Denver
Empower Field at Mile High
Nicknamed the Mile High City because of its elevation above sea level measuring exactly 5,280 feet, Denver’s Supercross history didn’t begin until 1996 and didn’t continue until 2019. The “Wall Street of the West” produced five different winners in the five races hosted.
Fast Facts
Despite being the season finale, the first ever Denver Supercross was an unfortunate snoozer: Jeremy McGrath’s quest for a perfect season ended at the previous round, the championship had been locked for five weeks AND only 24 250cc riders entered the event. According to Cycle News, the AMA “rounded up” 18 more riders for the program.
McGrath said he started in first gear because of the altitude but felt his Honda ran great. He led all 20 laps to win his 43rd career Supercross main.
Who doesn’t love a little Supercross in the snow? Temperatures were just above freezing and flurries filled the sky at the start of qualifying on the April 13, 2019 return of the Denver SX. After 23 years, it was fitting that Cortez, Colorado’s Eli Tomac won his home state race, his 5th victory of the season.
Tomac stormed through riders, including series leader, Cooper Webb, who started right in front of him. Tomac passed race leader Marvin Musquin less than five minutes into the main and won by 7.7 seconds.
Eli Tomac entered the penultimate round of the series with an 18-pt. lead over Chase Sexton. It was an injury-depleted field with championship contender Cooper Webb among the missing. On lap four, while leading comfortably, Tomac’s left Achilles ruptured when he slightly over-jumped in the rhythms.
Tomac didn’t crash but he pulled off the track, repeatedly shook his head in disbelief and held out his left leg away from the bike. Sexton won the race and left Denver with the points lead.
Venues
Empower Field at Mile High: Supercross finally returned to Denver in 2019, this time to Empower field, a 76,000 capacity football venue, home of the NFL’s Broncos since it opened in August 2001.
Mile High Stadium: The 1996 Denver Supercross happened at the original Mile High, which closed in 2001 and was demolished in early 2002.
The interactive table below details the all-time Denver leaders. Who has the most starts, wins, podiums and points. Filter by class. On mobile, slide left to access more columns.
All-Time Leaders
Who won Denver in what year and what round was the race? Winner history makes that easy to see. Tap ‘additional stats’ to see more info
Winner History
Full race results from every Denver Supercross in sport history. Tap ‘additional stats’ to see position changes and qualifying ranking
Race Results
Fast Facts: Denver was originally scheduled to host round 14 in 2020 but the event was cancelled due to the pandemic