Dallas Supercross marks the first and only trip of the year in the SMX World Championship for the state of Texas, a brief return to 250 West action, and the second of three Triple Crown rounds in 2025. This stop couldn't be coming at a better time for last week's 450 Class winner, Cooper Webb. He's been as good at AT&T Stadium on the big bike as any rider in any venue in this sport, and another status quo outing would grant him sole possession of the series points lead going into Daytona. The weekend didn't start hot for him with an odd press day crash on Friday, but what would Saturday bring for the No. 2?
Daytime Program/Injury Notes:
- In the event you wanted to know, this is the first non-COVID year that the 250 West Division has been to Arlington since 2017.
- Jason Anderson and Cooper Webb were getting a bit frisky in the final 450 qualifying session.
- Christian Craig's season debut is likely imminent, given that he's no longer training with Haiden Deegan and, assumingly, most of Star Yamaha's 250 guys for the time being.
- 16 450 riders and five 250 riders broke past the 50-second bracket in qualifying. This used to be an honorable sport.
- 250 Fastest Qualifier: No. 100 Cole Davies (48.326)
- 450 Fastest Qualifier: No. 46 Justin Hill (47:657)
250 West Recap
1st) No. 38 Haiden Deegan (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) (1-1-2)
Starts were a bit suspect in those first two Main Events, but the speed from Deegan was undeniable all night long, and the right guy won in the 250 class beyond any doubt. His ability to cut down in these bowl corners without losing any speed put him above anyone else save for teammate Cole Davies in Main 3, and he could clearly put his bike anywhere he wanted to. Masterful performance.
2nd) No. 37 Coty Schock (Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX Yamaha) (2-4-6)
Dallas was a long time coming for Schock, who's been a feel-good story indoors and out over the last several years and finally got to put the bike on the podium for the first time as a pro. The results waned as the night went on, but he consistently put himself in good spots and was more than deserving of leading those laps in Main Event 1. I'm very happy for him and excited to see how next week turns out when he tries to make the 450 field at Daytona on a 250.
6th) No. 23 Julien Beaumer (Red Bull KTM) (6-8-4)
Now, I WAS, keyword, WAS a bit disappointed by Beaumer's lackluster outing on a night where Haiden Deegan answered the bell, then I saw the Lewis Phillips tweet mentioning that he dislocated his shoulder in qualifying. 1) That explains a lot, quite frankly. 2) I think it's a fair conversation to ask why that wasn't known until after the event ended, but I digress. A six-point hole isn't quite the end of the world for Beaumer, but a nagging shoulder injury would certainly complicate things.
7th) No. 100 Cole Davies (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) (4-17-1)
Second Main Event be dammed, the Australian teenager continues to impress with every outing and made short work of things in his final outing of Saturday night. I would genuinely be stunned if Davies doesn't pick up career win No. 1 before we get to Motocross. The good has far outweighed the bad through five starts, and he has the speed and pace to beat anyone in this field, Deegan included.
DNF) No. 19 Jordon Smith (Triumph Factory Racing)
Jordon Smith's crash immediately dampened things last night, and we got the update straight from him a little after 10:00 EST on Saturday night.
I hope to see Smith back on track sooner rather than later. It has been a very tough year for injuries, especially for the Triumph squad, which lost Jalek Swoll before we ever got to A1.
250 West Class Arlington Top 10
1st No. 38 Haiden Deegan (1-1-2)
2nd No. 37 Coty Schock (2-4-6)
3rd No. 93 Michael Mosiman (3-2-7)
4th No. 30 Jo Shimoda (5-5-3)
5th No. 36 Michael Mosiman (7-3-5)
6th No. 23 Julien Beaumer (6-8-4)
7th No. 100 Cole Davies (4-17-1)
8th No. 166 Enzo Lopes (9-6-8)
9th No. 65 Lux Turner (8-7-9)
10th No. 54 Jo Shimoda (14-9-13)
250 West Points Standings After Arlington
1st No. 38 Haiden Deegan (109 Points) (New Points Leader)
2nd No. 23 Julien Beaumer (103 Points)
3rd No. 100 Cole Davies (87 Points)
4th No. 30 Jo Shimoda (86 Points)
5th No. 19 Jordon Smith (85 Points)
6th No. 37 Coty Schock (85 Points)
7th No. 93 Michael Mosiman (72 Points)
8th No. 36 Garrett Marchbanks (60 Points)
9th No. 52 Anthony Bourdon (54 Points)
10th No. 63 Hunter Yoder (52 Points)
450 Class Recap
I'm just going to get to the meat and bones here instead of rider breakdowns. My instant knee-jerk reaction to what happened to Chase Sexton in Main Event 3 is that if he doesn't outright win or podium ahead of Cooper Webb next weekend in Daytona, this Championship is over. That shot of Sexton on the side of the berm with his head in his hands spoke several thousand words. It's less about the mistakes since he messed up pretty badly right away in Detroit despite the good result, but these repeatedly crunch-time mistakes are mind-numbing for a guy who is one of the few fastest guys on the planet.
Sexton is simply not winning a mental warfare battle with Webb under any circumstances, and unless he turns things around immediately, things will only get worse. Webb is only going to get better in this stretch, given that we are primarily East Coast from here on out, and even if Sexton can keep pace, there's no guarantee these clutch time mistakes will stop. It's hard not to feel bad for the guy, but at some point, it is on him to fix it, and if it doesn't happen quickly, Cooper Webb will be a three-time Supercross Champion; there's no other way to put it.
450 Class Arlington Top 10
1st No. 2 Cooper Webb (6-1-1)
2nd No. 94 Ken Roczen (1-5-3)
3rd No. 4 Chase Sexton (3-2-5)
4th No. 32 Justin Cooper (2-3-6)
5th No. 46 Justin Hill (4-4-8)
6th No. 51 Justin Barcia (5-9-4)
7th No. 7 Aaron Plessinger (7-7-10)
8th No. 14 Dylan Ferrandis (9-6-11)
9th No. 27 Malcolm Stewart (8-12-7)
10th No. 17 Joey Savatgy (11-8-9)
450 Points Standings After Arlington
1st No. 2 Cooper Webb (146 Points) (New Sole Points Leader)
2nd No. 4 Chase Sexton (141 Points)
3rd No. 94 Ken Roczen (127 Points)
4th No. 21 Jason Anderson (111 Points)
5th No. 27 Malcolm Stewart (108 Points)
6th No. 32 Justin Cooper (104 Points)
7th No. 51 Justin Barcia (99 Points)
8th No. 46 Justin Hill (86 Points)
9th No. 3 Eli Tomac (80 Points)
10th No. 1 Jett Lawrence (71 Points)
Main Image via Yamaha