Eli Tomac:
The Undying
Beast

There are moments in professional sport when a competitor transcends their era — when they outlast rivals, rewrite record books, and keep showing up at a level that defies every sensible projection. Eli Tomac is living that moment right now, and has been for over a decade.

Born on November 14, 1992, in Cortez, Colorado, Tomac grew up in motocross royalty. His father, John Tomac, was a celebrated professional cyclist and Mountain Bike Hall of Fame inductee. But the younger Tomac found his calling on dirt — specifically, on throttle-soaked circuits where he developed a riding style so aggressive and precise that the sport's media gave it a name all its own: Beast Mode.

From Debut to Dynasty

The legend began on May 22, 2010. A full-on rookie from Cortez lined up at the Hangtown Motocross Classic in Rancho Cordova, California, aboard a GEICO Honda CRF250R — and promptly won both motos to take the overall. In doing so, Tomac became the first rider in AMA Pro Racing history to win on their professional debut.

That debut was not a fluke. Tomac charged through the 250cc ranks, winning the AMA Motocross 250cc title in 2013 with nine overall wins in twelve rounds, and adding the 250SX West Championship in 2012 along the way. By 2014, he made the full-time move to the premier 450cc class, where his ceiling — and his ambition — would only grow higher.

The Championship Machine

After moving to the Monster Energy Kawasaki team in 2016, Tomac began the most dominant stretch of his career. He won the 450cc AMA Pro Motocross Championship in three consecutive seasons — 2017, 2018, and 2019 — making him only the fourth rider in history to achieve that feat. His 2020 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship was a masterclass in consistency, followed in 2022 by the rarest achievement in the sport: the double, winning both the 450SX Supercross and 450cc Motocross titles in the same year.

When Tomac switched to Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing for the 2022 season, skeptics wondered whether a new bike and new team would slow his roll. He answered by immediately winning both the Supercross and Motocross titles, becoming only the second rider in history to win the 450SX premier class on three different manufacturers.

A New Orange Chapter

For 2026, Tomac made the most audacious move of his career: joining Red Bull KTM Factory Racing — the very orange empire he'd spent years battling at its peak with Ryan Dungey, Marvin Musquin, and Cooper Webb. Now 33 years old, riding for his fourth factory team, Tomac arrived at Anaheim 1 with something to prove.

He answered immediately. Tomac led nearly wire-to-wire at the 2026 season opener, claiming his 54th career 450SX win — and his first ever on a KTM — to become only the second rider alongside Chad Reed to win the premier class on four different brands. It also extended his remarkable streak to 12 consecutive seasons with at least one 450SX main event victory.

King of Daytona — Record Book Rewritten

As extraordinary as Anaheim was, Round 8 at Daytona International Speedway cemented Tomac's 2026 campaign as something truly historic. In what many consider his most dominant venue on earth, Tomac stormed from fourth on the opening lap to first by the halfway point, eventually crossing the line for his eighth career Daytona victory.

That win broke a three-year tie with NASCAR legend Richard Petty — seven Daytona 500 victories — to make Eli Tomac the most decorated racer in the 67-year history of The World Center of Racing, across all disciplines. He did it on his fourth different brand of motorcycle. He did it at 33. And yes — he cracked a tooth lifting the oversized trophy on the podium, which he took with characteristic Tomac wit.

As the 2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship charges toward its conclusion, Tomac sits locked in a razor-thin points battle with Honda HRC Progressive's Hunter Lawrence. Four wins, a championship-caliber campaign, and a legacy that only grows more remarkable with every gate drop — Eli Tomac, the Beast, is nowhere near done.