“Everything fuels me. Anything. I mean, you can say one word and that fuels me to work harder and that’s just how I work.”

That is what Haiden Deegan said after the first round of the SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) Playoffs. We all know Deegan is unfiltered and, depending on your opinion, arrogant when it comes to talking on the mics and on camera. That's either refreshingly candid or really disrepectful. Or both. Cocky or confident. Or both. But we clearly now know what we're getting.

He also compliments his competitors—not too much though and only before he considers them a real threat for race wins each week. He makes sure to never end up on the wrong side of a scenarior. Righting the standard questions asked to him in post-race TV interviews on the podium and beating around the bush on specific questions (i.e. maybe a significant wrist injury suffered in the preseason) has become the norm for the second-generation rider. On Friday while on stage with 10 other 250SMX competitors to preview the SMX Playoffs, a comment was made about Deegan opting not to be a part of Team USA for the upcoming Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations (MXoN) event. This was the first time the field was in front of the media since the Team USA announcement, so not shocking to see questions revolving around MXoN asked, even though the focus is on SMX. With MXoN, Deegan didn't elaborate much.

“People look at it in a way…there’s a lot more behind the scenes that go on than people think. There’s a lot of pieces of the puzzle that have to play out right.”

Come Saturday, Deegan again had some extra VP Racing fuel and proved again he is the top 250 rider in the field.

He came into the SMX Playoffs with the #1 plate on his bike from last year’s inaugural event, but he also came in with the red plate overall points lead AND momentum from the final round of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship. The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider stamped his 250 Class Pro Motocross title with his tenth moto win on the season in the final race of the summer and then carried that into a big 1-1 day at the opening round of the SMX Playoffs. In Saturday’s motos he had bad starts, was jumping a big line only a select few would pull the trigger on out of both classes, and he charged through a handful of riders in both motos in a rather dominating day. Fitness, race craft, and frankly, cojones, give little doubt for who the best 250cc rider in the country is at the moment.