Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Nate Thrasher capped off the 2025 SuperMotocross World Championship with a strong showing, finishing fourth overall (5-4) at the SMX Finals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada. His grit and determination to come back through the field for another top-five result secured fourth in the 250SMX Championship standings. Haiden Deegan also put in a gritty ride to secure a hard-earned runner-up finish in Moto 1 before a crash ended his night in Moto 2 with a broken collarbone, leaving him ninth overall. Wildcard riders Daxton Bennick and Max Anstie each recovered from crashes to finish 12th (9-14) and 17th (17-12), respectively, while Cole Davies’ night ended early with a crash in Moto 1.
Although he struggled to find his comfort zone and was 15th in the combined times, Thrasher delivered two determined rides to finish inside the top five in both motos. In Moto 1, he made an impressive charge through the field from 20th to fifth. In Moto 2, he again worked his way forward from outside the top 10, climbing from 13th to fourth with six laps remaining. His consistency earned him fourth overall on the night and fourth in the 250SMX Championship. The Tennessee rider also finished fourth in the 250SX East Championship and added another supercross victory to his resume at the Birmingham Supercross.
Deegan entered the triple-points season finale 10 points behind the leader. After qualifying 12th in the combined times, he rebounded with a strong Moto 1 ride. He made his way to fourth in the opening laps before unfortunately finding himself on the ground after coming together with another rider in front of him, who started to crash in the sand. Deegan rejoined back in fourth and put his head down, setting a blistering pace to move into the runner-up spot, where he would finish. In Moto 2, he made his way into second by Lap 5 and battled for the lead with his title rival before a crash on Lap 10 that put both riders on the ground. The Californian withdrew from the moto with a collarbone injury, ending his night with a 2-20 score for ninth overall. He was later assessed a five-championship-point penalty for aggressive riding. Deegan finished the 2025 SMX World Championship season with two titles – the 250SX West Championship and a second-consecutive Pro Motocross 250MX Championship – and was fifth in the 250SMX standings.
Bennick was 13th in the combined times and then overcame adversity from crashes in the 250 Wildcard LCQ race to earn the final transfer spot to the night show. With the less-than-ideal gate pick, he fought his way back from 19th to finish ninth in Moto 1. In the second moto, he got a great start inside the top three and ran inside the top five early before dropping back to 14th, ending the day 12th overall. His efforts earned 10th in the 250SMX Championship standings, a strong finish to the year despite being sidelined with injury for much of the season.
Anstie qualified ninth in the combined times and finished third in the 250 Wildcard LCQ race. From there, he had a strong start despite his gate pick and was 11th after the start of Moto 1. Unfortunately, he came together with another rider on the opening lap and found himself at the back of the field. He did what he could, but lost too much time to advance further than 17th. In the second moto, he once again found himself at the back of the field, but continued to push, making his way to 12th to end the day 17th overall. It was a rollercoaster year for the British rider, who started the season with a win at the Tampa Supercross and was a title contender in the 250SX East Championship before an injury sidelined him until the SMX Playoffs.
Davies was 10th in qualifying despite a big crash, and was 16th after the start of Moto 1. He quickly made his way to eighth in the opening laps before unfortunately having a crash that ended his night early. The young New Zealander looks to return to full fitness to build on his standout debut supercross season, which saw him earn two wins, four podiums, Rookie of the Year honors, and third in the 250SX West Championship, even though he missed the final round in Salt Lake City with injury.
Wil Hahn – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250 Team General Manager
“I’m really bummed for Haiden with the injury in the finale. Nate had a really strong night and finished off his year on a high note. Max and Dax were caught up in crashes and first-lap mishaps that cost a lot of positions, and Cole’s night unfortunately ended early. It was a tough finale, but we’ll focus on getting our guys healthy and making another championship run next season.”
Nate Thrasher – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #41
“I kind of struggled all day with setup. I think I made changes every time we went out on track, so to end up fourth tonight, we’ll take it. I got terrible starts, but I just dug deep. The first moto I was way back and ended up fifth, and then was fourth in Moto 2. In these last two rounds, my intensity has been there, and I was kind of back to my old self. I’ve got a lot of momentum going into next year, and I’m looking to carry that into it. I feel like I’m in the best spot that I’ve been in a long time. It’s time to fight for the supercross championship, whatever coast I’m racing.”
Haiden Deegan – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #1
“I gave it everything I had to win the championship. This new format of racing in SMX makes for an intense grand finale. I always give 110%. It’s high-stakes racing, and it’s hard to really explain what that’s like without being in that situation. Props to Jo (Shimoda) on the championship. He put up a helluva fight.
“I have made it to every single gate drop since I started racing pro. Last night finally bit me as I cracked my collarbone. I am getting it fixed and will be back to work to come back stronger than ever.”
Daxton Bennick – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #34
“Qualifying went pretty well, but I had some crashes in the LCQ race, which for sure put me behind the eight ball going into Moto 1. I had the last gate pick, but I made the best of it and rode really well to salvage a ninth-place finish. So I was happy with that. Then I put myself in a really good spot in the second moto. I think I came out second or third and rode in fifth for a while, but I just locked up unfortunately. There’s not much to say except that I'm disappointed. We’ll learn from this and come out next year swinging.”
Max Anstie – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #31
“Vegas was tough. In the first moto, I came together with someone on the first lap and ended up a half a lap behind and a lap down. In the second moto, I didn’t have a great gate pick. I did everything I could to get a great start, but pushed in and ended up going straight off the track, and was riding around at the back. It doesn’t help having to go through the LCQs for these races. It is what it is. At the end of the day, my goal was to just race and get back to feeling fit and strong, and to have a good off-season now and be solid for next year.”
Cole Davies – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #100
“Unfortunately, it just wasn’t our day in Vegas. It wasn’t due to a lack of effort; we just couldn’t catch a break. I came into the weekend carrying a niggling thumb injury from Charlotte, followed by a heavy hit during qualifying. We locked in for the mains, but another crash put me out of the race, and we parked it for the night. It’s definitely not the way we wanted to end our SMX Playoffs, but all we can do is learn from it and continue to grow. I’m looking forward to the off-season and getting back to where I know I belong. I can’t thank the entire Star Yamaha team enough for everything they’ve done and continue to do for me week in, week out.”