The track is a pretty standard layout for a football stadium, with the lanes running back and forth along the length of the floor. The whoops are big, and there’s a small berm on the inside of the 90-degree turn leading into them. [Update: The small berm on the inside of this turn was removed before practice started.] At the end of the whoops there’s a small, three-jump obstacle. There’s a bigger hump, with two small ones on either side of it, before riders head into a 180-degree turn with the finish line jump immediately after. Depending on how this section shapes up, we could see some wild passes here!

Qualifying – Session One

There wasn’t a whole lot of action in the first 250SX qualifier. Cole Davies was quick initially, setting a 50.706, but it wasn’t long before Deegan busted out a 50.064. That time would end up standing for the rest of the session too, making Deegan, so far, the fastest 250SX qualifier. Julien Beaumer never seemed like he was completely on his game, and fifth-fastest was the best he could do, about a second-and-a-half slower than Deegan. Michael Mosiman made mistake and came up short on a jump in a rhythm lane, but he picked himself back up and seemed fine. In the B group Dilan Schwartz was quickest with a 52.277.

In 450 action Cooper Webb was fastest at first, but Chase Sexton lit the burners and took over the top spot with a 49.739. Webb would later bang out a 49.470, but it didn’t matter because Sexton had bettered his own time, dropping down to an astounding 49.192.

The track is pretty straightforward, in terms of options. One of the rhythm lanes was changed after media day yesterday and now instead of going two-three-two in one of the rhythm lanes, most guys are going two-two-three. Some riders, including Sexton, were actually going three-three-one, which looks faster. We’ll see if more riders start using that option in the second round of qualifiers later this afternoon. Henry Miller was fastest in the B group with a 52.209.

Qualifying – Session Two

No surprises to start off the second qualifying session, as Deegan was fast right away, dipping down under 50 seconds in his third lap with a 49.029. Two laps later however, Cole Davies lit the burners and recorded a 48.326. Julien Beaumer, who didn’t seem like he was operating at 100 percent in the first session, looked much better in this one, nearly matching Deegan on his sixth lap with a 49.088. Beaumer later had one of his fast laps ruined when another rider got in the way. He was putting in a fast one on his last lap, but backed out of it about three-quarters of the way through. Huge credit to Davies though, who was significantly faster than everyone else, Afterward he said he thinks the track is going to be gnarly, the track is breaking down a lot, and that it’s going to require a lot of precision.

When the 450s came out for their final session Chase Sexton was fast right away (48.590), but Cooper Webb edged him with a 48.669. Sexton pulled into the mechanic’s area for an adjustment after that, but it would be Justin Hill who would shoot to the top of the board next, logging a blazing 47.657. Nobody else was able to come close, and Hill would earn top honors as the fastest 450SX qualifier of the day. Shoutout to Justin Cooper too, second fastest with a 48.154!

The fastest laps came from guys going three-three-one in the second rhythm lane, so look for that option to likely be the preferred one tonight. The sand section is also something to keep an eye one. It’s collecting riders like crazy, including Webb, and it could play a pivotal role how tonight plays out.

Webb got into Jason Anderson a little bit during one of his laps. It looked accidental, but Anderson didn’t appreciate it and came back on Webb a couple turns later and forced him high in a berm, ruining his attempt at a fast lap. Time ran out that lap too, and Webb didn’t get another shot at it.

250SX LCQ

The 250SX LCQ gates dropped as we were set to find our final four riders for the three Triple Crown races tonight. It was Slade Varola with the holeshot, but Parker Ross took over the lead on the second lap. Josh Varize made a pass on Ross to take over P1 and Ross washed his front end in the turn after the finish line while going for a not-needed pass on Varize while running in second place. The #302 got shuffled back a handful of positions, but he kept fighting. Varize ran away with the race win as Wyatt Mattson, Derek Kelley, Gavin Towers, and TJ Albright all shuffled for a transfer position. Albright charged up to second as Towers took third from Mattson. Mattson went down in the sand and Kelley, Ross, and Towers were fighting for the final two transfer spots. Ross took over third and Towers entered the whoops in fifth behind Kelley but went full send mode into the final turn! Kelley tried to push Towers wide, but he was a little too nice, allowing the Honda rider to sneak past on the outside to take the final transfer spot. So, Varize, Albright, Ross, and Towers will make it to the Triple Crown races tonight! Impressive ride by Ross after he went down early in the race.

450SX LCQ

Kyle Chisholm had a great jump as the gates dropped to determine the final four 450SX transfers for tonight, but it was Grant Harland sneaking up the inside of the #11 to take over the early race lead. Scott Meshey was shuffled back on the opening laps, although a handful of riders went down in the whoops, which helped Meshey’s positioning. Henry Miller was in a transfer spot but went off the track in a crash, which ended his race early. Meshey blocked a charging Jeremy Hand, which caused Hand to clip Meshey’s rear end, sending the #68 to the ground and out of qualifying. Out front, Chisholm took over the lead from Harlan. Chisholm took the race win as Harlan, Starling, and Meshey. Meshey gave a huge fist pump as he rolled down the starting straight. Now, both the 250SX and 450SX fields are set for tonight!

250SX Race 1

The first official grate drop of the Triple Crown saw riders blast out of the gates and it was Jo Shimoda with the early lead! Shimoda tipped over in the sand, which handed the race lead to a battle between Coty Schock and Jordon Smith. Both Schock and Smith lead but it appeared late the race win would go to Smith. Unfortunately, one turn before taking the white flag, Smith had a wild crash in the whoops. Haiden Deegan, running second behind Smith, inherited the lead and then came by the following lap to take the race win as Smith was being tended to by the Alpinestars medical crew.

