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2026 Denver Supercross Research

By Brett Smith

Going Up to Denver!

Nicknamed the Mile High City because of its elevation above sea level measuring exactly 5,280 feet, Denver’s Supercross history began in 1996 but didn’t continue until 2019. The “Wall Street of the West” has produced five different winners in the six races hosted.

  • 2025 Winners: Chase Sexton (450) and Haiden Deegan (250)
  • Chase Sexton is the only 2-time winner of the Denver Supercross (2023, 2025)
  • 6 different winners have won the 6 125/250SX races held in Denver
  • Yamaha, Suzuki and Husqvarna have yet to win the 450 class here.

450SX Facts

  • For the first time in his 450SX career, Ken Roczen has 6 consecutive podium finishes.
  • Ken Roczen has tied Ricky Carmichael for 5th on the all-time podiums list (87)
  • Ken Roczen tied RC for 2nd most Suzuki wins (15). He’s now one behind Mark Barnett (16)
  • Ken Roczen has 7 (most) heat wins this season. That seemed like a lot till we looked at recorded history and saw James Stewart won 16 – 3x (2006-07, 2009)!
  • Roczen is one more win, podium and top 5 away from having the most he’s ever had in each of those categories in his 13-season 450SX career.
  • This is the 9th different season that Roczen has held the points lead in 450SX breaking a tie with Jeremy McGrath for most all-time (more below).
  • Joey Savatgy finished a season best 4th and tied his career best finish.
  • Hunter Lawrence has 6 hoelshots this season, most of all riders.
  • Justin Hill is the net position change leader of the class (+75). He went from 11th to 6th in Philly.
  • Hill’s 14.8 L1 position is the worst among the riders in the top 10 in points.
  • Chase Sexton, Joey Savatgy, Malcolm Stewart and Justin Hill are the only riders in the top 10 who have not gotten holeshots in 2026.

250 Rider Facts

  • Haiden Deegan is a perfect 7/7 in heat race wins.
  • Deegan has been Fastest Qualifier 6 times in 2026.
  • Yamaha has won 14 of 15 mains, 17 of 24 heats, and topped qualifying 8 of 15 times.
  • Levi Kitchen has a net position change of +37, most in class (simply, he’s passed the most riders)
  • After 3 consecutive 2nd place finishes (rds. 4-6), Kitchen finished 5th and 7th in Birmingham and St. Louis.
  • Cameron Mcadoo has an avg. L1 position of 2.9, best in class (but just 1 holeshot).
  • Cameron Mcadoo is in a 4-way tie for 4th most 250SX podiums. One more and he’s tied for 2nd.
  • Cameron Mcadoo (40) needs one more start to create a 3-way tie with Austin Forkner and Dean Wilson for most 125/250SX starts by a Kawasaki rider.
  • 2nd overall in the series would be a career best for Max Anstie. He was 3rd overall in 250SX East in 2023. He’s currently 3rd (-3).
  • Ryder DiFrancesco is 4th in points (-6 from 2nd). He’s never finished in the top 10 overall.

International Champions

While Cooper Webb is still mathematically in this thing, he needs a 2023-like miracle (x2!) at this point. He’s down -24 points and if he loses 1 point or more to Roczen next weekend, he’ll be eliminated.

Never say never when Webb’s around–he’s that sort of competitor–but the likelihood is this title is going to come down to the German-born Ken Roczen and the Australian Hunter Lawrence.

  • Notable, this is the first time a title battle is between two international riders.
Foreign Born Premier Class Supercross Champions

The X-Factor = Cooper Webb

Cooper Webb currently sits -24 points back of red plate holder Ken Roczen and -20 back of Hunter Lawrence. It’s a long shot to win the title, but he’s a big factor in the points battle for sure. Case in point: finising 2nd last week gave Roczen an additional +2 points. The fight is now +4 instead of +2.

Here’s one scenario to consider…

  • If Cooper Webb, Hunter Lawrence and Ken Roczen finish 1-2-3 in the final two races, Roczen and Lawrence will tie in points but Roczen wins the title (he has more wins).
Hypothetical Scenario: Imagine Webb, Lawrence, Roczen go 1-2-3 @ DEN/SLC

Ranking Roczen – All-Time Legend

Ken Roczen now has a +4 lead with 2 rounds left and sits on the cusp of solidifying his status as one of the all-time greats. The premier class Supercross trophy is the one title that’s missing from his collection.

Ken’s Titles

His 2016 Pro Motocross title was one for the record books; he won 9 of 12 overalls and 20 of 24 motos.

  • 2x 450 Pro Motocross champion
  • 2013 250 West Division Supercross champion
  • 450SX: 2-time runner-up (2016, 2021)
Premier Class: SX+MX Combined
  • Only 3 riders in the history of the sport rank top 10 in the 4 major stats categories – Chad Reed, Eli Tomac, and Ken Roczen.
  • We’ll likely see him move into and 6th all-time podiums assuming he’s on the box in both remaining rounds.
Premier Class: Supercross
  • Similarly, the same 3 riders are the only to rank in the top 10 of the 4 major stats categories in Supercross.
  • He will not progress any further in the top 10 this season.

Most Red Plate Seasons

  • Ken Roczen has now held the red plate in 9 different seasons (2026, 2025, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2017, 2015, 2014) breaking a tie with Jeremy McGrath. Yes, McGrath won 7 titles but that’s an entirely different story.
  • The fact that Roczen could win his first title in his 13th season is simply a story for the ages and a 9th season with the red plate tells you just how good Ken Roczen has been over the last decade-plus. It’s one thing to win, another to lead the series, and Roczen’s done so across 9 different years!
450SX: Most Years with a Red Plate

Chasing Records: Haiden Deegan

The 250SX West division title is wrapped up and the only thing left to do now is chase a few records. Most notable are both wins and podiums.

