Haiden Deegan Wins Weather-Shortened SMX Opener at zMAX Dragway
Monster Energy’s Haiden Deegan dominates the 250 class at Charlotte’s zMAX Dragway, with teammate Seth Hammaker joining him on the podium.
Monster Energy’s Haiden Deegan (Star Racing/Yamaha) continued his winning ways this past Saturday, taking the top 250 class spot in the weather-shortened opening round of the 2025 Monster Energy SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C. Deegan was joined on the podium by Seth Hammaker (Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki), giving Monster Energy the 1-3 class finish.
And in 450 class racing, Monster Energy’s Eli Tomac (Star Racing/Yamaha) would make the Moto 1 podium as well, placing 3rd in the opening moto.
An oddity of sorts would ensue as, following the first 250 and 450 motos, the skies over Concord would light up with unbridled electricity – forcing race officials with Feld Motorsport and zMAX Dragway to cancel the program’s second motos, and also cancel the SMX Next race, featuring supercross and motocross’ young, up-and-coming stars.
“Literally, right after that last lap, you saw the wind begin to pick up. Then the rain. Then the lighting. And then that led to not running the second motos.” – NBC announcer Jason Weigandt
250 Moto 1
In the opening 250 moto’s thrilling split start, Hammaker would come out on top, besting the rest of the field through the opening turns to reach the holeshot chalk line first. Deegan, who started a bit back in the pack, made quick work of a number of top racers before getting to Hammaker – and snatching the lead from him with a strong inside pass on a right hand corner.
From there Deegan would cruise, taking the victory over Hammaker by 3.368 seconds. Also noteworthy in the moto was the fact that Hammaker and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki teammate Levi Kitchen were penalized for jumping/passing under a red flag situation (when their Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki teammate Garrett Marchbanks crashed). The result of the penalties allowed Honda’s Jo Shimoda, the runner-up to Deegan in the AMA Pro Motocross Championship this summer, to move up to 2nd place (following an early moto crash).
Rounding out the top ten in SMX 250 Moto 1 scoring at Concord for Monster Energy were Kitchen (5th), Cole Davies (Star Racing/Yamaha) in 8th, Nate Thrasher (Star Racing/Yamaha) in 9th and Ty Masterpool (Pro Circuit/Kawasaki) in 10th.
450 Moto 1
Off the split start, it’d be Tomac as the top Monster Energy frontrunner, sliding into 2nd place (behind Honda’s Jett Lawrence). Towards the end of the moto, Tomac would go down at slow speed in a deep rut, allowing KTM’s Chase Sexton to get past him and into 2nd place.
Tomac would remount his YZ450F, and get back up to speed quickly, holding off a mad charge from Honda’s Hunter Lawrence to take the 3rd and final podium spot. 2025 Monster Energy AMA Supercross champion Cooper Webb (Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha) would resurface, after missing much of the outdoor season with an injury, and race to a top ten 7th place finish.
SMX points leader heading into Concord, Justin Cooper (Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha), had some difficulties in the opening 450 moto and had to settle on 11th place, dropping him to 3rd place in the SMX overall standings behind Lawrence (1st) and Sexton (2nd).
Monster Energy SMX Round 1 Results, Concord NC
| 450 Class | 250 Class |
|---|---|
| 3rd – Eli Tomac (Star/Yamaha) | 1st – Haiden Deegan (Star/Yamaha) |
| 7th – Cooper Webb (Star/Yamaha) | 3rd – Seth Hammaker (Pro Circuit/Kawasaki) |
| 11th – Justin Cooper (Star Racing/Yamaha) | 5th– Levi Kitchen (Star/Yamaha) |
| 8th – Cole Davies (Star/Yamaha) | |
| 9th – Nate Thrasher (Star/Yamaha) | |
| 10th – Ty Masterpool (Pro Circuit/Kawasaki) |
Notes & Quotes
- “He (Deegan) said it was hard. The track conditions were tough. And he put on a clinic right there.” - NBC announcer Ricky Carmichael
- “I mean, I’ve heard a lot of people complaining about the track today, which I think is BS because we’re professional athletes and I thought you got to figure it out.” - Deegan
- “The Thunderstorm and Lighting National.” – SMX Round 1 as described by MX/SX social media commentator Matt Burkeen
- “I’m not sure if it was (too much) acceleration or if it was the front end that tucked there. Either way, I was maybe a little bit impatient.” – Tomac on his 450 Moto 1 tip over.
- Interesting point… Though zMAX Dragway has lighting, and can run quarter mile drag races at night, the lighting did not extend far enough out to illuminate the motocross portion of the SMX track. And as a result of that, the second motos and SMX Next races had to be cancelled.
- Out of all the Monster Energy racers at SMX #1, it’d be Cooper that was dealt the toughest blow. The SMX points leader (heading into Concord) was a half lap down early on in the first 450 moto and had to settle on 11thplace – without the ability to come back in Moto 2.
- “Top five starter in almost every race. Came in with the points lead. Then bad luck at the start.” – Mitch Kendra of Racer X Films on Cooper.
- Hammaker was fortunate to walk away from a spectacular crash in qualifying that saw him not even case, but dive bomb his front tire – from triple height – into the top of the bump he was intending to land on the backside of.
Up next: The 2025 Monster Energy AMA Supercross and AMA Pro Motocross Championship continue their three round playoffs, the SMX World Championship Playoffs, The Dome at America’s Center, St. Louis, Mo., Sept. 13. For more information on the SMX World Championship Playoffs, click here.
