As for the 250 class, we will see something tomorrow that we’ve never seen before: the red plates on the #238 Yamaha YZ250F that belongs to the rookie Haiden Deegan. The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing-backed Deegan has reached the top of the points by being consistently fast and calm. And with Team Honda’s Hunter Lawrence having had two bad races in a row, Deegan is atop the rankings now. How rare is it that a three-digit rider is leading the points? We took a look in The Vault to find out, going back to 2000:

Read: Triple Digit Points Leaders in AMA Supercross & Motocross Since 2000

What about the 1970s to ‘90s?  We don’t have a complete list, but here’s a start:

#522 Marty Smith (1974 in the 125 class)
#801 Eddie Warren (1985 in 125SX East) 
#572 Bob Moore (1985 in 125SX West)
#415 Todd Campbell (1985 in 125SX West)
#332 Keith Turpin (1986 125SX East)
#401 Donny Schmit (1986 in 125SX West)
#201 Jeff Matiasevich (1989 in 125SX West)
#111 Jean-Michel Bayle (1989 in 250 MX)
#762 Mike Kiedrowski (1989 in 125 MX) 
#125 Jeremy McGrath (1991 in 125SX West)
#101 Mickael Pichon (1995 in 125SX East)
#934 David Vuillemin (1998 in 125SX West)

Deegan did not have a very good day at Southwick, but his dad Brian told me that he really wasn’t that good or experienced in the sand, so they were okay with a sixth-place finish in their debut at the ‘Wick. More impressive was Red Bull KTM’s Tom Vialle, who earned his first win in America and joined the long list of Frenchmen who have won AMA Pro Motocross races here: Jean-Michel Bayle, Mickael Pichon, Stephane Roncada, David Vuillemin, Sebastien Tortelli, Christophe Pourcel, Dylan Ferrandis, and now Tom Vialle. Happy Bastille Day to all of these fast Frenchmen!

Still hard to believe that the only American to win a round of AMA Pro Motocross so far this season is Haiden Deegan, and we’re past the halfway mark… 

And speaking of Vialle—and the Lawrence brothers—there was quite an international contingent at Southwick. In the main events alone I counted 14 different countries represented: Australia, Chile, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. 

As far as the Netherlands go, that rider was the very adventurous Lars van Berkel, who borrowed a bike from a friend and an ECU from Manny (“TeamGreen” on Vital) and finished 16th overall in the 450 class, then drove overnight to Gopher Dunes to race the Canadian National the next day. Van Berkel ended up third overall there with solid 4-2 finishes. He was planning on racing Spring Creek, but the Honda/GDR team in Canada has invited him to stay up there for another week and compete at Sand Del Lee MX in Ottowa, the fifth round of the Triple Crown Series. (We have Lars’ vlog from Southwick further down in Watch It.)

So for everyone else it’s on to Spring Creek (including Shane McElrath), which looks like it’s going to have excellent weather tomorrow. If the last three rounds at High Point, RedBud, and Southwick are any indication, the Martin family should have a massive crowd (though their sons are not racing, as Alex is retired and Jeremy broke his arm at Hangtown). Race Day Live will begin at 11 a.m. ET, then as usual, all four motos will air live on Peacock, beginning at 2 p.m. ET.

Let’s turn it over to Matthes (who happens to be Canadian).

BUTRON (Matthes)

Perhaps one of the coolest stories this summer is the Spanish GP veteran Jose Butron showing up at the opening round with USA veteran Lorenzo Locurcio on something called Wildcat Racing. Butron was once a MX2 rider for Red Bull KTM, winning a GP in Brazil. He bounced around the GP's for a long time, eventually winning something called the EMX Open title. He's been having a good summer on his GasGas and his ride at Southwick had veterans like Phil Nicoletti wondering how in the hell he was so fit and fast when so many other riders were struggling. 

Butron is 32 years old now and is in a happy place. I did a Privateer Podcast with him this week and he told me he's always wanted to race in the USA, and he's also surprised at his results. He understands a lot of riders are out of the 450MX class but he's going to take it. He told me he's not sure that, if he makes the SMX top 30, if he's going to race it or not. He's not a supercross guy! Also, his team told me he's a huge bike setup guy and constantly tries gearing, different tire sizes, suspension settings, and more. He said one year he broke his ankle really badly and was out for the year. So he took that time to study how a bike works and how he could get one working better, and also help out his bad ankle. He's got shim stack specs in a notebook and he's always checking out what the Red Bull KTM guys are doing with their bikes.

He was a kid when the MXoN went to Spain in '96 and says he sat by the big downhill triple all day staring at the undersides of the riders’ bikes. Javier Garcia Vico was a rider he looked up to when he was a kid and he's ridden for Spain at the MXoN something like nine times. Really interesting story with Butron for sure and he deserves some props for scoring well this summer. 

