Eli Tomac facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Eli Tomac |
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Tomac In 2020
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| Nationality |  American |
| Born | November 14, 1992 Cortez, Colorado, US |
| Motocross career | |
| Years active | 2010–present |
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| Championships |
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Eli Tomac (born November 14, 1992) is an American professional motocross and supercross racer. He competes in the AMA Supercross and Motocross championships. Eli is one of the most successful riders ever!
He has won many big titles. These include two AMA 450cc Supercross championships and four AMA 450cc Motocross championships. He also won a 250cc Supercross West and a 250cc Motocross championship. Eli is second all-time in 450cc AMA Supercross wins with 53 victories. He is also third all-time in 450cc AMA Motocross wins with 32 victories.
Eli started his professional racing career in 2010. He won his very first race as a rookie! He first raced in the 450cc class in 2013. He began racing full-time in this class in 2014.
His first 450cc outdoor win was in 2014 in Millville, Minnesota. His first 450cc Supercross win happened in 2015 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Eli raced for the Kawasaki team from 2016 to 2021. Then, he joined Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing for the 2022 season.
In 2022, Eli won the Daytona Supercross for the sixth time. This broke the record held by Ricky Carmichael. Eli then won his seventh Daytona Supercross in 2023!
Contents
Eli Tomac's Racing Journey
Early Career & Amateur Wins
Before turning pro, Eli Tomac was a champion as an amateur rider. He won eight titles at the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Championship. This is a very important event for young riders.
Eli didn't win titles right away. His first win came in 2004. He won in different classes as he grew older. In 2009, Eli also won the 125cc FIM Junior World Championship. This race was held in Taupō, New Zealand.
250cc Racing Success
In 2010, Eli Tomac made history. He was the first rider ever to win his professional debut race! This happened at the 250cc AMA Motocross season opener in Rancho Cordova, California. He was riding for Team Geico Honda.
In 2011, Eli had two wins and six podium finishes in 250cc AMA Supercross. He finished second in the 250SX West Championship. The 2012 season was huge for Eli. He won the 250cc Supercross championship! He had five main event wins that year. In the outdoor AMA Motocross series, he finished third overall. He also had four overall victories.
In 2013, Eli almost won the 250cc Supercross title again. He finished just two points behind Ken Roczen. But he did win the AMA Motocross 250cc title! He had seven overall wins and finished on the podium 12 times in a row.
450cc Racing Highlights
Eli moved up to the 450cc class. In 2015, he finished second in the 450cc Supercross championship. He had eleven podium finishes. He started the outdoor motocross season strong with two wins. But an injury later in the season stopped him.
In 2017, Eli had a challenging start to the Monster Energy AMA Supercross season. But then he won six of the next eight races! He even tied for first place in points with Ryan Dungey. Eli won his ninth supercross main event in 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. He went into the second-to-last race with a small lead. However, some mistakes caused him to finish eighth. This allowed Ryan Dungey to take the lead. Eli finished second in the final race. He ended up five points short of the championship.
Eli started the 2017 AMA Motocross Championship season by winning the first race. He won four overall races during the series. He also finished on the podium in seven of the twelve rounds. He went on to win the 2017 motocross title! He scored 470 points, beating Marvin Musquin and Blake Baggett.
Many people thought Eli would win the 2020 supercross season. He raced very consistently that year. He finished on the podium twelve times. His lowest finish was seventh at the first race.
His first win of 2020 was in Anaheim, California. He then had several more wins and podiums. By round ten in Daytona, Eli was tied for points with Ken Roczen. Eli won his fifth race of the season there. This was also his fourth Daytona Supercross win! After this race, the season was paused because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The rest of the season was finished in Salt Lake City.
In the final seven races, Eli continued to perform well. He secured his first 450cc class AMA Supercross Championship! He finished the season with 384 points. This put him ahead of Cooper Webb and Ken Roczen.
The year 2021 was Eli’s last year with Monster Energy Kawasaki. He won three races and had eight podiums. He finished third in the championship. In Motocross, he had two overall wins. He finished second in the point standings.
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In 2022, Eli won the 450cc supercross title! He clinched it at the 16th round in Denver, Colorado. This was his second 450cc Supercross title. It was also his first year with Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha. He even won the Best Male Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award that year!