Deegan took the race win over Schock and Michael Mosiman in an all-Yamaha podium to start the night. Smith was placed on a backboard and lifted onto the Alpinestars medical cart. The North Carolina native raised both of his arms straight up to acknowledge the crowd, who cheered.

Read: Smith Update After Wild Crash in Whoops in 250SX Triple Crown Race One at Arlington SX

450SX Race 1

Justin Cooper got the early holeshot over Ken Roczen and Aaron Plessinger. Chase Sexton jumped into third as Plessinger went backwards but suddenly Sexton was challenged by today's fastest qualifier, Justin Hill! Cooper was holding Roczen at bay until late in the race when Roczen finally made a pass. Jason Anderson was inside the top five battling until he went down in the sand and dropped out of the top ten. A mistake from the #94 allowed Cooper to close up on the race leader, but Roczen blasted through the whoops one last time, which was the breathing room on Cooper he needed to take the race win. Justin Barcia made his way up to fifth as Cooper Webb came through sixth. The has been causing problems for guys all day long and we expect it to as the night continues. 

250SX Race 2

The gates dropped on the second race and Michael Mosiman was leading early. Garrett Marchbanks shuffled into second ahead of Coty Schock. In the first turn, Cole Thompson ran in hard in the first turn and Cole Davies went down after some contact. Haiden Deegan got to work and after an early battle with championship leader Julien Beaumer, Deegan charged forward and onto the podium. Eventually, Deegan bested Mosiman late in the race and took his second straight win to start the night. This sets him up with one-one finishes heading into the third and final race.

450SX Race 2

The second 450SX race got underway and again, it was once again Justin Cooper with the early lead! This time, the #32's company was both championship leaders: Chase Sexton and Cooper Webb. Ken Roczen was eighth early. The top three were jumping the whoops and as Cooper went to the outside in the sand turn, Sexton jumped to the inside and into the lead! However, a mistake from Sexton in the next section allowed Cooper to retake the lead and close the door on Sexton. As Cooper took the line away from the #4, Sexton’s front wheel caught on Cooper’s rear wheel, sending Sexton down! Cooper took off as Webb and Hill snuck by as the KTM remounted in fourth. Webb caught his teammate and made a pass into the lead as Jason Anderson and Justin Barcia came together and Barcia’s leg got stuck in the back of Anderson’s bike! That cost both of them tons of spots. Roczen made his way up to fifth as Sexton charged up to the rear wheel of the #2! Webb was able to hang on to take the race win. Sexton's 3-2 finishes and Cooper's 2-3 finishes are tied heading into the third and final race. Roczen's 1-5 sits third and Webb's 6-1 sits fourth over Hill's 4-4. This will likely be a winner-takes-all in the final race to determine the overall. So far, Arlington has lived up to the hype!

250SX Race 3

Haiden Deegan entered the third 250SX race with 1-1 finishes, so he did not necessarily have to win this race in order to take the overall win. The gates dropped and it was Coty Schock out front early ahead of Julien Beaumer and Cole Davies. Davies passed Schock in the whoops and ran away with the race win. Deegan charged past Schock and moved into third place, then going after Beaumer. The two rivals (Beaumer and Deegan) got into a block passing fest and stood each other up a few times but eventually Deegan was able to make a pass in the turn after the whoops section. By the time Deegan got into second, his teammate Davies was too far ahead. Plus, Deegan did not have to win the race for the overall. Davies took the race win with a huge whip, but his 4-17-1 finishes would land him seventh overall. Deegan’s 1-1-2 would score the overall win, becoming the first repeat 250SX winner so far this season. Schock would hold off Michael Mosiman in the final turn, which would score Schock second overall—his first career podium finish—as Mosiman finished third overall (2-4-6 for Schock to Mosiman’s 3-2-7). Beaumer finished 6-8-4 for sixth overall and the Arizona native gives up the points lead to new championship leader Deegan.

450SX Race 3

The third and final 450SX race began and we were setup for a barn burner to finish the night AND determine the overall winner. Chase Sexton (five points), Justin Cooper (five points), Ken Roczen (six points), and Cooper Webb (seven points) were all able to win the overall as well Justin Hill (eight points)! So much happened on the night and in this race, it was hard to keep track of it all!

The gates dropped for the final time on the night, and it was Aaron Plessinger, Shane McElrath, and Ken Roczen out front. Plessinger had an early mistake, which cost him. Roczen took over the lead as riders shuffled. Sexton moved into third behind Jason Anderson and Roczen. Sexton got by Anderson, as did a charging Cooper Webb, too. Sexton ran down Roczen and they engaged in a battle for the lead. Webb joined the party, too. Then, Sexton stalled his KTM coming out of the 180-degree turn! Webb, who had just passed Roczen, inherited the lead! Still, Sexton was in position for the overall win. Roczen momentarily snuck by, but Sexton got back to second with Anderson suddenly right behind both of them! Sexton kept charging forward, right up to the rear fender of Webb. Literally. Sexton clipped Webb in a turn, then got ran over by lapped rider Mitchell Harrison, who went wide to get passed easily but had nowhere to go and ran over Sexton’s legs when the KTM rider was suddenly on the ground directly in front of him.

If it was not bad enough, then Sexton was block passed by Justin Barcia in the final turn, so he came through fifth at the checkered flag. The forced move by Sexton was a costly mistake. Instead of backing it down, taking second, and the win, and remaining in the points lead, he gives Webb the win AND sole possession of the championship lead.

Sexton pulled off the track and put his hand in his face as he sat on the side of a berm near the podium as everyone ran over to circle the #2 machine. Webb’s 6-1-1 scored him first, Roczen’s 1-5-3 scored him second, and Sexton’s 3-2-5 was third overall. Justin Cooper and Justin Hill rounded out the top five overall. Webb leads round seven with a five-point gap over Sexton.