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2026 Supercross Round 10 Birmingham East West Showdown 250 West Qualifier 1
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00:00If you make a mistake, it can all go down the drain in such a hurry, and for us, it's
00:05so fun to watch these guys.
00:06All right, here we go. Western Division, there's your points leader right there by 35 points.
00:11What's your storylines here on the West?
00:13Well, what I said off the top, Hayden Deegan chasing history.
00:15It's been 19 years since Ryan Villopoto won six in a row in this class,
00:21and there's a reason why it hasn't been done in so long.
00:24Hayden Deegan has made that step in Supercross.
00:27He was great in Outdoors in year two, but he is truly great in Supercross this year.
00:32He is the benchmark for this class, but we saw Levi Kitchen in Seattle, his hometown race.
00:38He made a race of it with Hayden Deegan, and I think when Levi's comfortable, when he's having a good
00:44day,
00:44he gets a good start, when everything lines up, I do think he has the speed necessary to challenge Hayden
00:50for a win.
00:51But what we've seen with Hayden, he's so mentally strong at the end of these races.
00:56For Levi to beat Hayden, I think Levi's going to have to find even a new level of speed.
01:02He's going to have to get a start, and it's going to have to not be a race at all
01:06for him to win.
01:07But you've seen, in my opinion, this is the best he's looked on Supercross so far.
01:13Still winless.
01:14You know he wants to get one on the board before we go outdoors.
01:17And finally, Max Anstey came out, dominated the opener in Anaheim, had a great race going in San Diego.
01:24We know how that ended up.
01:26Struggled with some health stuff.
01:27He got his appendix removed after Seattle.
01:30So now that Max is healthy, I'm interested to see, can he get those starts back?
01:35Can he get the speed back and be up towards the front of the race?
01:39Love to see these Western Division guys back at it.
01:42This is the East-West Showdown here today.
01:44Round 10 here in Birmingham.
01:46This West Qualifier number one is fueled by Amazon.
01:49This man right here, he's qualified fastest five out of the six times this season.
01:53The only one that he didn't qualify fastest was Anaheim 1.
01:56And you mentioned Levi Kitchen has had some of the best speed.
01:59Well, he brought it to start the season and has had speed all season long.
02:03But five fast qualifiers for Hayden Deegan this season in 2026, AC.
02:07And I've said it time and time again, but what he is able to do on all conditions,
02:12it could be dry and slick, it could be sandy, it could be ruddy.
02:15The way that he rides the bike, the way that he adapts to every condition,
02:20I think is one of his biggest strengths.
02:22It doesn't matter how the track is, the guy just figures it out.
02:26I'm interested to see, there's a lot of ruts in this turn,
02:28but yesterday went to the left-hand side, went over, and then there we go, table over two.
02:33On cue, folks, Adam Ciancerillo absolutely nails it.
02:38You think that's going to be faster?
02:40I do, I do, because I think tripling into that inside,
02:44I think that inside is going to be the line at the end of the race.
02:47And when you triple into the inside, you're just carrying a little bit too much speed.
02:52You've got to kind of get on the brakes hard when you land,
02:54so doubling into that corner to the inside, I think it might be a little bit faster,
02:59a little more consistent.
03:00Also, sometimes it's not all about even if it's a tenth slower,
03:03but body-wise it's less physical.
03:05That line is going to be a little less physical as well.
03:08Oh, JB, you know I love a good table over two.
03:11Get a bunch of hang time, take a couple breaths, get the heart rate a little bit lower.
03:16Let's see, he's about to put together another fast one here.
03:18I want to see his line in the corner before.
03:23All right, here he goes, the 1W on a fast one right here.
03:26He goes a little bit lower.
03:27He still goes onto the table, onto the next one off,
03:30and that uses a lot of energy right there,
03:31and then it puts you into a five-footer, which sends you pretty high.
03:34So I love that section right there.
03:37We're going to pay attention to it all day long here in qualifying.
03:39And this is where we were talking about it's a little bit looser,
03:42a little more hard pack on this side of the track right here.
03:45Yeah, and it makes your front end feel very nervous going into that loose stuff,
03:51especially because you have to carry so much speed the way those corners are laid out.
03:55So completely different dirt on that side of the racetrack
03:59than what we're seeing on your screen right now.
04:01You see Max Anstey on the bottom right-hand side of your screen.
04:04You mentioned he had a little bit of an illness last time we've seen him.
04:07He got on the podium at Seattle,
04:08but he was coughing like crazy on the podium there while he was sick.
04:12He had a little illness, was able to get his appendix taken out.
04:16He's been joking about it.
04:17He's a little bit lighter now, so maybe the starts will be even better.
04:20And I was talking a little to Hayden Deegan yesterday,
04:22and we were kind of joking around because Max Anstey after San Diego,
04:26if you remember, I remember watching a post-race interview,
04:29and he's like, well, you know, I'm going to get,
04:31I'm still going to get every hole shot.
04:33Like, Hayden Deegan's going to have to pass me.
04:35And Hayden was joking because he said he basically just copied
04:39exactly what Max Anstey does on the starts,
04:42and you've seen that.
