Originally called “Tampa Town” when it was incorporated in 1849, Tampa is now the third most populous city in the state of Florida. Its Supercross history dates back to 1987 when it became the third Sunshine State market to host a race. The Tampa round is a home event for Feld Entertainment, whose global headquarters are 43 miles to the south in Palmetto.
Iconic Moments
A few highlights from the Tampa Supercross, which first appeared on the schedule in 1987.
1987: Florida Expansion
In 1987, Tampa became the third city in Florida to host a round of AMA Supercross (Daytona & Orlando). Over 45,000 packed into Tampa Stadium and watched Jeff Ward dominate. Wardy led all 20 laps and extended his points lead to 45 with three rounds left.
Ward’s teammate Ron Lechien finished second after battling with Rick Johnson.
Johnson rode with a broken finger on his right hand, which he suffered two weeks earlier in Pontiac.
1988: RJ Applies the Heat
Ricky Johnson moved one step closer to his second Supercross title after conquering a slippery race track in humid Florida air.
Jeff Ward started the race up front, but went down in the sand. With a nearly half lap lead over Ward, Johnson threw no handers on his way to victory. With two rounds remaining, he left Florida with a 15 point cushion on Ward.
Fresh off his first 125SX West championship, Jeff Matiasevich raced the 250/450 class and finished 4th.
1998: Breaking a Drought
The final race in the original Tampa Stadium was wet and wild, with Larry Ward ending a nearly decade long drought.
As the misty air turned into steady rain, John Dowd led early with points leader Jeremy McGrath behind. But Ward charged to the lead in the increasingly muddy conditions.
Ward lost his goggles and fended off Kevin Windham and Ezra Lusk for his second career victory, first since Seattle 1990.
2023: Webb Back On Top
Cooper Webb broke a 21-race winless streak by winning the 2023 Tampa SX. The win put Webb in the title fight as defending champion Eli Tomac struggled to a 5th.
Chase Sexton led the first 21 laps before crashing in the whoops and handing the position to Webb, who was nearby in second.
In 250SX East, Nate Thrasher led the first 19.99 laps until Hunter Lawrence nipped him at the finish by 0.134 for a second straight win.
Venues
Tampa Stadium: The original home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, host of SX between 1987-1998.
Raymond James Stadium: Opened for the 1998 NFL season and held its first Supercross in 1999.
Suncoast Dome: In 1991, Supercross went to the other side of Tampa Bay for race in St. Petersburg’s Suncoast Dome (now Tropicana Field).
The interactive table below details the all-time Tampa/St. Petersburg leaders. Who has the most starts, wins, podiums and points. Filter by class. On mobile, slide left to access more columns.
Who won Tampa/St. Petersburg, in what year and what round was this venue? Winners history makes that easy to see.
Full race results from each Supercross round held in Tampa/St. Petersburg.