Deegan Earns Perfect Moto Scores at Ironman
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan scores another dominant overall 250MX victory and expands championship lead at the Ironman National / Aug 11, 2025 /
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan delivered another masterclass performance, winning both 250MX motos and the overall at Round 9 of the Pro Motocross Championship and Round 26 of the SuperMotocross World Championship at Ironman Raceway in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Nate Thrasher kept charging and fought his way back from adversity to finish 11th overall (13-11), while Michael Mosiman was 18th overall (12-40) after a crash early in the second moto forced him to withdraw. In his first race back from injury, Daxton Bennick finished 28th overall (29-24). Pierce Brown also returned to action but saw his day end early after a big crash in the opening moto. In Friday’s SMX Next - Scouting Moto Combine, Caden Dudney finished fifth overall (1-8), with teammate Carson Wood seventh overall (3-13).
Riders were met with high temperatures and humidity for the ninth round of the championship. Deegan qualified third and, despite starting in seventh, he quickly advanced to third and then to the runner-up spot on Lap 2. The Californian continued to throw down some fast laps, closing the gap to the leader, making the pass just before the start of Lap 13, and pulling away to a 7.9-second victory. In Moto 2, the defending champion grabbed the holeshot and set a blistering pace up front, crossing the line 12 seconds clear of the competition for his 12th moto win of the season. The flawless 1-1 score marked Deegan’s sixth overall victory of 2025, extending his 250MX lead to 51 points and his 250SMX combined points lead to 109.
Thrasher showed progress after the summer break, qualifying 13th. In Moto 1, he did not get the start he was hoping for and found himself 26th on the opening lap, but he steadily worked his way forward to finish 13th. The Tennessee rider got a stronger start in the top 10 for Moto 2, but an early tip-over dropped him to 14th. Undeterred, he pushed through to finish 11th, securing 11th overall.
Mosiman qualified 12th and got a strong start in Moto 1, but a mistake in the opening turns dropped him to 20th. He regrouped and charged through the pack to finish 12th. In Moto 2, the Californian got another good start, but unfortunately crashed in the second turn and twisted his ankle, ultimately withdrawing from the moto and ending the day 18th overall.
Making his return to racing at Ironman, Bennick focused on getting back up to speed. Despite a tough gate pick from 21st in qualifying, the North Carolina rider got a great start to Moto 1 inside the top five and quickly made his way to third. Arm pump issues, however, saw him drop back to 29th by the finish. In Moto 2, Bennick was 22nd after the opening lap and continued to push, but ultimately crossed the line 24th for 28th overall.
Brown had a strong start to his first race back and was ninth in the combined times. In Moto 1, he found himself 24th on the opening lap, and then unfortunately had a big crash around the halfway mark, ending his day early. Feeling beat up from the crash, Brown sat out of Moto 2 as a precaution and will seek further evaluation after the weekend. An update on his status will follow at a later time.
Friday’s final round of the SMX Next - Scouting Moto Combine saw Dudney make his return to racing, with the young rider earning fastest qualifier honors. He then got a great start to the first moto in third and claimed the lead on Lap 5, riding away to win by a 5.1-second margin. Although he didn’t get the start he was hoping for in Moto 2 and was 20th after the opening lap, he charged through to finish eighth and secure a top-five overall result (1-8).
Wood showed strong pace from the start of the day, qualifying second to give the team a 1-2 result. He then grabbed the holeshot in the first moto and led the race before a tip-over on lap five, which had him rejoining in fourth. The young rider quickly regrouped and mounted a charge back to reclaim third with three laps to go, joining his teammate on the podium. In Moto 2, he didn’t get off the gate as he had hoped and found himself at the back of the field. Undeterred, he put his head down and made his way back to 13th before unfortunately having another tip-over. Wood continued to fight and ultimately crossed the line 13th to end the day seventh overall.
