450 Storylines: High Point Recap

JETT LAWRENCE: Scored his 19th career Premier Class victory with a 1-3 effort at High Point. It was his 59th career SMX League* victory (10th all-time) & 78th career SMX League podium. It marks the fourth straight season in which Honda has earned 4+ victories, a first for the brand, which places them alongside Kawasaki (2017-2020) as the only other OEM to achieve this feat.

HUNTER LAWRENCE: Captured his 11th podium in his 15th 450 Class start, including his seventh runner-up result. Only Davi Millsaps, Aaron Plessinger, and Andrew Short have more 450 Class podiums without a win. Hunter is the only athlete in premier class history with a 100% top 5 finishing percentage among athletes with more than one career start. Ricky Carmichael is second on the list at 97.7% (86/88).

ELI TOMAC: Claimed his 75th career 450 Class podium with a 5-1 day at High Point. It was his milestone 100th career Pro Motocross podium and adds to his SMX League* record of 224 career podiums. He sits second in the point standings, 28 points behind Jett Lawrence.

NOTES: Aaron Plessinger (4th): His 28th career top 5 finish moves him into the top 30 all-time. He has 4 straight top 5 finishes to open a season for the first time in his 450 Class career.

Justin Cooper (5th): Made his 85th career Pro Motocross start (15th in 450 Class) and earned the 12th top 5 finish of his 450 Class career.

Joey Savatgy (6th): Equaled the second-best finish of his 450 Class career, having also finished sixth at Red Bud in 2022 & Budds Creek in 2021.

Coty Shock (9th): Secured his first top-10 finish in the 450 Class since Round 11 of 2021 season.Fredrik Noren (18th): Tied Mike LaRocco and Kyle Lewis for second on the all-time 450 Class starts list. Trails record holder John Dowd by 8 starts with 7 rounds remaining.

450 Class: The Wick 338 Facts

• HISTORY LESSON: The first 450 Class race at The Wick 338 was on June 6, 1976, and served as the season finale for the premier class. Pierre Karsmakers, tasked with competing in the 500cc class for Honda, piloted his new RC250 through the sand to sweep the field. Tony DiStefano (Suzuki) had already wrapped the title up going into Southwick and scored a runner-up finish with 4-2 finishes.
• DECORATED LEGACY: This season will mark the 44th running of Pro Motocross at The Wick, which is one of the sport’s most storied venues as the premier and longest running sand track in the U.S. The track was not on the schedule from 1983-1985, 2014-2015, and in 2020. Only twice has the overall winner not scored at least one moto win – Jeff Ward (2-3 in 1988) & Brett Metcalfe (3-2 in 2011).
• IRONMAN OF THE SAND: At the age of 20, local legend John Dowd, of Chicopee, MA, decided he wanted to try his hand at motocross. Two years later he lined up at The Wick in the premier class, finishing 13-21 for 20th overall. A year later he improved with 7-18 moto finishes for 12th overall. In 25 combined starts at The Wick, Dowd collected 2 overall wins (one in each class), 9 podiums, 11 top 5s, and 20 top 10s. In 2009, at age 44, Dowd became the oldest athlete to earn a 450 Class podium. He made his final start two years later at 46 years old, finishing 23rd.
• CHAMPIONSHIP %: The winner of the 450 Class at Southwick has won the title 27 times in 43 seasons (63%), including 3 of the last 4 years with Eli Tomac, Dylan Ferrandis, and Jett Lawrence. An incredible run saw the Southwick winner go on to capture the title all but once over a 24-year stretch between 1980-2004.

250 Storylines: High Point Recap

HAIDEN DEEGAN: Earned his landmark 10th career win, tying him for 15th all-time with Mike Kiedrowski and Ron Lechien. Deegan became the 40th athlete in history with 20 career SMX League* wins, tying Adam Cianciarulo, Jimmy Weinert, and Steve Lamson.

TOM VIALLE: Captured his 11th podium in 26 career starts with a runner-up finish. He sits fifth in the point standings entering Southwick, which is 1 of the 2 tracks he’s been triumphant during his Pro MX career. Earned his 50th SMX League top 10 finish in 61 starts.

LEVI KITCHEN: Extended his podium streak to 3 in-a-row following a 2-6 effort. It signifies his 12th career Pro MX podium in 39 starts and his 25th SMX League podium in 69 starts.

NOTES: Chance Hymas (4th): Earned his 12th career Pro MX top 5 finish and 20th SMX League top 5 finish but will miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury suffered on the last lap at High Point.

Garrett Marchbanks (5th): Secured his 4th career 250 Class top 5 finish.

Jo Shimoda (6th): Made his 60th career start and earned his 49th top 10 finish.

Seth Hammaker (7th): Returned to action with a top-10 finish.

Ty Masterpool (11th): Made his 45th 250 Class start and 70th SMX League start. Reid Taylor (25th): Former Australian Junior SX Champion just missed scoring points in both motos with a 22-22 debut.

250 Class: The Wick 338 Facts

• HISTORY LESSON: The first 250 Class race at The Wick 338 was on May 7, 1978, when Broc Glover (Yamaha) stole the points lead from Mark Barnett (Suzuki) with a sweep of the motos. Barnett, who held a slim 4-point lead entering the round, suffered engine failures in both motos due to the infamous sand. Glover parlayed a 46-point swing to his advantage and cruised to the championship.
• ON THE CUSP OF 4 DECADES: The 250 Class has run linear with 450 Class at The Wick 338 since the 1986 season, with this year marking 39th time the division will compete at Southwick. Just like the 450 Class, only twice has an athlete not won at least one moto when capturing the overall – Steve Lamson (2-2 in 1995) & Tyla Rattray (2-2 in 2010).
• SAND GOATS: Ricky Carmichael achieved 10 overall victories at Southwick, surpassing all other athletes in track history by a significant margin. From 1997-2002, the Southwick faithful witnessed many notable performances: Carmichael winning as a rookie 1997, followed by local legend John Dowd in 1998. Carmichael won again in 1999, followed by Travis Pastrana’s first and last Pro MX wins in 2000 & 2001. In 2002, James Stewart with 30-1 for sixth in his Southwick debut as Danny Smith captured an unexpected victory with 1-5 scores.
• CHAMPIONSHIP %: The winner of the 250 Class at Southwick has won the title 20 times in 38 seasons (53%) and 7 of the last 10 years, including Haiden Deegan last season. This feat only happened twice during the 2000’s (2004 with James Stewart & 2008 with Ryan Villopoto). With all divisions combined (250cc, 450cc, 500cc) there have been 84 rounds and 168 motos of Pro Motocross held at The Wick 338.