Tomac aiming for 250cc points lead on Osborne's homecoming weekend

BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. (May 27) - Championship contender Eli Tomac of the powerful GEICO Honda team will switch from home cooking in Colorado to uncharted territory at Saturday's Built Ford Tough Tennessee National, the third stop in the AMA Pro Motocross Championship.

This will be the first time that Tomac, last week's overall winner in the 250cc class, has raced at Muddy Creek Raceway and he's looking forward to the challenge.

"It's going to be a fresh start for everyone," Tomac said. "I think we're all going to go in there with an open mind. It's going to be important to learn the track early because no one has ridden there that much."

According to Tomac, gathering as much information as possible is going to be key to success.

"I might even go in early on Friday just to get a good look at the track," Tomac said. "That way I can really start putting it into my head."

With a consistently strong start to the season, Tomac is in second place in the 250cc standings, six points behind leader Ken Roczen.

"If I come out of Tennessee going 1-1 (winning both motos), the worst case is that I leave tied for the lead," Tomac said. "We're right there now."

GEICO Honda teammate Zach Osborne made a major improvement over his first weekend, earning a third-place overall finish in Denver, including a runner-up in the second moto behind Tomac. A local product, Osborne is one of the few riders this weekend who has an intimate knowledge of Muddy Creek Raceway.

"This weekend is huge for me," said Osborne, who is from nearby Abingdon, Va. "I've got a lot of family and friends coming out. I look forward to using the momentum I gained last weekend.

"The track is 20 minutes from my house and I've raced there my whole life. It's going to be similar to Thunder Valley with a lot of hills and an uphill start. It should be pretty fast. I think the track will get really rutted as it goes along so staying out of trouble will be key."

Osborne is currently fifth in the standings, five points behind fourth-place Blake Baggett.

Justin Bogle, who missed the Supercross season due to injury, had his best moto finish of the outdoor season in Moto 2 in Denver. He is hoping to continue to make progress and join Osborne and Tomac in competing for a spot on the podium.

"Everyone is going to be pretty even here because not many of us have ridden there," Bogle said. "I haven't been to a lot of the rounds in my career so far, which makes this good for me. I've been riding well; now I just need to stop having these terrible starts. I had to make a lot of passes all day in Denver. I think we're going to go into Muddy Creek with a good game plan."

GEICO Honda riders Wil Hahn (wrist) and Zach Bell (shoulder) are still on the sidelines recovering from injury.

Practice for the Built Ford Tough Tennessee National gets under way at 8:30 a.m. EDT Saturday at Muddy Creek Raceway and opening ceremonies at 12:40 p.m. NBC Sports Network will broadcast Moto 1 live starting at 1 p.m. EDT and FUEL TV will air Moto 2 at 3 p.m.