Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan added a podium finish in Daytona on Saturday to his list of impressive results in his rookie Monster Energy Supercross season, racing to a convincing third place in the 250SX East main event. The teenager features in our latest Profiled.

Deegan made his Pro Motocross debut in 2022 after an immensely successful amateur career, lining up at Ironman toward the end of the season, where a crash would ultimately sideline him, positioning him in 31st for the round. He lined up once again at the final round of the season at Fox Raceway, where he would log 16-10 moto scores for 13th overall and, most importantly, with more experience banked.

Deegan commenced his 2023 campaign in the Supercross Futures class and finished fifth position at Anaheim 2 after an eventful night. From that point, it was clear he and the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team had plans for him to go professional full-time and, so far, so good.

One week later he lined up for the opening round of 250SX East in Houston, where he finished an impressive fourth place on debut. Prior to that round, Deegan was admittedly unsure of when he was going to make the professional step in Supercross, let alone compete in the complete 250SX East season and be in contention after four rounds.

“It’s definitely happening fast, after Futures I wasn’t even sure if I was going to race,” 17-year-old Deegan explained. “We pulled it and thought we might as well race, go and get the experience and so far it’s been going great, and yeah will just keep on learning.”

Image: Octopi Media.

Following his debut, Deegan would back that up with a heat race win and another fourth place in the main event in Tampa. Arlington’s Triple Crown played host to the third 250SX East round, which proved to be a tougher night, finishing the first main event in 15th place after a crash in the opening laps.

Deegan finished the night with 5-4 results in the second and third main events, placing him in eighth place overall for the night. As the series headed to Daytona, a real test would lie ahead for the rookie. Daytona is known as the toughest track of the year for its hybrid-style layout, but this wouldn’t hold him back. He raced to a striking third place in the heat race and repeated that with P3 in the main event.

“It’s super-exciting, it was one of my goals and we’ve ticked off another one,” Deegan reflected. “I got a taste of it now and I definitely want more.

“Yeah it’s definitely crazy this early, I didn’t think I would be getting on the podium this early but it’s racing and we continue to progress,” Deegan explained. “I ended up getting on the podium and now we are here. This track is not an easy one, you have to be a man to ride this track.

“I didn’t get the greatest start, but I was able to make my way up to third. It’s a tough track you know, I was riding with good intensity, I felt great and I was able to push through. The crowd were amazing they were going wild the whole time, so when I finished the adrenaline was going, I was super happy.”

Image: Octopi Media.

Deegan currently sits in third position in the eastern regional standings as the top Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider, ahead of experienced teammates Jordon Smith, who is directly behind him in fourth, and Arlington Triple Crown winner Nate Thrasher in sixth.

“It’s hard, some of my teammates will come for my neck too, but you have to realise that’s racing,” continued Deegan. “Overall, my teammates are good, they’re fast riders, they just need to learn to put it together a little more. I see that and that’s stuff I need to learn from, but we’ve got some fast guys in the team and if they can put it together they’re up there.”

Notably, Haiden is not the first Deegan to land on a Supercross podium. His father Brian – more recognized as a staple in freestyle motocross – landed himself two career podiums in what was known as the 125 class in the ’90s. His first came at Indianapolis in 1996, where he finished third, before going on to win at the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1997 – a famous win where he ghost rode his bike over the finish line while celebrating.

“My dad’s definitely got that over me, he’s got a win and the ghost ride [laughs]…” said Haiden. “These guys are some fast dudes in front of me and I’m not at their pace yet, so I’ll keep working. But yes, my dad is still beating me with that goal, so we’re just gonna keep putting in work and maybe we’ll get up to their speed, who knows? They’re going fast right now, if I can do that though I’ll be super-excited.

“My mom didn’t want me to race dirt bikes after all that my dad went through, so we started and my dad got me on a dirt bike – it was going to happen eventually. Then, from there, I just fell in love with it and just from there I’ve been grinding to get to this spot and race Supercross, I’ve been watching it for my whole life and now we’re here so we’re going to keep getting better hopefully.”