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Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan walked away from Historic Crew Stadium as the 450SMX winner, netting his first premier class victory. It was a brilliant performance from the rookie in each moto, as he got off to great starts in each race before navigating the mud and lapped traffic with precision. In the Columbus post-race press conference, Deegan spoke about the small gains he’s made during the season and admitted to playing the long game while growing this summer.
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“Reps help getting used to the bike,” Deegan said. “It’s heavier and faster. My body’s growing into it. I’m still growing muscle-wise so we’re trying to get stronger there, but it’s really just a time thing. I don’t want to rush anything, day by day, and I know what the future holds if I’m smart and I keep taking these races round by round. You want to come out there and light the world on fire and win your first race or within the first ten races, but sometimes, that ain’t gonna happen. You take it slow and steady and eventually, you get to the point where you’re winning.”
While Deegan has commented multiple times about working on his strength, he mentioned that it was one of his biggest advantages on Saturday in the sticky conditions.
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“You kind of just send it, really. If there’s ruts up the lip, you just kind of pray and really got to be strong. I feel like that’s why I was able to get it done today. I was able to manhandle my bike around and although it didn’t sound like it or sometimes look like it, I was able to run my gear up, be strong around the track, keep it on two wheels and consistently hit everything around the track even though we were doubling.”
Thanks to his victory, Deegan is just two points out of the 450SMX lead. Jorge Prado will hold the red plate at Carson, but the 2-time 250SMX champ is already knocking on the door of a potential premier class title.
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This story was originally published September 13, 2026 at 2:26 PM.