Hunter Lawrence takes control in Nashville as Cole Davies extends East lead

Round 13 – Nashville, Tennessee

Hunter Lawrence tightened his grip on the 2026 AMA Supercross Championship in Nashville, winning the 450SX main event on a night that significantly altered the complexion of the title race, while Cole Davies delivered another authoritative 250SX East victory to further strengthen his own championship position.

After St. Louis, riders had described that track as one of the toughest they had faced, and there was a similar tone again in Nashville, albeit for different reasons. Nissan Stadium developed into a hard, baked, technical circuit, with deepening ruts, sharp edges, and brutal whoops that demanded precision as much as aggression. Cooper Webb called it “sketchy”, Nate Thrasher said it became “harder packed”, and Davies pointed to whoops that had turned steep and badly cupped by the main event.

2026 AMA Supercross Championship
Round 13 – Nashville, Tennessee

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450SX

Hunter Lawrence’s Nashville win came at exactly the right time. He arrived at Round 13 tied atop the 450SX standings with Eli Tomac, but left Tennessee with sole possession of the red plate after Tomac’s difficult main event.

AMA SX 2026 Round 13 in Nashville proved pivotal in both the 450SX and 250SX East title fights.

Justin Hill was soon at the front ahead of Ken Roczen and Jorge Prado, while Lawrence settled into the top five, and Tomac was buried outside the top ten from the outset.

Justin Hill briefly led early in the 450SX main as Ken Roczen settled into the fight that would shape the race.

Roczen then moved to the front and, for a period, looked capable of controlling the race. Hunter Lawrence, however, worked his way into second and became the fastest rider on the track as the pair edged clear through the middle stages. Lawrence made the difference with some excellent line choices, and an inside line through the sand had allowed him to chase down Roczen.

Roczen led through the middle stages before Hunter Lawrence closed in and made the decisive pass.

With just over eight minutes remaining, Roczen lost traction before a triple, Lawrence then capitalised to take the lead, and from there the Honda rider steadily broke the race open.

Roczen had to come back through to third after a fall, successfully kicking his Suzuki back into life on the second kick

Roczen then hit the deck, dropped behind Hill and Webb, but recovered well enough to salvage third.

Once in front, Hunter Lawrence controlled the race and set the fastest lap on lap 11.

Hunter Lawrence was more than 15 seconds clear in the closing stages, leaving the real fight to unfold behind him.

Cooper Webb, after another poor start, regrouped and eventually found a way past Hill for second, while Roczen recovered strongly enough to climb back onto the podium and finish just ahead of Chase Sexton.

2026 AMA Supercross Championship
Round 13 – Nashville, Tennessee

Justin Hill was one of the clear standouts of the night, featuring in the front group for the first time in three years and repeatedly pulling off a quad through one rhythm section that no one else was consistently making, which kept him firmly in the podium fight before he eventually came home fifth.

Justin Hill’s fifth place was his strongest ride in years, helped by a rhythm-lane quad no one else was consistently making.

Dylan Ferrandis also took a welcome step forward on the Ducati, taking sixth on corrected results ahead of Justin Cooper.

There was an added sting for KTM because, after a difficult previous round, Tomac looked the rider to beat earlier in the day. Tomac topped qualifying, won his heat race and appeared well placed to mount a serious challenge, but a bad start on the slick, technical Nashville surface immediately left him chasing. He only got as high as eighth before a late crash compounded the damage, leaving him 12th.

Eli Tomac looked the rider to beat earlier in the day before a poor start and late crash left him 12th.

Jorge Prado also showed enough in the early laps to suggest a stronger finish was possible after running near the front, only for his race to unravel on the way to 13th.

The official standings now show Lawrence on 270 points, Roczen on 260 and Tomac on 255, meaning Lawrence carries a 10-point lead over Roczen and a 15-point margin over Tomac into Cleveland. Webb remains in the conversation on 242 with four rounds remaining.

The championship now heads to Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland on April 18 for the sport’s first visit there in 30 years. Lawrence arrives with momentum and the red plate in 450SX, Roczen remains close enough to punish any mistake, and Tomac has precious little room left for another costly night.

