PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania: If one had asked Seth Hammaker about his championship odds after Detroit, he would have answered with the typical response that it’s a long season and anything can happen — but he might not have fully convinced himself that was true. A poor finish of 17th in Round 2 of the Monster Energy Supercross season dug a hole it would take time to climb from
but he had some consolation in the fact that RJ Hampshire struggled in the opener in Tampa.
“At the second round in Detroit, I got food poisoning and finished 17th, so that definitely put us at a deficit right off the bat,” Hammaker told NBC Sports. “It’s been crazy in the Eastern division because everyone has had one of those bad races. Everybody’s pulled together at the end. It’s been a great battle.”
Hammaker finished third the following week at Daytona International Speedway and scored his first win of 2025 in his next attempt in Indianapolis. The landscape was changing for Hammaker, but with a different winner every week in the 250 East division, it seemed that no one wanted to take advantage of the situation.
That changed when the series headed to the Northeast. Hailing from Bainbridge, Pennsylvania, a community south of Harrisburg, Hammaker had home field advantage when the Northeast tour began in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
That race did not go to anyone’s plan. Perhaps the muddiest Supercross race in recent memory, it was a battle for survival where a rider’s will was equally important to his skill.
Hammaker finished ninth, which might not seem like much on its face, but his principle rivals Hampshire and Tom Vialle struggled to a greater degree. Hampshire finished five spots back in 14th. Vialle fell at the end of the race and could not extract his bike from the mud. He finished last and failed to earn any points.
“I feel like [the Northeast Tour] played in my favor a lot — having the hometown crowd at a lot of them,” Hammaker said. “That fires me up for these races to have that support behind me. It plays a big role. Philadelphia, where I had the most people and as much as that was awesome. It was also a stressful day to have everyone there. You have to find that balance — you’re still here to do a job.”
Hammaker finished fourth in Philadelphia. Hampshire was one position ahead of him as two West division riders, Cole Davies and Haiden Deegan, took the other to podium positions.
Last week, Hammaker became the first 250 East rider to win multiple races. He entered New Jersey tied for the points lead with Hampshire and had to look over and see another rider also sporting the red plate.
Hammaker took the lead early at MetLife Stadium. He never relinquished it, even though Hampshire closed the distance in the closing laps. Winning by a little is as good as winning by a lap and Hammaker enters the final two rounds with a three-point lead over Hampshire and seven over Vialle.
Perhaps still regarded as an underdog to defeat the two riders who won 250 championships in 2024, Hammaker has one last chance to use the hometown advantage in Pittsburgh. His focus this week is on leaving Pennsylvania with the red plate still affixed to his bike — because the season finale in Salt Lake City is going to be the most important race of his career.
“Salt Lake City may be a little more [important] because you have those West Coast guys that can get in the mix — and they will get in the mix — so that one will be crucial to get a good start and have it pay off early,” Hammaker said. "[In] this one, it will be cool to go head-to-head with RJ and Tom and I’ll try to get a few more points heading into that Salt Lake City Showdown just to have a little bit of a buffer. Either way, it will come down to that last one.
“It’s great to be in this position and have a shot at the title.”
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