Strong and Silent

Getting somewhat overlooked in the insanity discussed above are the stupendous efforts of Justin Cooper. The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider has, as always, been incredibly solid all season, and he hit a highwater mark in St. Louis when he notched second place. Even more impressive, he had to go through Hunter Lawrence, and later Jorge Prado, to do it! With the speed Cooper’s packing, it’s not wild to think he could break through for a win soon, and he’ll very likely have an effect how the title fight plays out. -Hansel 

Back At It

Jorge Prado got the season started with a bang when he scored third at the season opener, but since then he’s been somewhat quiet, with his best result since being a fifth in Glendale. That changed in St. Louis though, where Prado spent a good portion of the race in second place before crossing the line in fourth. Is this an indicator that he’s trending upward again? We’ll see if he can keep it going in Nashville. -Hansel

Up and Down

It’s been an up and down season for Chase Sexton so far, both literally and figuratively. Sexton took second in just his first race back from injury two weeks ago in Detroit, then he DNF’d in St. Louis when he came up painfully short in a rhythm lane in St. Louis. Hopefully Nashville is more up than it is down for Sexton this time around. -Hansel

In Control

Right now, it seems as though there’s only one 250SX rider who’s capable of beating Cole Davies, and that’s Haiden Deegan. Fortunately for Davies, who is in the 250SX East Division, Deegan races in the West. Unfortunately for everyone else in the East Division, Davies isn’t going anywhere. Aside from a fifth place at the opening round, he’s been overwhelmingly solid and has three wins to his name. Will he make it four in Nashville? -Hansel

Comfort Zone

Riding within the comfort zone is a luxury that Seth Hammaker seemingly no longer has. While crashing away points is never good, it’s also impossible to gain points on the leader when you’re finishing behind him. Hammaker alluded to this in St. Louis, saying he’d have to start taking more chances than he has been. Hammaker currently trails Davies by 11 points. Can he shrink that gap in Nashville, or will he go down trying? -Hansel  

Old Timer

Dean Wilson will make his return to Supercross this weekend for the last five rounds, similar to what he did last year. The 35-year-old “retired” from full time racing in 2024 but can’t seem to stay away. No word yet on if Grandpa Earl will make an appearance, but Deano is a fan favorite either way. -Sarah Whitmore

Thrashing

Nate Thrasher looked like he was on his way to a win in Detroit when he went down hard. He then was able to regroup and get a fourth at the East/West Showdown in St Louis. He came into the season with a bum shoulder and has been racing back to form. Could a podium be in store for Thrasher this weekend? -Whitmore

Timing

Last thing for Nashville is not so much what to watch, but when. This will be the first day race of the season with the race airing at 3 pm Eastern time, airing live on both Peacock and NBC. With Nashville being on Central time, bikes will hit the track at 7:30 a.m. local time!

Bonus 

The Star swap: Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing announced on Thursday afternoon that Caden Dudney will shift his focus to the AMA Pro Motocross Championship and Landen Gordon will make his professional debut this weekend in Nashville. Dudney showed speed in qualifying in his six 250SX starts but it had yet to translate to a top-ten main event result. Gordon had a perfect SMX Next podium streak going until a first turn crash in Birmingham resulted in a DNF. Gordon has been fast so far this year, landing his podium finishes in riders where he moved forward. Will he be able to do the same in the pro ranks? He will now step in, running his #180 from SMX Next, to get experience for next year. Keep an eye on the #180, the latest rider to turn pro with the Star Yamaha squad. -Mitch Kendra

Bonus (2X)

If you are in Nashville on Friday before the race, be sure to head to Broadway to check out the Jeremy McGrath holeshot challenge. Jeremy himself, along with other greats like Ricky Carmichael, Ryan Dungey, Jeff Emig, Jeff Stanton, Chad Reed, Ivan Tedesco, Damon Bradshaw will be bringing attention to the sport by doing holeshots right downtown! -Whitmore