Well, that’s it. The 2026 season of Monster Energy AMA Supercross is in the books and it went out with a gigantic bang in Salt Lake City. The action in both classes was tremendous, and as usual, we were left with plenty of questions, which we promptly fired off to former pro and NBC on-track analyst, Jason Thomas.
Track conditions were as expected for a sunny day in Salt Lake City, hard and slick, but the track crew was constantly putting water down throughout the day. How much of a difference did that make, and did the added moisture actually make the track more slippery during the opening laps?
They were doing the best they could with the conditions available. The dry air and abundant sunshine, coupled with the soil composition make it difficult to maintain a tacky environment. The water doesn’t soak in like it would in east coast based soils and the air is much drier than east coast atmosphere, also. That puts the Dirt Wurx team in a constant “chase” mode. If they flood it, the water will sit on top of the hard base but if they don’t water it, we will have a hard-packed dust bowl. It’s a slippery (literally) slope to contend with, much like Denver.
Hard and slick tracks have their own set of challenges, but is there an advantage to a hardpack track like the one in Salt Lake City that doesn’t break down?
It certainly doesn’t deteriorate like, say, Indy would. The jump faces on the first lap are remarkably similar on the last lap which is a far cry from what east coast rounds would offer. Dirt is always a compromise. Softer dirt offers great traction but breaks down and the jumps become treacherous. Hard dirt remains consistent but is very difficult to find traction upon. Pick your poison.
Those whoops looked gnarly, and they claimed multiple riders. What was it about them that made them so tough?
First, they were built big initially. Friday was a great indication of what was in store, as riders struggled mightily. The lack of traction created wheel spin in the second half of the whoops, too, adding another layer of difficulty. For those who entered with caution, trying to accelerate in the back half of the whoops was challenging if not futile. The best way to attack them was with fast entry speed, but that’s also a great way to end up on your head. Jumping them was the safest way but also was no match for someone blitzing at speed.
It isn’t often we see Eli Tomac go down like he did in his heat race. What happened there?
This was purely a racing incident between Tomac and Freddie Noren. Those jumps on the first rhythm had them out of sequence. When Tomac rolled the first jump and Freddie doubled, they were on a collision course if aligned on direction. Tomac was going upward as Freddie was going down and they tagged wheels. That shot Tomac’s bike away from him unexpectedly and the worst part is that he landed on top of his own motorcycle. Had he landed on the ground, he would have likely been fine. That footpeg did damage, though, and sidelined him right when he had gotten back to 100 percent.
After the start stretch there was a section that Haiden Deegan started doubling the gap and landing one jump deep into the next set of jumps. We didn’t see him doing that all day during qualifying, yet he was still able to pull it out. What’s the thought process there? Why wouldn’t he have done it earlier?
Some of the 250’s had tried this with varying levels of success earlier in the day while a few 450’s were executing it well. With better track conditions in the evening, that gave the 250’s a little more momentum and traction to go for it. The track was much harder and less conducive to this type of line in qualifying practice.
Speaking of Deegan, he and Cole Davies had quite the dustup in the 250SX main event. Do you think Davies’ hard pass on Deegan, in which he nearly knocked him down, stemmed from any resentment from past incidents between the two?
I’m sure there was a little extra on it. Deegs talks a lot so most of the field wouldn’t shy away from a shot at it. I give Deegs credit though, because he can take it when given. He doesn’t freak out, he almost embraces it.
Deegan caught back up to Davies but went down attempting to put a block pass on him despite not having the line. Were you surprised to see Deegan so impatient?
He rushed it, for sure. He was angry and wanted payback and let that emotion get the best of him. I very much believe if he had waited, he would have won the race. He’s so good late in races that once he figured out Davies’ pace, I think he could have figured it out. His emotion was his worst enemy. He will learn from that.
Ken Roczen didn’t seem like he was pushing as super hard during the opening laps, but after a while it looked like he dropped the hammer. Is this an accurate assessment? If so, why do you think he switched things up and waited to let loose with everything he had?
I don’t necessarily agree with this. I think he was pushing right away, everything he had. He pulled a gap but then Hunter regrouped and figured out the pace and matched it. Kenny then went into defense mode and things were going to stay on a slow burn until late. Until Jorge Prado showed up. Roczen would have loved to drop Hunter early if he could but it wasn’t possible.
Jorge Prado caught up to Lawrence in the 450SX main event and was applying a decent amount of pressure. Do you think that contributed to Lawrence’s crash? That crash was pretty uncharacteristic for Lawrence.
This was 100 percent the biggest variable in the race. Hunter was content to “sit” on Kenny and wait till later in the race where he has a perceived advantage. The trouble is, the pace wasn’t quick enough and Prado closed to the back of Hunter. As the urgency rose, Hunter picked up his pace, which also reinserts risk into the equation. That immediately resulted in mistakes, one that was salvageable, and the second was a crash. Without Prado entering the picture, I think this might have gone differently. If’s and butt’s, sure, but it was also a huge factor.
After Lawrence remounted he didn’t really move forward very quickly. Were you expecting more of a charge from him after he went down?
He was trying but also, imagine the emotion he was feeling. He knew he just lost the title and millions of dollars. He was likely coming apart on the inside so summoning his best riding ability was probably impossible. I wouldn’t have been surprised to see him crash again because his focus was shattered by then. If this was a random race, yes, he would have charged better but the emotion of losing it all had to be overwhelming. I would have probably been crying in my helmet but, then again, Hunter is much tougher than I am.
