WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
VOL. 52 ISSUE 15 APRIL 14, 2015 P73
winning his heat race and then
running away with the main
event.
Tomac was one of the pre-
season favorites heading into the
season and, so far, the GEICO
Honda rider has two wins to his
credit—in Phoenix and Detroit—
plus seven podium finishes in 13
races. He moved up to second
in the 450 points standings after
a runner-up finish in St. Louis
on March 28. Tip-overs and
mistakes have cost the rider
from Colorado dearly, but he
still had a mathematical shot at
the championship. A win and a
fourth for Dungey would have
extended the race for the title at
least one more round.
Coming into Houston, Tomac
was battling flu-like symptoms
and had to fight hard to earn his
spot in the main event, where
he got a midpack start. He
went from 11
th
to third, not nearly
enough to keep Dungey from
clinching.
"I felt okay early in the day but
kind of ran out of power in the
evening," Tomac said. "Consid-
ering I was flat on my back a few
days ago, I guess I can't be too
upset with a podium finish. We're
still a solid second in the points
with three races left, so even
though the overall championship
was decided tonight, there are
still things to fight for down the
stretch. More wins and more
podiums would be good."
CHAD COULDN'T
CAPITALIZE
Discount Tire/Two Two Motors-
ports Kawasaki teammates Chad
Reed and Josh Grant were both
fast in Houston, with Reed post-
ing the second fastest qualify-
ing time of the afternoon, while
Grant finished practice fourth
quickest. Grant even finished
second in his heat race just be-
hind Dungey, with Reed finishing
two spots behind.
In the main, it was Reed with
the better jump off the line, and
the Aussie superstar ran second
Dungey (5) and Seely (14) were the
stars of the 450 class at Houston.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
SIMON
CUDBY
