In a chaotic Monster Energy Supercross 250 East season opener, Max Anstie inherited the lead when his Star Racing Yamaha teammate Pierce Brown crashed on Lap 6, necessitating a staggered restart with another Star racer, Daxton Bennick on his back tire.
Anstie held the top spot for the remainder of the race and built an advantage of more than three seconds in the final nine laps to earn his third 250 divisional Supercross win. Anstie's first victory came in muddy conditions in East Rutherford in April, 2023, in an East / West Showdown with his second coming at Philadelphia last year.
Bennick is off to a strong start for the second consecutive season after finishing third in the 2024 opener in Detroit, Michigan. Bennick struggled for most of the remainder of the 2024 season and cracked the top five only once more with a fourth in Philly. He exuded confidence from the podium in the post-race news conference and seems certain this year will be different.
The rider in third put on one of the gutsiest performances of the weekend. Cameron McAdoo tore his ACL in a practice crash during the week and was riding injured. No one would have faulted him for taking it easy to merely accumulate points but he overcame a sixth-place starting position to ride into fifth before the Lap 7 restart. He got a good jump when the green flag waved and climbed into third immediately. McAdoo held onto that position until the checkers.
Seth Hammaker completed Lap 1 in fourth-place and remained there for the duration of the race. Flying under the radar for much of the weekend, he is part of the stacked field of contenders in the Eastern division.
Defending 250 East champion Tom Vialle overcame a poor start that had him seventh at the end of the first lap. The reset elevated him to fifth and he salvaged some points in the process.
In the head-to-head battle with the 250 West titlist, Vialle came out on top of RJ Hampshire, who got hung up on a Tuff Blox on Lap 1 and lost a lap in the process. Hampshire earned minimal points with his 18th-place finish.
Brown took the early lead and held it until he crashed violently on Lap 6. He was carted off the track by the Alpinestars Medical crew and credited with 20th-place points.
Austin Forkner was another top contender with a disappointing night. He got a slow start and was barely inside the top 10 before he crashed immediately after the restart and finished 17th.
Here are the 250 Supercross results, lap times, and points standings after Round 4 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona: