2020 DAYTONA SUPERCROSS, 250 QUALIFYING

The Monster Energy Supercross series arrived in Daytona, Florida for the 50th running of the event this weekend. The 250s were the first riders on the track, continuing with their duel in the Eastern Regional class. Chase Sexton was the points leader coming in, but it was clear that the race could go in any direction after both sessions of qualifying were done.  Jeremy Martin turned in the best time, clearly drawing on his outdoor skills on the long, sandy course. Shane McElrath, Sexton and RJ Hampshire were within a second, setting the stage for another epic battle. For extended coverage of the 2020 Daytona Supercross, click here.

HEAT ONE

Shane McElrath got the holeshot while RJ Hampshire was caught in a first-turn pile up in the first heat.  Before the first lap was complete, there was another pile up that took out  a half dozen other riders. After that, Jordon Smith and Jordan Bailey had a lot of breathing room in second and third.  Within a few laps, Hampshire was safely in a transfer position at eighth lace. In the end, it was McElrath, Smith and Bailey, still up front. Enzo Lopes scored the final transfer spot.

1 Shane McElrath
2 Jordon Smith
3 Jordan Bailey
4 Jo Shimoda
5 Carter Halpain
6 RJ Hampshire
7 Curren Thurman
8 Jace Owen
9 Enzo Lopes
10 Hunter Sayles
11 Wilson Fleming
12 John Short
13 Chris Canning
14 Jeremy Hand
15 Logan Leitzel
16 Dustin Winter
17 Tristan Lane
18 Kevin Moranz
19 Justin Thompson
20 Travis Sewell

HEAT TWO

Jeremy Martin made a quick getaway at the start of heat two with Garrett Marchbanks second. On the first lap, Sexton was involved in a pile up while in fourth. Marchbanks put together a good drive afterward and passed Martin for the lead. Those two immediately had a massive lead, with Chase Marquier third. Before long, Sexton was up to fourth  with Cedric Soubeyras sixth behind Marquier. With two laps to go, Sexton moved into third, but he was almost 20 seconds behind Martin. That’s how they finished, with Justin Rodbell getting the final transfer.

1 Garrett Marchbanks
2 Jeremy Martin
3 Chase Sexton
4 Joshua Hill
5 Chase Marquier
6 Cedric Soubeyras
7 Justin Starling
8 Lorenzo Locurcio
9 Justin Rodbell
10 Bobby Piazza
11 Jalek Swoll
12 Bryton Carroll
13 Cody Vanbuskirk
14 Luke Neese
15 Mason Kerr
16 Grant Harlan
17 Lane Shaw
18 Jerry Robin
19 Nick Gaines
20 Pierce Brown

250 LCQ

Jalek Swoll and Pierce Brown had gone down in their heat and they picked up their battle in the LCQ. They came out of the gate in first and second, respectively. Brown went down on the second lap, leaving Swoll with a big lead over Grant Harlan, Kevin Moranz and Dustin Winter.  Swoll went on to win the race, but Brown came back on the last lap, earning the final qualifying spot at the expense of Maranz. He went on to pass Winter, as well.

1 Jalek Swoll
2 Grant Harlan
3 Pierce Brown
4 Dustin Winter
5 Kevin Moranz
6 Cody Vanbuskirk
7 Jeremy Hand
8 Bobby Piazza
9 Travis Sewell
10 Hunter Sayles
11 Luke Neese
12 Chris Canning
13 John Short
14 Mason Kerr
15 Tristan Lane
16 Bryton Carroll
17 Wilson Fleming
18 Logan Leitzel
19 Lane Shaw
20 Jerry Robin
21 Justin Thompson
22 Nick Gaines

COMBINED QUALIFYING TIMES, 250 EAST

1 Jeremy Martin 1:10.738
2 Shane McElrath 1:10.819
3 Chase Sexton 1:10.947
4 RJ Hampshire 1:11.482
5 Garrett Marchbanks 1:11.897
6 Jordon Smith 1:13.069
7 Chase Marquier 1:13.630
8 Dustin Winter 1:13.884
9 Justin Rodbell 1:13.895
10 Enzo Lopes 1:13.955
11 Pierce Brown 1:13.969
12 Curren Thurman 1:14.098
13 Lorenzo Locurcio 1:14.157
14 Jordan Bailey 1:14.303
15 Nick Gaines 1:14.381
16 Jo Shimoda 1:14.383
17 Cedric Soubeyras 1:14.445
18 Carter Halpain 1:14.476
19 Joshua Hill 1:14.552
20 John Short 1:14.690
21 Jalek Swoll 1:14.874
22 Jeremy Hand 1:14.879
23 Jerry Robin 1:14.944
24 Travis Sewell 1:15.205
25 Justin Starling 1:15.223
26 Jace Owen 1:15.225
27 Grant Harlan 1:15.320
28 Tristan Lane 1:15.408
29 Luke Neese 1:15.623
30 Justin Thompson 1:15.759
31 Mason Kerr 1:15.834
32 Chris Canning 1:15.857
33 Bryton Carroll 1:15.979
34 James Decotis 1:15.985
35 Bobby Piazza 1:16.230
36 Kevin Moranz 1:16.284
37 Cody Vanbuskirk 1:16.300
38 Wilson Fleming 1:16.415
39 Lane Shaw 1:16.417
40 Logan Leitzel 1:16.518
TOP 40 RIDERS QUALIFY
41 Hunter Sayles 1:16.529
42 Carter Gordon 1:16.751
43 Travis Delnicki 1:16.754
44 Zane Merrett 1:16.784
45 Carter Stephenson 1:17.222
46 Kobe Heffner 1:17.300
47 Maxwell Sanford 1:17.382
48 Tj Albright 1:17.676
49 Hayden Hefner 1:18.020
50 Brice Klippel 1:18.317
51 Chad Saultz 1:18.606
52 Ezra Hastings 1:18.697
53 Wristin Grigg 1:18.726
54 Brock Papi 1:18.752
55 Dillon Cloyed 1:18.843
56 Jamison DuClos 1:18.934
57 Colton Eigenmann 1:19.087
58 Guillaume St-Cyr 1:19.287
59 Brady Gilmore 1:19.632
60 Kyle Dillin 1:19.827
61 Deven Sorensen 1:19.843
62 Davey Sterritt 1:19.924
63 Hunter Calle 1:20.122
64 Brett Mclaud 1:22.240
65 Vincent Murphy 1:23.581
66 Eric Mckay 1:25.962