450 Storylines: Spring Creek Recap
HUNTER LAWRENCE: (1st; 1-1): The red plate has changed hands for the fourth time, as the #96 will hold it by a 10-point margin at Washougal. His 33rd career SMX League victory moves him past Haiden Deegan for 22nd all-time. Hunter’s fifth career 450SMX win in Pro MX places him top 30 all-time, tied with Jimmy Ellis, Tony DiStefano, & Greg Albertyn. Honda is seeking its 800th SMX League victory. It was the brand’s 390th Pro MX victory and its 182nd in the premier class, setting the pace among OEM’s in all of those categories.
HAIDEN DEEGAN: (2nd; 4-2):Earned the best result of his rookie campaign with a runner-up effort. He sits third in the standings, 62 points out of the lead going into Washougal. Made his 90th career SMX League start, but only his seventh in the premier class.
JETT LAWRENCE: (3rd; 2-5):Lost the red plate and settled for third overall with his second-lowest event total of the season. It was his 32nd premier class podium in Pro MX in 34 starts (94%) and his 94th podium in 131 SMX League starts (72%). Jett & Hunter have combined for 102 of Honda’s 799 all-time SMX League victories (13%). Jett has 69 wins for Honda, only 2 behind record holder Jeremy McGrath (71). Only James Stewart (Kawasaki; 85), Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki; 83), & McGrath have more wins for a single OEM.
NOTES: RJ Hampshire (4th; 3-4): Scored his second top 5 of the Pro MX season and his eighth in 18 career 450SMX starts in Pro MX. He is in a tight battle with Jorge Prado for fourth in the point standings.
Justin Barcia (5th; 5-8): Broke out in Minnesota with his first top 5 of the SMX League season. He’s no stranger to the top 5 in Pro MX, sitting seventh on the all-time list in 450SMX with 60. His 185th SMX League top 5 finish is good for 10th all-time.
Dylan Ferrandis (7th; 7-9): Made his 200th career SMX League start, capturing his 163rd top 10. He has 40 top 10’s in 46 career 450SMX starts in Pro MX.
Benny Bloss (8th; 10-10): Earned his first top 10 finish in Pro MX since the 2022 finale. It was his 40th top 10 in 163 SMX League starts.
450 Class: Washougal Facts
- HISTORY LESSON: The first 450SMX round at Washougal was on August 14, 1983, when a Yamaha mounted Rick Johnson scored the overall win with 2-1 finishes. Bob Hannah won the first moto, but a broken chain plagued the second. In 1983, Washougal served as the 25th round of the Grand National Championship, just like it’s the 25th round of the 2026 SMX World Championship.
- 4+ DECADES OF HISTORY: Washougal hosted 125cc & 500cc rounds exclusively before the 250cc division made its first appearances from 1983-1985. Given its late season positioning on the calendar, Washougal became a 125cc & 500cc round again from 1986-1993. The premier class returned for every season since 1994 (sans 2020). The 2026 event will be the 35th 450SMX round at Washougal.
- WASHOUGAL MOMENTS: Ricky Carmichael won 76 of the 88 premier class rounds of Pro MX he entered from 2000-2007 (86%), of which only 5 saw him fail to win a moto. Of those, Kevin Windham was responsible for 3 moto sweeps, two of which occurred at Washougal. It’s the only venue where Carmichael faced a 1-1 from another rider more than once… In the 500cc class, Pacific Northwest native Chuck Sun won the first ever Washougal National in front of the hometown crowd … In 1985, Honda and other factories shuffled their teams to gang up on Jeff Ward, creating unique opportunities for privateers AJ Whiting (125cc) & Eric Eaton (500cc) to secure the only victories of their careers. The plan did not work, as Ward won the first moto and clinched the title… In 2007, Washougal served as the precursor to James Stewart’s historic 2008 perfect season, as he suffered an injury that forced him out of action until the opening Pro MX round the following year.
