Then There Were Two, In More Ways Than One
With five rounds remaining the battle in the 250 class is starting to come down to a fight between Cole Davies (first) and Levi Kitchen (second), who are separated by just two points. In third are Jo Shimoda and Julien Beaumer (they’re tied), but they’re 33 points back of Davies, and Shimoda is now out with a broken collarbone. Anything can happen in the next five races, but right now Davies and Kitchen are both in the driver’s seat fighting for control of the wheel. Who will have it after Spring Creek? -Aaron Hansel
Stayin' Alive
As mentioned above, Beaumer trails Davies by 33 points with 10 motos remaining. Kitchen is also 31 points up on Beaumer, and trailing two riders of that caliber isn’t a great place to be if you want to be a championship contender. Then again, we all know how wild this sport is, and crazy things happen all the time. If Beaumer can prevent Davies and Kitchen from widening that gap, he just might be in the right spot if the cards fall his way later in the season. -Hansel
Not to Be Overlooked
Is Ryder DiFrancesco. The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider isn’t in the battle for the title (he’s 60 points back of Davies), but he sure has been riding great lately. He’s had four third-place finishes in motos this season and was third overall at RedBud. He was on his way to a great finish at Southwick too after finishing third in the first moto, but a crash in the second moto resulted in 24th. Still, he’s riding better this season than we’ve ever seen. Can he nab another overall podium at Spring Creek? -Hansel
Power Struggle
What a great battle we’re seeing in the 450 Class between Hunter and Jett Lawrence right now! Every time it looks like one of them has the edge, the other fires back. At Southwick Hunter won the first moto after Jett crashed, then Jett won the second moto after Hunter crashed! There’s zero predictability in this situation, other than the duo almost assuredly going 1-2 in some way, shape or form. Which one will be on top at Spring Creek? -Hansel
Prado vs. Deegan
There was a lot of Deegan vs. Jett talk before the season, so maybe this particular situation got overlooked, but Prado vs. Deegan is definitely becoming an evolving story line of the summer. The two have battled multiple times so far, and they briefly went at it again at Southwick when Prado came up on Deegan and pressured him for second late in the second moto. Deegan fended Prado off in this encounter, but what might the outcome be if they find each other again at Spring Creek? -Hansel
Marchbanks vs. Hampshire
If you’re looking for a tiebreaker to follow this weekend, check out Garrett Marchbanks and RJ Hampshire, who are tied for fifth place with 183 points each. For the most part Marchbanks has had the upper hand on Hampshire this season, but anything can happen when it comes to the ups and downs of Hampshire. He could get on the podium at Spring Creek or crash seven times, and neither would be terribly surprising. Who will have fifth place after Saturday? -Hansel
Last Chance
To see the legendary Tony Cairloli race a round of AMA Pro Motocross in 2026. The 40 year old TLD Red Bull Ducati rider is on the final stop of his three-race foray in America this year, and so far, he’s done decently well, especially for a being “retired.” He was 12th overall at RedBud, and in the first moto at Southwick he came from 37th to 15th after a first-turn pileup. Unfortunately, an electrical issue ended his day early in the second moto, but it’s cool that he’s even racing here. How will he do in his final race of the summer in America? -Hansel
Rising
Kayden Minear has landed two moto podiums so far this summer and had his best over result of fourth at Southwick. He’s just a rookie and still learning so the consistency will hopefully come and then we should be seeing him on the overall podium. Will it take a while, or will he get it figured out by this weekend? -Sarah Whitmore
Another
Someone else who has shown speed in motos but struggles to put two good ones together is Casey Cochran. Since turning pro full time in 2024, Casey has struggled with inconsistency. But he has also shown great speed. With his team Rockstar Energy Husqvarna going away next year, is showing speed going to be enough to secure a ride somewhere else? Or can he start finding some consistency here soon? -Whitmore
He’s Back!
After crashing out at round one, Eli Tomac is back on the bike and will be returning to action this weekend. Will he need a few races to get back into the swing of things? Or will he pick up right where he left off? Either way fans will be happy to have this legend back at the races. -Whitmore
Bonus
The Track
While everyone agrees last weekend’s race at Southwick is the most unique track on the circuit, Spring Creek is not far off. The track has sandy sections down by the creek, where the two long whoop sections lay. But then the rest of the track can get fairly hard packed, making bike set up difficult. Some will choose to set their bikes up to work in the sand whoops and then struggle everywhere else, or vice versa. It should make for some interesting racing come Saturday.
