Eli Tomac again took some control over the 2026 AMA supercross championship as he took victory last week in Seattle and now, as the series heads to Arlington, Texas, the red plate is still on the red Honda of Hunter Lawrence. Leading into this weekend, below is the story of the series until now.

ELI TOMAC: Nabs 3rd victory of the season and moves to a single point away from the red-plated Hunter Lawrence (4th place). It was his112th SMX League victory, only 2 behind James Stewart for 2nd most all-time. He now holds 56Premier Class wins, 16 behind Jeremy McGrath for the all-time record. Tomac also made milestone SMX League start #375 and 450SX Class start #190. KTM earns milestone 450SX Class victory #75 (194 all-time SMX League wins for KTM). Additionally, Tomac tied Larry Ward and Justin Brayton for 5th on the all-time 450SX Class starts list.

COOPER WEBB: Grabs 3rd straight podium after a 7-8-5 start to the season. Was making his 145th 450SX Class start and 276th SMX League start. His 79th 450SX Class podium places him one behind Ken Roczen for 7th all-time. Webb is only 11 points off the points leader even with his slow start. He has been nearly unstoppable in Rd. 7’s & Arlington in his career. He has won three straight Rd. 7’s and 5/8 in his 450SX Class career (1.9 average finish). In Arlington he has won 7/11 450SX Class starts (also won 250SX Class in Arlington 2016) with an average finish of 3.8.

JUSTIN COOPER: Capitalized on a 2-athlete collision to earn a podium, the 6th of his 450SX Class career in 44 starts. It was his 66th SMX League podium and 1st of the season. His finishes have improved for 4 straight rounds (10-9-4-3). Cooper seeks his 45th 450SX Class start and 174th SMX League start in Arlington.

NOTES: Hunter Lawrence (4th): Breaks his runner-up streak but luckily keeps red-plate. Made his 25th 450SX Class start (138th SMX League start). Lawrence has 0 wins, 6 podiums, and 13 top-5’s in the first 25 starts of his 450SX Class career. Chase Sexton (5th): Milestone 65th 450SX Class & 150th SMX League top-5 finish. Seeks 85th 450SX Class start in Arlington. Malcolm Stewart (6th): Best finish of the season & officially moves into the top-25 all-time in 450SX Class starts with 127. Aaron Plessinger (7th): 100th 450SX Class start (248th SMX League start). Justin Hill (11th): 85th 450SX Class start (194th SMX League).

HISTORY LESSON: The first Supercross held in the DFW Metroplex was on February 28-March 1, 1975, in Irving’s Texas Stadium. It was the Opener of the second 450SX Class season and was held across two days with two motos each. Jimmy Ellis (Can-am) scored the overall victory with 1-1-1-2 results. He scored 11 moto wins and all 4 overalls en-route to his Championship. Ellis repeated his Texas Stadium heroics in 1976 with a less dominant 3-4-1-4 weekend but fell short of Jimmy Weinert in the final Championship tally.

THREE DIFFERENT VENUES: After a 5-year hiatus the series returned to the DFW Metroplex from 1983-1985 and 1990 at Dallas’ Cotton Bowl. Texas Stadium would host the series again from 1986-1989 and 1991-2008 before it was demolished after 25 Supercross rounds. AT&T Stadium was built in Arlington and has hosted Supercross every season since 2010, including 3 in 2021. That makes the 2026 Arlington Supercross the 48th race held in the DFW Metroplex and 19th in AT&T Stadium.

THE TEXAS THREE: Arlington hosted their first Triple Crown in 2020, and Eli Tomac won the overall. Arlington hosted 3 rounds during the covid-altered 2021 season, and it was a clean sweep by eventual Champion Cooper Webb. Arlington hosted Triple Crowns again in 2022-2023 with Tomac and Webb winning. 2025 was also a Triple-Crown that Webb won to extend his all-time lead in DFW 450SX Class victories by 3 full wins over Chad Reed. Webb, who has won 7 of the last 9 here, is the only athlete across either Class to win 3 in-a-row in DFW, and he has done it twice. 2026 is not a Triple-Crown format, however.

CHAMPIONSHIP %: In 23/47 (49%) rounds the winner of the 450SX Class in DFW also won the title. The number jumps to 12/18 (67%) when talking about AT&T Stadium. Webb won last season in Arlington and won the title, unlike 2024 when Webb won DFW but lost the title.