Next weekend, the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team heads to Unadilla MX for the penultimate round of Pro Motocross and Round 27 of the SuperMotocross World Championship in New Berlin, New York.
Wil Hahn – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250 Team General Manager
“It was a really solid and busy weekend for us with our SMX Next riders racing on Friday. Caden and Carson really showed their skills in qualifying and Moto 1, but had some adversity in Moto 2. Saturday was awesome with Haiden racing extremely well and Nate charging hard all day. Mosi (Michael Mosiman) got off to a great start in Moto 2 before ultimately falling and having to retire early. It was the first race back for Dax since Supercross, and now he knows what he needs to work on this week for Unadilla. Unfortunately, Pierce had a big crash in the first moto. He will get looked at this week and will see how the week goes, and hopefully see him at Unadilla.”
Haiden Deegan – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #1
“It was a good day - two ‘W’s.’ It’s always nice when you can get those done because those are really hard to come by. The first moto, I didn’t get a great start and kind of had to work my way through, and the second one, I got the holeshot and won it. That was basically it.”
Nate Thrasher – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #41
“I’m happy with the day. My speed was a lot better, but I just have to be better in those opening laps. The first one, I got caught up on the first lap and was pretty much dead last. Then, Moto 2, I had a good start and ended up hitting a false neutral and tipping over. So that was a bummer, but I felt like my speed was good and my fitness was good, so I’m happy with that. That three-week break was big for me. We’re getting better. We’re just going to keep digging.”
Michael Mosiman – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #93
“It was a tough day. We had two days on the bike after taking almost a month off for this ankle. I was able to ride fairly well in the first moto, but the second and third turn was my nemesis today. I had a great start in the first one, but made a mistake early on. Then in Moto 2, it was the same thing. I had a great start, and then made a mistake, and I tweaked my ankle that was bothering me. I did one lap, but I was not myself out there, and I decided to pull in and get ready for next weekend. It’s really unfortunate, but these mistakes are fixable. I know what needs to happen, and there are a lot of positives to take away. I still have great pace and great starts. We’ll be back next round.”
Daxton Bennick – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #34
“My first race back. I’ve been off the bike about 12-13 weeks, so I didn’t really expect too much coming into the race. The first moto, I got off to a really good start and was third. That was probably bad for me in the end because I got super bad arm pump, and went backwards from there. Then in the second moto, I didn’t have the best start, and stayed around where I came out. I rode a bit better, but we definitely have a long way to go. We’re going to keep chipping away at it and show up for Unadilla and bring the best I can.”
Pierce Brown – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #20
“The day started off well, and we had a good qualifying. Unfortunately, I got cross-jumped and hit the deck in Moto 1, and sat out of the second moto as a precaution. I woke up pretty sore this morning, so we’ll get some scans early this week to make sure the body is all good. We haven’t had a lack of adversity this year, but the goal hasn’t changed.”
Caden Dudney – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #40
“Overall, my day at Ironman was really good. There were no expectations coming in. It was just kind of see where we are, and I was really happy with it. We were fastest in qualifying and won the first moto. The second moto was a little rough, but we got through it and know what we need to work on now.”
Carson Wood – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #260
“In the first moto, I pulled the holeshot and led the first five laps, but then slid out in a slick corner. We got up in fourth, and I charged back to take third and finish on the podium. In the second moto, I didn’t get the best jump and got pinched off at the start, and was about third from last. I made it up to around 12th before crashing, and that put me 19th, but then I made it back to 13th for seventh overall. Even though I’m not happy with the overall result, there were a lot of positives to take away. I’m happy with my speed, my effort, and my fitness. We came into these combine races hoping to learn and improve every race – and we did that. We just need to be better and more consistent because the speed is there. We’re going to keep pushing hard.”
2025 Pro Motocross Ironman National 250MX Results
2025 Pro Motocross 250MX Championship Standings
2025 SuperMotocross World Championship 250SMX Combined Points Standings 2025 SMX Next Ironman Overall Results
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