The first of two East/West Showdown events of the 2024 supercross season brings both Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki points leaders—Levi Kitchen and Cameron McAdoo—together for the first time on the same weekend. Kitchen has a 15-point lead over RJ Hampshire and a 26-point lead over Jordon Smith in the 250SX West Region Championship as McAdoo has a four-point lead over Tom Vialle and a 13-point lead over Haiden Deegan in the 250SX East Region Championship. But throw in a handful of top riders and a dozen talented riders into the mix and today's points-paying main event could really make a significant swing either way in both championships. Unfortunately for Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki, Kitchen and McAdoo are the only two healthy riders this weekend as Maximus Vohland, Austin Forkner, and now Seth Hammaker are all sidelined with respective injuries. Hammaker had a hard crash in the whoops, landing directly on his right shoulder, and despite rehabbing this week and trying to ride on Thursday, the #43 machine will not be able to race this weekend. He is hoping to return to racing next weekend at his home race, the Philadelphia Supercross.

This race is also the kickoff of the Love Moto Stop Cancer campaign benefitting the children of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Riders and teams have special jerseys, graphics, and helmet designs that will all be auctioned off in May where all the money raised goes directly to St. Jude patients and their families. 

In terms of the track, on Friday afternoon the track was in perfect shape when the tarps were removed. One interesting aspect we will see today is a split start divided by a single jump that splits. Eleven gates are on the inside of the single then 11 gates to the outside of the single, so this could impact where riders select to lineup from come the heat race, LCQ, and points-paying main event. I believe the last time we saw a split start like this was at the 2022 Glendale Supercross. Watch to see who picks inside the single vs who picks outside the single. At that '22 Glendale event it was Eli Tomac pulling great starts from the inside more gate of the outside 11 bunch (what you would normally have as the closest spot to the outside of the "doghouse"). Track walk will begin shortly at 9:30 a.m. local time (Central time zone).

Evan Ferry and Triumph Racing Part Ways

Breaking news here on the morning of the Nashville Supercross: Evan Ferry and Triumph Racing have parted ways, effective immediately. Ferry was not expected to race today's Nashville SX round anyway, but when/if he returns this supercross season, he will not be aboard a Triumph TF 250-X. Read the full press release. 

Plessinger Signs Extension with KTM for 2025

More breaking news this morning: Aaron Plessinger has signed a contract extension through the 2025 SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) season. Plessinger is not competing today as he is sidelined for the remainder of supercross with a fractured elbow, but the Ohio native now has a deal locked in for next year. Also in the press release was this epic photo of Roger De Coster and Ian Harrison with cowboy hats on along with Plessinger. 

Read: Aaron Plessinger Signs Extension with KTM for 2025

First Qualifying Sessions

250SX

Riders took to the track and times immediately started counting for overall qualifying due to the free practice sessions being cancelled. Garrett Hoffman topped the 250SX overflow first qualifying session. Pierce Brown led the 250SX East Region qualifying session, but it was Coty Schock's 59.663 as the first fast lap! Cameron McAdoo had a tip over in the sand section, that was giving a lot of riders trouble throughout the first best of qualifying sessions. Brown's 56.577 was topped by Max Anstie's 56.150. Brown would later go down in the sand then would get ran into by Casey Cochran, which knocked them both down. McAdoo cleared the double into the turn by the mechanics' area, and he got it clean, being one of the first riders to do so. On the tenth and final lap, Haiden Deegan put in a heater 54.171 to move into P1. Trevor Colip had a big slam in the long rhythm section after the finish line and the Honda-mounted rider got up favoring his right shoulder.

Carson Mumford led the 250SX West Region field both on track and on the live timing page. His 54.683 led the first few minutes until championship leader Levi Kitchen put down a 53.649 as we saw the times for this session improve since the track had been worked in some. Jordon Smith's 53.298 was second over Nate Thrasher's 53.371 and Garrett Marchbanks' 53.395. 

