New Venue, Who Dis?
This weekend Monster Energy AMA Supercross will roll into Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama, for the first time ever. It’s a football and soccer stadium, and we know what it looks like on the track map, so there likely won’t be any big surprises. But still, you never know how a stadium will race ahead of time, and we also have no idea what the dirt is like and how it will form up. It’s going to be interesting watching the teams and riders come up with solutions in real time. -Aaron Hansel
250SX East Points
The situation in the 250SX East Region Class is nuts right now. The top seven riders are separated by less than ten points! Max Anstie holds the points lead, but only by a single point ahead of Cameron McAdoo and Pierce Brown, who are tied for second. Behind them, Tom Vialle and Haiden Deegan are tied for fourth (with Coty Schock just a single point behind them), and both are just three points behind Anstie. With the points this tight, it’s anyone’s guess who’ll be leading the pack after Birmingham. -Hansel
| Position | Rider | Hometown | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Tom Vialle | Avignon, France  | 172 |
| 2 |  Haiden Deegan | Temecula, CA  | 168 |
| 3 |  Coty Schock | Dover, DE | 132 |
| 4 |  Pierce Brown | Sandy, UT | 131 |
| 5 |  Max Anstie | Newbury, England, United Kingdom  | 125 |
Consistency
With all the craziness going on in the 250SX east championship, there’s one rider who’s been remarkably consistent—Pierce Brown. The Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GasGas rider has been fifth at every round so far! As good as that is, finishing off the podium usually isn’t a recipe for being in the title fight, but when you look at inconsistency surrounding Brown, it’s a different story and, as mentioned above, Brown is tied for second in the points. If Brown has a good showing in Birmingham he could easily be the series’ newest leader. -Hansel
Back it Up
Tom Vialle, who started the season out by finishing 18th, has had two very good races since then. He was third in Arlington, and raced his way to his first supercross win in Daytona. You could make the argument that the former two-time MX2 FIM World Champion was aided by the conditions, and there’s probably some truth to that. But this is also his second season in supercross, so it makes sense that he’s getting better. Can he back up his win in Daytona with another one in Birmingham? -Hansel
Rubber Side Down
Jeremy Martin will no doubt tell himself that, or something similar, multiple times this weekend. The former two-time 250 Class AMA Pro Motocross Champion has had a rough go of it with crashes lately, and 2024 has been no different. He crashed out of Detroit and later missed out on Arlington as a result of that crash, then crashed again in Daytona, where he wound up 12th. Martin is a better rider than that, and if he keeps it upright, he’ll prove it in Birmingham. -Hansel
- Supercross
Birmingham
Saturday, March 9- QualifyingLiveMarch 9 - 1:30 PM
- QualifyingLiveMarch 9 - 1:30 PM
- Night ShowLiveMarch 9 - 7:00 PM
- Night ShowLiveMarch 9 - 7:00 PM
- Nigh Show (Re-air)March 11 - 1:00 AM
Go Time
The good news for Eli Tomac is, he was on the podium again in Daytona. The bad news is, the only guy who beat him is the points leader, Jett Lawrence. Tomac now trails Lawrence by 16 points, and has yet to win a race in 2024. With the season just about half gone, it’s go-time for Tomac. He needs to start putting together some wins, because Lawrence isn’t done winning in 2024. -Hansel
Cooper Rising
Justin Cooper has been quietly pretty good in 2024, but in Daytona he made a little noise on his way to sixth, his best finish of the season, by leading some laps in his heat race. He’s also been throwing down some startlingly fast laps during qualifying at times. Will Cooper improve and score yet another career high this weekend? -Hansel
Stop The Train
Now that Jett Lawrence has three wins and a ten-point lead in the series, he seems to be finding his groove in 450SX. Which has to be scary for everyone else. With every win he just gains more experience and confidence, so if anyone else is going to mount a charge for this title, they had better do it now. -Sarah Whitmore
Read: Why Birmingham Supercross is a Pivotal Point in the Season
On A Roll
Malcolm Stewart did not start the year off strong but has finished inside of the top ten at the last three rounds going 8-9-7. Can he keep the ball rolling and break into the top five in Birmingham? -Whitmore
He’s Back
The 2023 450SX Rookie of the Year, Colt Nichols injured his shoulder just before he was set to debut the Liqui Moly Beta Racing machine at A1. The team had John Short ride his bike for the first few rounds, and his teammate Benny Bloss got a top ten in Daytona. Look for Nichols to return to the gate this weekend. -Whitmore
