Surprisingly Not Surprising

Justin Hill had the best night of his season in Foxborough, and by a long way. He was fifth in the early stages of the races before finishing ninth. Before last Saturday, his best finish was a 14th at the season opener. He also missed three races after getting landed on in Daytona and scored 17th when he came back at St. Louis. How all of this somehow adds up to his best result of the season is a mystery, but then again, so are most things with Justin Hill. He could nab a top five, or finish outside the top-15 in Nashville, and neither would be a surprise. Which Hill will we get this weekend? -Hansel

The Showdown

East meets West this weekend in the East/West Showdown, that combines both 250SX regions in one night of racing. Not only will it be fun to watch the best of both regions finally race each other, it’ll also be interesting to see what kind of points shakeups might take place. More talent on the gate means more guys have the potential to get in front of points leaders Cameron McAdoo and Levi Kitchen. It could also go in the complete opposite direction! How will the cards fall this Saturday night? -Hansel

Back in It?

Haiden Deegan really brought the heat in Foxborough, where he led every single of the main event to take his second career 250SX win. He still faces a 13-point deficit to McAdoo, but the win was a step in the right direction in clawing his way back into championship contention. And, with the volatile nature of the showdowns, the potential to make some big gains is there. How will Deegan’s championship picture look following Nashville?

Staying in It

Just four points separate Tom Vialle and McAdoo. That’s not much, but with the end of the season approaching, every point, and the opportunities to earn them, seem to take on additional value. So even though Vialle is still very much in it, this weekend has the potential to be a pivotal moment in his season. If he falters, and McAdoo wins, it could be extremely difficult to recover with just two more races left after Nashville. If he wins, it’ll put him in a much better position to compete for the title. -Hansel

Your Move, RJ

If there was ever a time for RJ Hampshire to make something happen, this is it. With just three 250SX West Region races remaining, he trails a surging Levi Kitchen by 15 points. And, with Kitchen standing head and shoulders above the rest of the 250SX West Region lately, Hampshire’s best bet at making up a meaningful number of points lies in the showdown this weekend in Nashville. If he can get a win, or somehow take at least seven or eight points out of Kitchen’s lead, his championship hopes will look a whole lot healthier going into the final two. -Hansel

Placing Bets

We have seen it time and time again, sometimes when it comes to the East/West Showdowns, it is not always the championship contenders that run away with the win. Think of Max Anstie in East Rutherford 2023 or Nate Thrasher in Salt Lake 2022. When you put all the best 250 riders on the track together anything can happen. And sometimes the title contenders have to play it safe, or they risk losing even more points. Will we see a surprise winner this weekend? -Sarah Whitmore

Doing The Splits

Interesting starting gate this weekend, the two sides are separated just enough to fit a single jump in between. As with any split gate it is even more important to get a good gate pick and be on an inside gate. -Whitmore