Eli Tomac starts quest for third consecutive Supercross title

The premier dirt bike racing championship is AMA Supercross and it will start its 2019 season Saturday night at Angel Stadium. It is the first of two dates – the series will return Jan. 19 to Anaheim – and the first of five stops in the state and Arizona

It’s a season of change for the 12-round series. For the first time in its 48-year history, the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, will compete in Nashville. The series will return to Denver for the first time since 1996, while Detroit and East Rutherford, N.J., also return to the lineup. New to the series will be WW Ranch Motocross Park in Jacksonville, Fla., which will host the inaugural Florida National on June 22.

“The southeast has long been a hotbed for the sport of motocross, with a significant number of competitors calling the Sunshine State home, and we are committed to ensuring the region has a presence in the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship,” said Davey Coombs, president of MX Sports Pro Racing. “WW Ranch was a terrific venue for the USGP last year and received rave reviews from both the U.S. and European riders.

“It’s always been our hope to eventually make a return to Florida, and this track will surely become an immediate favorite among racers and fans alike.”

Eli Tomac is the reigning back-to-back 450 Class champion. Tomac will look to join elite company in his quest to win the Edison Dye Cup for the third consecutive season. He’ll battle Marvin Musquin, Ken Roczen, Justin Barcia and Grand Terrace’s Blake Baggett.

Tomac had to battle back from injury in 2017, suffering a shoulder injury at Anaheim.

“It was really tough and then I had to sit out the Houston round and I was 50 points out right from the beginning,” he told Cycle News. “We came back and won the overall at Anaheim II with that Triple Crown, but even so, I just put myself in a bad position too early. I never really had a shot at it.”

Tomac is focused on his goal.

“The master plan and the master goal is to win (AMA) Supercross,” he said. “I’ve had two years of winning the most races and being the most dominant guy and not getting the title. That’s number one. Yeah, the number one goal is to win the Supercross championship.”

NBC Sports begins its first season with the Monster Energy AMA Supercross on Saturday with live coverage of the season-opening event in Anaheim starting at 7 p.m. Ralph Sheheen will call the action, as he has done since 2005, and will be joined in the booth by five-time Supercross champion Ricky Carmichael, host and former racer Daniel Blair, and reporter Will Christien.

Kahne will race

Don’t look for Kasey Kahne in NASCAR Cup competition this year. After a 15-year career in stock cars, Kahne is returning to his roots and will compete in the World of Outlaws and All-Star Circuit of Champions this year.

He and Kasey Kahne Racing teammate Brad Sweet will kick off the 2019 dirt-sprint seasons at Volusia Speedway in Florisa with the Dirt Car Nationals on Feb. 6. Both drivers will be competing in the Chili Bowl Nationals dirt midget event in Tulsa, Oklahoma from Jan. 14-19.

“This is the most excited I have been in a long time to get back to racing,” said Kahne, who won the 2006 fall race at Auto Club Speedway. “I feel great, and I’ve been working out a lot preparing for the upcoming season. Returning to sprint cars on a more regular basis is something that I have been looking forward to for years.”

Over the past 32 years, the Chili Bowl Nationals has grown from a two-day show with a field of 52 drivers to more than 200 drivers. The event now provides an estimated $28 million boon to the local economy, according to the Tulsa Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.

Pit stops

— The Arizona-based USAC Southwest Sprint Car Series will compete at Perris Auto Speedway this year. The series will journey west three times to compete in five co-sanctioned races at The PAS with the USAC/CRA and National Sprint Cars. The first race is July 13, followed on Aug. 17 with the prestigious “California Racer’s Hall of Fame Night.” Both of those events will be co-sanctioned with the USAC/CRA Sprint Cars. In addition, The PAS Senior and Young Gun Sprint Cars will be in action on both dates. The Southwest Series stars and cars will be back at The PAS for the biggest traditional sprint car race in the nation, the 24th Budweiser Oval Nationals on Nov. 7-9.

— NASCAR will open its 2019 season Feb. 10 at Daytona International Speedway with a Sunday doubleheader. At 9 a.m., it’ll be the Busch Pole Qualifying for the 61st Daytona 500 (FOX), followed by the 2019 Advance Auto Parts Clash (FS1).

— Auto Club Dragway has released the first six months of competition at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. Action starts Jan. 26 with an Open Test & Tune, with an Import Face-Off set for Jan.27 and a Wednesday Night Lights-Street Legal Drags on Jan. 30. A four-day NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event is set for May 15-19.

— John Henry, part-owner of a Jack Roush stock car team since 2007 who also controls the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool Football Club, reportedly is interested in buying a stake in NASCAR, which has shown an interest in minority owners. NASCAR and Fenway Sports both declined to comment.

Louis Brewster can be reached at brewsterl1949.@gmail.com.

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