The Progressive Honda star, Tomac and Roczen carry the 450 fight into Nissan Stadium for pivotal Round 13 battle, as Deegan celebrates sixth SMX league title
Round 13 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship heads to Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee on Saturday, April 11, and it arrives with momentum swinging in both classes after a pivotal night in St. Louis. With the season pressing deeper into its second half, Nashville has become the kind of round where the numbers start to matter and where a single result can drastically alter the points picture.
In the 250s, St. Louis belonged to Haiden Deegan, who put an exclamation mark on the night by wrapping up the 250SX Western Divisional Championship early, making it two straight Western titles for the Yamaha rider. Deegan now has 6 SMX League Championships, tying him with Cooper Webb, Broc Glover, Jeff Stanton, and Bob Hannah for 10th all-time. His win in St. Louis also carried another layer of significance, as his 13th career 250SX Class victory ties him with a slew of athletes for 2nd on the all-time 250SX Class wins list: Nathan Ramsey, Austin Forkner, Jeremy McGrath, and Jett Lawrence. With that, Deegan’s 31st SMX League victory is good for 24th all-time – sandwiched between Mike Kiedrowski and David Bailey, while Yamaha has collected their 60th SMX League Championship (26 MX, 32 SX, 2 Playoff).
While the West is now settled, the East remains very much alive and Nashville is next to host the latest chapter. Cole Davies exits St. Louis with the red plate after extending his Eastern Divisional points lead to 11 over Seth Hammaker, a margin earned with a third-place finish that also represented Davies’ ninth career podium and 13th top-five. His broader body of work is starting to look imposing too, with his SMX League totals listed as 5 wins 9 podiums, 13 top-5’s, & 17 top-10’s.
The 450 class rolls into Nashville on the back of a St. Louis round that reshaped the championship fight yet again. Ken Roczen nailed his 26th 450SX Class victory, and the win did more than add to a career total, it placing him only 5 points off the red plate. 50% (13/26) of Roczen’s 450SX Class wins have been aboard Suzuki, an important marker as he continues to build his case among the brand’s greatest winners.
Justin Cooper was another major St. Louis talking point with a heat race win and a runner-up finish in the main, underlining how he has become a more regular front-runner as the season wears on. Cooper recorded his milestone 50th 450SX Class start, and the numbers show he has been remarkably efficient in converting opportunities into strong results, sitting at top-10% (44/50, 88%). Nashville will also be a milestone weekend in a different way, with Cooper looking forward to making his 180th career SMX League start.
Hunter Lawrence also rebounded sharply in St. Louis, one weekend after the 2nd worst finish of his 450SX Class career. Lawrence claimed back a share of the red plate with his 9th podium of the season and 11th of his 450SX Class career (44th all-time), tying his brother Jett for 27th in all-time SMX League top-5 finishes with his 102nd, reinforcing how quickly both brothers are climbing the sport’s statistical ladder. Behind the podium. Jorge Prado’s fourth was his best finish since Anaheim 1.
As for Nashville itself, the venue holds happy memories for both Tomac and Lawrence. Eli Tomac won the first 450SX round held there on April 6, 2019, riding for Kawasaki. while in 2024 Jett Lawrence dominated the round as part of a stretch that pushed him toward the 250SMX crown.
With Round 13 already upon us, Nashville looms as a mid-season pressure chamber. The 250 class has already crowned its West champion, the East is tightening with Davies holding Hammaker at arm’s length, and the 450 title fight is so compressed that Roczen is within five points of Lawrence and Tomac (Tomac technically remains in the points lead by virtue of his four wins to Hunter’s 3), with Webb well in contention as well. If the recent history of Nashville has taught the paddock anything, it’s that this venue has a habit of hosting big turning points.
