All the Haiden Deegan news certainly put a focus on several riders throughout the night at Birmingham. Haiden had a busy night, from a first turn heat race tangle with Seth Hammaker, then an off-track excursion (resulting two-position penalty) early in the main, and then a last-ditch last turn pass that sent Coty Schock off the track.
We’ve posted plenty about Deegan’s penalty and fine. But what did Hammaker and Schock have to say? Here you go.
Hammaker, by the way, finished third at Alabama, his second-straight third place finish. He once again caught his teammate Cameron McAdoo but couldn’t find a spot to make a pass. Still, consistency has brought him back into the title chase.
Shock, meanwhile, was already in the title hunt with three solid rides to start the season, but the bump with Deegan caused a broken collarbone.
Seth Hammaker | 3rd
For the LCQ, you seemed to take a little bit of responsibility for the incident with Deegan saying that you had to go around Daxton Bennick. Was that being political or did you think that because of that you contributed to that contact? And then because of the issue in the pits, did that give you a little more motivation in the main? And when did you know that you had a podium in the main?
Seth Hammaker: No, I wasn't taking any… what I was trying to say there is just that like [Daxton] Bennick cut off the gas earlier than I thought and I had a bunch of speed coming into that first corner and obviously Deegan had a good run around the outside there and he was cutting around to get that inside, obviously in the first corner. When you're going that fast and you try to put on the brakes and you get into someone's tire, there's not much you can do. And yeah, like there's nothing I would have done different. Everyone's trying to get to the first corner and the last thing I want to do is be on the ground along with anybody else. That's never something I want to see. And then, yeah, as far as him coming up out into the pits, I mean, definitely gave me motivation to kind of keep my cool, keep my calm. I had a great team around me to make sure I did that and focus on what I need to focus on and that was the racing. Yeah, fired me up. I wanted to put it out on the track and that’s what I did.
It's the second week in a row that you've been catching Cameron towards the end of the race. Did you ever feel like you were close enough to make the pass?
Like you said, the second week in a row that I was kind of close there at the end. On this track, though, I feel like, if the opportunity came about, great, but if not, I don't want to take too much risk to get around him. We were both riding good and just kind of, like I said, with the track being the way it was, there were a couple of holes out there that would kind of catch you off guard. So, I didn't want to take too many chances.
Everyone's been saying how hard the track was to pass on, but you seem to be making up time every time you're on the track. Where were you making passes and making up time on the track?
Yeah, it was a little bit difficult just in there in those tighter sections. But I feel like I was able to kind of get close to some guys in some rhythms, trying to push through rhythms a little bit quicker and just kind of get on the inside, get position on them and force them outside. Definitely a tough racetrack to pass on and gain time. But I feel like I was able to just gain time over like the whole track keeping my momentum up.
Going into your rookie season, you won your first Supercross race and you've had some injuries over the past couple of years, but to get back on the podium, two weeks in a row and kind of get this season going you have to be pretty happy with where you're at.
Yeah, absolutely. It feels nice to be a consistent podium guy again. It's been a while since I've raced supercross in general. I only had one full season, that was my rookie season. I had that one in there with a couple of podiums [before another injury]. Besides that, it's been a long time. I feel like I'm back where I should be. Hopefully I can keep this momentum rolling, keep it on the box and hopefully click off a few wins this season and see where that puts us in Salt Lake. – Post Race Press Conference
Coty Schock | 8th
Racer X: Up and down night tonight, tell us how it went?
Coty Schock: Tonight was crazy. From pulling an incredible start in the heat race, which we all know the ClubMX bikes can do, to leading every single lap, that’s cool. I’ve never been in that position before, but it felt very normal for me, and it felt like that’s where I should be. It was definitely a confidence booster, and made it feel like we’re doing everything right.
You didn’t get the best start in the main. Is it frustrating after having such a phenomenal heat race to have to come through the pack in the main?
In a way, yes, but that’s racing. Everyone tries to get that perfect start every time, but I still had a really good start overall. As long as we’re inside that top ten, we’re doing something right.
Give us your take on the situation with Haiden Deegan on the final lap.
I was going to go to the inside line, like I was every other lap, and I heard a shift up, and just kinda went straight. Maybe I could have protected the inside a bit more, but it is what it is. An 18-year-old is going to do what an 18-year-old is going to do. It’s part of racing. I’ll just move forward from it and try to be better.
Well, you still got ninth after that, so it could have been way worse. Do you take comfort in that, or are you like, "Oh man, I could have had seventh!?"
No. I was all over seventh, and for me to salvage a ninth is great. Today was an incredible day for me. I’ve never had a main event where I’ve been inside the top ten, and had a crash, and still ended up inside the top ten. It shows that I’m doing something right, and I’m not going to let that one negative ruin my day, because today was awesome.
Note: Schock was later bumped up to eighth due to Deegan being penalized two positions for making up time off the track.
Well, I hate to keep harping on this, but I saw you and Deegan exchange words afterward. What were you guys talking about?
I used some words, I did, but really, I just went to him and was like, ‘Why? That was stupid, over seventh place!’ I’m not going to get into what he said, there weren’t any threats or anything like that, it just doesn’t need to be like that. But that’s racing. -Aaron Hansel
Note: Schock later revealed on social he had injured the collarbone and would have to undergo surgery, so his supercross season might be finished.
