Round four of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross series took place in Houston, and it was a Triple Crown at that! The track was rather simple (qualifying in the 450s saw the guys from second to 14th all in the same second!), which led to a lot of follow-the-leader for the first couple of main events but as the track broke down, things got a little nuttier, and then the mains got good!
We're four rounds down, let's do a little power rankings for the series so far, yeah?
(UP) Eli Tomac
ET3 has already, no matter what happens the rest of SX, been a success for Red Bull KTM. Two wins, points lead, and you have to figure he'll get better from here, right? His speed is impressive, starts have been there, and his bike has been really good from where I sit. I thought Red Bull KTM needed to prove something after a somewhat rocky year with Chase Sexton, and the signing of ET has definitely proven they still know how to win.
(UP) Hunter Lawrence
4-2-2-2 to start the year, and that win is coming, right? He was one small mistake away from winning in Houston, and from talking to some Honda people after the race, he wasn't as happy with his bike as he was in Anaheim 2. So, Glendale dirt will be closer to Anaheim, and I guess he was stoked on his bike last weekend. He's second in the points, his closing speed is impressive, and wouldn't that be something if Hunter won this title?
(UP) Jorge Prado
Jorge Prado's podium at Anaheim 1 means, like ET's signing, his signing with KTM has worked out. That was indeed one of the more shocking results I've seen in a long time. In the other races, he's still been good and has even won two heat races so far. Prado looks approximately 400% better on orange than he did on green.
(UP) Joey Savatgy
The privateer didn't have a great Houston; he broke his toe in the first main, but before that, he had gone 5-6 in rounds two and three. He's looked very good to start the year, and let's hope he keeps it up.
(UP) Mitchell Harrison
I was gonna go with Vince Friese here because his riding's been good, but, well, he's Vince Friese, and there have been, sigh, issues. So, let's go with another privateer hero in Harrison, who's made all four mains, making him one of five privateers to do that (Friese, Savatgy, Hill, and McElrath). The only downside is he's gone 20-20-20-20 in said mains.
(MID) Ken Roczen
I mean, Kenny's got three podiums in four races, the other race, he went from last to 8th, and he sits third, 12 points back of ET. If he had a win at this point, I'd put him in the (UP) category, but as it is, all of this checks out. Ken Roczen is an awesome dirt bike racer, and we all knew he would be right in the mix week in and week out.
(MID) Cooper Webb
This was gonna be a down arrow for the champ after his first three races, where he rode well but fell. The bottom line is he hadn't been on the podium through three rounds, but then Houston happened! Ten years from now, when I'm talking about Houston 2026, I'll have about ten things that I remember (ET crash! Hunter win! Deegs dominance! Third main great!) before I get to Cooper Webb, but at the end of the night, there he was with the trophy. As the track broke down, he got better and better (shocking, right?), and he rode well to win the thing and put himself back into this title fight. So, yeah, he's MID right now, but stay tuned, he might be warming up.
(MID) Jason Anderson
JA21's stuck in this weird spot where he's not quite on the level of the top guys—he's led laps—but he's better than the next level of guys, you know? He's on Suzuki now, and it still kind of looks weird. Also, in the dept of IDK man, Astars has been making some BANGER kits for ET, Sexton, and Lawrence, but I haven't seen one set of gear on the #21 that looks that good.
(MID) Dylan Ferrandis
He's been... okay? But what's the difference between privateer Honda rider Dylan Ferrandis and factory Ducati rider Dylan Ferrandis? Not much to me. That's not a bad thing, I just think a factory Ducati (although they aren't at their full power yet) would be better than a privateer Honda.
Here's DF's stats through four rounds last year and this year. Note he didn't make the main at A1 last year. Thanks, MX Reference, for these!
| Stats Through 4 Rounds 2025 2026 | 2025 | 2026 |
| Points | 30 | 49 |
| Starts | 3 | 4 |
| Points per Start | 10 | 12.25 |
| Avg Finish | 12 | 9.75 |
| Avg Holeshot Pos | 7.4 | 12.67 |
| Lap 1 Avg Pos | 7.4 | 11.33 |
| Lap 5 Avg Pos | 10 | 10.5 |
| Lap 10 Avg Pos | 10.2 | 9.5 |
| Avg Qualifying | 10.5 | 9 |
| Avg Qualifying Gap (Seconds) | 1.88 | 1.17 |
| Avg Qualifying Gap (Percentage) | 3.27% | 2.07% |
(DOWN) Chase Sexton
One podium through four rounds? Yeah, it was a win, but it's been a tough start for Chase Sexton so far. We had James Stewart on the PulpMX Show Monday night, and he mentioned a few times that Chase is better when he's out front and alone. When he's not, he pushes, and things go awry. That checks out so far for the #4. His average position after six starts is 13.3 at the white stripe. I'm no Donnie “Holeshot” Hansen, but that's not going to win you a championship. He's had glimpses, and he could easily go on a roll here because he's that good, and also, he's "only" 14 points down, and it's been not great. So, there's that.
(DOWN) Aaron Plessinger, Justin Cooper, and RJ Hampshire
All three would probably like to push the "restart" button on their seasons, but all for different reasons. JCoop's been the best of the bunch but hasn't run up front much or at all. AP's season started badly with the takeout by his buddy Cooper Webb and hasn't gotten much better, and Hampshire came into the year behind with an injury and has been trying to catch up. None of the three are happy with life right now, I can guarantee you that.
(DOWN) Austin Forkner
Austin's a good guy to cheer for as he tries to come back from *checks notes* 46 different injuries the last four years or so. Moving up to 450s was a choice for sure, but some guys DO ride 450s better; there's no doubt about that. Well, he's out with an injury, crashed out of two other races, and maybe this wasn't the answer for AF.
TWO-FIFTIES
As far as 250SX is concerned, Haiden Deegan won again, and that's three in a row for the defending champion. This might be, as he went 1-1-1 in Houston, his best-ever SX performance as he ripped through the pack in all three mains. Great ride for HD, and he asserts himself as the one to beat here on the west side.
Levi Kitchen got second, and as I interviewed him afterward, I was thinking that maybe he was pissed because his rival Deegs did catch and pass him in main #2 pretty easily and then he also (in the third race) tried to get in Deegs' way after the finish line, and the Yamaha rider just pulled over and by him. So, I don't know, you know? But nope, Kitch was happy with his ride, first podium of the year for him, and he mentioned that Ken Roczen helped him with his starts and he had to relearn everything he ever did for starts in one week!
Cameron McAdoo wanted to let me know after the race that he's A) paid to win, so his third wasn't amazing, and B) he's feeling the best he has this season after a little of a bit late start to the west region series. Cam was really good and just a shade off the top two guys.
Max Vohland led laps, got great starts, and finished fourth overall. After the race, I was talking to Chad Reed, who works with the team, and I thought that Max was a little passive as he was getting passed by the top dogs. I don't need him to T-bone dudes or cross-jump people, but to me, he seemed to roll over a bit more than needed. Reed wasn't having this, said he's gotta walk before he can run, it was a positive night (it was!), and he's stoked with what the guys are doing. Also, remember, Vohland is riding this well with a hand brake, as we've discussed many times, but he's doing it for awhile now so we don't even consider it these days.
Thanks for reading OBS, we're onto Glendale, a very cool race every year. Questions or concerns? Email us please at matthes@racerxonline.com.
