Haiden Deegan may be one of the most popular riders in the paddock, but the attention is well deserved. After racing Supercross Futures back at Anaheim 2 and finishing fourth, Deegan admitted he was not even sure if he was ready to line up for the East Coast rounds. However, each round Deegan has improved and after a heat race win in Tampa, the next step was a podium. He accomplished it this past weekend in Daytona, at just his fourth ever supercross. The humble rider answered questions at the post-race press conference.
Haiden, first podium for you. It’s a historic moment. Proud mother and father out here. They are beaming. They’re very excited. Pretty big deal for your rookie season. I think this is your fourth race and you’ve got a podium. That’s incredible. How does that feel?
It’s definitely super exciting. It was one of my goals, so we ticked off another one. I
got a taste of it and I definitely want more.
Haiden, you mentioned that this was a goal, but after A2 before you decided to go pro, you kind of said you don’t really know what to expect, you’re just trying to learn. So, I don't think it was a goal or even an expectation at that point. How do you feel about this trajectory of yours? It’s happening fast.
Yeah, definitely happening fast. After Futures, I wasn’t even sure if I was going to
race. So, we pulled it and we’re like, might as well go race. Go get the experience.
So far, it’s going great. Just keep on learning.
Haiden, because your dad raced supercross, I think a lot of people will think that he was pushing you into it, but explain the breakdown of how badly you wanted to do this as a career and how your mom and dad actually felt about it?
Yeah. My mom didn’t want me to race dirt bikes after all my dad went through. We
started and my dad got me on a dirt bike, as kind of it was going to happen eventually. From there, I just fell in love with it. I would always watch the guys outside do freestyle and stuff, so I fell in love with dirt bikes. From there I’ve just been grinding to get up to this spot, pretty much, and race supercross. I’ve been wanting it for, I couldn’t say my whole life because I’m only 17, but that little span. Now we’re here, so we’re just going to keep getting better, hopefully.
So, you would say this much more comes from you internally wanting to do this than people wanting you do it?
Yeah, it’s an all me thing. There are people that obviously want me to do it. My dad
wants me to do it, of course. We’re a racing family, so we want to keep that in the
genes, but I want it bad.
Haiden, can you even describe what the emotion is like to get your first podium in this race, especially after hearing your name called so many times before the race as one of the favorites of the fans?
This track is not an easy one. You’ve got to be a man to ride this track. I didn’t get
the greatest start, but I was able to make my way up to third. It’s a tough track. I
was riding with good intensity. I felt great. I was able to push through and at the
end, the crowd is amazing. It’s crazy. The crowd was going wild the whole time. So,
when I finished that race, I was super happy.
So, did you have a thought in your mind that after four races you would be on the podium? Ever you think about that?
It’s definitely crazy this early. Honestly, I didn’t think I’d be getting on the podium
this early, but it’s racing, and we continue to progress. So, we ended up getting on
the podium. Now we’re here and it’s super exciting.
Haiden, halfway to your dad’s podium total. Are you going to give him some heck next week when you [match] it?
Shoot. Yeah, my dad’s got that over me. He’s got the win and the ghost ride. These
guys are some fast dudes in front of me, and I’m not there at their pace yet. So, we’ve got to keep working. My dad is still beating me with that goal. We’re just going to keep working and maybe we’ll get up to their speed. Who knows? But they’re going fast right now. If I can do that, I’ll be super excited.
You’ve got a lot of fast teammates on your team, plus you’ve got [Jeremy] Martin on another Yamaha. It seems like you’ve been rubbing elbows with those guys quite a bit, coming out on top more often than not. How does that feel so far?
It’s kind of hard too because some of my teammates would come for my neck, too.
Which you’ve kind of got to realize, it’s racing. Martin in that last one, he did run
into me a little bit. But I held my ground. I kind of leaned into the turn, so it wasn’t a big deal. It’s racing. Overall, it’s just my teammates are good. They’re fast riders. I
think they’ve got to learn to put it together a little more. I see that and
that’s stuff I’ve got to learn from. But we’ve got some fast guys on the team, and I think if they can put it together, they’re up there.
