Anstie Retains Championship Lead at Daytona Supercross
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Max Anstie overcame adversity to secure a sixth-place finish in Daytona, maintaining his position at the top of the 250SX East Points Standings / Mar 3, 2025 /
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Max Anstie overcame adversity from an early race crash to finish sixth in a drama-filled 250 main event at the 52nd running of Daytona Supercross. The British rider’s efforts scored valuable points to maintain his spot at the top of the 250SX East standings. Teammates Daxton Bennick and Nate Thrasher scored seventh- and eighth-place finishes, respectively, at Round 3 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross 250SX East Championship at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Unfortunately, Caden Dudney’s day ended early with a crash during the SMX Next Free Practice session.
Anstie got off to a great start in Daytona, topping free practice and the first qualifying session and then qualifying fourth in the combined times. After the first gate drop, he had a solid start in fourth and kept pushing to score a runner-up finish in the heat race. In the main event, the red plate holder got a good start but unfortunately came together with another rider and went down in the second turn, rejoining at the back of the field. He immediately went to work, making his way to 12th before the race was red-flagged. It was a staggered restart, with Anstie lining up in 11th and quickly making his way to ninth after the race resumed. As the clock wound down, he made the pass for sixth and tried to close the gap on fifth but ultimately rode on to secure a sixth-place finish and leave with a six-point lead in the championship.
In his first race back after being sidelined from Round 2 with an injury, Bennick qualified sixth. The young North Carolina rider had a strong heat race, going from eighth to fifth, and then had a strong start to the main event in sixth. Lining up fifth for the staggered restart, Bennick battled for position in a three-rider fight that included his teammate Anstie. He was shuffled to eighth, where he would finish and ultimately was credited with seventh after a rider ahead was assessed with a four-positon penalty for an off-track advantage during the start of the race.
Despite a less than ideal gate pick after qualifying 12th, Thrasher got off to a great start in his heat race and grabbed the holeshot. Unfortunately, he crashed on that opening lap and rejoined towards the back of the field. Undeterred, Thrasher put his head down and fought his way back to ninth to earn a transfer spot to the main event. In 10th after the first lap, the Tennessee rider made his way to eighth a lap before the red flag was drawn. After the restart, he was once again in eighth and did what he could to make his way forward but ultimately crossed the line ninth. Due to the rider penalty assessed, he was credited with eighth in the final results. Thrasher maintains fifth in the 205SX East standings, trailing Anstie by 18 points.
Dudney was off to a great start at the second qualifying round of SMX Next and was third in the first free practice session. Unfortunately, a crash in the session sidelined him from the event with an arm injury.
Next weekend, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing heads to Lucas Oil Stadium for the first East/West Showdown of the 2025 Monster Energy AMA Supercross season – Round 4 of the 250SX East Championship and Round 6 of the 250SX West Championship – in Indianapolis, Indiana, on March 8.
Jensen Hendler – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250 Team Manager
“Daytona is Daytona, and it was a tough day for us. Despite that, our guys kept fighting, and we were able to leave with some good points. Max fought his way back after the crash at the start of the main and charged back to sixth to salvage points and leave with a six-point lead. Dax rode well all day despite being off the bike for a while. Nate had a great start to his heat race and fought his way back after crashing and kept pushing. We’ll go back to work this week and come back stronger in Indy. We’re looking forward to the first East-West Showdown of the season and coming in with both red plates!”
Max Anstie – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #31
“It was a tough night in Daytona, but I made the best out of the cards I was dealt and we’re still in a solid position championship-wise. We’ll focus on recovery and getting ready for Indy.”
Daxton Bennick – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #34
“Daytona was a gnarly one. Obviously, coming back after not riding for a few weeks was tough. I was running fifth until the restart, so we will take it and come back ready to go at Indy.”
Nate Thrasher – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #41
“It was an okay day for me in Daytona, but I did my best to salvage points. I’m going to do as much as I can this week to prepare for Indy.”
2025 Monster Energy AMA Supercross 250SX Daytona Results
2025 Monster Energy AMA Supercross 250SX East Championship Standings
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