What was up with Tomac?

Has to be injury - even on a barn board bike he's faster than this 

Definitely Carmichael & McGrath - then I personally always felt Villopoto deserved a spot on it. Fourth spot is between Dungey and Stewart... Dungey had the more statistically successful & consistent career, but Stewart's legacy and otherworldly speed, particularly on an SX track, makes it tough. I lean slightly in Dungey's favor, which may be unpopular. But if Tomac has 3 SX titles & 4 MX titles, that's 7 combined premier class titles, something that only Carmichael, McGrath, and Dungey have accomplished. And my personal bias leans Tomac over Dungey.

Tomac didn’t get to ride Press Day. Is it possible that not having that extra time made him that far off?

Eli Tomac:

“It was a tough one today. The track was pretty gnarly, and we just struggled to find our comfort zone all day. We did our best to salvage some points. We’ll put this one behind us and come back next weekend in Detroit.”

Sorry folks it was me. I flew down to the race in Tampa and drove to Indy last weekend.  I was thinking about going Detroit this weekend and got a call from Yamaha so it should be back to normal now.  Hold the line Webb is on call waiting!

I’m betting on Webb. But wouldn’t be surprised at all if Tomac won it. It’s extremely close between those two. Both are phenomenal SX riders. 

It has to be more than that - though that is exactly what I expect him to say. It wasn't just the whoops. His aggressiveness faded early in the main, and even Craig worked his way by him without Eli putting up a fight. 

Wonder if he has an injury? He caught/ stabbed his leg pretty good at Daytona, maybe a knee?

Maybe this is just normal Tomac. We have seen it many times over the years. But one day he will stop winning races.

Looked like he was favouring his left shoulder in the races

Some times Slowmac shows up, it happens occasionally 

I don't know what it is. But that NEEDS to be the last time he gets anything worse than 4th. How do you go "Win, 6th, and then Win, 8th"?

Whatever it is, It has to stop.

So none of you guys ever get to the track and just stink it up all day long… that’s never happened, really? You guys go out every single day and just nail it… without any mistakes? The guy had a rough night on a treacherous track in a series that has 17 rounds and you guys go all conspiracy theory and diagnose mystery knee and shoulder injuries from the stands and tv while half bagged on cheap beer? Or? we could go with what’s behind door number one and say he survived to fight another day and still contend for the title through the end of this series! 

I don’t think it’s fair to compare a world class all time great to a bunch of B or C local riders on this forum, if they even race at all. A few A riders are sprinkled in here I’m sure and of course we have the rare pro chime in occasionally. By those all time great standards, it’s extremely strange and bizarre for him to have these nights. If guys like Villopoto, Carmichael, McGrath, Dungey, etc. were having an off night, they’d finish a distant 3rd or even 2nd from the leader. They wouldn’t be getting passed by dudes who have been battling for top 10 finishes all year.

He does this thing where he does one fast lap and then packs it in. I dunno if its the exact same as being off or having a bad day. 

Tomac just said he had a strained neck in the Detroit Press Day Raw video from Racer X.

I'm betting Eli goes on a barn burner this weekend.     Stiff neck or not....

He was being smart and playing it cool…Real cool.

Has anyone said this is why Craig passed him on the last lap? (Scroll to the second video)

Yes but they're wrong. Craig got held up just as long if not longer and ended up passing him straight up later.