Anderson and Deegan Both Podium at Philadelphia SX

Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field was covered in dirt and filled with fans as Round 15 of Monster Energy AMA Supercross saw two Monster Energy-backed racers – Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson on the 450s and Star Racing/Yamaha’s Haiden Deegan on the 250s – battle their way to podium 3rd place finishes on Saturday night.

Anderson’s run to the podium would come at the expense of current 450 class No. 2 overall points racer Cooper Webb (Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha), who was poised to score a 3rd place podium finish when Anderson caught him and, at the end of the whoop section, the two coming together and Webb going down – momentarily – before remounting and placing 4th.

The racing incident, which was deemed ‘no fault’ by several experts, did end up costing Webb two points (difference between 3rd and 4th places). Webb now trails Honda’s Jett Lawrence by 12 points for the 450 championship with two rounds remaining, 311-299.

For Anderson, the 450 class podium finish was his first trip back to the box since the Glendale, Ariz., round (Feb. 10th). He ran well all day at Lincoln Financial Field, qualifying in the No. 7 spot and winning Heat 2 by 2.2 seconds over Honda’s Hunter Lawrence.

In the 450 main Anderson got out cleanly off the start and into 4th place, dropping to 5th on Lap 3. Anderson stayed in 5th through the race’s 24-lap midpoint, then moved past Monster Energy’s Eli Tomac (Star Racing/Yamaha) on Lap 19 and into 4th place. On the final lap, Anderson blitzed the whoop section and ran up onto the side of a surprised Webb, making incidental contact on the exit of the whoop section and hitting the finish line soon after in 3rd place.

“I was with Coop (Webb) there at the end, and I was charging,” said Anderson. “And the only way I knew how to do it (make the pass on Webb for the podium) was to go to the outside of the whoops. I tried to squeeze him off and he didn’t want to let go.

“It’s tough. Coop’s always been a straight up dude, but I wanted to be up here on the box.”

Rounding out the 450 class top ten for Monster Energy was Webb in 4th, Tomac 5th, Dylan Ferrandis (Honda) in 9th and Justin Cooper (Star Racing/Yamaha) in 10th.

In 250 ESX class action at Philadelphia local boy Seth Hammaker (Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki) got a great start, grabbed the holeshot to the inside, and took off with the lead as Deegan was trapped back in the bottom third of the pack at the start.

Hammaker was dominant through much of the 250 main event, leading the contest through 11 laps and running in 2nd place as late as Lap 15 (of 18). A wild move by Jalek Swoll (Triumph) would take both he and Hammaker out on Lap 16, with Hammaker being able to remount and place a respectable 7th.

As the attention focused up front on Hammaker’s battles with eventual Philly 250s race winner Max Anstie (Honda), and the out-of-control Swoll, Deegan was making his way up through the back of the pack and into podium contention. By the midway point of the 18-lap 250 main event Deegan was up to 6th place – and clawing feverously towards the leaders. On the final lap Deegan would pass Pierce Brown (Gas Gas) to earn Monster Energy’s lone podium in that class.

Also making the top ten in the 250 ESX round for Monster Energy were Daxton Bennick (Star Racing/Yamaha) in 4th, Honda’s Chance Hymas in 5th, Hammaker in 7th, and Nick Romano (Star Racing/Yamaha) in 10th.

Notes & Quotes

• “That was on Cooper (Webb). Should have known it.” – NBC announcer James Stewart’s view on the 450 main event last lap get together between Webb and Anderson.
• Added Stewart’s NBC counterpart, Ricky Carmichael (on the 450 points chase): “Anything can happen in Denver (the next Monster Energy AMA Supercross round). It’s still far from over.”
• This is pretty cool. Philly’s Lincoln Financial Field played host this weekend to its first Monster Energy AMA Supercross event. The series last stopped in Philadelphia in 1980, with premier 450 class bikes (then 250 class in 1980) marking the return of the sport to Philadelphia for the first time since 1980 (JFK Stadium). The 43-year gap between 450 main events in a city is the longest gap in the sport’s history.
• How about Daxton Bennick’s (Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha) run to 4th place at Philly! The rookie’s finish was his second-best as a pro thus far, moving him into 7th place overall in the 250 ESX standings.
• “That was definitely a mistake,” added Stewart on Swoll’s takeout of Hammaker.
• With one race remaining in the 250 ESX championship Deegan trails Tom Vialle by 15 points, 158-143.
• “I gotta start getting ready for outdoors,” said Deegan at the Monster Energy AMA Supercross post-race press conference. “With such little time after supercross, when you have two weeks to work on stuff you got to get some outdoor testing, get the bike good.”
• “Yeah, I crashed at Foxborough, like pretty early on in the main event. Went down in the whoops and kind of busted up my shoulder a little bit, nothing too serious. But took last weekend off, just kind of wasn't strong enough to get back on the bike yet.” – Hammaker, to Racer X Online, regarding his return to racing at Philly.

Up next: Monster Energy AMA Supercross arrives at Denver’s Empower Field at Mile High for Round 16 of the series, this Saturday, May 4th. And may the fourth be with you! For more information, including tickets, hit up www.supercrosslive.com