There is no doubting, Hunter Lawrence is the man in the 2026 AMA supercross championship battle, but the older brother of Jett isn't having it all his way. One thing he can depend on, is racers at the age of Ken Roczen and Eli Tomac generally start to fade as the season reachs the half way mark, and the younger Aussie might take advantage of that this year.

HUNTER LAWRENCE: Extends his points lead to 9 with his 3rd career 450SX Class win and 2nd in-a-row. It was his 10th career 450SX Class podium in 29 tries and he seeks his 30th 450SX Class start in Detroit. Hunter earned an impressive milestone as he tied Tim Ferry for 27th in all-time SMX League* podiums with his 75th. He was making his 60th combined Supercross start (250SX/450SX) and scored his 15th Supercross victory, giving him a 25% winning percentage indoors. His 27th total SMX League victory already has him 27th all-time and 3 wins outside of the top-25.

KEN ROCZEN: Nailed his 82nd podium, passing Cooper Webb for 6th on the all-time 450SX Class podiums list. He made his 172nd 450SX Class start which is only one start behind Jeremy McGrath for 10th on the all-time 450SX Class starts list. Roczen is looking to become the 6th athlete in SMX League history to score 170 podiums if he can claim a spot on the box in Detroit. The veteran Suzuki athlete sits 31 points behind the red plate with 8 rounds remaining.

ELI TOMAC: After tangling up with Justin Cooper in his heat race, Tomac had to qualify through the LCQ. He easily scored his 4th career 450SX Class LCQ win, good for 45th all-time. He translated that into his 110th 450SX Class podium, which is only one behind McGrath for 2nd on the all-time list. He also tied McGrath for 3rd in 450SX Class top-5 finishes and extended his all-time record in SMX League top-5 finishes to 293.

NOTES: Justin Cooper (4th): 5th top-5 finish of the season for the Yamaha athlete sitting in 5th in the point standings. He has a 16/48 (33%) top-5 % in his 450SX Class career and converted 109/177 (62%) in his SMX League career. Malcolm Stewart (5th): Best finish of the season for Mookie and 29th 450SX Class top-5 finish in his 131 starts (22%). He ties Tim Ferry for 22nd in 450SX Class starts with his 131st. Colt Nichols (8th): First top-10 finish of the season, 7th in his 45 450SX Class starts, and 80th in his SMX League career. Jordon Smith (9th): First career 450SX Class top-10 finish in 4th start. Was making his 150th SMX League start and earned his 89th SMX League top-10 finish. Garrett Marchbanks (10th): Nailed his 2nd career 450SX Class top-10 finish and his 80th SMX League top-10 finish.

450 Venue Notes

HISTORY LESSON: The first 450SX Class round held in the Detroit Market was on March 26-27, 1976, in the Pontiac Silverdome. The 1976 season held 5 rounds with 18 combined motos, with the 3 middle rounds of Houston, Irving, and Pontiac hosting 2 motos on Friday and 2 on Saturday. Pierre Karsmakers (Yamaha) went 1-2 on Friday and won the first moto on Sunday, giving him the best chance to take the overall going into the final moto. Unfortunately, his pipe broke in half during the final moments of the race, losing 4 positions and the overall to Marty Smith (Honda) who scored 4-1-2-1 finishes. Jimmy Weinert’s (Kawasaki, 2-4-4-6) 3rd place finish positioned him favorably to win the title in the L.A. Coliseum finale.

SUPERCROSS TEMPLE DESTROYED: Pontiac hosted Supercross in the historic Silverdome almost every season from 1976-2005, sans 1985. Multiple rounds were held each season from 1977-1993 and 2000 which gave the Silverdome 46 450SX Class rounds. The last remnants of the Silverdome were brought down in 2018, but it stands as holding the third most 450SX Class rounds behind Angel Stadium and Daytona International Speedway.

MOTOR CITY: Ford Field in Detroit was built in 2002 and took over hosting Supercross in 2006, with James Stewart taking the first victory. 2026 will be the 13th time Ford Field will host a 450SX Class round and the 59th time between the Silverdome and Ford Field. The winner of the Ford Field 450SX Class has only won the title in 5/12 seasons, including each of the past 4 seasons with Cooper Webb (’25), Jett Lawrence (’24), Chase Sexton (’23), and Eli Tomac (’22). Before ’22, the Championship % was 1/8 at Ford Field. Pontiac’s 450SX Class winner took home the Championship exactly half of the time (23/46). Combined in the Detroit Market its 28/58 (48%).