Combined SX+MX 125/250

  • Deegan currently has 27 wins (combined). He’s tied with Jett Lawrence for 4th all-time (behind JS7, RC, and RV.)
    • He has two chances to break the tie with Jett but can’t catch the other 3.
  • Deegan currently has 49 podiums. He’s tied with James Stewart for 5th all-time.
    • +1 podium moves him to 4th all-time, and into a tie with Mike Brown (50).
    • +2 podiums gives him sole possession of 4th all-time.
Supercross
Pro Motocross
  • When he won his first of two titles in 2024, he was the 9th youngest champion (18 years old)
  • He’s 1 of 13 riders to win 2 or more Pro Motocross titles. Notably Broc Glover, Mark Barnett, Ricky Carmichael and Ryan Villopoto each won 3x.

Deegan vs. The Greatest 125/250 Riders

Without question or debate, James Stewart is the best to ever race a small bike. 83% win percentage – that’s winning 44 of 53 starts on a 125/250 – is just incredible. But when you look at SX+MX Combined, SX Only, and MX Only, it’s very interesting to consider where Haiden Deegan stands with just 2 starts remaining before he enters the premier class. Here’s a look…

SX+MX Combined
  • When comparing just Supercross or just Pro Motocross, there’s a bigger comparison set, however, elite success in both disciplines is actually somewhat rare.
  • There are 5 riders with 4 titles in the 125/250 class and no surprise, they top the all-time wins 1 through 5.
  • I’d argue Haiden’s already #4 based on podiums compared to Jett, but another win in the last two rounds solidifies that without question.

Catching the others… that’s for the next generation…

SX+MX Honorable Mentions

  • Doug Henry: 3 titles across both disciplines. One of the great better-late-than-never stories, Henry had 14 wins and 37 podiums in 104 starts
  • Travis Pastrana: 2 titles across both disciplines. In 2000, 16-year-old TP199 became the youngest 125MX champion (until James Stewart in 2002). In just 37 total starts, he won 14 races and took 26 podiums.
  • Cooper Webb: 3 titles across both disciplines. He had 18 wins and 37 podiums in 71 starts
  • So many others: Ryan Dungey (62% podium rate), Ivan Tedesco (3-time champ), Aaron Plessinger (32 podiums), Zach Osborne (3-time champ)
Supercross

Includes non-pts paying east/west showdowns.

Win 2 more wins, Haiden could move to 15 wins (2nd all-time) and a 38% win percentage. The 15 wins surely puts him above Jett Lawrence in the best ever conversations, but does it surpass MC, Swinkster, K-dub and/or RC!?

These started out as “honorable mentions” but there’s a case for these to be added above…

  • Christophe Pourcel won 12 of 21 starts (57%) and won 2 titles.
  • Ernesto Fonseca won his first 4 races as a rookie and ultimately had 2 titles and 12 wins in 26 starts (46%)
  • Damon Huffman had 2 titles, 12 wins and a 38% win rate.
  • Chad Reed had 6 wins in 9 starts (67%) and 1 title.
  • Damon Bradshaw had 6 wins in 10 starts (60%) and 1 title.
  • Travis Pastrana had 8 wins in 17 starts (47%) and 1 title.
Pro Motocross
  • Tough to put Haiden above James Stewart, Ricky Carmichael, Ryan Villopoto, or Mark Barnett outdoors. That said, 2 titles in 3 full seasons was impressive!

Levi Kitchen – 2nd Again

His title chances evaporated in St. Louis and now Levi Kitchen is just fighting to maintain 2nd overall in the 250SX West points (he also finished 2nd in 2024, -5)

  • Max Anstie is 3rd (-3)
  • Ryder Difrancesco is 4th (-6)

After the Birmingham Supercross, Kitchen disclosed that his L3-5 in his spine have “ a little bit of wear… One is not quite centered. So it’s pushing, causing some pain.”

Kitchen has not won a race since the 2025 Detroit Supercross.

Re-sort / filter columns by tapping black headers

Milestones

450 Achieved Last Week
  • Ken Roczen (28) tied Rick Johnson for 9th all-time.
  • Ken Roczen (87) tied Ricky Carmichael for 5th on the all-time premier class podiums.
  • Ken Roczen (8,103 points) passed Chad Reed (8,094) for 8th all-time
450s
  • Ken Roczen (49 SX+MX wins) needs 1 more to join just 9 other riders to reach 50 premier class wins in history.
  • Ken Roczen (137 SX+MX podiums) needs 1 more to tie Mike LaRocco (138) for 6th all-time.
  • Just +7 points and Ken Roczen ties Justin Barcia for 7th on the all-time points scored list (all classes)
  • Eli Tomac (113) needs 1 more win to tie James Stewart (114) for the 2nd most wins all-time (all classes, SX+MX).
  • Eli Tomac (379) is just 2 combined SX+MX premier class starts from tying Kevin Windham (381) for 5th all-time.
  • Cooper Webb (32) wins SX+MX needs one more to tie Jett Lawrence (33)
  • Kyle Chisholm (278 SX+MX starts) is just 1 shy of tying Justin Brayton (279) for 8th all-time.

Eli Tomac…


250 Achieved Last Week
  • Nate Thrasher (53 starts) tied Greg Schnell for most 250SX main events on a Yamaha all-time.
250s
  • n/a