San Diego
Snapdragon Stadium
Supercross in “America’s Finest City” stretches back to 1980 when Mike Bell closed out the season in front of 40,000 fans in San Diego Stadium. A top 10 marketplace for most races held, San Diego became an early season round in 1985.
Fast Facts
Yamaha’s Mike Bell ended the 1980 season with a win at the first ever San Diego SX. He beat Donnie Hansen and local hero Marty Tripes in front of 40,000. In a scheduling oddity, San Diego (round 17) happened 10 weeks after Philadelphia, where Bell wrapped the title.
In lesser-remembered news, World 250 MX champ, Georges Jobe and factory Husqvarna rider Leif Niklasson attempted Supercross racing. Neither qualified for the main event.
While Ricky Carmichael’s first official SX win came at Daytona 2000, San Diego ’01 holds a special place in his career; it was his first stadium win and he did it straight up against Jeremy McGrath.
It was also the first ever San Diego win for Kawasaki. “Now I believe I know what it takes to win a Supercross and I’ll keep trying to do it,” Carmichael told Cycle News in ’01. He left the race tied with McGrath in the points.
With 19 starts, 6 wins and 10 podiums, Chad Reed is the outright all-time leader in all key San Diego categories. His wins came between 2003-2011, which means he beat many of the best to get them, including the 2005 thriller when he and Ricky Carmichael nearly lapped third place.
On the final lap, Reed blocked Carmichael, who then crashed in the whoops trying to retaliate. Mike LaRocco finished third but his avg. lap times were two seconds slower!
In his final Supercross race aboard a two stroke, Jeremy McGrath pulled the holeshot and then received a genuine salute from the same guy who snatched his crown away four years earlier.
Photographer Steve Bruhn captured this shot of McGrath and Ricky Carmichael looking over at each other on the first lap of the 450SX main event. McGrath faded to 10th but one year later he finished 4th! Not bad for a guy who retired in Jan. 2003.
Jeremy McGrath, a Sun City, Calif. native, who ultimately settled and raised his family in Encinitas, won five consecutive San Diego Supercross main events between 1993-1998 (no 1997 race due to stadium renovations.
McGrath started 11 450SX main events in San Diego and had five wins and seven podiums (second all-time to Chad Reed). Calif. born riders won 12 of the first 15 San Diego races but, shockingly, MC was the last Californian to claim victory.
Venues
San Diego Stadium: The 1980 San Diego Supercross happened at San Diego Stadium, a football/baseball facility, which became Jack Murphy Stadium in 1981 and then Qualcomm in 1997 (now demolished).
Petco Park: In 2014, the race moved to the home of MLB’s Padres (2014-2022).
Snapdragon: In 2023, the newly opened Snapdragon Stadium, built on the old Jack Murphy grounds, became the new home of SX in “America’s Finest City”. Snapdragon is a 35,000 capacity football venue, home of the San Diego State University Aztecs.
The interactive table below details the all-time San Diego 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 in San Diego, in what year and what round was the race? Winner history makes that easy to see.
Winner History
Full race results from every San Diego Supercross held.