3. Deano’s Back

Dean Wilson was impressive in his return to Monster Energy AMA Supercross. Like last year, the final five rounds of 2026 SX are part of Deano’s “World Tour.”  Wilson struggled heavily in his first race last year while filling in for the Honda HRC Progressive team but had a much better go this time around ending up 11th in deeper field than what he jumped into last season. Dean should be able to stack some top tens and prove he is still competitive, even as a part-timer. Supercross is better with Dean Wilson in it.

4. Hammaker Fumbles

Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Seth Hammaker came into Nashville desperate to steal some points and momentum away Cole Davies. He got into second with Davies in sight early in the main event and put in a push to close in. Seth was going for it, but it cost him.

A small mistake in the rhythm section caused him to clip a Tuff Block and he went down hard. He got up and back into podium position and with two to go he had caught up to Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Daxton Bennick for second. Dax made a small mistake, and Seth ran into the back of him taking them both down in dramatic fashion. Somehow Seth was able to remount and still be in a podium position and finished the race in third.

However, the results will show Hammaker in fifth. The AMA penalized him two positions. One for cutting the track while rejoining the race after his first crash, and one for “passing” Devin Simonson in the process. Many riders were penalized one position for similar “track cutting” moves, but because of Seth rejoining in front of Simonson, an additional position was added. With a 19-point deficit and three rounds left in the 250 East Division, Hammaker is going to need some luck on his side.

5. Simonson's First Career Podium

The beneficiary of Seth Hammaker’s misfortune was ClubMX Yamaha’s Devin Simonson. He finished the race in a career-best fourth place, but due to Hammaker’s penalty, Simonson was credited the third spot on the podium. Devin has been a revelation this season and landing on the podium must be beyond his or the teams’ expectations. He is the definition of an underdog and proving that hard work and believing in yourself pays off.

Sure, it may not have been a traditional podium, but, hey, the bonus pays the same, and Simonson is now in the history books as a 250SX podium finisher. Maybe just as impressive, is that he is also the first guy on the ClubMX roster to accomplish that feat in 2026. After the race, Simonson acknowledged that he may have been looked at as the “fourth guy” on the team coming into the season saying, “I was thinking this last week, literally, how cool would it be to be the “fourth guy” and to get the first podium for the team this year.” As far as getting the podium via penalty, Devin admitted that, “Maybe some people will say it was “given” to me but like I said earlier, you gotta be in it to win it.” Simonson has been a pro for a few years now, but it feels like his story is just beginning.

6. Jett Lawrence Sighting

Jett Lawrence has been out of sight out of mind for quite a while, but he made an appearance in Nashville and joined Leigh Diffey, Ricky Carmichael, and James Stewart in the announcers’ booth for the 250 main event. Surprisingly, there was quite a bit to take from that appearance, mainly on how the recovery from his broken Talus bone is going. When Lawrence got hurt back in December, it was presumed that he would be back 100 percent by the AMA Pro Motocross Championship at worst.

However, when asked how he was doing, his answer was not confidence inspiring. “We are doing better. It has been a slow process. It has not been as easy as the ACL for sure, but we’re getting there,” Lawrence explained. “We just started riding a little bit on flat. It’s honestly been helping a lot with the vibration of the bike. It’s kind of broken up the scar tissue in it that the hands can’t really get to. It’s a slow process. It’s pissing me off because I just want to get back to normal.”

And to Leigh’s credit, he did ask Jett the hard-hitting question: “Are you excited to go head-to head with Haiden Deegan?” As expected, Jett somewhat swerved the question saying, “Yeah, I am excited. I think any new challenges for me just adds a little motivation and wanting to do good.” He continued to talk about how he also must worry about the likes of his brother Hunter, Eli, Chase, Prado, etc. It was good to hear from Jettson and let’s hope he is 100 percent in six weeks’ time.

7. Justin Hill’s Breakout Ride

It took 13 rounds, but Team Tedder’s Justin Hill finally had a flashy ride. Hill grabbed the holeshot and led for a few before settling into third for much of the main event. Hill rode in a podium position for 19 laps before getting swallowed up a little bit late, dropping him back to sixth, but then got credited with fifth because of a Dylan Ferrandis penalty.

Not only did Justin ride great but in true Justin Hill fashion he randomly pulls out a quad mid- main event that nobody did all day. Then after the race he tells Steve Matthes, “It wasn’t difficult. They could have done it, they just… for whatever reason they didn’t think to do it.” It is fun seeing Jr. Hill battle up front and maybe this will give him a little bump to finish out the season strong.

8. Ferrandis/Ducati Trending Up

It has not been the debut season the Troy Lee Designs Red Bull Ducati Factory Racing Team had drawn up before A1, but Nashville was the best race yet. Dylan Ferrandis charged from tenth to fifth and had the third-best lap of the race. Unfortunately, Ferrandis and the team will not get credited a top five finish as he was one of several riders throughout the night to be docked a position for cutting the track. Dylan was sizing up a pass on Ken Roczen when he had his off-track excursion that caused the penalty so what will be a sixth on paper, very easily could have been a podium.

Dylan credited a big test session during the week for the improvement, saying they had changed too much with the chassis, so they went back one step, and it helped a lot. If they can come into Pala with a good setting, Ferrandis could be a sleeper when Pro Motocross kicks off next month.   

9. Landen Gordon Pro Debut

Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing made an interesting move regarding their amateur/rookie riders in the days leading up to Nashville. Caden Dudney got the late call to the big leagues after a couple impressive SMX Next rides in Anaheim and Houston. Despite showing some good qualifying speed at times, Dudney failed to land inside the top ten in six starts.

On Thursday, the team announced that Dudney would sit out the rest of supercross and move onto preparing for the Pro Motocross Championship. In his place, the team decided to move up Landen Gordon and give him a shot in the pros. While it would be easy to assume that Dudney was benched due to his poor results, Team Manager Wil Hahn clarified on X that he was, “not benched, got in and got experience which was the goal and now can focus on outdoors.”

Gordon was impressive in his debut, qualifying sixth and finishing third in his heat. Unfortunately, he got his front wheel caught in a footpeg in the first turn of the main event and had to come in for a wheel swap. He rejoined the race, three laps down, and finished the race, although scoring 22nd.

One thing to note with this move is that unlike the SMX Next – Motocross Scouting Moto Combines during the Pro Motocross Championship, there are no “tryout” pro races. Once you make a night show, that’s it you are now a professional racer. That leaves Kayden Minear the lone Star Yamaha rider for the SMX Next finale in Philadelphia and begs the question at what may be at stake for Gordon and Dudney heading into the Pro Motocross Championship.

10. Davies’ Rolling

Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cole Davies seemed vulnerable when he started the season with a fifth in Arlington and an underwhelming second in Daytona, but he has not been beaten by a 250SX East rider since.

It took Cole a few laps to get into the lead in Nashville, but once he did it was night-night for the competition. Hammaker looked like he may have had something for Cole, but he crashed out of contention before he could even attempt to make a challenge for the lead.

Meanwhile, Davies went on to win by 17 seconds and avoided the chaos behind him. With a 19-point lead, Cole can put it in Championship mode and cruise to this title if he wants to.