Houston, Texas, hosted Round 4 of the 2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship, marking the series’ first stop outside California this season and a return to NRG Stadium for the first time since January 2023.
The indoor venue brought cooler conditions and ushered in the first Triple Crown event of the year, with the three-moto format immediately delivering the unpredictability and drama it promises as the championship picture begins to take shape.
By the end of the night, it was Cooper Webb reclaiming the spotlight in the 450 Class with his first win of the season, while Haiden Deegan was simply unstoppable in 250 West, sweeping all three races to secure his third overall victory of the year.
450 Class
The day began with a notable absence, as Austin Forkner was ruled out following a crash during Friday’s press day session. The Triumph Racing rider went down at the end of the long rhythm lane and was later diagnosed with a hand injury, sidelining him for the Houston round. It continued a frustrating start to Forkner’s 450SX campaign, having missed the San Diego main event before returning at Anaheim 2, where he finished 17th after a 15th at the season opener.
Qualifying underlined just how close the premier class has become. Championship leader Eli Tomac topped the charts with a 46.684 lap, nearly half a second clear, but behind him the field was stacked tightly, with second through 14th separated by less than a second. Last weeks winner Chase Sexton edged Hunter Lawrence for second, with margins measured in tenths.
When the gates dropped for the opening Triple Crown race, Jorge Prado and Ken Roczen emerged side by side, with Roczen quickly asserting control. The German unleashed his trademark opening-lap speed and pulled clear, leading Prado, Sexton, Lawrence, Webb, Tomac, Dylan Ferrandis and Malcolm Stewart. Sexton made a move past Prado and looked poised to challenge for the lead before a small mistake — later attributed to a stall — allowed Roczen to stretch his advantage.
Tomac, tenth at the end of the opening lap, worked forward while battling Webb as both struggled to clear Prado. Lawrence looked settled in third until an uncharacteristic crash dropped him down the order and ended his podium hopes. Out front, Roczen stayed composed to take the Race 1 win by 1.975 seconds over Sexton, with Tomac salvaging third after a determined charge.
Race 2 brought another shake-up. Lawrence and Prado again featured early, while Sexton suffered a poor start and found himself buried in 17th. Tomac charged from eighth and had worked into fourth when a heavy crash sent him to the ground directly in front of Webb, Jason Anderson and Roczen. Fortunately uninjured, Tomac remounted and battled through to 13th.
At the front, Lawrence applied pressure before making a decisive pass on Prado to take control. Sexton’s night unravelled further with a front-end washout, while Webb surged late to pass Prado and secure second. Lawrence claimed the Race 2 win, followed by Webb, Prado, Justin Cooper and Roczen, dramatically reshaping the overall heading into the finale.
With overall honours hanging in the balance, the final 450 race delivered chaos from the drop of the gate. Tomac, riding a second bike after his earlier crash, grabbed the holeshot and led Anderson, Lawrence and Christian Craig, setting the tone for an all-out sprint.
Webb found himself mid-pack early and narrowly avoided disaster after nearly colliding with Roczen and RJ Hampshire over the finish-line jump, shooting awkwardly left and losing significant ground while somehow staying upright. Up front, Anderson moved past Tomac, who then battled Lawrence for second as Sexton charged into the mix. In a blink, the order behind Tomac completely reshuffled, with Sexton going from second to sixth in a matter of moments.
Webb clawed his way forward, passing Roczen and Anderson to move into third behind Tomac and Lawrence. Positions continued to change lap after lap, and with Webb running third late, the points suddenly swung in his favour for the overall. Tomac took the Race 3 win to become the third different race winner of the night, followed by Lawrence and Webb.
Overall, Webb’s consistent 4-2-3 scores earned him the victory ahead of Lawrence’s 7-1-2, with Roczen third on 1-5-4. Tomac’s 3-13-1 placed him fourth overall, while Sexton’s 2-9-6 rounded out the top five. Despite missing the overall, Tomac retained the championship lead as the series heads east. Hunter Lawrence’s third second place in a row keeps him second in the championship, while Ken Roczen holds down third a few points ahead of Sexton, while Webb’s win saw him elevated to fifth.