04:43Hayden, to start the year, that was his only weakness, the starts,
04:46but it's been completely flipped the second half of the year so far.
04:51You see that outside line pretty dry out there.
04:54Case, that triple out of the corner.
04:56I'm really curious if this rhythm lane right here starts to,
04:59guys start doing different rhythm lanes.
05:00We were able to see that in press yesterday,
05:02but I think the track crew will go out there
05:04and kind of clean that 90-degree left-hand turn up
05:06before the rhythm lane.
05:08Maybe get these guys going outside, doing some different sections.
05:11Levi Kitchen, you mentioned he's winless on the year.
05:14How frustrating do you think that is for the 47?
05:16It's really frustrating, and it's so difficult not to focus on the fact that you're winless.
05:22It's so easy to put too much emphasis on it, try too hard, want it too bad.
05:27The best thing he can do is just completely focus on his riding
05:31and hit more corners like that.
05:32That was unbelievable.
05:33Do you see that, JB?
05:34He was standing basically to the exit of the turn.
05:36Absolutely.
05:37Speed has never been an issue.
05:38I mentioned it.
05:39He started the year at Anaheim 1.
05:40He was fastest qualifier, but starts have been the issue.
05:43And when you don't get a start,
05:45that guy on the bottom right-hand side of your screen,
05:47you don't start with him, it's going to be really hard to finish with him.
05:49It is.
05:50And you see that outside turn, that last outside turn there,
05:53it's almost like there's two or three hooks in the turn.
05:57So you see a lot of guys standing all the way through there.
05:59That's that loose dirt kind of coming into play,
06:02making the front and the back end just a little bit nervous.
06:05A couple mistakes right there through the whoop section,
06:07but I love what Levi's doing in his turns.
06:08He's not even taking his feet off the pegs.
06:10Tons of corner speed as he goes inside right there.
06:14Let's see what this time is.
06:15A couple mistakes, but so far he's third with a 53.5.
06:19Does he better that time?
06:21He does.
06:22He goes to the top, 52.8.
06:24So Levi Kitchen on top, even after a couple mistakes.
06:26I would have bet you $200 that that wasn't going to go to the top of the board,
06:31but just goes to show how much speed Levi has in the tank
06:34when you can make that many mistakes and still put it on top of the board.
06:3847's rolling.
06:41Hayden Deegan, the one W out there.
06:43I guess I was wrong.
06:45I guess I was wrong about the table over two, J.
06:47Because if that was for sure fastest,
06:50there's no way that Hayden Deegan would be doing anything else.
06:53Still, it's a fun jump.
06:54I'd like to see him do it just for show.
06:56We know Hayden Deegan's a showman.
06:58Well, he's also really smart.
06:59Is there any way he could be saving it?
07:02Yeah, yes, but he did it in press day yesterday,
07:05so all the guys will know that he did that jump.
07:08But just you see how torn up the corner before is?
07:12I think that's a bit of his problem.
07:14You have to get so cleanly over that first tabletop to do it.
07:18But he can do it without it.
07:19He doesn't need it.
07:19It was really fun to talk to Hayden yesterday before they went out on track.
07:23We talked about the starts.
07:24You mentioned he just basically copied Anstey,
07:26and now he's been getting great starts.
07:27We also mentioned the whoops.
07:28That was the one thing.
07:29It was starts and whoops coming into 2026 as he does a 52.6 and goes to the top.
07:34He basically just said he watched Cole Davies and copied that as well.
07:37Now he's good at both.
07:37Well, that's what's so cool about Hayden Deegan's mindset, too.
07:42He's not too proud to say Cole Davies was better than me in the whoops.
07:47That's what he told us.
07:48And he watched countless hours of film of Cole Davies to figure out what he was doing better.
07:54And I'm not quite sure if Hayden is on Cole's level in the whoops,
07:58but he's far closer than he used to be.
08:01If you notice the first couple years of his career in Supercross,
08:05he had a tendency to get a little bit too far back in the whoops,
08:08and that is something you do when you don't have a lot of comfort.
08:11And now you see him a lot more neutral on the bike, a lot more in control.
08:15So you've seen him shine in that area this year.
08:18One of the best guys in the whoops.
08:19I love 34.
08:21He's had a good season so far.
08:22Ryder DeFrancisco, number 34.
08:24Rockstar Energy Factory Husqvarna Machine.
08:27He's third, 52.8, so pretty tight at the top.
08:30As Kitchen goes to the top, actually, 52.1.
08:33Now, comparing that to earlier, which the track was a little bit better for Seth Hamaker,
08:37remember, Seth was in the 51s.
08:39He's a 51.5.
08:41Yeah, and I think with how soft the track is,
08:45and particularly the split section that Hayden's about to come up on,
08:48you see the loose dirt kind of blowing out the top of the turns.
08:51It doesn't surprise me that that first session is a little bit faster.
08:55You see Hayden just making a little mistake right there.
08:58But these guys, they'll definitely have their eyes on the 250 East guys,
09:04and they'll go back and watch all their lines on film,
09:07figure out if Seth Hamaker was doing anything better.
