The first Triple Crown race of 2026 was incredible! The 450SX class produced three different winners, but was won by Cooper Webb, who didn’t win a single race. In the 250SX west division, Haiden Deegan swept all three races. We had plenty of questions afterward, which we fired off to former pro and NB on-track analyst, Jason Thomas.
The triple in after the whoops wasn’t a combo a lot of guys were able to do lap after lap. What made that so tricky?
It was really just the ruts in the corner more than the jumps themselves. Many of the corners had deep ruts that required precision given the necessary seat bounce on exit. If a rider doesn’t hit the turn well and then tries to overcompensate by sitting into the face more aggressively, it can result in hanging in the air at best, or a big endo at worst.
It seemed like guys were having a hard time hitting the rhythm lanes consistently every lap. What was it about the track in Houston that was presenting such a challenge to the best supercross riders in the world?
This is the same dynamic as the first question. The rhythm before the finish was tricky because of the steep downside on the initial tabletop but the other sections were challenging because of the corner conditions. On a groomed track, like in the first 250 race, they were hitting everything easily and very, very fast.
Haiden Deegan’s starts were better in Houston, consistently across three races. Was there something you spotted that he was doing differently?
Visually, no, that would be nearly impossible to spot. But the work behind the scenes on the motorcycle and on technique show up on race day. The key, technique wise, is to repeat the same motion every single time. Ideally, Deegs would figure out exactly the right RPM, clutch engagement point, body position, etc., and do that without fail, every single time.
This is the first night of the season in which Levi Kitchen was able to escape drama. What’d you like and dislike about his night?
I was hoping he would have a bit more top end speed but I did like the fact that he didn’t blow up his night over it. He could have lost patience and overridden the situation in an attempt to beat Deegs. Even though I am sure he was frustrated with the inability to match pace, he didn’t throw away a runner up spot over it. He needed a good result here to dig himself out of the pain cave.
Did you expect more aggression from Deegan on Kitchen in that second 250SX race?
I thought Kitch’s move was pretty clean, all things considered. Haiden made his point by immediately shutting it down, though. There is no love lost here, far from it. Once Kitch realized he simply didn’t have anything for #1, he didn’t do anything silly. This back and forth isn’t over. Deegs is clearly in charge, though.
Eli Tomac went down in the second race all by himself. What happened with that crash?
This was the question of the night until he got a chance to share the experience after the final race. Twitter was abuzz with theories and guesses but in the end, he simply stepped on the rear brake after the step-off. Using the rear brake would likely be an every lap thing but factory brakes are incredibly powerful and sensitive, so if his foot accidentally mashed it, this crash checks out. I initially thought he hit neutral but the spinning tire while the bike was on the ground dispelled that theory.
Tomac’s team opted to send him out in the final race on a backup bike, something that’s only allowed in Triple Crown formats. Is it difficult to adapt to a bike you haven’t ridden all day, even though all the settings are the same, that fast?
Ideally, the bikes are identical in feel. That’s often a futile wish as unintended marginal differences will give each bike a notional difference. After a lap or two, though, there would be no difference and adrenalin would overcome any minor adjustment. Steps need to be taken to get them to the same exact feeling, though. The frame needs to be ridden in, the clutch needs to be worked in, brake pads worked in, etc. Factory teams would know all of this and prepare, but it could be a problem if overlooked. The amount of preparation and work that mechanics do is hard to fathom. Endless work for those guys.
Were you surprised Jason Anderson raced Ken Roczen as hard as he did in Houston?
I don’t think he knew it was Kenny in all scenarios. The battles were fast and furious and riders were diving inside of each other in almost every corner. To know specifically that it was Kenny each time would be highly unlikely. Anderson is very aggressive by nature and I think Kenny just caught the randomness factor a few times. We have seen JA make life easy for Kenny more than once this year so I don’t think anything has changed in that respect.
Cooper Webb’s mental strength is incredible, but even so, how big was this win for him after a disappointing start to the season in the first three races?
For any shot at the championship, this was a must. He went into the event 24 points down and if that had gotten pushed to 30, it’s hard to imagine a world where he overcomes 30 points and also all of the other riders in between he and Tomac. When he mentioned that A2 was the nail in the coffin, it was because of exactly that. He thought the lead had gone over 30 and that was going to be too much to ask. Realizing it was 24, he knew that he was in a must win scenario to get momentum going back in his direction. Taking it from 24 to 17 was a huge coup. It doesn’t ensure anything and he’s still on the outside looking in, but he has life now breathing back into his racing lungs. The mental shift from after A2 to after Houston can not be overstated.
