Ken Roczen wins Indianapolis Supercross; Cooper Webb takes points lead

Ken Roczen kept his composure after losing 3 seconds in heavy traffic near the end of Round 9 in Indianapolis, holding off a determined charge by Justin Barcia to win his first Monster Energy Supercross since taking the checkers first in the opening round of 2022 in Anaheim. Riders lined up to congratulate Roczen as he bowed to his bike.

“This is the OG, punk rock style from back in the day,” Roczen told NBC Sports’ Will Christien while he held up the kickstarter from his Suzuki, which is the only bike in the field that does not use an electric starter. “This was such an amazing race. I can’t even talk right now. I had to grit it out to the end. The track was brutal and Justin was coming.

“I got screwed a little bit by lappers, but I just kept saying ‘one more lap, one more lap’ and we got it done.”

In a dramatic turn of events, the points lead changed hands with Eli Tomac struggling most of the night and Chase Sexton crashing as he attempted to pass Roczen for the lead. Cooper Webb was the only top three challenger to finish on the podium, but even with his strong run, the position was in question until the end. It took a last lap pass by Christian Craig on Tomac to make the difference.

RESULTS: How they finished for the 450 Main in Indianapolis

After getting a terrible start, Tomac was mired in the pack for most of the race, exiting Turn 1 in 14th. He climbed as high as seventh until he got hung up behind a fallen Dean Wilson with time off the clock. That bobble cost him the championship point that now has him second in the standings. This is the first time in 2023 that the red plate has changed hands.

“I’ve got to look at the big picture; Chase made a mistake right in front of me,” Webb said from the podium. “I rode