09:10They will have it all on film and dissect it and be ready to go for Q2.
09:14What's interesting, in 2025, the fast qualifier came from Q2,
09:19so we'll see if that happens once again.
09:20And also, the Eastern Division started first.
09:23Well, they're going to end second.
09:24So Western Division, when we come back from the intermission here today on Race Day Live,
09:28these guys will go back, study the film like you mentioned.
09:30Then Western Division would go first.
09:32Maybe they have a faster track then.
09:34Yeah, I think so.
09:35I think Q2, judging by what I've seen with the track so far,
09:38I think Q2 may be a little bit faster.
09:41So all you guys on your couch at home, stick around.
09:43It's going down in the second qualifier.
09:46Dylan Schwartz on the number 42.
09:48Dylan, gritty rider.
09:50You think about Dylan over the last few years, outdoor guy.
09:53So good.
09:54Just late in the motos would come and really make a charge.
09:57But this year, he's really worked on his Supercross game,
10:00and you can see it.
10:00He's top five right now.
10:01Yeah, and he really is a guy that has a lot of raw speed.
10:06But sometimes it takes some time for that speed during the week to transfer over to a Saturday,
10:12and we're seeing that.
10:13We're seeing more comfort in Supercross and near the top five.
10:17This guy may be able to sneak in a podium here sometime at the end of the year.
10:22Maybe not in a showdown,
10:23but he definitely has just the straight-up, raw, one-lap pace to be a podium contender if it goes
10:29his way.
10:30Hayden messing around with some different lines right there.
10:32He jumped through the roof, went triple, triple, triple.
10:36Made a couple mistakes,
10:37so we don't know if this one's going to top Levi Kitchen and go above a 52.1
10:42as that last lap around from Deegan was a 52 point, or 53.1.
10:48Sorry, his fastest is a 52.6.
10:50Hunter Yoder, what a season he's had.
10:52Got a shot there with the Culvermex Yamaha team,
10:54taking full advantage of it.
10:56Sixth fastest so far with a 53.9.
10:58And I just applaud his career.
11:01He's had to battle through so much adversity.
11:03We know he was with the Geico Honda program as an amateur,
11:06a great amateur, tons of talent,
11:09had to go the private gear route,
11:10and he's really stuck with it.
11:12And this is a guy that works hard,
11:14that wants it more than he wants to breathe,
11:16and you're seeing it this year.
11:18He's really starting to put it together,
11:19and he's a guy, once the Levi Kitchens,
11:23the Hayden Deegans move up to the premier class,
11:25he's a guy we're going to be watching,
11:27possibly battle for wins, battle for podiums in the future.
11:31Also, happy birthday to Hunter Yoder, 22 years old here today.
11:35It's always fun to race on your birthday.
11:36Good vibes waking up,
11:37and I didn't know he was that young, too.
11:40It makes him even more of an intriguing prospect.
11:42Uh-oh, we have some jumpers, AC,
11:44and that was fast from Levi Kitchens right there.
11:46Instead of skimming across the top,
11:48he decided, you know what, I'm going to go 3-3-3.
11:51And people think jumping the whoops is the easy way out.
11:55Sometimes jumping the whoops is more difficult
11:57because you have to,
11:59the way that you have to downside the whoops,
12:01you almost have to come up just a little bit short
12:04in order to keep the momentum driving forward
12:06with what you just saw that from Levi Kitchens.
12:09So, Levi on the top of this session with a 52.1.
12:13Great day so far.
12:15Walk us through it, AC.
12:17See, you just, you barely come up short
12:19on the triple of the whoop.
12:21It allows you to drive forward.
12:22You don't sink so far down into the whoops.
12:25Don't stop your momentum.
12:26If you're going to jump the whoops, kids,
12:28do it exactly like the 47 just did.
12:31Wow, fastest in the Western Division.
12:33Levi Kitchens, 52.1.
12:36Looks like he's been doing some work
12:37during the Western Division break
12:39there for the East Division boys,
12:41and it's paying off.
12:4347's looking good.
12:44You know he wants to get a win.
12:45You know he's so close at Seattle.
12:48Hayden Deegan took it down to the wire.
12:50Levi Kitchens, it's a great start for him.
12:53Levi Kitchens, fastest in the Western Division so far,
12:5652.1.
12:57Hayden Deegan not far off, 52.6.
12:59Ryder D, he's looking good so far here in Birmingham,
13:0252.8.
13:04Anstey and Dylan Schwartz.
13:05How about Dylan Schwartz?
13:06Once again, impressive in the top five with a 53.8.
13:10Stay tuned, though.
13:11We're just getting rolling here on Race Day Live.
13:13That's the 250 boys.
13:14These guys, the 450 guys, that championship battle.
13:17Four points separates those two right there,
13:19Hunter Lawrence and Eli Tomac.
13:21They're on track next.
13:22We're just getting rolling here on the next.
13:23We're just getting rolling here on the next.
13:23We're just getting rolling here on the next.
13:23We're just getting rolling here on the next.
13:24We're just getting rolling here on the next.