Eli won his first AMA Motocross race of 2022 at High Point Raceway. He then had many more wins and podium finishes. He battled Chase Sexton all the way to the final race. Eli won both motos at Fox Raceway II. This secured his fourth 450cc Motocross title! He was the first person since Ryan Dungey to win both the AMA Supercross and Motocross Championships in the same year.
After winning both championships in 2022 and the MXON with Team USA, Eli was a top favorite for 2023. The 2023 season also started the new SuperMotocross World Championship. This combined Supercross and Motocross with special playoff races. Eli first planned to only race Supercross. But he later decided to race the whole championship.
The 2023 AMA Supercross season was a close race between Eli, Cooper Webb, and Chase Sexton. After Webb got injured, it came down to Eli and Sexton. The title was decided at the second-to-last race in Denver. Eli had an 18-point lead. However, during the main event, Eli had a hard landing after a jump. He stayed on his bike, but he injured his Achilles tendon. This forced him out of the race. He had to give up the championship to Sexton. Eli then missed the rest of the 2023 season to recover.
Eli signed with Star Yamaha again for the 2024 SuperMotocross Championship. He trained with his teammate Haiden Deegan. At the start of the 2024 AMA Supercross season, Eli was still recovering and getting used to a new Yamaha bike. But in the second half of the season, he got faster and more consistent. He had several podium finishes and a win in St. Louis, Missouri.
Eli missed the first nine races of the 2024 AMA Pro Motocross season due to a thumb injury. He returned to racing at Budds Creek. He finished seventh overall there. The next weekend, he got on the podium at Ironman Raceway!
On August 21, Eli announced he would continue racing with Star Racing Yamaha for the entire 2025 SuperMotocross season.
Motocross of Nations Appearances
Eli has raced for Team U.S.A. at the Motocross des Nations four times. This is a big international team race.
In 2013, after winning his 250cc AMA Motocross title, he raced in the MX2 position. The race was in Teutschenthal, Germany. A crash in the first race put him in 16th place. In the second race, Eli finished second after a long battle. Team U.S.A. finished second overall.
In 2014, Eli raced in the Open Class. The event was in Kegums, Latvia. He finished sixth in his first race. After crashing with other riders at the start of the second race, Eli charged all the way to third place! Team U.S.A. finished third overall.
In 2018, Eli was the team captain in the MXGP class. This was after he won the 450cc AMA Motocross title. The race was at Red Bud MX in Buchanan, Michigan. Eli finished fourth in the first race on a very muddy track. In the second race, Eli crashed. But he raced from the back to finish seventh. Team U.S.A. finished fifth overall.
In 2022, Eli was again the team captain in the MXGP class. This was after winning both 450cc AMA Supercross and Motocross titles. The race was also at Red Bud MX. It was very muddy again. Eli (racing with number 101) set the pace for Team USA. He won the first race with his teammate Justin Cooper. Chase Sexton finished second in the second race. Team USA was in a great position to win. In the third race, Eli started tenth. He was told that Team USA had enough points to win. He finished sixth, and Team U.S.A. won overall! This was their first win in 11 years.
In 2024, Eli was asked to race for an injured Chase Sexton in the MXGP class. This was less than two weeks before the event! The race was in Winchester, England. In the qualifying race, Eli started badly but moved up to seventh. Team USA qualified tenth for Sunday's races. The next day, Eli started well. He passed Ken Roczen and Jeffrey Herlings to get into second place. He finished second in that race. In the second moto, Eli got the holeshot. He was closely followed by Jeremy Seewer, Tim Gajser, and Jorge Prado. Eli finished third in that race. Team USA finished second overall, just behind Australia.
