Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Casey Cochran earned his first career podium thanks to leading nine laps and finishing P2 in the second moto at Spring Creek. Now that he’s seen the lead pace for an entire moto, Cochran believes the confidence gained from that experience will help vault him closer to the front in the coming rounds.

When 250MX moto two fired into the first corner at Spring Creek, several riders collided and went down. Top contenders like Haiden Deegan, Jo Shimoda, and Ty Masterpool were all laying in the first corner, while Chance Hymas pulled out three turns into the race with an ankle injury.

That left rookie Casey Cochran in the lead of the race, and he took off with it. While other riders like Tom Vialle and Levi Kitchen had crashes early in the race as well, Cochran opened up nearly a 10 second gap out front. It was unfamiliar territory for the Husqvarna rider, but he was keen to take it all in stride.

“I knew getting out front was going to be important in that second moto with it being slick at the beginning,” said Cochran. “I got out front and put down some pretty good laps early and just let the race come to me. It felt like I was back at an amateur race. I was just like, ‘Let’s get to the line, say we led a lap, and then keep clicking them off.’ Lap by lap, it just came to me.”

As the moto continued to develop, Cochran realized he was being caught by moto one winner Levi Kitchen around the halfway point. But when Kitchen got to Cochran for the lead, the rookie wasn’t about to go down without a fight.

Cochran fended off attacks from Kitchen for several laps and even opened up the lead slightly for a bit before Kitchen reeled him back in. On the 10^th lap of the race, Kitchen finally found a way through on Cochran as both riders battled the conditions of the track.

Kitchen clearly had a bit more speed in hand, but Cochran did his best to hang with him after the pass was made. Though it wasn’t enough to get the race victory in the end, Cochran’s 9-2 moto scores landed him on the overall podium, and he explained after the race how much that experience helped him.

“It was a whole different experience being out front and to learn it pretty fast,” said Cochran. “I think I looked back on lap four or something, and there was no one there. I was like, ‘Oh, alright!’ I kind of just went with it and stuck with my lines and I could see Levi. I could see the ground he was making up and it was definitely on that hill part of the track. Once he got me, I picked up on a few of his lines and he was riding really good. It was just something I’ve never done before, but I’m glad to experience it.”

Through seven rounds of racing, Cochran sits P11 in the standings and has really come on strong of late. Between RedBud and Spring Creek the last two weeks, Cochran has not finished outside of the top 10 in any moto and has put back-to-back career best finishes together.

He’s quietly put a very strong season together despite the results at times not showing what he’s been able to do. Take the opening round at Fox Raceway for example where Cochran crashed on the first lap of both motos. He still charged through to score points in both motos at the end of the day despite never having a second to relax.

He then qualified P1 the very next week at Hangtown and ran just outside of the top 10 all day. The only thing really missing from his repertoire through the first six races was a good start to show what he can do out front. At Spring Creek, he got one and was able to show just what he’s made of.

“You have to believe in yourself all the time and I believe I have the talent and the ability,” said Cochran. “To come out and show everyone that I can compete with these guys is awesome for me as well just to get some confidence and build it up.”

As he continues to build week after week, Cochran has been soaking in all of this information and learning a lot from it. With the results starting to tick upwards down the stretch run of the championship, he still has a shot to work into the mix in the standings alongside veteran riders like Jordon Smith, Jalek Swoll, and Pierce Brown.

But the flash of speed shown at Spring Creek is important as it proves to not only himself, but the team as well that this is what he’s capable of. With a break coming up after Washougal this weekend, they can work together to push Cochran closer to the top five on a more consistent basis to end his rookie season with some strong results.

Confidence building as a rookie is key and performances like this one at Spring Creek could set Cochran up for a very good offseason building towards 2025. And who knows, he might even be able to put his name in the hat for some great results in SuperMotocross when the playoffs begin in September.