Cooper Webb gets second win as Jett Lawrence also doubles
POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 8 AT ORLANDO: Cooper Webb wins again to close the gap on Ken Roczen
POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 9 AT DAYTONA: Eli Tomac gets back in contention with fifth Daytona win