After a month that tested him mentally, physically, and emotionally, Cooper Webb reflected on his return to the top step, saying, “This feels amazing. I can’t even put it into words. Honestly, it’s weird not to win a [race], but I’ll take any skin I can get right now. It’s been a really tough month mentally, physically, emotionally. Even yesterday was a rough day. Just to come in here today and make this happen means so much. It’s never over. I thought last week might be the nail in the coffin [in the title defense], but that’s a Cooper Webb move to come back a week later, put myself in a good position, and win. I’m proud of myself. We’ve still got plenty of work to do. We need to be better, but it’s a breath of fresh air and a boost of confidence. It’s just good to be back on top.”
After a frustrating start to the night, Hunter Lawrence reflected on his recovery and the challenges of the Triple Crown format, saying, “The first [race] is where it all went bad for me. Just a silly little mistake. I’m happy with how the night went from that point on, honestly. I rode really well and this format is one of the tougher ones for me. Short duration sprints don’t come easy to me. I’m pretty happy with how it went after the first [race] and what could have been. We did good damage control and pulled four points back on the lead. We live to fight another day.”
Ken Roczen summed up his night with mixed feelings after a few costly mistakes, saying, “I’ve got a little bit mixed emotions. This could have been my night. I got a little bit held up by my teammate [Anderson] and that forced me into a couple mistakes where I lost the rhythm and two positions. Here we are, back in third place. It’s the difference between catching Cooper [Webb] and winning and doing what I did. But I don’t want to be too bummed. We’re going to keep chugging along on the podium. My time will come.”
250 Class
In the 250 West division, championship leader Haiden Deegan continued his momentum by topping qualifying, edging a returning Levi Kitchen by two-tenths, with Ryder DiFrancesco third fastest.
Deegan wasted no time in Race 1, launching to the holeshot and immediately controlling the pace. He was followed by Maximus Vohland, Cameron McAdoo and Kitchen, before Kitchen moved into second on the opening lap. Further back, Max Anstie went down after being caught in traffic following contact between Dominique Thury and DiFrancesco, leaving him with nowhere to go.
At the front, Deegan managed the gap expertly, holding around 2.5 seconds over Kitchen as McAdoo and Michael Mosiman began to break away from the rest. Deegan claimed the win by just over two seconds, with Kitchen keeping the pressure on throughout. McAdoo, Mosiman and Vohland completed the top five, while Anstie recovered to tenth.
Race 2 saw Kitchen and McAdoo side by side into turn one as Mosiman suffered an early front-end washout. Kitchen led as Deegan worked past McAdoo into second and steadily closed the gap. The turning point came when Deegan executed an aggressive but clean block pass, cutting sharply across the ruts to slow Kitchen without contact. Kitchen stayed upright, but Deegan capitalised immediately and checked out for his second win of the night.
The final 250SX race opened with Vohland leading, followed by Anstie, Deegan, Kitchen and Carson Mumford. After some early back-and-forth between Kitchen and Deegan, the points leader surged forward, passing Anstie for second before taking the lead from Vohland a few laps in. From there, Deegan was untouchable, completing a perfect 1-1-1 sweep.
Behind him, Anstie ran second early before Kitchen and McAdoo both moved past Vohland. Deegan’s flawless score made the overall maths simple, with Kitchen’s 2-2-3 securing second overall ahead of McAdoo’s 3-3-4. Vohland and DiFrancesco rounded out the top five.
Haiden Deegan reflected on his commanding Triple Crown performance, saying, “It’s racing. I’m just trying to get into the lead and win races, so I’m down with cat and mouse [with Kitchen]. Aggressive is pretty much my middle name at this point. [It was] a good race and it was nice to hear some cheers out there [from the fans]. I appreciate that. I tried to make it entertaining for them and hope they enjoyed it.”
Deegan’s dominant night sees him stretch his championship lead to 94 points, ahead of teammate Anstie on 74, with Mosiman a further point back, giving Yamaha a clean sweep of the top three in the standings.
After a strong second in Houston, Levi Kitchen reflected on his performance and the benefits of the Triple Crown format, saying, “I’m pretty happy with tonight. Getting a couple of good starts and feeling that pace again was huge for me. Having three chances tonight really helped me work through some of the things I’ve been dealing with, and overall it was a solid night. The track was good, the racing was fun, and the competition was strong. I can’t thank my family, friends, and everyone who supports me enough, along with the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki team.
