ST. LOUIS, Missouri: The East and West practice with their respective divisions in Showdown races. Haiden Deegan blistered the West field in the first qualification.
Deegan was even faster in the second session with a lap of 53.799.
The first qualification session for the East riders showed ideal conditions, so Deegan’s overall advantage was a little slimmer. Seth Hammaker (54.683) landed second, but he will need a strong start to challenge Deegan.
Jo Shimoda’s Q1 time of 54.730 was good enough for third on the combined chart.
Fourth-place Cole Davies (54.736) and Daxton Bennick (55.146) rounded out the top five.
Combined Qualification Results
East Qualification 2
Cole Davies (56.128) led the 250 East riders as he looks to gain a further advantage over his divisional competitors.
Daxton Bennick (56.820) closed the distance on the East riders and landed second on this chart.
Seth Hammaker (56.866) backed up his divisional fast lap in Q1 with the third best time in the second session.
Fourth-place Coty Schock (57.663) and Devin Simonson (57.928) rounded out the top five.
West Qualification 2
Deegan was 1.347 seconds faster than the remainder of the Western divisional riders in the first qualification session. He was in a class of his own in the second session and became the first rider under 54 seconds in either class. His fastest lap of 53.799 was nearly two seconds faster than Levi Kitchen’s 55.706.
Hunter Yoder (55.935) was third fastest in this session.
Fourth-place Ryder DiFrancesco (56.360) and Max Vohland (56.496) rounded out the top five.
East Qualification 1
Seth Hammaker (54.683) was the fastest riders in the first qualification session by a slim margin of 0.054 seconds over second and third.
“It was pretty challenging to get a good lap in with the way the track is, but I got a couple of good laps in,” Hammaker told Peacock.tv’s Haley Shanley. “Consistency is going to be key today.”
Jo Shimoda (54.730) is looking to make up five points on Hammaker for second in the standings. He was fast off the hauler.
Current red plate holder, Cole Davies (54.736) landed third overall. He often picks up his pace in race trim.
Fourth-place Daxton Bennick (55.146) and Nate Thrasher (55.820) rounded out the top five.
After announcing a contract extension this week, Devin Simonson (55.876) was just outside that mark.
West Qualification 1
Haiden Deegan can clinch the Western divisional title this week with a win and fifth-place or worse finish by Max Anstie. Deegan topped the first qualification session in the West and overall with a 54.676.
“I like when I can lay in the ruts,” Deegan said. “There are some pretty gnarly rhythm sections today and I think it’s going to be a lot of work in the main event to get these every single lap.”
Levi Kitchen (56.023) is battling back pain this week. He was second in the West.
Ryder DiFrancesco (56.581) landed third on the chart.
Fourth-place Hunter Yoder (56.881) and Lux Turner (57.108) rounded out the top five.
Anstie )57.215) was just outside that mark in sixth.
