![Thomas: “Whether body or bike, the form [Tomac’s] on right now isn’t good enough to win”](http://rxi.iscdn.net/2026/04/325960_tomacalignmediasx26stlouis021.jpg)
St. Louis was bonkers! Haiden Deegan clinched the 250SX West Division championship two rounds early, Eli Tomac continued his streak of head scratching finishes, and Ken Roczen raced to his second consecutive race win, and closed to within five points of Tomac and Hunter Lawrence. Oh, and by the way, Tomac and Lawrence now just happen to be tied for the lead with just five races left. We’ve got plenty of questions about St. Louis, and fortunately former pro and NBC on-track analyst, Jason Thomas, was able to answer them.
The St. Louis round was held in the last domed stadium of the season. Did this provide a sense of urgency for any of the riders to garner peak results in the last controlled environment?
I don’t think so, not in a conscious sense, anyway. I do think there is a sense that the series is winding down and the clock is ticking, though. Those who need to make up points understand the opportunity is lessening with each passing Saturday. It’s not enough to simply retain the status quo, progress must be made or time will run out.
The rhythm lane on the sidelines was long, running the entire length of the stadium, and there were multiple options riders could take. How did the options evolve as the track deteriorated over the course of the main events?
This rhythm section was a big differentiator on Saturday. Being able to pull the 3-3 from the corner was a huge deal. If you could execute it cleanly and consistently, that was enough to pull a gap in that section. It became incredibly difficult to do though, as the ruts became increasingly more challenging lap after lap. The rhythm sections are often routine in modern racing due to the efficiency of the bikes and great track maintenance. St. Louis was a throwback to the ruttier tracks of yesteryear.
Eli Tomac wasn’t himself in Birmingham and Detroit, and the trend continued in St. Louis, where he struggled to find the form he had earlier in the season. What do you think is going on with him? Did you pick up on any clues that might get us closer to understanding this mystery?
It’s a great question and at this point, who knows. He was very outspoken on Friday that he’s totally fine and everyone with a theory is wrong or worse. One thing is for sure, though, he isn’t riding as well as he was in the first half the season. Whether body or bike, the form he’s on right now isn’t good enough to win. He can’t stay in this five-six spot and expect to keep the red plate.
Last week we saw Cooper Webb put an aggressive move on Jorge Prado early in the 450SX main event that took them both down. Did you notice any remnants of that dust up show up in St. Louis?
Not so much between Prado and Webb, but the dynamic where Prado is getting great starts and holding up other riders is still intact. This isn’t his fault, per se, he is just trying to get a good result, but other riders are also very frustrated. Prado is very good at defensive riding and this will be an ongoing theme, at least in supercross. I believe his pace will change the narrative in motocross but he could play a role this championship. Keep an eye on that situation if the points are tight in the final couple of rounds.
Last week Chase Sexton was fantastic in his return to racing following injury, but in St. Louis? Not so much. What was different about the way Sexton was riding in St. Louis vs. Detroit, and what does he need to do to get back to riding like he did at A2, which he won?
There’s no easy answer here and I would guess everyone directly involved would struggle to answer it, too. My take is that he’s still unhappy with the motorcycle and that’s showing up on Saturdays. His big mistake in the rhythm section was hard to explain other than confusion on which jump he was on. I don’t see any immediate resolution on the horizon.
Ken Roczen just keeps putting in amazing rides, and St. Louis was no different. How much did winning in Detroit energize him in St. Louis?
The guy is simply on fire. Go back to Race One in Indy and the trend is the same. He has been the fastest rider on track since then. He crashed in Race Two at Indy and started 18th at Birmingham, but speed wise, he has been the fastest. He is squarely back in this title fight now.
Levi Kitchen was dealing with some back pain in Birmingham, and afterward said they “found some things” in some scans following the race. He still lined up for St. Louis, however. Did you see anything in his riding that suggested he was dealing with physical adversity?
Yeah, he’s not in a good place with his back. He only rode once between Birmingham and St. Louis and that made things worse, not better. I am not a doctor so I can’t suggest what the solution is but it doesn’t seem that things are trending the right direction. I am starting to wonder if they won’t shut it down to ensure he is healthy for Pro Motocross.
Seth Hammaker came into St. Louis nine points back of Davies. We’ve seen Hammaker make wise decisions this season, like settling for second last week rather than risking a crash, but at what point is he going to have to start taking bigger risks to stay competitive for the title?
He said exactly this after the race. Down 11 points, he admitted that he is going to have to take more chances than he has been. That comes with risk, of course,