After bouncing back from a tough weekend, Cameron McAdoo reflected on the intensity of the Triple Crown format and his third-place result in Houston, saying, “Triple Crowns are intense, and I love that pressure. After losing a podium late last weekend, I really wanted to respond, and tonight felt like me again. We worked hard this week, and it was awesome to put two Pro Circuit bikes on the podium. That meant a lot to all of us; we want to do it for Mitch. I’m grateful for my team, my family, my friends, and the fans. This is the greatest sport in the world, and I’m thankful I get to race at this level.”
The series now heads to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, for Round 5 next weekend, with momentum firmly on the side of Webb and Deegan as the championship battle heats up.
| 450 Main Event Results – R4 Houston | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | # | Rider | Moto 1 | Moto 2 | Moto 3 | Total Points |
| 1st | 1 | Cooper Webb | 4 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| 2nd | 96 | Hunter Lawrence | 7 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| 3rd | 94 | Ken Roczen | 1 | 5 | 4 | 10 |
| 4th | 3 | Eli Tomac | 3 | 13 | 1 | 17 |
| 5th | 4 | Chase Sexton | 2 | 9 | 6 | 17 |
| 6th | 21 | Jason Anderson | 6 | 7 | 5 | 18 |
| 7th | 26 | Jorge Prado | 5 | 3 | 11 | 19 |
| 8th | 27 | Malcolm Stewart | 8 | 6 | 10 | 24 |
| 9th | 32 | Justin Cooper | 9 | 4 | 12 | 25 |
| 10th | 14 | Dylan Ferrandis | 11 | 10 | 7 | 28 |
| 11th | 24 | R.J. Hampshire | 10 | 14 | 9 | 33 |
| 12th | 28 | Christian Craig | 19 | 8 | 8 | 35 |
| 13th | 7 | Aaron Plessinger | 12 | 11 | 13 | 36 |
| 14th | 17 | Joey Savatgy | 17 | 12 | 15 | 44 |
| 15th | 36 | Garrett Marchbanks | 14 | 15 | 16 | 45 |
| 16th | 45 | Colt Nichols | 13 | 20 | 14 | 47 |
| 17th | 46 | Justin Hill | 15 | 16 | 17 | 48 |
| 18th | 12 | Shane McElrath | 16 | 18 | 18 | 52 |
| 19th | 719 | Vince Friese | 18 | 17 | 19 | 54 |
| 20th | 41 | Mitchell Harrison | 20 | 19 | 20 | 59 |
| 21st | 711 | Tristan Lane | 21 | 21 | 21 | 63 |
| 22nd | 784 | Cade Clason | 22 | 22 | 22 | 66 |
| 450 Championship Standings After Round 4 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | No. | Rider | Points |
| 1st | 3 | Eli Tomac | 88 Points |
| 2nd | 96 | Hunter Lawrence | 84 Points |
| 3rd | 94 | Ken Roczen | 76 Points |
| 4th | 4 | Chase Sexton | 74 Points |
| 5th | 1 | Cooper Webb | 71 Points |
| 6th | 21 | Jason Anderson | 62 Points |
| 7th | 32 | Justin Cooper | 57 Points |
| 8th | 26 | Jorge Prado | 56 Points |
| 9th | 17 | Joey Savatgy | 50 Points |
| 10th | 14 | Dylan Ferrandis | 49 Points |
| 11th | 24 | R.J. Hampshire | 38 Points |
| 12th | 28 | Christian Craig | 37 Points |
| 13th | 7 | Aaron Plessinger | 36 Points |
| 14th | 27 | Malcolm Stewart | 36 Points |
| 15th | 45 | Colt Nichols | 28 Points |
| 16th | 46 | Justin Hill | 28 Points |
| 17th | 12 | Shane McElrath | 17 Points |
| 18th | 36 | Garrett Marchbanks | 15 Points |
| 19th | 33 | Austin Forkner | 12 Points |
