Seth Hammaker’s day at the Daytona SX hit a speedbump Saturday afternoon when the #10 crashed in the second qualifying session. The big slam left his Kawasaki KX250 too mangled to ride the rest of the session, starting his break heading into the night show extra early.
“Maybe for the heat race a little bit,” Hammaker said on the qualifying crash impacting his racing in the night program. “Because actually when I crashed in qualifying, I wanted to get back up and do a few laps just to shake that one off, but my bike was just too bent up to do so. Then that wait in between qualifying and the night show, it felt extra long tonight. I just wanted to get out there and put that behind me, but it's always tough to bounce back from that. I think that's what makes this win so much more special to overcome that, put it behind you, and just focus on what you need to and execute when it matters the most, and I was able to do that tonight in the main event. So, yeah, this one feels just really good.”
Despite the crash, Hammaker finished third in his heat race. He then went on to take the main event win, the fourth 250SX win of his career. In four starts at Daytona International Speedway, Hammaker now has three podiums including this win.
“Yeah, so far it is,” he said when asked if the win had sunk in yet to be a Daytona 250SX winner. “I feel like just a dream come true to win here at Daytona. Obviously, any win is cool, but to do it here is super special. On a tough racetrack like this, it feels good to get it done and early in the season as well.”
Seth Hammaker's Results at Daytona International Speedway
| Position | Race | Class | Date | Bike |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Supercross Daytona | 250SX East | February 28, 2026 | Kawasaki KX250 |
| 3 | Supercross Daytona | 250SX East | March 1, 2025 | Kawasaki KX250 |
| 3 | Supercross Daytona | 250SX East | March 2, 2024 | Kawasaki KX250 |
| 11 | Supercross Daytona | 250SX West | March 6, 2021 | Kawasaki KX250 |
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Finishes of 4-1 have the Pennsylvania native, just two points back of 250SX East Division championship leader Pierce Brown.
“Yeah, it was definitely important to get the ball rolling,” he said on getting the win at the second 250SX East race of 2026. “Fourth last weekend wasn't the end of the world, but it's not ideal. But it's always nice to get through the first race. Then this week just went back to work and worked on things that I was needing to be better at. I didn't really ride the best last weekend in the main, but I feel like I showed up here more fired up and ready to get this season going, and got it off onto the right start here at Daytona feels good.”
A holeshot put Hammaker out front early, which made the race manageable, given his hard slam in qualifying. He led wire-to-wire to take his first win at Daytona International Speedway. Burnout time!
“Yeah, it was super important,” he said on his good start. “That was one of the main things that I was thinking about heading up to that main event. I knew a good gate pick was going to be crucial, but honestly, there was not really one good gate out there. Everybody had to overcome that, the big hole right in front of the gate. So, just tried giving it a little bit extra off the grate to make sure I boosted over that hole a little bit more, so I didn't get as caught up in that. I executed that perfectly and got the shift and charged into that first corner, so tried to stay out of the chaos. But this race, I don't know, any race it's nice to get a holeshot, right? But this one to get clear track and to ride your lines is super, super nice.”
Are those starts repeatable this weekend at the 250SX East Division’s first Triple Crown event of the season?
“Yeah, I think so,” Hammaker said. “Just need to put yourself in a good position from qualifying to get good gate picks, and Triple Crown's even that much more important to get holeshots. You have three races that count. I think with execution, when it counts, I can pull a holeshot. Hopefully, I can get three of them next weekend.”
Remember, Hammaker won the 2025 Indianapolis SX, which was the first East/West Showdown of the season last year. A podium in Daytona last March (P3) led into the win at Lucas Oil Stadium. Can Hammaker make the same happen again this year?
