Top 10: Indianapolis 450s

GuyB
3/2/2014 12:52am

Here's the podium from the 450 class in Indy, with Ryan Dungey (Red Bull KTM), Eli Tomac (GEICO Honda), and Cole Seely (Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/Honda, on loan to Team Honda Muscle Milk). Yep, that's a pretty different podium from just about every other race this season. How did they get there? Let's find out.

1. Ryan Dungey (Red Bull KTM) took full advantage of a good start, a good comfort level with a very unruly track full unlike we've seen in quite a while, and untimely crashes by competitors. He took over the lead from Mike Alessi (Smartop MotoConcepts Racing) on lap five of the main, after pulling alongside through the whoops, and then getting a good drive on the downside of a wall jump. This win, combined with Ken Roczen's crash and DNF, moves him into second in the points race.

2. Eli Tomac (GEICO Honda) put in his best ride of the season...sort of what you thought you'd see from him early in the campaign...except for that pesky heat race crash at Anaheim 1 that derailed his season. A strong second was an awesome rebound.

3. Cole Seely (Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/Honda on loan to Team Honda Muscle Milk), grabbed a podium on a track unlike anything he usually rides, and with only minimal prep time for this race, after getting the call to do it on Monday. Stellar. He did work to avoid some of the gnarly ruts (like you see him doing here).

4. Ryan Villopoto (Monster Energy Kawasaki) was a victim of an early race crash, and came from deep in the pack to pick up a fourth-place finish. His nearest pursuer in the title chase, Ken Roczen, also went out after a hard crash, which helped extend his points lead to 23...almost a full race over the field.

5. Broc Tickle (RCH Racing Soaring Eagle) had his best race of the season, coming in fifth spot. He started just inside the top ten, had some help with riders crashing in front of him, but this is the high water mark for the season to date, and well ahead of his tenth in the point standings.

6. Andrew Short (BTO Sports/KTM) stepped it up a few spots from where he's been the last few rounds, and grabbed a sixth. This is also his best of the season.

7. James Stewart (Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing) was another early crash victim. He was 21st at the end of lap one, and seventh at the end. Still, it's better than last week's race, and he's in fourth, only a couple points behind Ken Roczen, who dropped to third in the standings. Here, he's dicing with Dean Wilson over tenth spot.

8. Justin Brayton (Toyota/Yamaha/JGRMX) started fifth, and got by Chris Blose for fourth, but backslid a bit to eighth at the end. The cause? He had a bout of food poisoning. He's still a solid fifth overall in the series.

9. Josh Hill (RCH Racing Soaring Eagle) has been in the top ten pretty consistently the last few weeks, despite his recent collarbone surgery.

10. Dean Wilson (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki on loan to Discount Tire Racing/TwoTwo Motorsports) snuck inside the top ten on his first ride with the TwoTwo crew, on a truly nasty track. That's not the kindest intro he could have gotten into the class, but he looked pretty good on the 450.

Related:
Top 10
Indianapolis
450
Supercross 2014
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