SILVERDOME BOB: Bob Hannah holds the record for most consecutive 450SX Class wins at any venue, and he earned that record in Pontiac. Hurricane Hannah won 6 straight Main Events in the Silverdome from 1977-1979 (two per). Hannah earned 1/3rd (9/27) of his 450SX Class wins in the Silverdome after tacking on 3 more later in his esteemed career. Jeremy McGrath tied his record by winning 6 straight in Minneapolis from 1994-1999. 9 is also the most wins any 450SX Class athlete has at any venue.

250 Storylines

COLE DAVIES: After leading 9 laps in the Main Event, Davies was passed and ultimately beaten by his teammate Haiden Deegan. After the race concluded, Deegan was handed down a track-cutting penalty that swapped him with Davies in the results. This officially gives Davies his 4th career 250SX Class victory and back-to-back wins for the Eastern Divisional points leader. It was also his 7th podium in 13 250SX Class starts & he has the same number of wins and podiums in his 18 SMX League* starts. He will attempt to give Yamaha their 150th 250SX Class victory in Detroit.

HAIDEN DEEGAN: Scored his 13th career 250SX Class victory, which would have tied multiple athletes for 2nd all-time. Instead of that and his 6th straight win, Deegan must settle for a runner-up due to the track-cutting penalty. He did clinch multiple milestones even with his unfortunate win-cancelling cut: 80th career SMX League start, 55th SMX League podium (ties Trey Canard for 47th all-time), 75th SMX League top-10 finish, and moves into the top-10 all-time in 250SX Class podiums with his 23rd tying Zach Osborne, Christian Craig, Jett Lawrence, & Jeremy McGrath for 8th all-time.

SETH HAMMAKER: 2nd highest finishing Eastern Divisional athlete clinching his 13th podium in 33 250SX Class starts with a last lap pass. It was his 3rd straight podium and he only trails Davies by 6 points going into Detroit, where he seeks his 70th career SMX League start in Detroit.

NOTES: Jo Shimoda (4th): Moves into the top-50 all-time in SMX League top-5 finishes with his 86th, tying Mike Brown for 49th. Also ties Brown for 7th in all-time 250SX Class top-5 finishes with his 36th. Shimoda also moves into the top-10 in all-time 250SX Class top-5 finishes with his 52nd, tying Brock Sellards and Zach Osborne for 9th. Shimoda is only 9 points off the red plate in Eastern Divisional racing. Levi Kitchen (5th):Nails his 20th career 250SX Class top-5 finish in his 31st start. Moves into the 3rd in the Western Divisional standings. Max Vohland (8th):Made his 30th career 250SX Class start and 80th career SMX League start, earning his 25th 250SX Class top-10 finish.

250 Venue Notes

HISTORY LESSON: The first 250SX Class round held in the Detroit Market was on April 13, 1986, and Ron Tichenor (Kawasaki) won. Keith Turpin (Honda) traded leads with Tichenor a few times in the race, but Tichenor pulled away with a 6-second victory. The Silverdome hosted a separate round on Sunday, and this time Turpin wouldn’t be denied victory.

ALMOST DÉJÀ VU: Tichenor and Turpin returned as the cream of the crop in 250SX Class Eastern Divisional racing for 1987. For the 2nd consecutive season the now Suzuki teammates and Championship rivals split the Saturday/Sunday double header. Tichenor’s eighth place on Saturday gave Turpin 7 points back, but even with finishing the season out with consecutive victories Turpin fell a single point shy of back-to-back 250SX Class Eastern Divisional titles.

40+ ROUNDS: The double headers continued through the 1993 season and stood as important mid-season point standings battles for the Eastern Divisional 250SX Class. The Pontiac Silverdome ended with 29 250SX Class races from 1986-2005 before Ford Field began hosting the 250SX Class round in Detroit. The 2024 Ford Field 250SX Class round was the 40th in the Detroit Market and 2026 is the 42nd, and 13th in Ford Field.

CHAMPIONSHIP %: The double headers continued through the 1993 season and stood as important mid-season point standings battles for the Eastern Divisional 250SX Class. The Pontiac Silverdome ended with 29 250SX Class races from 1986-2005 before Ford Field began hosting the 250SX Class round in Detroit. The 2024 Ford Field 250SX Class round was the 40th in the Detroit Market and 2026 is the 42nd, and 13th in Ford Field.