The Daytona International Speedway delivered great racing for the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship, a season that has seen six different winners in just eight rounds. The Florida track held true to legend by presenting a rough and challenging track laid out inside the speedway’s Trioval. Varying dirt types, deep ruts, and high-speed sections showed why the Daytona Supercross stands alone as the toughest Supercross race on the schedule.
Ken Roczen (94) crossed the heat race holeshot stripe in second place and quickly took over the lead down the front straight. Roczen led every lap and earned the heat race win. Roczen grabbed a fourth-place start in the main event. Roczen’s aggressive, early pace usually results in a quick advance through the pack, but instead Roczen held his spot in the early laps at Daytona. Then, before the mid-point, Roczen put on an intense charge that lit up the stadium. In the span of four laps, Ken Roczen powered his Suzuki RM-Z450 past the top three racers and took over the lead. As the rutted track got more challenging and technical, Roczen held a steady pace. Roczen defended a late-race attack and never relinquished the top spot. When the checkered flag flew Roczen had become a Daytona Supercross winner for his first time in eleven attempts. The win also marked Roczen’s 75th 450SX Class podium.
“I honestly can’t believe it,” Roczen said. “I really put my head down, and I had some really good lines. When you make those passes, you have to put your head down or they will retaliate and come back. This is definitely up there as one of my best main event wins ever. It’s pretty surreal, because I’ve actually been pretty far away from it [in the past]. This is round eight and I’ve never really done that good at Daytona, but I really have nothing to lose. I just keep doing my thing and I trust in my decisions and for now it’s paying off.”
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