Eli Tomac swept the Southwick National in 2016, 2017, and 2022.

But in his first visit back in three years, he’ll be squared off against the kid who has won the race the last two years running — and 19 of 20 races he’s ever entered in the premier class.

As the series swings even farther and further back into the northeast to the hollowed ground of MX 338 on Saturday, the echoes of yesteryear fade and that day’s task at hand will come into sharper focus.