Monster Energy Racers Open Loretta Lynn's with Five Moto Wins
Monster Energy riders opened the 2026 Loretta Lynn's Amateur National Motocross Championship with five moto victories as Mayla Herrick, Easton Graves, Gauge Brown, Eidan Steinbrecher, and Darren Pine claimed early wins in Tennessee.
The gate dropped for the world’s top amateur motocross racers on Tuesday’s opening day of competition at the 45th running of the Monster Energy AMA Amateur Motocross Championship, aka “Loretta’s,” at the late, great country & western performer Loretta Lynn’s Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn. And leading the way for Monster Energy with victories in their opening motos were Mayla Herrick (Women), Easton Graves (Supermini 1), Gauge Brown (125 Jr B/C), Eidan Steinbrecher (Mini Sr 1) and Darren Pine (250 B Ltd).
Opening with Herrick, the Thornton, Colo., native would overcome a tough get together with another rider at the start, make her way up through the pack, and open up a 33-second lead by Lap 4. But then all heck broke loose as Herrick wadded up her Honda on the downside of a tabletop jump, getting back up to a 19-second lead. Seemingly on cruise control at this point to the checkers, Herrick slammed again in the whoop section, then slowly getting back going again with a mere four-second lead over Yamaha mounted Jordan Jarvis late on the moto’s final lap.
“Down on her head, unfortunately… but she’s still got the lead,” said FloRacing announcer and former multi-time Loretta’s champ Kevin Windham.
Herrick would win the drag race to the finish over Jarvis in what was certainly the closest finish - .155 seconds – in Tuesday’s action.
“I started off terrible, then got into a good flow and back into it,” said Herrick. “Then I got a little comfortable and crashed – twice. Ended up finishing with a broken lever.”
Monster Energy’s Steinbrecher, aboard a Gas/Gas, had the most on his plate Tuesday as he ran to a 2nd place finish in the Mini Sr 2 class in the morning, then following the intermission the Fair Oaks, Calif., native blazed to a 1st place finish in the Mini Sr 1 class.
“Got a bad start and came out in 10th,” said Steinbrecher of his opening Mini Sr 2 moto. “Then in (my) Sr 1 (moto) I was like ‘Screw it,’ I’m just going to go as hard as I can.”
In addition to wins by Brown (Yamaha) and Pine (Triumph), other podium finishes for Monster Energy racers on Tuesday at Loretta’s came from runner-up finishers Cooper Johnson (Yamaha), Sawyer Geick (KTM) in 125 Jr B/C and Tanner Dorman (Yamaha) in 250 B, along with Talan Staggs (Husqvarna) who placed 3rd in Moto 1 in 250 B Ltd racing.
Action continues at Loretta’s on Wednesday, highlighted by Open Pro Sport and 250 Pro Sport.
Monster Energy Loretta’s Day 1 Top Results
| 250 Pro Sport (Moto 1) | 250 B Ltd (Moto 1) |
|---|---|
| 4th – Carson Wood | 1st – Darren Pine |
| 5th – Max Shane | 3rd – Talan Staggs |
| Mini Sr 1 (Moto 1) | 250 B (Moto 1) |
|---|---|
| 1st – Eidan Steinbrecher | 2nd – Tanner Dorman |
| Mini Sr 2 (Moto 1) | Women (Moto 1) |
|---|---|
| 2nd – Eidan Steinbrecher | 1st – Mayla Herrick |
| 125 Jr B/C | Supermini 1 (Moto 1) |
|---|---|
| 1st – Gauge Brown | 1st – Easton Graves |
| 2nd – Sawyer Geick | 2nd – Cooper Johnson |
Notes & Quotes
- “Really, with (Mayla) Herrick, it was just waiting… waiting until her 17th birthday when she could turn pro. And she’s going to be a force when the women’s pro series returns in two weeks at Unadilla (N.Y).” – FloRacing announcer Jason Weigandt on Women’s Moto 1 winner, Monster Energy’s Mayla Herrick.
- “I broke my foot two weeks ago… came out here to see what I could do. Couldn’t really hold on with my leg, so my arms were getting beat up badly… could barely hold on. But I powered through it.” – Monster Energy’s 250 B Ltd podium placer Talan Staggs
- “Well, I came off in a 15th place start. My clutch wasn’t fully engaged, spinning on the gate, just didn’t get a good jump. Managed to get myself up there quickly. Me and (Chase) Moynihan up front, then I passed him and it was smooth sailing. Rode my heart out for that.” – Gauge Brown, 125 Jr B/C winner.
- “Definitely wasn’t the ideal start. My bike was bubbling pretty bad (due to the heat) and we went to KTM to fix it. So I was the last one into staging. I pulled Chip (#) 39, which isn’t ideal either. So just tried to execute my start the best I could, made some pretty hard passes, got into 2nd, and then tried to ride my best from there.” – 125 Jr B/C runner up Sawyer Geick
- “Just put my head down and got that good start. The track’s better than yesterday, definitely smoother. But the humidity’s pretty rough, coming from New York.” – 250 B runner up Tanner Dorman.
- “It’s been a rough couple weeks, but everything really came together in that moto. Had a mechanical (issue) on the start and my mechanic, Landon, got that fixed. So thanks to him. I executed my start, got a gap on them right away. Got it up to almost 20 seconds. Two-lap card came out and I knew I just had to bring it in, keep my clean laps going for those last two.” – Monster Energy’s Supermini 1 Moto 1 winner Easton Graves.
- “Did you see that? That’s pro level stuff right there.” – FloRacing announcer Kevin Kelly on an impressive cross track cut by Graves.
- “Got a pretty bad start, but made my way up through the pack. Dogged it out. Got a little sketchy in some areas, just sending it, giving it all the bike has. But I rode my race good, came out with 2nd. – Supermini runner up Cooper Johnson.
Up next…
Day Two of the 45th annual running of the Monster Energy AMA Amateur Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch (or “Loretta’s” for short) is on the gate first thing Wednesday morning. Monster Energy racer results here on MonsterEnergy.com, and you can follow the action “Live” at Loretta’s through www.mxsports.com and on www.floracing.com
