We're halfway through the 2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship, everyone! Well, technically halfway through the second race at the Triple Crown in Indy, we were halfway through the series.
I'm not going to get into the lapped rider stuff, we hashed it out on the PulpMX Show, on the Fly Racing Race Review Podcast, and all over social media. However, I was very surprised to see no AMA license penalties issued for a few guys who didn't seem to see the blue flags. I get it, this track was tough, rough, and rutty, so the guys probably didn't want to venture to a new line or whatever, but there were, to me, blatant examples of back markers deciding that they'd wait a bit before moving over, and yeah, that's not good.
I'm surprised the AMA didn't do anything. The creation of the license point penalties to keep track of this stuff is a good idea, but you've got to really use it.
And no, Vince Friese didn't mean to jump over into Eli Tomac, and no, Cole Thompson didn't screw up and almost take out Hunter Lawrence. That's the stuff that happens at a track in Indianapolis.
Speaking of that, maybe Feld Motor Sports should rethink where the Triple Crown races are held. This dirt was always going to be like this, and it's usually a shorter one in terms of lap times. Maybe it was a bad decision to do almost 50 laps per class and expect the lappers to not hurt the racing up front.
Last thing: there's a way to stop the guys from holding up the leaders better than we have it now. Actually enforce the rules, throw license points at the guys, institute fines, get the AMA officials to be better with blue flag awareness, and these guys will figure it out once they start losing money.
With the season technically halfway, I asked our guy MX Reference to pull some stats to compare the guys from last year to this year.
Our top two riders in points right now can't be compared to last year, ironically enough, because they only made it four (Hunter Lawrence) and five (Eli Tomac) races last year before injuries struck. Both guys rode very well at Indy; ET did his whole. "Get a bad start then bingo bango, pass 73 guys on the first lap," thing again in the first main, and Lawrence, well, that third main should be hung in the Louvre it was so perfect. He was trailing in the overall points on the night by one point to ET going in, got the start in front of him, and just slowly pulled away.
If Lawrence wins the title, and there's a long way to go for that, Indianapolis might be the place that turned it around.
ET was very good going 3-2-2 on the night. Holy smoke, that near collision with Friese could've been ugly for sure, and I have to think that between that and the Justin Cooper pass in main two, he had some serious surprises on the night. To me, he was very inconsistent in the whoops also; he liked the righthand side, and sometimes he got it great, but other times it was a mess. Lawrence was squaring up and going on the left side of the whoops. Tomac lost three points in Indy, almost died, and had some pissed off comments after the race about lappers. Not a great night for ET, despite the second place.
Like I said, they both missed races last year, but one category you can talk about Lawrence and Tomac in is average points per race in the races they did race. Both guys are averaging 21 points per race in 2026, compared to 15 for Lawrence and 16 for Tomac last year. Tomac's much better on the KTM, and Lawrence is just much better overall.
Lawrence had zero laps led in his 450SX career, but this year he's got 42, while ET has 45 more laps led this year than last.
Cooper Webb got on the box again in third, marking the third time he's secured the last spot on the podium this year, along with a second and one win. We had him on the PulpMX Show Monday night, and he thinks his riding has been good this year. He's not that upset with his lot in life (25 points down) because he knows he's been riding well.
The biggest stat for Coop is 51 fewer laps led after nine races this year compared to last. He's led just 16 laps this year.
Ken Roczen's first race win was something special and something also very typical of Kenny. Get the start, make some quick moves, and race off to the win like a little bunny.
Also, if you're thinking Roczen has been basically the same this year as last, well, you'd be right. He's got one more point than last year, one less podium, the same number of race wins, and 24 more laps led.
Justin Cooper's move on Tomac to pass him for the lead was bold! It's the stuff that Jo Shimoda's been trying to do, only way better. I thought there was a chance Tomac could've gassed it and tried to sneak by, but then again, that could've been ugly, and I have to think that ET thought, 'Hey, it's J-Coop; I'll get him back.' SPOILER ALERT: He did not! Justin Cooper took his first 450 race "win" in a great ride. Then he battled Webb to the death in race three for the last spot on the box.
Was this O'Neal's first 450SX win since Mike LaRocco in this same city in 2004? I've got to think so, right?
Also, if you think J-Coop's not been the same guy in qualifying as last year, you're right. He's one spot worse this year, sixth (2026 average) to fifth (2025 average). He's just four points off his pace from last year when the second half saw him start to emerge. I wonder if we'll see the same thing this year?
Joey Savatgy DNF'd the last main with a foot injury, and as of writing this, he doesn't think it's that bad. Let's hope he can get back to his 2026 level after this week off. As we've talked about, it's been an awesome story. He's got 45 more points this year than last year after nine races, while his qualifying has actually been 2.3 spots worse!
We mentioned above that Roczen's been the same rider this year as last, and would you look at that? His teammate Colt Nichols has also had the same finishing and qualifying position as last year.
Malcolm Stewart's had a rough year, but as always, he's 50 points worse this year (second to, you know, one #4), and he's beat up from the feet up. He was happy to survive Indy, and if you saw his social media, you saw his incredible save in the whoops. He told me afterward, that moment was it for him; his heart rate went through the roof.
Like I said up top, ET and Hunter have the two most improved points per race, but coming in third is...Jorge Prado! That shouldn't be a surprise; he's been great this year despite missing two races. His Indy was also good—good starts, and he fought hard to go 6-6-6. He and Hunter Lawrence have a little rivalry going, as Prado sure does make it hard to pass him out there.
You don't need me to tell you Chase Sexton's stats are worse this year than last, right? Okay, good.
Getting into the 250s, it was a Cole Davies night, and everyone else was powerless to stop him. He went 1-1-1 with some great riding, and his typical phenomenal whoop speed equaled his first win of the year and got him the red plate as well.
So, after three rounds, we have the points like this:
| Position | Rider | Hometown | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Cole Davies | Waitoki, New Zealand  | 114 |
| 2 |  Seth Hammaker | Bainbridge, PA  | 105 |
| 3 |  Jo Shimoda | Suzuka, Japan  | 100 |
| 4 |  Daxton Bennick | Morganton, NC | 87 |
Knowing that a 250SX East/West Showdown is scheduled for next weekend, where things can go crazy and throw these points out of whack, let me carefully break down these four riders with pros and cons on why they can win this title.
Davies
Pros: I mean, duh, the fastest guy in the whoops and probably the best overall speed. We can work with speed. Oh, and also, great bike.
Cons: Inexperience; maybe a bit cocky (just an observation, I could be wrong), which could bite him.
Hammaker
Pros: He's experienced in title fights, he doesn't have a real Achilles heel, and he's solid rider all around.
Cons: His starts haven't been great and he's had to work pretty hard outside of Daytona to be in the position he's in.
Brown
Pros: He's got a great bike and he's sort of the underdog, which could free him up mentally to perform well. Outside of the opening round, it's been just "okay." Fitness seems good.
Cons: Inexperience in being in a title fight.
Shimoda
Pros: He's two points back with just six SX days on the bike coming into the opening round! You have to figure he'll be better. He's got experience in title fights and his fitness is elite also. Good starts.
Cons: He's back to doing that thing where his pass attempts aren't good. It's weird to watch, to be honest. Jo's got very few negatives for him in this chase.
Thanks for reading, OBS. We have a week off here (thank you, Jesus), and then we're onto Birmingham for a showdown and more 450 stuff! Email me at matthes@racerxonline.com to chat about this or anything else.
