Monster Energy Sweeps Cleveland Triple Crown 250 ESX Podium
Monster Energy domination in Cleveland — Thrasher, Gordon and Davies sweep 250 ESX as Star Racing Yamaha controls the podium.
Another dominant weekend for the Monster Energy brand, and in particular the Star Racing/Yamaha team, on its namesake Monster Energy AMA Supercross tour as the M-clawed racers took five of the six available ‘Triple Crown’ podium positions, including a 1-2-3 sweep of the 250 Eastern Region (ESX) class at Cleveland’s Huntington Bank Field on Saturday.
Starting with the 250 ESX class, Monster Energy’s Nate Thrasher, aboard the Star Racing/Yamaha YZ250F, locked down his first victory of the season with the 2nd/1st/4th (7 points) effort.
“Feel like we’ve been trending. The speed’s been coming back a little bit,” said Thrasher, who has now recorded at least one victory in each of the six seasons he’s been racing the 250 class. “Felt great. Awesome to get a win. And we’ll keep chugging, keep trying to get better.”
One point back of Thrasher with a 4th/2nd/2nd performance (8 points) in the runner up spot was rookie Landen Gordon. “It’s been a long road, and to do it just this soon, I believe in myself 100-percent – been working for this a long time,” said Gordon. “Just tried not to get out of my comfort zone, crash and do something stupid.”
Surviving the night with not one of his better efforts on the season – yet still managing to podium in 3rd position (5th/4th/1st, 10 points) - was ESX series points leader Cole Davies. And despite a performance he was not particularly pleased with, the speedy New Zealander still finished out front of the closest racer to him in the standings, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Seth Hammaker. Hammaker actually tied Davies in the Cleveland overall points at 10 (1st/3rd/6th), but Davies was awarded the 3rd position based on his win in the third and deciding race.
The 450 main events were equally as thrilling as Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha pilots Cooper Webb and Justin Cooper were right in the hunt, Cooper especially (3rd/1st in the first two races), and would wind up on the overall podium in 2nd (Webb) and 3rd (Cooper). Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Chase Sexton would also have solid night, going 7th/3rd/4th for a top five 4th position overall (14 points).
Said Webb: “Hard fought, for sure, and overall a great day,” said Webb, who passed KTM’s Eli Tomac into 3rd place overall in the season 450 standings at Cleveland. “Star 250 sweep was cool. Nate’s (Thrasher) and good friend of mine, so to see him come away with the win was nice.”
Added Cooper: “Kind of watching the end to the 250 race, and seeing what they (track crew Dirt Wurx) were prepping – and what they weren’t. Then, obviously, I had that crash (in Race 3). Didn’t work out in the end, but I felt I was level headed all night.”
| Cleveland 450 class results | 250 East Regional class |
|---|---|
| 2nd – Webb (Monster/Star/Yamaha) | 1st – Thrasher (Monster/Star/Yamaha) |
| 4th – Sexton (Monster/Kawasaki) | 2nd – Gordon (Monster/Star/Yamaha) |
| 4th – Sexton (Monster/Kawasaki) | 3rd – Davies (Monster/Star/Yamaha) |
Overall Standings (14 of 17 rounds)
| 450 class | 250 ESX class |
|---|---|
| 3rd – Webb, 264 points | 1st – Davies, 181 points |
| 5th – Cooper, 33 points | 2nd – Hammaker, 160 points |
| 6th – Sexton, 180 points | 5th – Thrasher, 116 points |
Notes & Quotes
- The ESX championship could be decided this coming weekend in Philadelphia as Davies needs to gain four or more points on Hammaker to clinch the title with one round remaining (Salt Lake City).
- Top Monster Energy qualifiers at Cleveland came from the Star Racing/Yamaha team as Davies was tops in the 250 class (46.690) while Webb qualified in 2nd position on the 450s at 44.483.
- “I rode bad in the first race, but got better in the last two.” – Webb
- “This track was very tricky, and things could go wrong very quickly.” – Cooper, on his third moto crash that saw him clear the dirt and land on Huntington Bank Field’s concrete floor.
- Thrasher’s win on the 250s gave the Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha team its fifth different racers to win in the 250 class this season. All totaled, the team has a combined 13 250 ESX/WSX class wins on the season – which is just one win away from the manufacturer’s record.
- With Davies’ 3rd place finish, he now leads Hammaker for the overall 2026 250 ESX title by 21 points (181-160) with two races remaining.
- “We’ve done what we can. 4th (place), 2nd and now 1st.” – Thrasher
- “I have no words. I’m sure it’ll sink in , but right now I’m in shock.” – Gordon
- “It was a rough day, but we still managed to podium. Congrats to my teammates… they were riding good.” – Davies
Up next: Monster Energy AMA Supercross keep rolling with Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field – home of the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles – hosting Round 15 of the world’s premier dirt bike racing series this Saturday, April 25th.
