Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Nate Thrasher returned to the podium, taking a runner-up finish in challenging conditions at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. Taking the final spot on the podium at last night’s fifth round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross 250SX East Championship was teammate Jordon Smith. Rookie Haiden Deegan also had a good showing on the deeply rutted track, crossing the line seventh.
Known for its soft dirt and deep ruts, this year’s Indianapolis Supercross was no exception, making for challenging conditions. Thrasher got the day off to a good start, qualifying third, and took a runner-up finish in his heat to have a good gate pick for the main. The Tennessee rider was third after the start and quickly made his way to second. He tried to make a run for the lead but ultimately had to settle for the runner-up spot, advancing his position to third in the championship with his third podium of the season.
Smith also got the day off to a great start, leading the way for his team in qualifying by topping the timesheets in the first session and taking the runner-up spot in the combined times. He backed that up with the heat race win and earned the number-one gate pick for the main event. Sitting fourth after the start behind his teammate, Smith advanced to third on the second lap, where he would finish to earn his third podium of the season. The North Carolinian sits fourth in the 250SX East Championship standings trailing Thrasher by one point.
On the heels of his first podium in Daytona, Deegan had a solid first outing in the challenging conditions at the Lucas Oil Stadium. The 17-year-old qualified sixth and fought his way back to a third-place finish in his heat race. He got a good start in the main event in fifth behind his teammates and advanced as far as fourth. In the final laps, he made a mistake in the whoops, which shuffled him to seventh. The rookie leaves Indianapolis fifth in the points standings and has finished inside the top 10 in all five starts.
Next up for the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250 team is Round 6 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross 250SX East Championship and the 10th round of the SuperMotocross World Championship at the Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, on March 18.
