There were a lot of questions ahead of the 2025 MX opener, but it is fair to say that wondering if Deegan would pick up where he left off in 2024 Pro Motocross was not one of them. Coming off of his 250SX West Division title in Monster Energy AMA Supercross, the 2024 250 Pro Motocross Champion was hands-down the title favorite leading into 2025—and he just proved why that is. Yes, several riders will give him a battle, and may beat him for race wins this summer, but there's no doubt Deegan is very strong in this series. Pro Motocross. His all-out speed is blistering, his ability to basically power through different conditions appears to be unmatched, and his late-race fitness is without a doubt class-leading.

Now, a few years into his pro career, he is figuring out the mindset side of things too. We don't just mean confidence and swagger, either. He has a strategy now, and this could really be dangerous for the rest of the field. He knew early in the motos not too push too hard too fast and let the race come to him. It did. And even once he passed into the lead, while he almost certainly wanted to gap the field by half a minute, he knew to play it smart and again not force himself into unnecessary mistakes.

“Yeah, I mean it’s the first round, we’ve got 22 motos, so yeah, it’s cool to have a 20-second gap, but you know, save that one ‘til you have the championship wrapped up. So, yeah, go out there and get to a lead and pace second place, pretty much, is what I did. rode my race. Yeah, you don’t want to override it, because we’ve got 11 rounds or whatever, so I’m ain’t gonna do that.” 

“Just waited a little, let everyone get in their groove and then started making passes and got to first,” he said on his first few laps. “You don’t want to rush the beginning cuz you can throw it away pretty quick, especially Fox [Raceway], it’s super slick. So yeah, just had to wait it out.”

And for Deegan, he grew up nearby and while he does not live on the West Coast anymore and the layout has changed, the thousands and thousands of laps he put into that track helped.

“Yeah, it’s cool,” Deegan said on winning at his home track, “I grew up 20 minutes away from here and been riding here since I was about six years old. It’s definitely cool in general to do it in front of the hometown crowd as well. But yeah, I’m pretty comfortable at this track. [Laughs] I know it like the back of my head. Even though the track layout is different, I know this place like the back of my head.”

While this win for Deegan came at a track he knew very well, it is safe to say this kind of result is possible each and every weekend. For proof, look back last year and see how Deegan rode his 2024 Fox Raceway opener results right into a very strong, very dominant championship season. 

Haiden Deegan's professional results at Fox Raceway at Pala