Image: Octopi Media.

The focus of Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Daxton Bennick now turns to the upcoming AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship after finishing 11th overall in 250MX at Spring Creek.

Amateur riders can score up to 40 points or compete in three AMA Pro Motocross events prior to Loretta Lynn’s.

With Bennick earning more than 40 points since debuting at RedBud, his third professional outing at Millville marked the last in his maiden Pro Motocross stint.

Bennick, 17, qualified 16th at Spring Creek, and recovered from a bad start in moto one to finish 14th, before improving to P10 in the second encounter, marking the third top 10 result across his opening six 250MX races.

“Qualifying was pretty good,” recalled Bennick. “I got a good flow with the track and an idea of what I wanted to do in the motos. My first moto didn’t go that great, I think I came out 20th, and I got back to 14th.

“Then in the second moto, I came out about 15th, and Haiden [Deegan] was right in front of me, and I paced off of him for that moto. I ran with him for about 15 minutes and we got into the top 10. I got to ninth for a little bit, but [Austin] Forkner got me in the end.

“It was a good way to finish my pro trial before Loretta’s, getting a top 10 in that final moto, so I’m pretty happy with that.”

The 2023 Monster Energy AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship takes place at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch between 31 July and 5 August.