By Race Chapman

For some racers, the Monster Energy Cup was a heartbreaking affair on Saturday at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas. For others, it went about as expected. But for one man, it was the single greatest race of his life.

Marvin Musquin, in a performance sure to put a smile on the faces of his sponsors at Red Bull, absolutely dominated the Monster Energy Cup. He won all three of the Pro motos, which makes him the first racer to win the $1 million prize since Ryan Villopoto in 2011.

The night started off on a bad note, as Justin Bogle crashed early in the first moto and the race had to be red-flagged. Jason Anderson was leading before the restart with Eli Tomac and Musquin close behind. Bogle was carted off and appeared to be in pain, although nothing has yet been released about his health.

After the restart of the first moto, Musquin came out with an excellent start but was passed by his Monster Energy-backed rival Tomac for the early lead. Typically, when Tomac takes the lead, he doesn't give it back. But this is not the Musquin of old, who might have settled for a comfortable second.

Musquin laid it all on the line — scrubbing one of the rhythm sections in an unbelievable fashion — and passed Tomac back. This seemed to throw Tomac off his game, and he was pushing hard to put pressure on the Frenchman.

He pushed too hard.

While coming down the fastest section of the track, dubbed "Monster Alley," Tomac went a little wide of the main line, his back end slid out on some loose dirt, and he violently high-sided down the track.

In general, Tomac and his team keep tight lips about injuries and recovery, and so far there has been no word about his condition after the crash. However, Tomac got up under his own power and wasn't reported to have taken a trip to the hospital. Hopefully there was no damage and he will remain healthy for the start of the Supercross season.

Musquin went on to win the moto, while Tomac returned to his trailer for the remainder of the night. Prodigious MXGP racer Tim Gajser also suffered a harrowing wreck, this one in the highly technical rhythm section. He wouldn't return to the track either but was fortunate to walk away without serious injury.

Across the finish line of the first moto, Anderson finished in second and Dean Wilson took third.

Justin Barcia had a brief stint as leader of the second moto after taking the holeshot. Musquin would again make quick work in taking the lead, and without Tomac in this race he didn't have anybody that was quite at his level.

Anderson did his part to keep Musquin honest but was never in striking range. A few small mistakes by Musquin allowed Anderson to get within two seconds at one point, but Musquin regained his composure and extended the gap to a comfortable distance.

The second moto had Musquin and Anderson finishing first and second, respectively, and Broc Tickle finishing a strong third.

Pressure must have been intense for Musquin before the third moto, as everyone knew that he was eligible for the $1 million grand prize. Separating the money from his bank account was one final moto win.

Every racer would love to be the spoiler for their competitors, and Anderson had a shot at winning the overall (but not the $1 million) if he were to win the last moto with Musquin finishing third or worse.

Musquin, however, had no intention of allowing any of that to happen. The last start of the night was by far the best for Musquin, as he had an astounding lead over the rest of the field entering the first turn.

Unlike the small mistakes of the second moto, the third was nearly flawless for the Frenchman. He maintained a comfortable lead over Anderson and pulled his signature "heel clicker" over the finish line as the fireworks blasted over Las Vegas. During the victory lap, it seemed that Musquin was so thrilled that he didn't know what to do with himself.

It was all smiles as the elated Red Bull rider took the check from Monster Energy. The runner-up for the night was Jason Anderson, who finished second in every moto. Dean Wilson was able to secure the final spot on the podium, despite riding through an illness. Anderson earned $35,000 for second, and Wilson took home $20,000 for third -- a far cry from the $1 million that Musquin won but a satisfying prize regardless.

While the night truly belonged to Musquin, there were also great performances by amateur racers Seth Hammaker and Jett Reynolds.

Hammaker blew the competition away in both motos of the Amateur All Star class, leading Pierce Brown and Jo Shimoda to the checkers. Lance Kobusch, a favorite for the podium and previous winner at the event, suffered a horrific crash in the second moto and was unable to finish.

Jett Reynolds, a young racer with tremendous accomplishments at Mammoth Motocross and Loretta's this year, had the most speed in the stacked Supermini class. Despite numerous mistakes including a bad start and a fall, Reynolds pulled off a 1-2 for the overall win. Kaeden Amerin and Jeremy Ryan filled out the podium. To give fans an idea of the parity in this class, Amerin took second overall with a 4-5 and Ryan went 6-4 to finish third. The winner of the second moto was only able to finish 12th in the first moto. The results were truly all over the board, as every racer was almost equal in speed. That's with the exception of Reynolds, who was by far the most consistent and fastest racer in the class.

For Reynolds and Hammaker, this is a night they will likely never forget and might be the most important results of their young careers.

For Musquin, this is by far the most important single win of his career and will give him an enormous boost of confidence going into the 2018 Supercross season. But for now, he will just enjoy the two-month break.

And work on spending that money.

Weekly Articles from Race Chapman

Several Big Names Vie For $1 Million 
Americans Disappointed In The Motocross Of Nations 
The #1 Plates Are Already Stamped For Tomac 
Joey Crown Builds Foundation For Improvement 
Justin Cooper, Fifth In First Pro Race 
Tomac Will Earn Title, But Not Ambassadorship 
Keep The Loretta’s Competitive 
Eli Tomac Extends Lead In Spite Of Challenges 
Motocross Is A War Of Attrition 
The Beginning of a Beautiful Rivalry