Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey had been looking for it all season, and in a wild and crazy night of racing at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Dungey captured his first Monster Energy AMA Supercross win of the season.

“We needed that one for sure,” Dungey said. “The start… that was all of it. Alessi got in front of me, and it took me, like, two laps to settle in. The track was nasty. Those whoops almost got me a bunch of times.”

With the Indy track rutting up across the faces of the whoops and the jumps, the potential for carnage was high, and yet the most shocking incident occurred right off the start of the 22-rider, 20-lap Indy main event, and it had tremendous championship implications when the top three men in the points standings all suffered terrible starts.

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Defending Monster Energy Supercross Champion Ryan Villopoto and his weekly training partner Red Bull KTM’s Ken Roczen collided as the field rounded the first turn, and both men hit the ground. Dungey got away quickly, albeit in second-to-last place, while Roczen lost several precious seconds as he attempted to rejoin the fray. Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart also got a bad start and was mired in 21st place on the opening lap. Roczen would later crash out of the race, dealing his championship hopes a serious setback.

Mike Alessi led the early laps, while Dungey battled with GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac before moving into second place. The two riders ran in close quarters as they caught up to Alessi, and Dungey wicked it up just as Alessi bobbled in a right-hand corner. Alessi has proved that he can be tough to pass, however, and Dungey had to be patient. When Alessi left the inside line open right in front of the mechanics’ area on lap five, Dungey shot past him for the lead. From there, Dungey pulled away and kept his factory KTM on two wheels to claim his first win of the season. It was also the 14th Monster Energy 450cc Supercross win of his career.

“You know, I just got out front and just kept a steady pace,” Dungey said. “I knew where everybody was. They weren’t right on my butt, so I figured I’d relax a bit and not force myself into a mistake. This win was a long time [coming] this season, but I’m happy. It’s just cool. It’s a nice win. We’ve been waiting for that, like I said.”

Tomac had a tough time getting past Alessi, who was clearly looking to assuage the humiliation of the $4000 fine and probation assessed by AMA officials following Alessi’s ramming incident with RCH Soaring Eagle’s Broc Tickle in their Atlanta heat race. Alessi showed tremendous poise, but he crashed on lap 13, ending his podium hopes. Tomac moved into second place and held it to the finish.

Two riders made their 450cc debuts for this season, with Muscle Milk Honda rider Cole Seely finishing an excellent third, ahead of a resilient Villopoto, while subbing for the injured Justin Barcia. TwoTwo Motorsports/Discount Tire Kawasaki’s Dean Wilson finished 10th, subbing for the injured Chad Reed.

Last week’s winner Martin Davalos and Honda’s Vince Friese led the 22-rider field through turn one, followed by Davalos’s Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki teammate, Adam Cianciarulo. Both Davalos and Cianciarulo quickly pulled clear of Friese, setting up a potential battle between the two teammates for the second week in a row. Davalos maintained a 2-second lead over Cianciarulo by the time the race was five laps old, with Matt Bisceglia, Jimmy DeCotis and Friese—all Honda-mounted—completed the top five.

The complexion of the top five changed suddenly on lap seven, when Davalos’ rear tire caught some exposed plywood that serves as the base for Supercross tracks and lost traction, causing him to dart left into the Tuf Blox. Cianciarulo and Bisceglia both got by before Davalos could get going again. Cianciarulo then crashed in the turn just before the section where Davalos crashed, but he was up quickly and retained the lead.

Davalos was clearly the fastest rider on the track, however, and he shot past Bisceglia and set off after Ciancarulo with six laps to go. Meanwhile, last week’s third-place finisher Justin Bogle came from down in the pack to catch his GEICO Honda teammate, Bisceglia, and challenge for the podium. Bogle passed Bisceglia and caught Davalos.

Ciancairulo bobbled over a jump on the last lap but was able to recover and take the second 250cc main event of his career. Davalos held on for second, with Bogle finishing third to keep the same cast of characters on the Indy podium as it was in Atlanta, albeit with the first two finishers flipped.

“The good Lord was with me, that’s for sure,” Cianciarulo said. “A lot of mistakes out there for me—a lot of mistakes by everybody—but I just tried to stay as close to Martin [Davalos] as possible. He was killing me in these whoops, pulling away from me a little bit, but I was hitting that quad [jump], so I kind of gained a little bit back. I just tried to keep the pressure on, and then Martin made a mistake. And then I actually crashed. I’m very happy to get another win this early in the season. I just want to keep it consistent. A shout out to my teammate, Martin. He rode an awesome race.”  

Results: March 1, 2014 (Round 9 of 17)
Lucas Oil Stadium
Indianapolis, Indiana

450 Main
1. Ryan Dungey-KTM
2. Eli Tomac-Hon
3. Cole Seely-Hon
4. Ryan Villopoto-Kaw
5, Broc Tickle-Suz
6. Andrew Short-KTM
7. James Stewart-Suz
8. Justin Brayton-Yam
9. Josh Hill-Suz
10. Dean Wilson-Kaw
11. Wil Hahn-Hon
12. Josh Grant-Yam
13. Nick Wey-Kaw
14. Chris Blose-Hon
15. Mike Alessi-Suz
16. Kyle Chisholm-Hon
17. Jimmy Albertson
18. Cody Gilmore-Kaw
19. Nicholas Schmidt-Hon
20. Ronnie Stewart-Suz
21. Ken Roczen-KTM
22. Weston Peick-Suz

Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series Points Standings (after 9 of 17 rounds)
1. Ryan Villopoto-184/
2. Ryan Dungey-161/1 win
3. Ken Roczen-158/2 wins
4. James Stewart-150/ 2 wins
5. Justin Brayton-143
6. Chad Reed-111/2 wins
7. Justin Barcia-109
8. Andrew Short-109
9. Wil Hahn-93
10. Broc Tickle-93

250 Main
1. Adam Cianciarulo-Kaw
2. Martin Davalos-Kaw
3. Justin Bogle-Hon
4. Matt Bisceglia-Hon
5. Blake Baggett-Kaw
6. Vince Friese-Hon
7. Jimmy DeCotis-Hon
8. Matt Lemoine-Kaw
9. Cole Thompson-KTM
10. Kyle Cunningham-Hon
11. Alex Martin-Yam
12. Kyle Peters-Hon
13. Mitchell Oldenburg-Hon
14. AJ Catanzaro-Hon
15. Jackson Richardson-Hon
16. Justin Starling-Hon
17. Brad Nauditt-Hon
18. Jace Owen-Hon
19. Jeremy Martin-Yam
20. Blake Wharton-Hon
21. Paul Coates-Yam
22. Gavin Faith-Hon

AMA 250cc Eastern Region Supercross Series Points Standings (After 3 of 8 rounds)
1. Adam Cianciarulo-72/2 wins
2. Martin Davlos-67/1 win
3. Justin Bogle-56
4. Blake Bagget-44
5. Vince Friese-48
6. Cole Thompson-40
7. Jimmy DeCotis-34
8. Blake Wharton-33
9. Kyle Cunningham-33
10. Mitchell Oldenburg-30