450 Storylines:
HUNTER LAWRENCE: Becomes the 70th different 450SX Class winner while making his 26th 450SX Class start. Also is the 31st athlete with 25 career SMX League* wins, tying Jean-Michel Bayle and Doug Henry. It stands as only the 11th time in Supercross history both classes had a 1st time winner, and first since Sexton (450SX)/Mosiman (250SX) did it on 1/22/2022 in San Diego. The Lawrence brothers (Jett & Hunter) are now the 2nd set of brothers to score 450SX Class victories just a year after Malcolm Stewart won Tampa, creating the category with big brother James. Lawrence is the 8th athlete to score 25+ SMX League victories aboard a Honda and the 23rd to win his 1st 450SX Class round on the brand, which is the all-time record by 5 over Yamaha.
ELI TOMAC: Nabbed his 107th 450SX Class podium (3rd all-time) & 236th SMX League podium (1st all-time). He also scored his 137th 450SX Class top-5 finish (4th all-time) & 290th SMX League top-5 finish (1st all-time). Tomac lined up for his 191st start, moving past Larry Ward and Justin Brayton for 5th all-time (376th SMX League start, 1st all-time). Tomac has followed up a runner-up finish with a victory 8 times in 30 attempts in his 450S Class career, but is zero for his last 9 attempts.
COOPER WEBB: Earns his 8th consecutive Rd. 7 podium and ties Ken Roczen for 7th all-time with his 80th 450SX Class podium. It was his 105th 450SX Class top-5 finish (8th all-time) & milestone 175th career SMX League top-5 finish, becoming only the 11th athlete in history to hit that mark. He was also making his 146th 450SX Class start, good for 16th all-time.
NOTES: Ken Roczen (4th): Made 315th career SMX League start earning 233rd SMX League top-5 finish (112/169 in 450SX Class career). He is one top-5 away from tying Kevin Windham for 4th on the all-time SMX League top-5’s list. Justin Cooper (5th): Made his 45th 450SX Class start and earned his 14th 450SX Class top-5 finish. Seeking 175th career SMX League start in Daytona. Chase Sexton (6th): Made 85th career 450SX Class start (209th in SMX League). It was his 63rd consecutive 450SX Class Start, only 11 starts from it being a top-10 all-time longest streak. Joey Savatgy (7th): Earned 40th career 450SX Class top-10 finish in 62 starts (157/228 in SMX League career). Dylan Ferrandis (10th): Made milestone 450SX Class start #65 and SMX League start #185. 48th top-10 in 450SX Class & 152nd in SMX League career. Vince Friese (15th): Moves into 22nd all-time in 450SX Class starts with 130. Can tie Tim Ferry for 21st in Daytona. Kevin Moranz (17th): Popular privateer makes his 45th career 450SX Class start.
450 Venue Notes:
- HISTORY LESSON: On March 9, 1974, at Daytona International Speedway 40 athletes competed in the first points-paying 450SX Class round. It was formatted like modern day Triple Crown rounds. Holland’s Pierre Karsmakers (Yamaha) scored the overall (2-1-1) and clinched the Championship the following weekend. Buck Murphy (Penton) nailed a runner-up (8-3-3) and finished 3rd in the final points. Jim Pomeroy (1-40-28) was the fastest bike on track winning the first ever Supercross moto but struggled with mechanicals and wrecks that resulted in 40-28 finishes in the 2nd and 3rd motos.
- TRADITION CONTINUES: Daytona International Speedway has appeared in every season of Supercross. The 2026 Daytona Supercross will be the 53rd running of the historic event, which is second all-time in 450SX Class races held only to Anaheim’s Angel Stadium. Including the 1971-1973 Daytona Pro Motocross rounds, 2026 is the 56th consecutive season of racing at the historic Speedway. “D.I.S.” has held motorsport events since 1959.
- CHANGING OF THE GUARD: In 2006 Ricky Carmichael won his 5th 450SX Class Daytona Supercross, replacing Jeff Stanton for most wins at the Speedway. Carmichael held that record for 15 seasons before Eli Tomac broke it in 2022. Tomac created separation with his 7th win and 5th in a row in 2023. Last season (due to injuries) there were 0 former Daytona 450SX Class winners lining up for only the 4th time in history (’75, ’96, ’04, & ‘25). With Ken Roczen’s (Suzuki) win last year and Eli Tomac being healthy, we have 2 former winners lining up in 2026. Tomac’s 7 wins ties Richard Petty’s NASCAR record for wins at Daytona, and one more win could make Tomac the winningest athlete in Daytona’s Motorsport history.
