450 Storylines:
ELI TOMAC: Grabs his 55th 450SX Class win and 111th SMX League* win while earning his 1st back-to-back 450SX Class win streak since Rd. 11-12 in 2023. Tomac’s 104th 450SX Class podium is now only 7 behind Jeremy McGrath, who sits 2nd all-time with 111. Tomac has also pulled to 17 victories short of McGrath’s all-time 450SX Class wins record (72-55). In both of Tomac’s previous title runs (2020 & 2022), he didn’t podium in either the 1st or 2nd rounds. He has bucked that trend with victories in each of the 1st two races.
HUNTER LAWRENCE: Closing towards a victory, Lawrence comes through with his 3rd career 450SX Class podium and 68th SMX League podium (Tying Blake Bagget for 31st all-time).His runner-up finish ties his best career 450SX Class finish of 2nd in Denver 2024. Lawrence is only 10 points off the red-plate through the 1st two rounds.
KEN ROCZEN: Starts his season off with back-to-back podiums for the 1st time since 2019. 165th SMX League podium (6th all-time) and 78th 450SX Class podium (7th all-time). Suzuki has now been on the podium for each of the first two rounds for the 1st time since 2015, with Roczen accounting for both occurrences.
NOTES: Chase Sexton (4th): Made 80th 450SX Class start and nailed 62nd top-5, tying Ezra Lusk, Marvin Musquin, & Davi Millsaps for 20th all-time. Joey Savatgy (5th): 8th career 450SX Class top-5 & 60th career SMX League Top-5 finish. Justin Cooper (6th): 40th career 450SX Class start & 35th top-10. He has a 92% top-10 percentage in his SMX League career (155/169). Aaron Plessinger (7th): 75th career 450SX Class top-10 finish (33rd all-time). RJ Hampshire (12th): 200th career SMX League start, 3rd in 450SX Class.
450 Venue Notes:
- HISTORY LESSON: On December 4, 1976, Marty Smith (Honda) won the first 450SX Class round in Angel Stadium. Supercross returned to Angel Stadium every year except for 1980, 1988, 1997, 1998, and 2021. Eli Tomac (KTM) scored the A1 victory in the 2026 series opener.
- CHAMPION’S CIRCLE: An incredible 17/26 (65%) A2 winners scored the 450SX Class title in that season, but Cooper Webb and Jett Lawrence have failed to do so in the previous two seasons. Before 2024, A2 winners were on a 4-season Championship streak (excluding 2021 when there was no Anaheim). From 2003-2010 the winner of A2 won the title an incredible 8 seasons in-a-row.
- GET A BROOM: There have only been 5 Anaheim sweeps in 26 years of multiple rounds in Anaheim. The first two seasons included sweeps from Lusk (1999, Honda) and McGrath (2000, Yamaha). Years later James Stewart (2007, Kawasaki) and Chad Reed (2008, Yamaha) incredibly scored three-round Anaheim sweeps. Ryan Villopoto (2012, Kawasaki) was the most recent Anaheim sweeper. Tomac is looking to become #6 and the first to do it on a KTM.
- A2: On February 6, 1999, Angel Stadium hosted the first Anaheim 2 and Ezra Lusk (Honda) took the checkers. The victory doubled as the first Anaheim sweep as Lusk won the Anaheim Opener as well. 2026 will mark the 27th “A2”.
250 Storylines:
HAIDEN DEEGAN: Making his 75th career SMX League start, Deegan nails his 8th 250SX Class victory (24th all-time) and 26th SMX League victory (26th all-time). He also captured the red-plate from his teammate Max Anstie by a single point. Deegan is the 53rd athlete in 250SX Class history with 50 SMX League podiums, tying Adam Cianciarulo and Mike Brown for 51st all-time.
CAMERON MCADOO: Earns first podium since February 8th, 2025 at Tampa. After finishing last place at A1, McAdoo ties for 5th all-time with his 24th career 250SX Class podium. He made his 54th 250SX Class start, good for 33rd all-time.
MICHAEL MOSIMAN: Made his 60th career 250 Class start (21st all-time) scoring his 11th career 250SX Class podium & 15th SMX League podium. He also earns his 25th 250SX Class top-5 finish which moves him into the top-25 all-time, tied with H. Lawrence & others for 24th all-time.
NOTES: Levi Kitchen (4th):Even with 6th and 4th place finishes to start the season, Kitchen is only 9 points off the red-plate going into A2. It was his 16th career 250SX Class top-5 finish in 26 starts. Max Anstie (5th): Only one point behind Deegan for the points lead. Anstie also earned his 16th top-5 in 41 starts. Chance Hymas (6th): Also right in the thick of the points, Hymas made his 25th 250SX Class start and 20th top-10 finish. Max Vohland (8th): Also earned his 20th top-10 in 25th start but additionally made 75th SMX League start. Dilan Schwartz (9th): Also made his 75th career SMX League start.
250 Venue Notes:
- HISTORY LESSON: The first 250SX Class round held in Anaheim was on February 2, 1985, and Mike Healey (Suzuki) won.250SX Class racing continued in Angel Stadium every season except for 1988, 1997, 1998, and 2021. This will be the 79th time the gate will drop for a 250SX Class race in Angel Stadium. Max Anstie (Yamaha) won the Anaheim Opener to kick off the 2025 250SX Class Western Divisional.
- CHAMPION’S CIRCLE: The winner of Anaheim 2 has won the Western Divisional 250SX Class title in 16/26 (62%) seasons. Deegan added to this number last season, using A2 as a spring board for his 2025 title run. Incredibly, from 2003-2007 every Anaheim 2 winner in both 250SX and 450SX Classes won their Championship.
- GET A BROOM: Levi Kitchen scored the 7th 250SX Class Anaheim sweep in 2024, by winning the Anaheim Opener and the A2 Triple Crown. Previously, Ernesto Fonseca (Yamaha) had nailed the first 250SX Class Anaheim sweep in 2001. Ivan Tedesco (2004, Kawasaki), Villopoto (2007, Kawasaki), Josh Hansen (2011, Kawasaki), Webb (2016, Yamaha), and Christian Craig (2022, Yamaha) also completed the feat before Kitchen. Haiden Deegan and Jo Shimoda split Anaheim last season, and Anstie will attempt for the 8th sweep in Anaheim history.
- A2: The first 250SX Class Anaheim 2 was on February 6, 1999, and Nathan Ramsey (Kawasaki) won. Anaheim 2 has returned in every Western Divisional 250SX Class season except for 2021, and stands to make its 27th appearance, just like the 450SX Class.