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00:00Race number two, Eli Tomac on the gate.
00:02He's got a special connection when we talk military appreciation race.
00:06Here are his thoughts on it.
00:10It's been awesome to see continued support and appreciation for, or in Supercross,
00:17you know, giving the military a weekend of appreciation and support here.
00:21The team did some really cool stuff on the motorcycle.
00:23I've got an awesome helmet this weekend.
00:26I've got the jet that my brothers fly, which is, or is flying,
00:29and C-17, also his squadron sticker on here also as well.
00:34So, yeah, he's busy flying around the world right now.
00:39So, of course, it's nice to have a weekend of showing support for all the military
00:44that keeps us all free and safe at home.
00:48Yeah, so his brother Greg in the Air Force, as Eli mentioned,
00:52will have a big feature on the two of them talking about their relationship
00:55through the years with each other as they pursue two different paths.
00:58And he's a lieutenant colonel now, Greg, so he's pretty darn successful in his own right.
01:03Eli, of course, a multi-time champion, no slouch.
01:07He's going to have to deal with Cooper Webb here in a place where he has won seven of the
01:10last nine races in Texas.
01:13Yeah, his stats here are incredible, and they'd be even better.
01:19If you think about the one that got away when he had that gnarly crash.
01:23Oh, yeah.
01:23Was that maybe 2019?
01:252020.
01:252020, yeah.
01:26Excuse me.
01:27And, yeah, certain stadiums and venues and tracks that these guys go to,
01:34they have special feelings, or at least I did for sure,
01:36and a little extra motivation to go out there and feel a little bit better than normal.
01:42All right.
01:43Well, Webb's going to need it right now because he's been closing in in the standings,
01:47but don't want to give Tomac any more momentum.
01:49And do not forget this guy, Chase Sexton.
01:52It has been a struggle the last couple of weeks.
01:54Only one podium this year.
01:55Still chasing it with this new team for him, Monster Energy Kawasaki.
01:59But we know if they get it right, he and they are capable of winning.
02:04Maybe it starts here for the four.
02:06Rebs are up.
02:07Gates down.
02:10Not a good start for Sexton.
02:12Joey Savace and Hunter Lawrence battling for it.
02:16Lawrence to the lead.
02:17Hunter snuck up in the inside, and he was a little off in qualifying practice today,
02:23so it's going to be interesting to see how he navigates this heat race.
02:28Tomac working Savace there.
02:30Oh, he couldn't three in to the whoops.
02:32Does Savace get a fight back?
02:34Wow.
02:34Good run for Joey through the whoops right there,
02:37contesting with Eli.
02:38But Eli being on the inside, he's able to make the move.
02:42Eli had a great final practice today.
02:45I was a little interested to see what was going on
02:48because he was way down the running order after the first practice,
02:51but comes out.
02:54Remember when we talked to this inside line, look at Joey.
02:58That is the preferred line right there.
03:00Oh, look at audible by Eli.
03:02Going up the inside, pushes Joey out.
03:05Multiple lines here.
03:07Yeah.
03:07Battle.
03:08Tomac now re-securing second.
03:09We'll send it to Will.
03:10Here comes, by the way.
03:12Go ahead, Will.
03:13Just quick insight for you there, Ricky.
03:15You were talking about that first qualifying session for Eli Tomac.
03:18I asked those questions of the team,
03:20specifically his mechanic, Jay Dungy,
03:22and he said he just didn't link it together.
03:24He just didn't put the pieces of the track together.
03:26He asked for absolutely nothing out of the bike.
03:28He said they made me one clicker change,
03:30and that was it.
03:31So Eli was just taking accountability for that himself.
03:35Yeah, Eli just looking so comfortable.
03:39We've been talking about it each race.
03:42It looks like he's been on this bike for five, six years.
03:46I mean, he's so at home, and I'll tell you what, man.
03:49This Red Bull KTM crew with Ian Harrison and Roger DeCoster
03:53and all the unsung heroes over there working on these machines,
03:59I mean, they got it going on for sure.
04:02Yeah, Harrison, the team manager,
04:04talking a lot about how the mood is lifted so much
04:07with these great results they've gotten this year.
04:09That makes everyone work that much harder.
04:11Battle right now between the teammates,
04:13March Banks in the 36, and Sexton.
04:15And it looks like Sexton going to make a move.
04:17Let's see if March Banks can fight back.
04:19Great run through the whoops for Chase,
04:21and, man, Chase looked good earlier today as well.
04:25And I'm thinking, man, I feel like he's going to have a good night.
04:28Looks comfortable on the bike here.
04:31This weekend, we know what he's capable of,
04:33and it's really no surprise when he wins
04:35or when he's the fastest qualifier.
04:37And he's just that good of a rider.
04:41Closing on Plessinger here, who's in fifth.
04:45Man, Savace.
04:46Yeah.
04:47Not letting Tomac go.
04:48Yeah, but Savace, I mean,
04:49you think about the last three weeks.