450 Main Results

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Quotes

Hunter Lawrence – P1

“It feels great [to be back on top of the podium]. I’m so happy my wrist wasn’t holding me back today. That’s probably the coolest thing. Every Saturday, I want to go out and have no limitations holding me back from anything. It feels like a home race with my collaboration with Gibson [Guitars] and how welcoming everyone is and I always look forward to coming back.”

Once in front, Hunter Lawrence ran away with it, setting the fastest lap of the race on lap 11

Cooper Webb – P2

“This race was hard. The track was sketchy and you wanted to push, but you couldn’t. I’m happy with [second] and we got through safe. I had another terrible start, which is not how you want to draw it up. We’ve got some work to do to catch that lead group, but I’ll take the podium after the past few weekends. It’s a good boost of confidence for me.”

Cooper Webb recovered from another poor start to finish second and remain in the 450SX title hunt.

Ken Roczen – P3

“I just felt a little bit off today compared to the past few weekends, but nonetheless we still have only four races to go, and anything goes in the Main Event. I was doing pretty good and once Hunter [Lawrence] got by me, I was going to settle for second and that felt like it was a win for me today. I ended up tossing it right before the finish line and luckily, I got the bike started and back going. I would have loved to finish second, but I’ll take a podium. That’s like a win for us. We’ve got a bunch of racing to go.”

Roczen’s podium kept him within 10 points of the championship lead heading to Cleveland.

Eli Tomac – P12

“What a day – the whole day was good, other than the Main Event result! I was comfortable with my setup all day, so I’m just frustrated not only with the bad gate selection – I should have avoided the inside on the start – but also the crash. That bad start really put me in a tough spot from the get-go and I had my work cut out for me trying to make passes on such a slick, tight track. I lost a bunch of points today, but all I can do at this point is ride my best at the remaining rounds and let the chips fall where they may.”

Tomac had topped qualifying and won his Heat

Jorge Prado – P13

“It was a frustrating Main Event in Nashville. I felt good all day, and I’m just upset with myself that I wasn’t able to execute the plan I had in my head for the race. I knew I had to push hard – push it to the limit every lap – if I wanted to be on the podium. I feel I had what it took to be on the podium tonight, so I’m disappointed. My bike was good all day and good enough to be up there, so it’s frustrating to know that one mistake cost me what could have been a great night. But the positive is I’m here to learn this year, and learning every week is what I’m doing. I will regroup, keep putting in the work this week, and be even better next weekend.”

Jorge Prado showed front-running speed in the early laps before slipping to 13th by the finish.

Malcolm Stewart – P18

“I actually felt great all day in Nashville,” said Stewart. “Both qualifying and the Heat Race went really well, and we just ended up having a little problem in the Main Event – me and another rider came together – and it was just a wrong place, wrong time racing incident. But, at the end of the day, I was glad to be able to finish out the Main Event, and now we’ll keep digging and look forward to the next one in Cleveland.”

Malcolm Stewart had shown good speed all day before contact in the main event left him 18th

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450 Championship Points

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250 East

Daxton Bennick grabbed the holeshot in the 250SX East main ahead of Nate Thrasher and Drew Adams.

Young Kiwi Cole Davies again proved the rider best able to read the race as it developed. Daxton Bennick grabbed the holeshot ahead of Nate Thrasher and Drew Adams, but Thrasher quickly moved to the front while Davies and Seth Hammaker began pressing forward from just behind the early leaders.

Nate Thrasher inherited second late and claimed an important podium on a demanding Nashville surface.

Davies used his speed through the whoops to make ground and moved into the lead less than five minutes into the race. Hammaker followed him through and briefly looked the rider most likely to challenge, only for a mistake near a tuff block to send him down and undo much of that work.

Seth Hammaker fought back from an early mistake but a post-race penalty dropped him to fifth.

Once clear, Davies controlled the race, building a lead of more than five seconds by halfway before stretching it to 17.2 seconds at the flag.

Cole Davies turned another rough, technical race into a commanding 250SX East victory.

Behind him, the podium fight became increasingly messy. Hammaker recovered strongly from his earlier mistake, passed Thrasher, then closed on Bennick for second late in the race. Bennick lost rear traction trying to defend the place; the pair came together, and both went down, allowing Thrasher through to inherit second.

Davies and Hammaker were the two main protagonists before Hammaker’s mistake and later penalty changed the story.