- CHAMPIONSHIP AND OPENER %: The winner of 450SMX at Washougal has won the championship 18 times in 34 seasons (53%). Although Washougal never hosted a season opener in the 250cc/450cc class, it did kick off the 500cc championship 3 times (1990, 1992, & 1993).
250 Storylines: Spring Creek Recap
JULIEN BEAUMER: (1st; 1-4):Earned his first career Pro MX victory and second career SMX League* victory. Moved into second in the point standings (-24). He is the 98th different 250SMX winner in Pro MX and fourth first-time winner this season alone. KTM has multiple 250SMX victories in Pro MX for the first time since 2015 and its first back-to-back wins since Rounds 5 & 6 of that season with Marvin Musquin. It is the first time multiple KTM athletes scored 250SMX victories in Pro MX since 2013 with Musquin and Ken Roczen.
CHANCE HYMAS: (2nd; 9-1):Best finish and first podium of the Pro MX season and his first SMX League podium since the SX opener in Anaheim where he finished runner-up. Earned his first Pro MX podium and moto win since his victory at last year’s Thunder Valley round. It was his sixth career 250SMX podium in 27 Pro MX starts.
LEVI KITCHEN: (3rd; 8-2):Gained 27 points on Cole Davies to reclaim the red plate, putting distance between the 2 heading into the back half of the Pro MX season. Holds a +24 margin over Beaumer and +25 over Davies heading into Kitchen’s home race. He scored his fourth podium of the season and 18th of his 250SMX career in 53 Pro MX starts, good for 32nd all-time.
NOTES: Kayden Minear (4th; 3-6): Tied his career best from last week in fourth for his third top 5 in 4 rounds. The Star Yamaha rookie also moved into fourth in the standings.
Carson Mumford (5th; 11-3): Earned his first Pro MX top 5 finish in 42 attempts, including a podium in Moto 2. He now has 3 SMX League top 5 finishes in 81 starts.
Drew Adams (6th; 7-7): Earned his first top 10 of the season. Has improved finishes at each round since returning from an injury sustained during the SX season.
Michael Mosiman (12th; 2-39): Led most of Moto 1 until Beaumer hunted him down on the last lap. A DNF in Moto 2 ended his bid for the podium. Poised to make his 64th Pro MX start at Washougal.
Hunter Yoder (14th; 14-16): Made his 50th career SMX League start at Spring Creek and earned a career best Pro MX finish.
Bayler McKellar (33rd; 31-30), Wyatt McGrath (34th; 34-31), Deegan VanVreede (39th; 41-33), Jace Hinrichs (40th; 35-40), & Axel Neff (41st; 41-35): All made their first career SMX League starts at Spring Creek.
250 Class: Washougal Facts
- HISTORY LESSON: The first 250SMX round at Washougal was on July 6, 1980, when Suzuki’s Mark Barnett went 1-2 for the win. Chuck Sun (Honda) swept the 500cc class. There was no 250cc/450cc racing that day. Barnett & Sun each won their respective titles that season.
- 4 + DECADES OF HISTORY: Washougal has only missed the 250SMX schedule twice since the inaugural round in 1980 (1987 & 2020). That means 2026 will be the 45th 250SMX round at Washougal. Combined with 13 rounds of 500cc competition and 34 rounds of 450SMX, the 2026 National will be the 92nd and 93rd Pro MX rounds held at the scenic venue.
- GOOD ENOUGH: Joey Savatgy & Aaron Plessinger took the 250SMX wins at Washougal in 2017 & 2018 with very unconventional moto scores. In 2017, Savatgy earned the win going 7-1 (39 points). In 2018, Plessinger won with a 4-3 effort (38 points). They remain 2 of the lowest point totals scored for an overall winner in Pro MX history.
- CHAMPIONSHIP %: The winner of 250SMX at Washougal has won the title 21 times in 44 seasons (49%) and only 3 times in the previous 11 years. Haiden Deegan did so in 2024 but lost to Jo Shimoda at Washougal last season during Deegan’s second title run.
