2021 Daytona Supercross | Race Preview

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2021 DAYTONA SUPERCROSS | COMPLETE COVERAGE

The world center of speed. You feel the legacy of Daytona as soon as you step foot on the massive plot of property, as it’s one of the few places that’s managed to host some of racing’s very best in a variety of disciplines. Things like the Gatorade Victory Circle, the Rolex archway, pit road, and turns three and four are monuments to motorsports, but it’s always a thrill to see bikes rip up the lush infield turf during the Daytona Supercross.

As we’ve said repeatedly this week, there is no place better suited for the Monster Energy Supercross Series to return to action than here. So many believe the “championship beings at Daytona,” a saying that has some merit, and with only a handful of points splitting the top riders in the field, we bet that believe it a little bit too.

THE COMPETITION

Last year’s Daytona Supercross was incredible. Tomac and Roczen came into the event in a dead heat for the title, Webb was just a little ways back, and there were a handful of guys capable of claiming podium finishes. That all led to a late-race duel between Tomac and Roczen for the win, which Tomac took on his way to the title.

This year’s pre-race hype is similar but different. Roczen is back in control, thanks to his dominant performances early in the season, and he holds a six-point gap over Webb. But Roczen’s lead came under fire when Webb posted back-to-back wins at Orlando, and Webb is determined to keep the momentum going in the middle of the season. Tomac is 31-points back of the leaders, a massive amount at the halfway point of the season, and he knows that he’s running out of opportunities to mount a charge. As expected, the four-time Daytona winner is already seen as a possible victor, and bikes haven’t even hit the track.

The 250 West Coast Region is still very early in their season, so it’s hard to make too many statements from the limited results. But one thing is for sure: Justin Cooper is the guy in control, and everyone knows they need to keep him from having another flawless day like Orlando One. Cameron McAdoo is second overall in the ranking, and Garrett Marchbanks, last year’s surprise winner at Daytona, is third.

THE TRACK

Ricky Carmichael and crew threw everything they had at the track design this year. The longest layout of recent memory, it has the usual beach sand-dark dirt-oddly spaced moguls-whoops-walls but has been completed with an over-under bridge jump, a first for here. With rain in the area (more on that later), they scrapped the dug-out gator pits, but that’s basically the only difference we can see between the digital maps and the finished product.

The chance of rain will be something we have to be mindful of all day. Raindrops were on the windshield when we pulled into the infield this morning, as expected, and the heaviest front is expected to hit right around the start of practice. Forecasts have varied over the last few days, from the timing of the front to the total precipitation expected, so all we can do now is wait it out.

UPDATE: The AMA has scrapped the Free Practice session from the race day schedule as a precaution against the rain. The event program will go directly into the Timed Qualifying.

2021 DAYTONA SUPERCROSS
250 WEST COAST REGION
PROVISIONAL ENTRY LIST

26. Alex Martin | The Manluk/Rock River Yamaha/Merge Racing rider suffered a concussion at the opening round and sat out the Main Event, but is slated to race Daytona.

31. Cameron McAdoo

32. Justin Cooper | The Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha rider leads the West Coast region championship.

35. Mitchell Harrison

39. Carson Mumford

41. Hunter Lawrence

45. Pierce Brown | The Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing rider has recovered from last year’s knee injury and will return to action at Daytona.

47. Jalek Swoll

48. Garrett Marchbanks

53. Jake Masterpool

54. Nick Gaines

59. Jarrett Frye

60. Chris Blose

61. Joey Crown

63. Martin Castelo | The JMC Motorsports Husqvarna rider is dealing with an ongoing issue in his hand (fractured bone, ligament damage) that will require surgery; Castelo plans to push having the procedure as long as possible.

66. Jordan Bailey

67. Stilez Robertson

68. Jace Owen

69. Robbie Wageman

72. Coty Schock

73. Derek Kelley

75. Ty Masterpool

77. Jerry Robin | The Minnesota privateer suffered a minor AC separation after another rider landed on him at the opening round. He will race Daytona.

80. Jordon Smith | The Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider’s ongoing thumb issues led to a crash at the opening round, but he is okay and will race Daytona.

90. Dilan Schwartz

91. Nate Thrasher

92. Chase Marquier

93. Hardy Munoz

119. Logan Boye

120. Todd Bannister

121. Chris Howell

128. Carter Halpain

137. Sean Cantrell | The BARX Motorsports/Chaparral/ECSTAR/Suzuki rider broke his collarbone at the opening round and had it plated in order to return to action as soon as possible; although Cantrell is on the entry list, it’s uncertain if he will race Daytona.

138. David Pulley

150. Seth Hammaker

155. Nathan Augustin

157. Hunter Calle

158. Tre Fierro

162. Camron Mitchell

201. Cedric Soubeyras

204. Kyle Greeson

208. Logan Leitzel

220. Ramyller Alves

242. Garrett Hoffman

246. Chance Blackburn

259. Corbin Hayes

264. Ryan Sipes | The do-it-all racer will make a special appearance at Daytona Supercross with the Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing team.