450SX

Justin Barcia led the 450SX field onto the track in his bright pink Troy Lee Designs gear. Mitchell Harrison, Eli Tomac, and Jason Anderson were all up near the front trying to put in hot laps as Mitchell Oldenburg and Jett Lawrence were the last two riders to roll down the starting straight. Adam Cianciarulo's 54.270 was the early fast lap until Tomac's 52.837 moved into the top spot. Anderson and Lawrence both went down in the sand on separate occasions as Harrison had a few wild rides of his own before the checkered flag. Lawrence put in a hot lap that moved him behind Chase Sexton and Tomac. Cooper Webb put in a hot lap (52.171) that moved him into P1. But on the tenth and very last lap, Lawrence's fast lap of 51.397 moved into P1 as the checkered flag waved. Webb, Tomac, Sexton, and Anderson rounded out the top five. Dean Wilson was 17th in his first race since suffering a shoulder injury at the Daytona SX.

Second Qualifying Sessions

250SX

Carson Mumford went down off the fake start in the second 250SX West Region qualifying session as championship leader Levi Kitchen was out front of the field. Mumford got up frustrated and looked to be banged up. He got back on his bike eventually before riding straight to his mechanic, ending his day early.  Kitchen had a tip over in the turn after the mechanics' area but ended the session third behind RJ Hampshire (50.193) and Jordon Smith (51.029). Mumford did not qualify for the night show, finishing 21st overall when only the top 20 qualify from each region qualify into the night show. Hampshire needs to turn this speed into a race win tonight in order to keep his championship hopes alive against Kitchen.

Cameron McAdoo made it two fake holeshots for the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki team as he put the #63 machine out front in the second 250SX East Region qualifying session. McAdoo put down a 52.072 which was leading the session. Then, McAdoo collided with Logan Leitzel and was slow to get up at first. The #63 got up and rode a lap or so before eventually slowing up in the rhythm section before going to pick up his mechanic and riding off before the session had ended. 

450SX

Vince Friese and Adam Cianciarulo were out front off the start of the second 450SX group A qualifying session. Cianciarulo even gave a fist pump over the supercross triple! Riders were shuffling around trying different lines. Cianciarulo went down in the whoops but got up and going again. Halfway through the session, Jett Lawrence put down his best lap, a 49.879. The #18's time would remain the top time through the end of the session as Justin Cooper (50.403) and Cooper Webb (50.480) were second and third.

Night Show

250SX West Region Heat Race

The gates dropped on the first heat race of the night as Ryder DiFrancesco was leading the field. Levi Kitchen ran into some trouble off the start and went wide and then went off track later, as Nate Thrasher was buried as well. However, Garrett Marchbanks went down on the first lap and the race was eventually red flagged in order to allow the Alpinestars medical crew time to tend to help get Marchbanks off the track on a backboard. The race was resumed with a staggered restart with DiFrancesco leading Phil Nicoletti, Jordon Smith, Jo Shimoda, RJ Hampshire, Anthony Bourton, TJ Albright, Cole Thompson, Robbie Wageman, and Levi Kitchen in the final transfer spot. Nate Thrasher started 12th and Julien Beaumer started 19th (dead last).

On the restart, Hampshire made a pass on DiFrancesco to take over the race lead as Smith followed by as well. Nicoletti was bumped back to fourth, then Shimoda fifth. Kitchen came through sixth, Thrasher seventh. Beaumer came through 14th and will have to go to the LCQ.

250SX East Region Heat Race

The gates dropped on the 250SX East Region heat race it was Tom Vialle out front. Cameron McAdoo was outside the top five as Haiden Deegan dropped from about fourth when he fell in the sand section. Vialle took the race win over Pierce Brown, Coty Schock, Casey Cochran, Max Anstie, Jalek Swoll, Chance Hymas, Haiden Deegan, and Cameron McAdoo, who came through in the ninth and final transfer spot. McAdoo is banged up after his slam in the second qualifying session.

