By Jeff Kardas

For the second consecutive year, one rider won all three main events and the $1 million bonus at the Monster Energy Cup. This year, that rider was reigning Pro Motocross 450MX Class Champion Eli Tomac.

In addition to earning the Monster Million, the Kawasaki Racing Team rider also became the first two-time winner of the event.

Tomac ran away from the rest of the field in the first two races. In the third and final main event, he started out in the top 10 and had to make a charge to the front. Tomac managed to get past other talented riders, including Chad Reed, Malcolm Stewart and Josh Grant while trying to catch up to his teammate Joey Savatgy. As Tomac was closing in on Savatgy with half a lap to go, Savatgy waved his teammate by. While not against any rules, the move gave Tomac his big finish to the event and a big pay day.

Savatgy finished the third race in second place. Overall, Savatgy’s performance was still very good. He grabbed a couple of holeshots and set the pace at the front for much of the third race in his first time racing in the 450SX Class.

Reigning AMA Supercross 450SX Class Champion Jason Anderson ended up second overall at the event by finishing in the top five in all three races, and scoring one podium.

Fan favorite Stewart was one of two riders who were essentially auditioning for 2019 Supercross rides at the event. Stewart and Reed put in respectable performances for the MotoConcepts Racing and JGR/Autotrader/Suzuki teams, finishing fifth and eighth overall. Reed wasn’t consistently near the front of the field — as Stewart was — but scored a third-place finish in the third race.

Monster Energy Yamaha’s Justin Barcia was expected to be very competitive at the event, but lacked the pace to pose a serious challenge to Tomac. He ended up finishing the event in fourth place overall.

KTM rider Marvin Musquin was also expected to be challenging for wins at the event. After a sobering second-place finish in the first race, Musquin got his foot stuck in Reed’s rear wheel in the second race and was effectively removed from the third race after an issue on the opening lap. 

While the Monster Energy Cup technically isn’t a “supercross” race due to the lack of a whoop section and an overall different track build, it is often a good indication of things to come in the upcoming AMA Supercross Championship. With that in mind, everyone has some catching up to do to get on pace with Tomac.