| 20th | 719 | Vince Friese | 9 Points |
| 21st | 41 | Mitchell Harrison | 8 Points |
| 22nd | 52 | Mitchell Oldenburg | 6 Points |
| 23rd | 78 | Kevin Moranz | 3 Points |
| 24th | 711 | Tristan Lane | 1 Point |
| 25th | 62 | Grant Harlan | 1 Point |
| 26th | 51 | Justin Barcia | 1 Point |
| 27th | 200 | Ryan Breece | 1 Point |
| 250 West Main Event Results – R4 Houston | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | No | Rider | Moto 1 | Moto 2 | Moto 3 | Total Points |
| 1st | 1W | Haiden Deegan | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 2nd | 47 | Levi Kitchen | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| 3rd | 142 | Cameron McAdoo | 3 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| 4th | 19 | Maximus Vohland | 5 | 4 | 6 | 15 |
| 5th | 34 | Ryder DiFrancesco | 6 | 5 | 5 | 16 |
| 6th | 61 | Max Anstie | 10 | 6 | 2 | 18 |
| 7th | 60 | Hunter Yoder | 8 | 7 | 7 | 22 |
| 8th | 23 | Michael Mosiman | 4 | 14 | 8 | 26 |
| 9th | 40 | Parker Ross | 9 | 8 | 9 | 26 |
| 10th | 71 | Carson Mumford | 7 | 9 | 15 | 31 |
| 11th | 224 | Joshua Varize | 13 | 12 | 11 | 36 |
| 12th | 70 | Anthony Bourdon | 12 | 13 | 12 | 37 |
| 13th | 43 | Lux Turner | 11 | 10 | 17 | 38 |
| 14th | 57 | Avery Long | 21 | 11 | 10 | 42 |
| 15th | 964 | Dominique Thury | 14 | 15 | 16 | 45 |
| 16th | 245 | Matti Jorgensen | 15 | 17 | 14 | 46 |
| 17th | 83 | Justin Rodbell | 18 | 16 | 13 | 47 |
| 18th | 131 | Crockett Myers | 17 | 20 | 18 | 55 |
| 19th | 137 | Ayden Shive | 16 | 19 | 22 | 57 |
| 20th | 173 | Hunter Schlosser | 20 | 18 | 21 | 59 |
| 21st | 900 | Keegan Rowley | 19 | 22 | 19 | 60 |
| 22nd | 805 | Slade Varola | 22 | 21 | 20 | 63 |
| 250 West Championship Standings After Round 4 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | No | Rider | Points |
| 1st | 1W | Haiden Deegan | 93 Points |
| 2nd | 61 | Max Anstie | 74 Points |
| 3rd | 23 | Michael Mosiman | 73 Points |
| 4th | 34 | Ryder Difrancesco | 72 Points |
| 5th | 19 | Maximus Vohland | 61 Points |
| 6th | 142 | Cameron McAdoo | 60 Points |
| 7th | 47 | Levi Kitchen | 57 Points |
| 8th | 60 | Hunter Yoder | 45 Points |
| 9th | 71 | Carson Mumford | 45 Points |
| 10th | 40 | Parker Ross | 45 Points |
| 11th | 29 | Chance Hymas | 38 Points |
| 12th | 42 | Dilan Schwartz | 36 Points |
| 13th | 57 | Avery Long | 36 Points |
| 14th | 224 | Joshua Varize | 35 Points |
| 15th | 70 | Anthony Bourdon | 28 Points |
| 16th | 43 | Lux Turner | 28 Points |
| 17th | 245 | Matti Jorgensen | 20 Points |
| 18th | 131 | Crockett Myers | 18 Points |
| 19th | 237 | Robbie Wageman | 16 Points |
| 20th | 83 | Justin Rodbell | 16 Points |
| 21st | 964 | Dominique Thury | 14 Points |
| 22nd | 173 | Hunter Schlosser | 13 Points |
| 23rd | 137 | Ayden Shive | 10 Points |
| 24th | 284 | Lorenzo Camporese | 7 Points |
| 25th | 800 | Preston Masciangelo | 4 Points |
| 26th | 316 | Ty Freehill | 2 Points |
| 27th | 388 | Brandon Ray | 2 Points |
| 28th | 900 | Keegan Rowley | 1 Point |
