Pierce Brown Suffers DNF at East/West Showdown, Huge Blow to Championship Hopes
It was a tough night for 250SX East Division Championship hopeful Pierce Brown. Brown entered the night as one of the four 250SX East Division riders without two points of one another. Cole Davies led Seth Hammaker by one point and Brown and Jo Shimoda by just two points in a very tight championship battle.
First, the Arlington SX race winner was 15th off the start of the 250SX East heat race. He had to charge forward if he wanted to qualify directly from the stacked heat race. He was up to ninth place, the final transfer position with a pass on Evan Ferry before they took the white flag. Ferry retaliated in the following turn, taking them both down and forcing them both to the LCQ.
In the LCQ, Brown finished second behind his rookie teammate Caden Dudney, qualifying into the main event. Ferry finished 16th in the LCQ and did not qualify for the main event. Later in the evening, Ferry was penalized for his move: a fine, two license points, and five championship points, actually taking his season total to negative two.
When the gates dropped in the 250SX East/West Showdown, Brown actually got a great start from the very outside, coming through the holeshot line in fourth. He was shuffled back on the opening lap and was running eighth. However, a crash on the fourth lap ended his night early.
Although not seen on the broadcast, Brown's crash was near the finish line jump as the #163 sat up and was tended to by the Alpinestars medical crew. Brown did not finish the race and officially scored 21st in the first 250SX East/West Showdown. However, on a positive note, he was shown walking off the track under his own power.
Unfortunately, this is a tough blow to his championship hopes, as he leaves this race with just one point. He sits fifth in the standings with 63 points, 26 points down to his championship leader Cole Davies, who was credited with the race win after a one-position penalty for Haiden Deegan.
Davies getting the win now extends his gap on Hammaker from three points to six points, and his gap to Shimoda now sits at nine points. Daxton Bennick (sixth on the night) passes Brown to take over fourth in the standings.
| Position | Rider | Hometown | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Cole Davies | Waitoki, New Zealand  | 89 |
| 2 |  Seth Hammaker | Bainbridge, PA  | 83 |
| 3 |  Jo Shimoda | Suzuka, Japan  | 80 |
| 4 |  Daxton Bennick | Morganton, NC | 71 |
| 5 |  Pierce Brown | Sandy, UT | 63 |
