Eli Tomac Returns at Spring Creek After Neck Injury
NXTbets Pro | Published On: July 14, 2026
Tomac returns
Eli Tomac is set to return to racing this weekend at Spring Creek for Round 7 of AMA Pro Motocross, and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing confirmed he will be back in action after missing five rounds. The four-time 450MX champion will line up on a KTM 450 SX-F Factory Edition and join teammate Jorge Prado in the 450 class as the series moves into the second half of the season. Tomac is coming back about six weeks after the injury that sidelined him, and KTM said he will be “back in action this weekend.” The return puts one of the class’s most accomplished riders back in the gate after a short absence that began at the opening round. It also gives Tomac a clean chance to restart his outdoor campaign with the full support of the KTM program behind him.
Tomac injury
Tomac’s injury came in the opening round at Fox Raceway, where he crashed with Garrett Marchbanks and withdrew from the event. KTM said he suffered a hyperextended anterior longitudinal ligament and a partial tear of the left sternocleidomastoid muscle in his neck. The setback forced him out for five rounds and kept him from scoring points before his return. That makes the comeback more than a routine reentry to the series. It marks the end of a recovery stretch that stretched across the first part of the outdoor season and left him watching the championship from the sidelines. His first race back arrives after a demanding layoff, but the team has now cleared him to rejoin the 450 field. Spring Creek will serve as the first test of how quickly he can get back to race pace after the injury and the missed rounds that followed.
Tomac record
Tomac enters the weekend ninth in SMX Playoff seeding, and that leaves him in position to rebuild his standing over the rest of the season. He is still third on the all-time overall wins list, and he sits six podiums shy of passing Ricky Carmichael for the all-time overall wins record. Those numbers frame the scale of his return. Tomac is a four-time 450MX champion with a long record of success, and he still is chasing his first outdoor win since the 2022 Fox Raceway finale. The return to Spring Creek gives him another shot to close that gap and add to a resume that already places him among the sport’s most decorated riders. It also puts him back into the rhythm of the second half of the season with Prado as KTM tries to regain momentum in the 450 class.
