Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan got his title defense off to a great start with a hard-earned victory in the first 250SMX moto at the SMX Playoff 1 in Concord, North Carolina. Severe weather forced officials to cancel the remaining races on the schedule at the zMax Dragway at Charlotte Motor Speedway – the SMX Next Main Event and the second 250SMX and 450SMX motos – leaving Moto 1 results as the final overall classification. Joining Deegan in the top 10 were Cole Davies, who finished eighth in his pro SMX Finals debut, and Nate Thrasher, who finished ninth to break into the top 10 in the 250SMX standings.
Max Anstie and Daxton Bennick, both unseeded after missing multiple rounds due to injury, transferred through the Wildcard race and overcame challenging gate picks to finish 13th and 15th, respectively.
Wil Hahn – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250 Team General Manager
“It was a great way to start SMX with Haiden showing how strong he is right now and having his strongest race of the year. Cole showed great speed and just had a tip over, so we’re excited to see what he has at these next two. Nate keeps making steps in the right direction to be back on the podium. Dax and Max had their work cut out for them with their gate picks, and we look forward to them getting stronger.”
Haiden Deegan – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #1
“It was a good day. The first qualifying was good, and the second qualifying wasn’t as great as we would’ve liked, but we ended up winning the first moto. I kind of got buried in the pack on the first lap, so we had to fight for that win. Even though it was one of the easiest days because there was a rain cancellation and we didn’t have the second motos, that was one of the hardest races, digging through the pack.”
Cole Davies – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #100
“The track was wild out there in Charlotte. I felt good in Moto 1. I had myself up front, but went down while running second, which was a tough one. I was ready to go again in Moto 2, so it’s a shame the weather didn’t let that happen. The good news is I’m healthy, I know where my speed’s at, and I’m already looking forward to St. Louis.”
Nate Thrasher – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #41
“We’ve got a little bit to work on, but I think my speed overall was really good in the moto. I just wasn’t quite aggressive enough. I couldn’t get around some of the guys there and got stuck. I was looking forward to another chance in the next one. I feel like I really had some speed there and would’ve been able to fight up front, so that was a bummer. We’ll go back to work and be more aggressive next weekend. Next weekend is more of a supercross track in the stadium, which is a little bit more my style, so hopefully we’ll get on the podium.”
Max Anstie – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #31
“One moto today, which was a bit random. I’m just happy to be back. It was one of those things where that was a really tricky track for me to come back to. I’ve had five months off the bike and three weeks now, where I’ve had no pain. When I’m riding, I feel good, but that was definitely a test out there. I’m happy that we made it through. I’m definitely a bit rusty, but I think there’s a place we can build on. I’m looking forward to next weekend.”
Daxton Bennick – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #34
“It was an alright day. Coming in here unseeded, I qualified fifth overall in the combined times, so I was really happy with that. I went a little deep on the start of the LCQ, so we need to work on that, and we finished fourth. Then the first moto, it was really tough to get a good start from that far outside gate. I tried my best, but it was so hard. I dug through the pack up to 15th, and then they canceled the second moto. I really wanted to race, but it happens. We’ve always got next weekend.”