AMA Supercross and Motocross Results
This table shows Eli Tomac's results in the AMA Supercross and Motocross championships. You can see his finish position in each round (Rnd). Gold means he won, silver means he was second, and bronze means he was third. "DNF" means he did not finish, and "OUT" or "DNS" means he did not race.
| Year | Rnd 1 |
Rnd 2 |
Rnd 3 |
Rnd 4 |
Rnd 5 |
Rnd 6 |
Rnd 7 |
Rnd 8 |
Rnd 9 |
Rnd 10 |
Rnd 11 |
Rnd 12 |
Rnd 13 |
Rnd 14 |
Rnd 15 |
Rnd 16 |
Rnd 17 |
Average Finish |
Podium Percent |
Place |
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| 2010 250 MX | 1 | 6 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | 7.50 | 8% | 6th |
| 2011 250 SX-W | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3.33 | 67% | 2nd |
| 2011 250 MX | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | OUT | 13 | 17 | 3 | 19 | 2 | 9 | - | - | - | - | - | 7.45 | 36% | 4th |
| 2012 250 SX-W | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | DNF | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1.90 | 88% | 1st |
| 2012 250 MX | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | 2.75 | 67% | 3rd |
| 2013 250 SX-W | 1 | 1 | 1 | DNF | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 6 | 1 | 2.00 | 88% | 2nd |
| 2013 250 MX | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1.58 | 100% | 1st |
| *2014 450 SX | DNS | Out | Out | Out | 21 | 7 | 11 | 21 | 2 | DNS | Out | Out | 6 | 9 | 3 | 2 | DNS | 9.11 | 33% | 13th |
| †2014 450 MX | Out | Out | Out | Out | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | 3.00 | 88% | 5th |
| 2015 450 SX | 20 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 20 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4.65 | 65% | 2nd |
| ‡2015 450 MX | 1 | 1 | 7 | Out | Out | Out | Out | Out | Out | Out | Out | Out | - | - | - | - | - | 3.00 | 67% | 14th |
| 2016 450 SX | 4 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5.00 | 29% | 4th |
| 2016 450 MX | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | 2.67 | 83% | 2nd |
| 2017 450 SX | 5 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 3.35 | 71% | 2nd |
| 2017 450 MX | 1 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | 3.75 | 58% | 1st |
| 2018 450 SX | DNF | DNS | 1 | 1 | 13 | DNF | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3.21 | 86% | 3rd |
| 2018 450 MX | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | 2.58 | 83% | 1st |
| 2019 450 SX | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3.41 | 59% | 2nd |
| 2019 450 MX | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1.83 | 92% | 1st |
| 2020 450 SX | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2.52 | 71% | 1st |
| §2020 450 MX | 3 | 16 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.67 | 56% | 3rd |
| 2021 450 SX | 13 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 4.94 | 47% | 3rd |
| 2021 450 MX | 9 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | 3.58 | 67% | 2nd |
| 2022 450 SX | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 5 | Out | 2.75 | 69% | 1st |
| 2022 450 MX | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1.83 | 92% | 1st |
| ¶2023 450 SX | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | DNF | OUT | 2.73 | 73% | 2nd |
| ~2023 450 MX | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2024 450 SX | 9 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 10 | OUT | 5.25 | 38% | 4th |
| 2024 450 MX | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | 7 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.00 | 50% | 21st |
| 2025 450 SX | 5 | 1 |
Notes:
- 1) As of 2023, the AMA Motocross Season (MX) has 11 rounds. The AMA Supercross Season (SX) has 17 rounds.
- * Eli missed Rounds 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 11, 12, and 17 of the 2014 450 SX season due to injuries.
- † He missed the first 4 Nationals of 2014 due to injury.
- ‡ He missed the rest of the Nationals after Round 3 of the 2015 MX Series due to injury.
- § The 2020 MX season was shorter, with only 9 rounds.
- ¶ The second round of the 2023 SX (SMX) series was moved because of flooding. Eli did not finish Round 16 (Denver) due to an injury. He ruptured his left Achilles tendon while leading the race. He missed the final round because of this injury.
- ~ He missed all 11 rounds of the 2023 450 MX season due to injury.
About Eli's Life
Eli was born and grew up near Cortez, Colorado. His parents are John and Kathy. John, his dad, was a champion mountain bike racer and is now Eli's manager. Eli has one brother, Greg.
Eli grew up on his family's ranch. He started riding dirt bikes when he was very young. He became a top amateur rider and turned professional in 2010.
Eli got married in 2021. He and his wife have one girl and two boys.
Eli still lives and trains in Cortez, Colorado.