450SX Heat Race #1

The gates dropped and it was Justin Cooper and Ken Roczen out front on the first 450SX heat race of the night. Cooper made a mistake, which allowed Roczen to take over the lead. Adam Cianciarulo took over the race lead after a miscue Roczen! But Hunter Lawrence made a pass on Cianciarulo right before they took the white flag! the #96 held off AC for the win.

450SX Heat Race #2

The second 450SX heat and final heat race of the night dropped the gate and it was Jett Lawrence who got the holeshot and checked out. Cooper Webb was a close second but was not close enough for a pass attempt. Eli Tomac bested Malcolm Stewart for third after a battle. Jason Anderson made his way to fifth ahead of Justin Barcia as it was a Lawrence brothers 450SX heat sweep!

LCQs

250SX LCQ

Julien Beaumer holeshot the 250S LCQ and ran away with the race win. Gage Linville, Daxton Bennick, and Henry Miller claimed the final transfer spots. Nick Romano got stalled up in some traffic exiting the first turn and was outside the top ten. Romano eventually came through 14th.

450SX LCQ

Grant Harlan got the holeshot in the 450SX LCQ and was leading until Justin Hill rebounded from a crash in his heat race to make a pass on Harlan for the lead. Hill, Harlan, Jeremy Hand, and Fredrik Noren took the four transfer spots as Colt Nichols came up short of the main by about a second, finishing fifth.

Main Events

250SX East/West Showdown

Finally, we got to see who is the best in the 250cc division as we got our first East/West Showdown of the season. The gates dropped on the points-paying main event, and it was RJ Hampshire with the holeshot as teammates Cameron McAdoo and Levi Kitchen accidently made contact and both went down! Kitchen slammed down hard as McAdoo accidently went high in the turn, clipped a Tuff Block and fell down! Suddenly, the two championship leading teammates were 21st (McAdoo) and 22nd (Kitchen). Nate Thrasher was buried off the start as well as Jordon Smith, Jo Shimoda, Tom Vialle, and Jalek Swoll were the top five. Kitchen got on his bike and rolled half a lap before getting up to speed and looking for valuable positions and championship points. McAdoo did five total laps before he went to the pits, picked up his mechanic Derek Dwyer, and rode off in the pits. Remember, he had a hard slam in qualifying and was dealing with a banged up upper body, on top of the knee injury he suffered at the Detroit SX opener. Ryder DiFrancesco and Phil Nicoletti were battling one another until DiFrancesco went down! Hampshire clicked off lap after lap, Shimoda, and Vialle moved into second and third, respectively, Smith fourth, Swoll fifth as Haiden Deegan fought up to a sixth-place finish. Kitchen managed to come through 14th, salvaging eight points. McAdoo’s 22nd gives him zero points on the night. Unofficially, Hampshire will have the 250SX West Region points lead over Kitchen, as Vialle AND Deegan both passed McAdoo in the 250SX East Championship standings. It was a huge win for Hampshire.

450SX

The final 450SX main event gate dropped and, man, more chaos ensued. Eli Tomac got the holeshot and it looked like he might run away with the race win. However, one Jett Lawrence had other plans. Chase Sexton was fighting for a top-five position when he slammed down into the turn before the whoops section, which ended his race Ken Roczen was running second until he had a big crash when it looked like his rear shock blew out as he was entering the whoops! The #94 had a wild ride through the whoops on the top of his smoking Suzuki RM-Z450 before crashing hard. Unfortunately, he was favoring his left leg. The #18 ran down the #3 and made a pass when Tomac went wide around two downed riders in the whoops, as Jett Lawrence snuck up the inside and took over the race lead! The #18 checked out from there as Tomac and Cooper Webb rounded out the podium. Hunter Lawrence was taken out by Jason Anderson and was deep in the field but managed to ride back to finish seventh as Benny Bloss rode home a strong eighth-place finish, his season-best on the all-new Beta 450 RX.