10. The 450 Championship is Far from Over:
In the five races preceding Birmingham, Cooper Webb had asserted himself as the 450-title favorite. Over those five weeks, Webb turned a ten-point deficit to Chase Sexton into a fifteen-point advantage. We saw Sexton toss away points on several occasions, but he put a stop to Webb’s momentum in Birmingham. The Red Bull KTM rider dominated the first two races and rode it in for a safe second in race three to secure his third win of the season (he said this was a lesson learned after trying to beat Webb for an individual race win at the Arlington Triple Crown). Sexton capitalized on an off night for Webb, who ended up fourth overall, and cut his points deficit in half in just one night. With seven rounds remaining, Webb’s eight-point advantage is nothing. It’s beginning to feel like this will be a battle to the end in Salt Lake City.
9. Getting Beta:
The Liqui Moly Beta Factory Racing Team has been good, but quiet all season long. In Birmingham both riders showed some real flash for the first time this season. Mitchell Oldenburg was fast all day in qualifying. He was fifth in the first session and backed that up with a sixth in the second, putting him sixth overall. “Freckle” ended up 14th on the night, but it was his teammate Benny Bloss who put Beta in the top ten for the first time this season. Bloss went 10-10-11 for tenth overall and his first top ten since Nashville last season. Both riders and team are trending upwards and it’s a matter of time until we see two Beta’s inside the top ten of a main event.
Weege Show saw this coming:
8. Temmerman Survives SMX Next:
SMX Next - Supercross made a return in Birmingham, and it did not disappoint. There was chaos throughout the main event, beginning with Team Green’s Landen Gordon, the winner of the first two rounds, crashing on the over-under on the opening lap and getting stuck under his bike. Landon Gibson looked like he was in control of the race until he had a huge crash in the whoops, ending the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider’s night. Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX Yamaha’s Alexander Fedortsov inherited the lead and was on his way to redemption after his crushing loss in Daytona until heartbreak struck again on lap five. Fedortsov tucked the front and handed the lead over to his teammate Ryder Malinowski, who led until he crashed with half a lap to go! Team Green’s Enzo Temmerman was the benefactor of all the chaos taking his first SMX Next victory. Enzo has gone 2-2-1 in the three races. His average first lap position is seventh, so he has gone a little under the radar coming through field. Temmerman has struggled with injuries over the past year or so but is starting to show his potential.
7. Thrasher goes Thrasher:
Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha’s Nate Thrasher Took his sixth career win in Alabama. Consistency paid off for Thrasher as his 3-3-2 scores put him on top of the podium. This win is very representative of his entire career. Thrasher could win or be tenth any weekend. In fact, he just got 14th at the previous round in Indy! In his defense, Thrasher has been battling a finger injury since round two and credited the off weekend as an opportunity to heal up some. Thrasher is currently 21 points off the series lead, but if he could string good finishes together anything is possible with five East races remaining (two of which are East/West Showdowns).
Related: Nate Thrasher's Roller Coaster 250SX Career Results
6. Gritty Rides:
Ken Roczen and Malcolm Stewart showed some serious grit this past weekend. Rumors of Roczen dealing with an injury began swirling after press day where the Progressive/Ecstar Suzuki rider was visually laboring around the track. During the Race Day Live Broadcast Saturday, news broke that Kenny had suffered an AC separation during the off week. He was able to muster up a tenth in qualifying but pulled off early in the second session. When the lights came on for the night show, Roczen dug deep and rode the best he did all weekend. His 4-6-4 scores put him fifth overall and he lost just one point to Cooper Webb, salvaging a bit of hope in this title fight. Then on Tuesday he shared some more details on his injury on Instagram.
Malcolm Stewart fell victim to a flying Monster Energy Team Tedder KTM when Justin Hill had a big off in the first rhythm section of the second qualifying session. Hill’s bike clipped Malcolm’s as he was taking off and Malcolm ejected, landing with his hip on top of the next jump. Stewart got up slowly but remounted and was back up to speed before having another crash at the end of the session! Reports were that Malcolm was fine, and it seemed that way after a great ride to come home third in race one. But after skipping his post-race TV interview, the broadcast crew went back to the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna truck to find Stewart grimacing in pain as he limped away from his FC 450. Malcolm pushed through the pain and ended up second overall on the night, validating his win in Tampa.
5. Fall from Grace:
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Max Anstie could not have started the 250 East Championship in more dominating fashion. The Brit completed the pole position/heat win/main event win trifecta in Tampa and followed that up in Detroit by dominating 14:54 of the main event until the red flag came out. From the moment that red flag came out, Anstie’s season went into a downward spiral that ultimately went up in flames in Birmingham. After coming up short on a big quad in a rhythm section, he was ejected from his BluCru machine. Anstie immediately grabbed his leg, and it was later reported that he suffered a broken fibula in the crash. It is undoubtedly a devastating blow for Max, and hopefully he can come into Pala at full tilt.
4. Seth Hammaker is a Force:
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Seth Hammaker took a huge win at the 250SX East/West Showdown last weekend in Indy. Although he ended up off the overall podium in Birmingham, he showed the win last weekend was not a fluke. Hammaker washed out on the opening lap of race one and was only able to get back to ninth, but he won races two and three in convincing fashion. This is the best version of Seth Hammaker we have ever seen. Down just 13 points at the halfway point of this 250 East championship, he has asserted himself as serious title threat for the first time in his career.
3. Cowboy Up:
Red Bull KTM’s Aaron Plessinger got off to a horrible start to 2025. Weird crashes, illness, and subpar riding kept AP outside of the top five through the first seven rounds. He finally broke through in Daytona to get on the podium and has been back to 2024 form since. Plessinger’s great starts put him on the podium for the second time this season. He is one of several riders looking for a deal in 2026, so it must be a relief to be putting out some good film heading into the final stretch of the season.
2. Rough go for El Hombre:
Jason Anderson started off the season strong, leading laps and getting on the box at A1. He had been on the podium two other times through the first five rounds, but ever since his crash late in the Detroit main event, things have been unraveling for the lone healthy Monster Energy Kawasaki rider. There have been crashes, altercations, and a couple of epic fades over the past few weeks. In Birmingham, he hit the deck in each of the three races. He was assisted by Chase Sexton in race one, Cooper Webb in race two, and crashed on his own in race three. It has been a tough go for El Hombre, who like Plessinger, is looking to put out some good film heading into free agency.
1. Drama:
Looks like 2025 is turning into the year of off-track drama. In the week leading up to Birmingham the Lawrence Brothers/Lucas Mirtl debacle resurfaced with some new info, and on Saturday morning news broke that Haiden Deegan had been arrested for doing donuts in his Audi R8! As for Deegan, he avoided jail with bail and essentially a scolding, but it certainly created a frenzy on the social medias. Haiden owned it and even put out merch with his mugshot, fully embracing the Metal Militia in his blood. Add in the Daniel Blair video from a few weeks ago, and it’s been wild season behind the scenes. Maybe this is what we need to get a SMX series on Netflix?