You can listen for yourself here:

#55 (DC)

When the 2023 season started back in January at Angels Stadium in Anaheim it seemed like an amazing battle was shaping up in the 250SX West Region, likely between Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Austin Forkner and Honda HRC's Jett Lawrence. Forkner was the veteran in the class with 12 career wins going into the season while Jett was '22 East Region Champion and eager to show his stuff out west. During the afternoon Forkner qualified fastest and looked ready to go. Unfortunately, he didn't make it to the first turn of the main event. Forkner tangled first with RJ Hampshire and then bounced over to his teammate Cameron McAdoo and went down hard, seriously damaging his knee. Just like that, another SX season was over for Austin Forkner.

Fast forward more than seven months and much has changed. Jett Lawrence not only dominated the 250SX West Region, he moved up to the 450 class for the AMA Pro Motocross Championship and is now on a 12-moto undefeated winning streak. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki finally just got their first moto win of the season when Jo Shimoda took the second moto at Southwick, but not the overall, as Kawasaki's long drought without winning continues. The good news is that Forkner is finally coming back. His doctors and the team okayed him for a return this weekend for Spring Creek, perhaps hoping for a shot in the arm for everyone. It's been since 1981 that Kawasaki failed to score a single win in either class on the AMA SX/MX circuits, and they are running out of races in 2023 to stop this losing skid....

Of course, it's highly unlikely that Forkner is at full strength and fitness, and it's been since May 28, 2022, that he's raced an outdoor national, an injury wrecked last summer too. At this point a top-five for "Fast AF" would be an excellent result, and then he can build from there.

One thing to keep in mind: We've told you before that the lowest number in AMA Supercross/Pro Motocross history to have never won a race is #54, and right now that belongs to the sidelined-for-the-season Nick Romano. Well, the second lowest number to have never won is #55, so it would be pretty cool to see that digit come finally reach a winner's circle underneath the hard-lucked Austin Forkner.

(And if you're a stat geek like I am, and in case you're wondering, Red Bull KTM rider Tom Vialle's first AMA win at Southwick marked the first time #128 has ever won here in America.)

The 27 (Points) Club (DC)

Did anyone else notice that not only were there A LOT of international riders at Southwick—14 in the main events alone—there were also five different guys in the 450 class that ended up tied with 27 points apiece? Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX Yamaha's Garrett Marchbanks finished 10-5 while Ty Matserpool went 5-10, both for 27 total points. Yet Marchbanks was rewarded with fifth overall while Matserpool was ninth, based on Marchbanks' better finish in the second moto. And in between them were Wildcat Racing's Butron (9-6), New England privateer hero Chris Canning (8-7), and Monster Energy Kawasaki's Adam Cianciarulo (7-8). That's five guys all tied up at 27. Somewhere out on the infield, longtime #27 Nick Wey must have been smiling about this new fraternity... 

Something non-moto: There is a "27 Club" in the music industry but it's not one anyone would probably want to belong in. It's an exclusive club of rockers who died at age 27, right when they were at the peaks of their careers, usually from over-partying. Jimi Hendrix OD'd at 27, Nirvana's Kurt Cobain shot himself at 27, Amy Winehouse drank herself to death at 27, The Doors' Jim Morrison passed out and drowned in a Paris bathtub at 27, Janis Joplin had a heroin overdose at 27, The Rolling Stones' Brian Jones died after getting hammered and jumping into a swimming pool at 27, Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller died at 27 from fentanyl, techno artist Avicii apparently hung himself at age 27... And of course, there's Robert Johnson, the legendary Mississippi bluesman who is said to have sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads in order to learn to play the guitar like no one else. He was 27 years old when he died (most likely poisoned by a jealous bar owner who thought Johnson was fooling around with his wife). Warned you it was non-moto!

Hey, Watch It!

Adam Cianciarulo invited DC to be his guest on the AC Plugged In podcast this week:

Hanging With Levi “The Chef” Kitchen | Talking Racing, Life + More | TAKE 4

Max and the 999Lazer team take on the history of Cannondale MX400, "the worst motocross bike ever made," in this very entertaining look at a truly unfortunate rise and fall of the bicycle brand's motocross dreams...

MXGP's Behind the Gate series' latest episode is out, "Agony and Ecstasy"

Dirt Shark | "DANGER SMOKE" feat. Haiden Deegan on a YZ 250 2 Stroke

Lars van Berkel’s day at Southwick right here:

Head-Scratching Headline/s of the Week

Interesting headlines lately as people are complaining about the sound of other people playing pickleball. Pretty wild...