272. Wristin Grigg

312. Marc Gonzalez

321. Bradley Lionnet

357. Kameron Barboa

372. Hayden Hefner

412. Jared Lesher

428. Chad Stonier

434. Dustin Winter

446. Blaine Silveira

464. Dominique Thury

483. Bryton Carroll

504. Gerhard Matamoros

538. Addison Emory

645. Colby Copp

647. Matthew Hubert

767. Mason Wharton

815. Colton Eigenmann

951. Ryan Surratt

MISSING FROM THE LIST

6. Jeremy Martin | The Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha rider is absent from the lineup after dislocating his shoulder at the opening round. It’s unclear how long Martin will be sidelined.

33. Derek Drake | The BARX/Chaparral/ECSTAR/Suzuki rider had a compound fracture of his femur in December, but is already back on the bike. He will sit out the Orlando race, but will join the field later in the season.

56. Kyle Peters | The Phoenix Racing Honda rider will skip the Daytona Supercross in order to race the final rounds of the Kicker Arenacross championship, where he is in pursuit of a second title and a perfect season.

65. Carson Brown | The JMC Motorsports Husqvarna rider will miss upcoming rounds of the Supercross series due to a dislocated elbow at the opening round. Brown intends to return for the final portion of the West Coast region.

118. Cheyenne Harmon | The Texas privateer had a hard crash at the opening round and will miss Daytona, but should be back for the Arlington rounds.

142. Dakota Alix | The PRMX Racing rider will miss an undetermined amount of races due to a recent back injury.

611. Calvin Fonvieille | The French racer returned to Europe for “personal reasons” shortly after the Orlando race and will miss Daytona, but hopes to return for the Arlington rounds.

711. Tristan Lane | The Florida privateer suffered an AC joint separation and concussion at the opening round, injuries that will sideline him for an undetermined amount of time.

837. Bryson Gardner | The Team BWR rider will miss an uncertain number of races due to compression fractures of his L2 vertebra and a fracture of the pelvis.

2021 DAYTONA SUPERCROSS
450 CLASS
PROVISIONAL ENTRY LIST

1. Eli Tomac

2. Cooper Webb

7. Aaron Plessinger

11. Kyle Chisholm

12. Shane McElrath

14. Dylan Ferrandis

15. Dean Wilson

17. Joey Savatgy

19. Justin Bogle

20. Broc Tickle

21. Jason Anderson

23. Chase Sexton | After missing the first part of the season with a shoulder injury, the Team Honda HRC rider will return at Daytona.

25. Marvin Musquin

27. Malcolm Stewart

28. Brandon Hartranft

34. Max Anstie

36. Martin Davalos

37. Benny Bloss

40. Vince Friese

43. Fredrik Noren

44. Tyler Bowers

49. Mitchell Oldenburg | With Brayton uncertain, Muc-Off Honda has brought Oldenburg up to the 450 Class.

51. Justin Barcia

57. Justin Rodbell

70. Henry Miller

76. Grant Harlan

81. Justin Starling | The Florida privateer suffered a leg and knee injury at Orlando Two, but lined up for the night’s race to collect the purse money. Starling plans to race Daytona, but it’s uncertain how he will fare.

83. Alex Ray

85. Kevin Moranz 

87. Curren Thurman

88. Logan Karnow

94. Ken Roczen | The Team Honda HRC rider is the current championship leader in the 450 Class.

99. Hunter Sayles

114. Nick Schmidt

141. Richard Taylor

145. Travis Smith

184. Scott Champion

216. Devin Harriman | The Washington racer is dealing with an assortment of hand and elbow injuries.

280. Cade Clason

282. Theodore Pauli

309. Jeremy Smith

330. AJ Catanzaro

364. Chad Saultz

421. Vann Martin

441. Scott Meshey

447. Deven Raper

501. Scotty Wennerstrom

509. Alex Nagy

512. Austin Cozzad

597. Mason Kerr

606. Ronnie Stewart

625. Jonah Geistler

637. Bobby Piazza

795. Aaron Leininger

805. Carlen Gardner

848. Joan Cros

916. Justin Rando

976. Josh Greco

981. Austin Politelli | The HRT-backed privateer has been dealing with lingering symptoms from a concussion, but is on the entry list for Orlando Two. He will make a decision to race on Saturday.

MISSING FROM THE LIST

4. Blake Baggett | A contract dispute with Rocky Mountain ATV-MC/WPS/KTM and recent surgery have put Baggett’s career on pause for the time being.

9. Adam Cianciarulo | The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider is expected to miss multiple rounds due to a broken collarbone.

10. Justin Brayton | The Muc-Off Honda rider sat out Orlando due to chest pains from a crash, but has recovered and intends to race Daytona. He will make a decision closer to the race.

16. Zach Osborne | The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider has a bulging disc in his lower back and will miss Daytona.

722. Adam Enticknap | The Twisted Tea/HEP Motorsports/Suzuki rider will miss Daytona due to a broken collarbone. He will return later in the season.

824. Carter Stephenson | The privateer will miss the rest of the season due to a broken wrist, fractured sternum, and two broken ribs.

952. Ludovic Macler | The French rider has finished his time limited time racing in the US with Team PRMX.

974. Brian Marty | The privateer suffered a separated AC joint, broken elbow, and broken rib in a practice crash and will undergo surgery to correct the damage. He hopes to be back later in the season.