Hunter Lawrence breaks through for maiden 450 SX victory in Texas

2026 AMA Supercross Championship

Round Seven – Arlington, Texas

2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship – Round Seven – Arlington, Texas

Round seven of the 2026 Monster Energy SMX World Championship brought the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship back to the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex for Military Appreciation Night at AT&T Stadium, with two first-time winners emerging from a decisive night in both the 450SMX Class and the opening round of the 250SX East Championship.

Military Appreciation Night at AT&T Stadium

450

The 450SMX Main Event opened with Cooper Webb and Ken Roczen side-by-side out of the first turn, Webb initially edging the holeshot before Roczen asserted himself on the opening lap to take control. Hunter Lawrence settled into third behind the early leaders, while Eli Tomac began outside the top 10 in 11th.

2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship – Round Seven – Arlington, Texas

Roczen established a measured lead as the front group stabilised, but Tomac made immediate progress, charging to fourth within the opening laps to bring the top four into contention. As Webb pressured Roczen, a small mistake from the Yamaha rider allowed Lawrence through into third, and soon after, the Honda rider was on Roczen’s rear wheel, applying pressure with around 13 minutes remaining. The front four compressed to within two seconds before the race again settled through the middle portion of the 20 Minutes + 1 Lap contest.

2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship – Round Seven – Arlington, Texas

With six minutes remaining, the pace lifted again. Lawrence drew alongside Roczen in the whoops during a renewed attack, only to be delayed by a slower rider. He regrouped and completed the move moments later, taking the lead. Webb then moved Roczen aside for second, but Tomac responded with an aggressive push that took him from fourth to second by passing both Roczen and Webb in quick succession, forcing Webb off track in the exchange. Roczen briefly reclaimed third before Webb fought back to regain the final podium spot.

2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship – Round Seven – Arlington, Texas

Out front, Lawrence built a margin after clearing Roczen and withstood a late push from Tomac inside the final two minutes. Lawrence took the chequered flag 2.8 seconds clear of the KTM rider for his first 450SMX Class victory in his 26th premier-class start, notably in the same venue where he scored his first 250SX victory back in 2021.

2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship – Round Seven – Arlington, Texas

The win made Lawrence the fifth different 450 winner in seven rounds and extended his championship advantage to a slender four-point lead over Tomac. Webb sits third, 16 points behind, with Roczen fourth, 18 points from the lead.

450 Main Results

Quotes

Hunter Lawrence – P1

“It’s cool, but we’ve got a lot of racing left. I’m happy to tick that little box. It’s a huge thank you to my team and everyone that’s around me. We’ve got an amazing group and that’s really the most valuable thing in my program. It takes a whole village to move mountains. Even when you get a sixth place it’s really tough, but man how cool it was racing against all those boys. Me and Kenny [Roczen] had some awesome back-and-forth, Coop [Webb] was right there, Eli [Tomac] was right there. It’s pretty cool racing with the sport’s legends. Awesome.”

Hunter Lawrence

Eli Tomac – P2

“Those first laps absolutely saved my race. I had to make some quick moves there and was able to find those openings to pass two-to-three riders at a time. By lap two or three, I could see the front of the race and thought, ‘I’m okay, I can work with this.’ What a difficult track [it was] tonight. Of course, I fought to the end as much as I could and second is what we had. Thank you to Red Bull KTM – we’ll come back swinging in Daytona.”

Eli Tomac

Cooper Webb – P3

“It was a fun race, for sure, but I’m honestly a little bummed. I was pretty nice and should have been more aggressive with [Roczen] and maybe gotten the pass [for the lead] earlier. It was a sick race with all of us four bunched up there. I tried to make the pass on [Roczen for second] and Eli [Tomac] ended up getting me and ran me off the track, then Kenny got back by me. I kind of lost the tow of [the leaders]. I’m bummed at myself. I saw a few openings I should have taken and I didn’t. I was too patient tonight. Overall, we’ll take it.”

