Tomac was second to the first turn behind Marvin Musquin, but Anderson got by on the inside to take the lead. By the second lap, it looked like a three-man race, with Anderson leading Musquin by 6 seconds, and Tomac a second behind Musquin in third.
Tomac saved a crash, then passed Musquin for second place in the third lap, 8 seconds behind Anderson.
In the sixth, Anderson, who was being pressured by Tomac, briefly went down, and Tomac went by him for the lead.
It became a two-man race.
By the eighth of 11 laps, Tomac led Anderson by almost 4 seconds, with Musquin way back in third, 24 seconds behind Anderson. By the last lap, Anderson had eased off the throttle and finished 8 seconds behind Tomac.
Musquin finished third, and Broc Tickle and Cooper Webb filled out the Top 5.
Tomac’s win catapulted him over Blake Baggett and Justin Brayton for third place in the overall standings behind Anderson and Musquin. Baggett, who was tied with Tomac for fourth place in the standings, was eighth. Brayton, who was third in the standings, was 20th.
The series goes to Minneapolis on April 14 for the 14th of 17 races.
Saturday night’s race was a milestone in a dramatic comeback for Tomac, who has raced from last place to third in a season in which he has seemed to either crash or win.
Two weeks ago at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium, Tomac crashed while racing for the lead against Musquin and finished 15th. The Indianapolis crash came on the back of momentum-changing performances in St. Louis and Daytona. On March 17 at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Tomac won wire-to-wire. On March 10 at Daytona International Speedway, he raced from 22nd to second place after crashing in the first lap.
Earlier Saturday at Century Link Field, Tomac ran away with his heat race.
Tomac started the first lap in third, behind series-leading Anderson and Baggett, who is tied with Tomac in fourth place in the overall standings.
But in the second lap, both Anderson and Baggett went down, putting Tomac safely in first place, 20 seconds ahead of Anderson. Tomac extended his lead to 39 seconds by the sixth and final lap, as the Kawasaki rider, known for riding well in difficult conditions, posted laps of more than 5 seconds faster than Anderson – 1:29.007 compared with 1:34.872.
Tomac was followed by Husqvarna riders Anderson in second and Chad Reed in third. Baggett was fourth, and Weston Peick was fifth.
Tomac was fifth in qualifying. Anderson set the pace with a lap of 1:13.203, followed by Malcolm Stewart, Dean Wilson and Broc Tickle.
The race schedule in Seattle had been shortened to one qualifying round after heavy rain forced efforts to preserve the surface and keep it covered for as long as possible. Entering the race, analysts commented that the conditions seemed to favor Tomac, who has raced well in the ruts all season.
