Houston
NRG Stadium
The fourth largest city in the United States, Houston is one of the original Supercross cities, its history going back to March 15, 1974 and round 2 of the Yamaha Super Series of Motocross. Even with its current on/off status on the schedule, “H-Town” has hosted the fourth most Supercross rounds ever, trailing only Anaheim, Daytona and Detroit/Pontiac.
Fast Facts
The second (of two) rounds of the 1974 Yamaha Super Series of Motocross took place at Houston Atrodome, one week after round 1 in Daytona. Washington’s Jim Pomeroy (3-1-1-2) won the overall on his Bultaco after four motos (and two days).
Crowds of 17,000 and 24,000 watched the Flying Dutchman, Pierre Karsmakers win the “big money” as the overall series winner. We now know Karsmakers as the first ever premier class Supercross champion.
The 2001 Houston Supercross had several memorable moments: Isaiah Johnson’s YZ250 snapped in half (he was ok), Ricky Carmichael won his 8th consecutive races in a come from behind rout, and Husqvarna’s Travis Preston won his first ever 125SX race after Grant Langston crashed on the final lap.
It was a painful loss for Langston who was already celebrating the win when he cased a double and went over the bars. Preston put the struggling Husqvarna team on top, the brand’s only win before returning in 2015.
While Ryan Villopoto left round 13 of the 2012 SX series with another victory, James Stewart sat on a track barrier and contemplated his future. In his fourth season on a Yamaha, Stewart wasn’t gelling with the new YZ450F, which featured a backwards engine.
In Houston, Stewart started mid-pack and crashed hard while trying to get to the front. Years later, Stewart explained that he almost quit that night, following three seasons of crashes and mental battles.
As California remained locked down during the COVID-19 pandemic, Houston hosted the opening three rounds of the 2021 Supercross series. Justin Barcia, who won the opening round of the series in both 2019 and 2020, did it for a third consecutive season, this time in a different city, and on a different bike brand.
The Troy Lee Designs team moved up to the 450 class to be the official factory effort of GasGas, signing Barcia after he spent three years with Yamaha. Barcia held off Ken Roczen to win brand’s Supercross debut.
Venues
Two venues have hosted Supercross races in Space City, the first being the “8th Wonder of the World,” the Astrodome, which hosted from 1974 to 2002. The home of the Houston Astros held doubleheaders from 1977 to 1983, but closed in the early 2000s after the team moved to the new Minute Maid Park.
In 2003, Supercross moved to NRG Stadium (formerly Reliant). Built as the home of the NFL’s Texans, it also hosted the opening three rounds of the 2021 SX series..\
The interactive table below details the all-time Houston Supercross 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 Houston 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 Houston Supercross in sport history. Tap ‘additional stats’ to see position changes and qualifying ranking