ARLINGTON, Texas – Haiden Deegan wins in AT&T Stadium for the 250SX East race in Arlington.
But it came at the price of a hard crash by Austin Forkner.
Forkner snuck up to Deegan in the closing laps in Heat 1 earlier on Saturday afternoon, getting by with less than two laps to go to win their heat race. In the Main Event, Deegan was setting up the 15-minute race to return the favor.
But that chance never came. With 2:30 left on the clock. Forkner slipped after the sand pit, veering him off course. He crashed straight onto the concrete, missing all the dirt and hay bales.
After several minutes, Forkner was able to stand on his own feet with minimal assistance from the Alpinstars Medical Team. He was carted off without a stretcher after the checkered flag had waved. It was later announced that Forkner was transported to a local medical facility for further evaluation.
The opposite side of defeat was the exhilaration of victory.
“I am so amped right now. My first career win in Supercross, this is unreal,” Deegan celebrated.
But with Deegan’s excitement came a dose of humble honor for his competition.
“Obviously, man, that’s terrible to see Austin, [he was] ripping, and to see that happen is sad,” he continued. “I wanted to fight for this with him, man. I wanted to go back and forth and bang bars this season. But it’s racing, and the pressure, you know, it gets to you… This is a very, very technical track. And I watched the heat race back and I saw Austin making several mistakes, and I was like, I mean, I made mistakes myself, but I was like, ‘If I clean up my riding and [can put on the] pressure, it’s any man’s race…’”
Cameron Mcadoo finished second, 7.113 seconds behind Deegan. It gives the Kawasaki rider three podium finishes in his last four 250 class races. Tom Vialle scored his best career 250 Supercross finish with his third-place result. He holds a podium in SuperMotocross and two in outdoor Motocross, including a win at Southwick last summer.
“I had a huge crash in the practice, I’m glad to be okay,” Vialle said, reflecting on his day. “I’m so happy to be here. It’s my second year in Supercross, I’ve had a lot of crashes and I’ve been through tough times… I mean, racing here in front of so many people in the stadium is amazing and I’m glad to be here… and can’t wait to be at the next race.”
It was Deegan’s first career victory in the 250 Supercross East class. He unofficially sits fifth in the championship standings with Max Anstie taking the red plate to Daytona Int’l Speedway. Anstie’s 38 points is four over Pierce Brown with Daxton Bennick and Coty Schock tied in third with 32 points each. Round 8 of the 2024 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship is next Saturday at Daytona Beach on March 2.