Cole Davies Dominates Nashville SX 250
Monster Energy riders strike a winning chord in Music City as Cole Davies dominates the Nashville 250, while Cooper Webb and Nate Thrasher power onto the podium at Round 13 of AMA Supercross.
The “Music City,” Nashville, showcased the aggressive notes of four-stroke dirt bikes on Saturday when the stars of Monster Energy AMA Supercross took over Nissan Stadium – home of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans – for Round 13 of the world’s premier stadium dirt bike racing series. And it’d be Monster Energy’s Cole Davies (Star Racing/Yamaha) that headlined the show in the 250 Eastern Region (ESX) main event, dominating with the win by more than 17 seconds ahead of teammate Nate Thrasher (2nd).
In the 450 class it’d be Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Cooper Webb, the defending Monster Energy AMA Supercross champion, who stepped up with one of his best performances in recent weeks, ripping to the runner-up position in the night’s final contest.
For Davies, the win, his fourth of the season (through seven ESX rounds), put him well out front in the overall 250 ESX championship points chase. Davies now leads Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Seth Hammaker by 19 points (161-142) following Hammaker’s 5th place finish at Nashville.
“I was patient. Let the race come to me and, yeah, it was a good race,” said Davies.
Leading the Nashville 250 ESX main event early and charging to a hard-earned 2nd place finish – his first podium of the season and only second (out of seven races) top five finish – was Thrasher. The Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha rider, who had a string of not-so-great luck through the first five ESX rounds, was on point with his runner-up finish.
Rounding out the top ten in the 250 ESX class were Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Nicholas Romano and Drew Adams in 8th and 10th positions, respectively.
On the 450s Webb led a Monster Energy charge that saw all five racers occupy the top ten in the main event standings. Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Chase Sexton brought ‘er home with a strong 4th place run, followed by a season-best 5th place finish from Monster Energy’s Justin Hill (Tedder/KTM). Webb’s teammate, Justin Cooper, would place 7th and Sexton’s teammate, Garrett Marchbanks, 8th.
Added Webb: “It’s actually good to be back on the podium. You miss it when you’re off it… a lot.” Webb had gone an un-Webb-like three races without a podium, his last one coming with a 3rd place run at Indianapolis. “I came from way back in that main event, so I was happy with that. Good to get some momentum going again.”
| Nashville 450 class results | 250 East Regional class |
|---|---|
| 2nd – Webb (Monster/Star/Yamaha) | 1st – Davies (Monster/Star/Yamaha) |
| 4th – Sexton (Monster/Kawasaki) | 2nd – Thrasher(Monster/Star/Yamaha) |
| 5th – Hill (Monster/KTM) | 5th – Hammaker (Monster/PC/Kawasaki) |
Overall Standings (13 of 17 rounds)
| 450 class | 250 ESX class |
|---|---|
| 4th – Webb, 242 points | 1st – Davies, 161 points |
| 5th – Cooper, 213 points | 2nd – Hammaker, 142 points |
| 6th – Sexton, 144 points | 6th – Thrasher, 91 points |
Notes & Quotes
- “Made passes when they came to me. Didn’t force any issues. Made the race come to me. Kept getting good starts and riding my own race. Felt like I rode to my potential today.” - Davies
- “We went from super gnarly rutted to as hard pack as you can get this weekend. They (the whoops) where legit walls. Cupped out and super steep. They were sketchy.” – Davies on the Nissan Stadium track conditions.
- Davies’ reward for victory in Nashville? A bitchin’ Gibson Les Paul electric guitar – highly appropriate for Music City!
- “Honestly, didn’t ride my best. But I’ll take 2nd. Got a little lucky with it – but I’ll take it. Best I’ve qualified all year.” – Thrasher
- “That isn’t the last of the chaos we’re gonna see from Seth Hammaker.” – NBC announcer Ricky Carmichael on the first (of two) gnarly crashes for the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki racer.
- Coincidently, Hammaker crashed with Davies in qualifying – but got right back up and put up the day’s fastest qualifying time with a 51.544.
- “Just trying to win now. There’s a pretty big gap (between Webb and 450 points leader Hunter Lawrence with Honda), so I’m just trying to win,” said Webb. “Obviously, anything can happen. But I’ve put that out of my mind and I’m just trying to catch some wins.”
- Dylan Ferrandis (Honda) was initially thought to place 5th, but it was determined by race officials that he illegally cut the track to gain an advantage – and was docked on position. This gave Hill the No. 5 spot – his first top five SX finish since placing 3rd at Salt Lake City in 2023.
Up next: Monster Energy AMA Supercross doesn’t slow down as the world’s premier stadium dirt bike racing tour hits Cleveland’s Huntington Bank Field this Saturday, April 18th.