YAMAHA TRIO OF CONTENDERS: Nate Thrasher (6 career 250SX Class wins), Cole Davies (2 wins), & Pierce Brown (1 career SMX League win, came in 2024 SMX Playoff finale) form the Eastern Divisional Star Yamaha squad, looking to keep the momentum going from Haiden Deegan’s commanding points lead and win streak in the West. Davies has the most hype surrounding him, a year removed from scoring wins as a rookie over Deegan. Thrasher has been inconsistent, only finishing inside the top-5 in 42% of his 250SX Class starts. It is no secret, and he has proven in the past, he could be the fastest man on any given track on any given week. Brown, similar to Thrasher, has flashed speed, but suffered injuries the last handful of seasons.

SMX CHAMP BEGINS TITLE DEFENSE: Even with suffering a finger injury early in 2025 and a neck injury in the off-season, Shimoda earned an SMX World Championship and possibly healed in time for Arlington, where he will immediately be a top contender seeking his 1st 250SX Class Championship. He is also the veteran of the class with 51 starts across 6 seasons and will sport the Purple plate, thanks to his aforementioned SMX World Championship.

HAMMAKER SEEKS REVENGE: After the slimmest of defeats in 2025’s Eastern Divisional, Hammaker looks to score a title for Mitch Payton and the esteemed Pro-Circuit team. RJ Hampshire and Tom Vialle are no longer in his way, but plenty of competition stands between him and the title he knows he has the talent to win. Sophomore PC athlete Drew Adams is one of the youngest in the Eastern Division, standing as a dark horse candidate for wins and podiums. He was a perfect 3/3 in top-10 finishes in the 3 rounds he made last year.

DISRUPTORS IN THE MIX: Jalek Swoll is set to return to Supercross with 1 podium, 5 top-5’s, & 28 top-10’s in 34 career 250SX Class starts. His Triumph teammate Austin Forkner was set to join him in the East, but an injury in the 450SX Class has complicated those plans. Husqvarna has formed a strong squad for ’26, with Ryder DiFrancesco stringing together podiums & top-5s on the West and two new athletes on the East: Casey Cochran (currently sidelined with collarbone injury) & Daxton Bennick (moving from Star Yamaha) form a duo looking to compete for podiums or better. Coty Schock (Club Yamaha) & Valentin Guillod (MXGP veteran racing for Gizmo Mods Yamaha) – among others – form a competitive field for the 2026 Eastern Divisional Championship.

HISTORY LESSON: The first 250SX Class round held in the DFW Metroplex was on May 4, 1985, in Dallas’ Cotton Bowl. Bobby Moore (Suzuki) won the East/West combined Main Event and eventually clinched the first ever Western Divisional Championship a few months later in the Rose Bowl. The series moved back to Texas Stadium in 1986, hosting their first 250SX Class round which was also combined coasts. Keith Turpin’s (Honda) victory that night clinched the Eastern Divisional Championship for him over Ron Tichenor (Kawasaki, 9th).

RICH HISTORY: Irving’s Texas Stadium hosted a 250SX Class round from 1986-1989 and 1991-2008 before it was demolished. The Cotton Bowl held two rounds, 1985 and 1990. AT&T Stadium has hosted since 2010, including three in 2021. That makes the 2026 250SX Class Arlington Supercross the 43rd 250SX Class round in the DFW Metroplex and 19th in AT&T Stadium.

GOING COASTAL: Placed right in between the invisible and fluid East/West Divisional line, DFW has switched between East/West and Shoot-outs throughout the 4 decades of Divisional action. Including 2026 (when it will be the East’s Opener), AT&T Stadium has been an Eastern round 13 times and Western round 6 times. Texas Stadium was an East/West Shoot-out race from 1985-1996 and then a Western Divisional from 1997-2004. The Cotton Bowl was a Shoot-out in both of their two rounds. Including ’26, the DFW Metroplex boasts 12 Shoot-outs, 15 Western Divisionals, and 16 Eastern Divisionals. The last time AT&T Stadium hosted the Eastern Divisional Opener was 2018.

CHAMPION’S PARADISE?: The winner of the DFW Metroplex 250SX Class round has won the Championship in 24/40 (60%) seasons, including 7 of the last 10. Haiden Deegan won Arlington and the title last year to add to this total. Deegan became the 1st 250SX Class athlete to win Arlington back-to-back. He was only the 2nd athlete to win back-to-back in DFW’s 250SX Class history, with Jeremy McGrath at Texas Stadium (1991-1992) accounting for the other occasion.