WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
VOL. 54 ISSUE 18 MAY 9, 2017 P61
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEVE COX
RYAN DUNGEY, ZACH OSBORNE TAKE
TITLES AFTER LAS VEGAS THRILLER
GREATEST
RACE EVER?
SX
O
ur culture exaggerates almost
everything nowadays, and it's a
problem. It's a problem because
it leaves us nowhere to go in discussing
events like the 2017 Las Vegas Super-
cross. It's not good enough to say, "This
coffee is delicious." Instead, it's: "Best
coffee ever!" No, your $6 pumpkin-spice
latte is not, and cannot be, the best coffee
ever. It's just good. To you. So, when I say
that the 2017 Monster Energy AMA Super-
cross finale was the greatest supercross
ever, I just think it's important to note that
I mean it literally—not just as some vague,
daft millennial overstatement.
After a seriously lackluster penultimate
round, Monster Energy Kawasaki's Eli
Tomac no longer controlled his own des-
tiny. If he won, he needed points leader
and defending champ Ryan Dungey to
finish fifth or worse in order to come away
the 2017 champ. Considering Dungey's
legendary consistency, that was a tall or-
der to expect to happen organically.
And the 250SX East Championship was
up for grabs in Vegas, with only one point
separating the top three. Essentially, this
set up a winner-take-all scenario for the title
among the three contenders—points leader
Jordon Smith, Joey Savatgy and Zach Os-
borne. This race is the stuff of legend.
So, here we go...