04:51I mean, he has really done a fantastic job getting some great starts.
04:56And I had a conversation with him during the week, Jason,
04:58and he told me he just knows it's just so important of getting a good start.
05:03However, he has had a little bit and has gotten some support from factory Honda this week.
05:10So he thought and was hopeful that it was going to help him in the performance,
05:15maybe with some gearbox stuff.
05:18So anyhow, it looks, as of right now, from the eye test and how well he's riding,
05:22it looks like it's working well and better for him.
05:24That could make a difference for sure, right?
05:26Yeah, 100%.
05:27Oh, right.
05:28Well, it's working because he is keeping the heat on Tomac.
05:31And they're catching now the leader, Lawrence.
05:36About to have a battle for the lead here.
05:41Triple, triple, quad.
05:47Here's why that lead shrunk for Lawrence.
05:50Let's see here.
05:51Oh.
05:52Yeah, when he's going through the corner, you watch his front end twitch just a little.
05:57And as he did that, he got off balance, jumps off track.
06:02Big moment here.
06:03The Riders 1 and 2 in the championship and only one point between them.
06:07And Savace hanging right there.
06:08If you go back to Houston, remember the same thing happened to Hunter there
06:13when he was going around that left-hand corner.
06:16His front end got a little twitchy and he jumped off the track.
06:19And at the end of the day, that's really what cost him the overall win.
06:23That's right.
06:24Crash back to 7th there.
06:25One of the few big errors of the year for Lawrence.
06:28And Savace just won't let them go on the non-factory.
06:33Gets some help, but not the full stuff like Hunter has on his Honda.
06:37And he's not going anywhere.
06:39I mean, these guys have done a great job at this quad-lock Honda team.
06:44Martin Davalos, a fantastic rider in his own right.
06:48And you read Konski, team owner, just doing so much, doing a fantastic job.
06:54And even since the inception of the team, going back, you think about Anstey and how well he did aboard
06:59in the 250 class.
07:02And now Hunter looks to have reeled it back in, just stretching it slightly over Tomac.
07:08Great turnaround for Hunter Lawrence here compared to what he was riding like early today.
07:13And I'm going to tell you, JT, it really isn't a surprise if you consider how well he's done all
07:19season.
07:19No, it's really not.
07:21And when you think about what does Hunter do well, it's execution.
07:25And this track, especially in the main event, is going to come down to can you execute the main good
07:31line, the fast line, each and every single lap.
07:33You see how much time he put into Eli Tomac there in the whoops because Eli made a mistake and
07:38Hunter executed the whoops well.
07:40So we're only in the heat races here.
07:42The track for the main event is going to be brutally difficult to hit each and every lap.
07:46So that's what it's going to be. You hear that road racing term, hit your marks, nothing can be more
07:50true than the main event tonight.
07:53He's hitting them right now, JT, as he's trying to hold Tomac at bay.
07:59That little mistake allows the three to get back in it.
08:01Now watch this to the whoops. That's Colt Nichols on the 45.
08:03That's how quickly the whoops can bite you.
08:06JT was talking about how difficult they're going to be.
08:08Yeah, thank goodness he didn't go into that other lane right here.
08:11Oh, Tomac didn't get the rhythm, RC.
08:13And now Savace, it's around him and into second.
08:18Amazing riding by the 17th.
08:23Could he go for the heat race win? Can he get to Lawrence?
08:27Now Webb is in the picture as well.
08:29In fourth, white flag out.
08:31What a ride by Joey.
08:32And you watch it, Joey. He doesn't even look like he's on the edge.
08:35It doesn't look like he is pushing it that hard.
08:38One thing that Joey does really well, a lot like Ken Robson, he has a lot of discipline.
08:42And he's good with throttle control.
08:45And you heard what Kenny said.
08:46This track is slick.
08:47It's edgy in the whoops.
08:49And Joey has that discipline.
08:51He can really baby that throttle.
08:54Savace has not won a heat race in this division.
08:57Since Nashville 2019.
09:00That was his rookie season in the 450 class.
09:03He's got Hunter Lawrence in sight, but he's running out of time.
09:06He's running out of time.
09:07He's going to have to turn it loose through the whoops.
09:09But overall, man, this is going to be a great run.
09:14Wow, what a bounce back for the 96.
09:16Struggling, qualifying heat race win for the series leader, Hunter Lawrence of the Honda HRC Progressive Machine.
09:25Webb coming across the line and fourth behind Tomac.
09:29And everybody has a different look, by the way, with the military appreciation race.
09:33If you're wondering why there's not much red on those Hondas.
09:35Man, this could be huge for any one of these guys, whether it's Hunter Lawrence, Eli Tomac, any of the
09:40points guys for this championship.
09:42If you've got Joey Savace in there fighting for podium positions, you could really use him to your advantage or
09:49disadvantage for other guys.
09:50Yeah, we've seen him in that mix before, but taking it to another level tonight.
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