Cooper Webb

Aaron Plessinger – P8

“Dallas was better. I think we made some pretty good progress with the bike, but ultimately, I just need to be better. I need to put myself in better positions, and just overall, be better myself. The Heat Race, I got an average start and rode my way to fifth, and then for the Main, I went all the way inside gate, so got a better start. I was running good and then [Jason] Anderson ended up going down in front of me, so that put me back a little bit. And then I had a decent flow going there, but I ended up casing a jump pretty good and kind of ruined my momentum that I had going.
I ended up eighth, but overall, it just needed to be better. We go to Daytona next week, so I am looking forward to that and, yeah, I’ve just got to focus on being better on race day.”

Malcolm Stewart – P11

“The Texas fans are always a good crowd. All day I felt really good, through both qualifying and the Heat Race. The Main Event was going really well too, but I made one little mistake over the on-off, which cost me quite a few positions. We ended up 11th, but other than that, we’re trending in the right direction, and things are getting back on track to where we need them to be. The crash was a little bit of a bummer, but I am more proud of my riding than the results. At the end of the day, we can continue to keep fighting heading into my home race in Daytona next weekend – hopefully the Florida fans bring the vibe!”

450 Championship Points

250 Main

The opening round of the Eastern Divisional 250SX Championship delivered immediate drama. Jo Shimoda led early after taking the holeshot in his first race since November surgery to repair fractured and displaced vertebrae in his neck and upper back. Pierce Brown and Daxton Bennick followed, while title favourite Cole Davies went down in the first turn and collected multiple riders, leaving him deep in the field.

2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship – Round Seven – Arlington, Texas

Shimoda sprinted away to an advantage of more than three seconds before a confusing sequence changed the race. Red medical lights were displayed as Shimoda approached the finish line, requiring him not to jump obstacles until cleared. As Shimoda rolled the next lap at reduced speed, Brown and Bennick continued at race pace with no apparent lights displayed, allowing Brown to erase the deficit and take the lead.

2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship – Round Seven – Arlington, Texas

Shimoda resumed full pace and applied pressure for the remainder of the 15 Minutes + 1 Lap Main Event, appearing faster at points but unable to force a clean pass. A final late attempt saw Shimoda dive to the inside line, but he couldn’t maintain the drive, and Brown pulled clear to take the win by 2.4 seconds. Bennick completed the podium, while Seth Hammaker recovered to fourth after involvement in the first-turn incident. Davies produced a strong comeback ride to fifth.

2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship – Round Seven – Arlington, Texas

For Brown, the win was his first Supercross victory in 33 starts, arriving a year after he crashed out of the lead in the 2025 East opener and suffered a fractured vertebra that ended his season.

2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship – Round Seven – Arlington, Texas

Brown leaves the opening round leading the 250SX East standings by three points over Shimoda and five over Bennick.

250 Main Results

Quotes

Pierce Brown – P1

“I don’t even know where to start. There were so many nights where I didn’t think this would be possible. Missing a year, especially with the injury I had, it’s pretty degrading. It’s a scary thing to come back from and there were a lot of doubts. I’m just thankful I never stopped fighting. Every day this offseason we put our best foot forward. Wow. This is…amazing.”

Pierce Brown

Jo Shimoda – P2

“I saw the red [medical] light come on and you’re not supposed to jump that, so I don’t know what happened. We’ll review it. Overall, it was a good one for me. I felt rusty all day, to be honest, but my adrenaline kicked in for the race. It’s a good way to start.”

Daxton Bennick – P3

“Arlington was good!  struggled a little bit in the first practice just getting comfortable with being at the races again, and then in the second one I felt a lot better – I found a flow that really worked for me and I was gelling well with the bike. Its power was awesome and allowed me to get that three in, which only a handful of us were able to do in that big rhythm lane. My starts today were great too – and felt very repeatable – which I am stoked about. In the Main Event, I put my head down, got into a good position off the start, and went to work. I wish I could’ve been a little better in some areas to maybe win, but it is the first round and I kept that in mind, but I think we have some good results coming and I’m happy with how my night went.”

250 East Championship Points

AMA Supercross Results
2026 Round Seven

250 Heat One Results

250 Heat Two Results

250 LCQ Results

250 Qualifying Results

450 Heat One Results

450 Heat Two Results

450 LCQ Results

450 Qualifying Results