- CHAMPION %: The winner of the Daytona Supercross has won the 450SX Class title in 25/52 (48%) seasons and only 5 of the last 12. Last year Roczen gave Suzuki their first Daytona victory since Chad Reed in 2009, but he was unable to win the title.
250 Storylines:
PIERCE BROWN: Wins the Eastern Divisional Opener to earn his first career 250SX Class victory in his 37th start. Was making his first Supercross appearance since wrecking while leading the 2025 Eastern Divisional Opener in Tampa. Brown becomes the 127th different 250SX Class winner in the 650th round of 250SX Class racing. It was his 5th podium in 37 250SX Class starts and 6th podium in 85 SMX League starts. Brown is the 28th athlete to earn his first 250SX Class victory on Yamaha.
JO SHIMODA: Earns 12th podium in 52nd 250SX Class start after an incredible return from an off-season neck injury. It was his 46th SMX League podium which is good for 54th all-time. His 33rd top-5 finish moves him past a host of former athletes and into 9th all-time. Shimoda is one top-5 finish away from tying David Bailey for 50th on the all-time SMX League Top-5 list.
DAXTON BENNICK: Becomes only the 5th athlete in 250SX Class history to score a podium in 3 consecutive Eastern Divisional Openers: Ezra Lusk (’92-’94), Tim Ferry (’94-’97, 4 in-a-row), Justin Barcia (’10-’12), & most recently Max Anstie (’23-’26, 4 in-a-row). His Opener podiums stand as the only 3 podiums of his career across 250SX Class & SMX League action (16 250SX Class starts & 38 SMX League starts). It is also the first time Husqvarna has been on the podium for an Eastern Divisional Opener since 2018 when Zach Osborne kicked off his title run with a win in Arlington.
NOTES: Seth Hammaker (4th): 30th career 250SX Class start, 19th top-5, & 25th SMX League top-5 finish. Cole Davies (5th): 10th 250SX Class start, 8th top-5. Drew Adams (6th): Is now 4/4 in 250SX Class starts/top-10 finishes. Devin Simonson (8th): Ties a career best SMX League and 250SX Class finish from Indy 2021. Kyle Peters (10th): 17th season with a 250SX Class start ties Greg Schnell and Kyle Cunningham for 3rd all-time, only behind Martin Davalos (18) & Barry Carsten (19). His 75th 250SX Class start is 9th all-time, and one start away from tying RJ Hampshire, Jordon Smith, & Nathan Ramsey for 6th all-time. His 47th top-10 finish ties him with David Pingree for 18th all-time. John Short (18th): Milestone 250SX Class start #35 & SMX League start #100.
250 Venue Notes:
- HISTORY LESSON: The first 250SX Class round held in Daytona was on March 6, 1985. It was the 6th 250SX Class round ever and 2nd Eastern Divisional round ever. Eddie Warren (Kawasaki) won for his 2nd of 3 wins in his Eastern Divisional title run.
- DAYTONA BLUES: Incredibly, Star Yamaha has not won a 250SX Class round in Daytona since Jeremy Martin in 2016, though they had a good run with Eli Tomac in the 450SX Class at Daytona. Pierce Brown, Cole Davies, Nate Thrasher, & rookie Caden Dudney look to break the drought for one of the Premier teams in the sport. The struggles reach further than that, however. Star Yamaha hasn’t scored a runner-up finish and scored only three 3rd place finishes in that time span: 2023 Haiden Deegan, 2019 Justin Cooper, & 2017 Dylan Ferrandis. This lines up with their lack of success in the Eastern Divisional, having won only 1 East title in team history (Colt Nichols 2021). This is an incredible drop off from their 9 Western Divisional titles, including the last 2 years in-a-row and shooting for a 3rd.
- 40+ LARGE: Daytona has held a 250SX Class round in every 250SX Class season. 2025 was the 41st 250SX Class round held at the Speedway. In 2023 the Daytona Supercross was the 600th 250SX Class round. Daytona also hosted the 500th round of 250SX Class racing in 2017. Daytona just missed hosting more milestones, as last week Arlington held 250SX Class rd. #650 & next week Indianapolis will hold Eastern Divisional rd. #350.
- CHAMPIONSHIP %: The winner of the 250SX Class in Daytona has won the Championship in 25/41 (62%) seasons. Vialle completed this feat in the 2024 season and became the 6th athlete to win his first 250SX Class round in Daytona. Last year RJ Hampshire won Daytona, blocking eventual Champion Vialle from completing this feat 2 years in-a-row.