Hammaker remounted in third and Bennick in fourth, but the story was still not over, with Devin Simonson getting by Bennick on the final lap and then being elevated to third in the final classification after Hammaker was docked two positions for a track-cut penalty. That left Davies first, Thrasher second, Simonson third, Bennick fourth and Hammaker fifth.

2026 AMA Supercross Championship
Round 13 – Nashville, Tennessee

Romano finished eighth, Adams marked his return with 10th in his hometown round, and Luke Clout was 13th.

That penalty made Nashville one of the key turning points in the East title fight. The official standings now show Davies on 161 points, Hammaker on 142 and Bennick on 121, which means Davies takes a 19-point advantage over Hammaker and a 40-point margin over Bennick into Cleveland, with only three rounds remaining in 250SX East. Nashville did not seal the title, but it shifted the pressure decisively onto Hammaker to respond immediately next weekend.

250 Main Results

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Quotes

Cole Davies – P1

“The whoops were sketchy today. They were super steep and since [the track crew] left them all day the cups were really gnarly. I’m stoked, that was a good race. I didn’t get off to a good start, but I made it happen and I’m stoked with that.”

Cole Davies

Nate Thrasher – P2

“Honestly, I did not ride good at all. I just didn’t have a flow. I was really great in practice and solid in the Heat Race. The track just kept getting harder packed and I started struggling a little bit. I got a little pumped up and did the best I could. I’m pumped to be on the podium, but we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Devin Simonson – P3
(Quote before Hammaker penalty promoted him to third)

“I was able to pick up on some lines battling with Henry [Miller] and made the pass on him quick [for fifth]. A bunch of carnage was happening out front, I honestly don’t know what, but I saw on the pit board I was battling for fourth, so I gave it everything I had and came out with this one.”

Devin Simonson was elevated to third for his maiden podium after the Hammaker penalty.

Daxton Bennick – P4

“All-in-all, Nashville was good. It’s obviously frustrating since I was in P2 until the last couple of laps… I had a good start to the Main Event, which I was pumped about, then me and [Seth] Hammaker got together, so that is what it is and is part of racing. I’d have liked to have fought a little harder at the end, but we’ll learn from this and be better next weekend.”

Bennick showed strong start speed and podium pace before late contact left him fourth.

Seth Hammaker – P5
Originally third before penalty

“The day was okay. I qualified P1 and felt really solid, just gelling with the track right away. The heat race went well, too. I got off to a second-place start, made the pass for the lead, and felt like I was riding really well heading into the main. In the main event, I didn’t get the best start, but I worked my way around the inside and came out inside the top five, then made a couple of quick passes to get into second and start chasing the lead. I made a mistake on my own getting too close to the tuff blocks, clipped my foot, and went down, which put me back a bit. I was able to regroup, get back up to fifth, and charge back into podium position. Late in the race, I was pushing to make a move for second when [Daxton Bennick] made a mistake, and we came together, which was unfortunate. Even after that, I got going again with the bike pretty tore up and fought back to third. Overall, I felt good, just had one too many mistakes in the main. We’ll clean it up and come back stronger. I’m just glad to be healthy.”

Hammaker had the speed to challenge in Nashville, but mistakes and the penalty proved costly.

Nicholas Romano – P8

“Pretty average day overall. Qualifying was actually one of my better ones this year, so that was a positive. The heat race was solid, but I just need to be better at the start of the main and more consistent as the race goes on. The speed is there, especially early, but I’ve got to put it together for the whole race. We’ll keep working and come back better.”

Nicholas Romano continued his steady progress with eighth in the 250SX East main.

Drew Adams – P10

“It was an okay day overall. It felt really good to be back racing, especially with the hometown crowd. The heat race was probably the best I felt all day, running up front and finishing second behind the points leader. In the main, I got a great start and was up front early, but made a small mistake in the whoops that cost me. From there, it was just about putting my head down and working back through the field. I was able to get back into the top ten, so there are definitely positives to take away. Just need to clean up those early mistakes.”

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250 East Championship Points

250 West Championship Points

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AMA Supercross Results
2026 Round 13

250 Heat One Results

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250 Heat Two Results

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250 LCQ Results

250 Qualifying Results

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450 Heat One Results

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450 Heat Two Results

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450 LCQ Results

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450 Qualifying Results