Tough start to the motos at Spring Creek Motocross Park for Haiden Deegan, who was absolutely ripping all day on Saturday. Deegan went down in the first turn and had to remount his Yamaha YZ450F after the entire field had gone by. He did that and got to work, hammering out some impressive lap times as he moved forward 36 positions to eventually come through the checkered flag in fourth. He put in his best lap of the moto—a 2:00.860—on the 14th lap of the 17-lap race, while running sixth. His 2:03.255 average lap was third fastest behind only race winner Hunter Lawrence’s 2:01.350 and P2 Jett Lawrence’s 2:02.283. The #38 had some really good lines, including squaring up the turn that sent riders up Mt. Martin in the adjusted layout for this year.

Watch that line at the 13:10 mark below.

Deegan would get a better start in the second moto, starting inside the top ten before finishing second place both in the moto and overall. That ties his best moto finish from last week, and marks his best overall finish so far. After the race, he took a shot at Jett Lawrence for the first turn crash, calling him “little bro.”

“Obviously, went down in the first turn,” Deegan said. “It was a little bit of a drag race coming to that first turn and then little bro [Jett Lawrence] decided he doesn't want to turn right, but it's cool. I'm pretty sure he literally just let his brother by doing that, so that wasn't the smartest. But got up and I was like, ‘It's going to be a dog fight.’ I had to do it at RedBud, but I made a whole lot more positions. And I felt like it was one of my best rides, I'd say, on my 450 so far coming through the pack and just charging for the whole 35. I was laying down super good lap times at the end of it. Felt super strong. I would say I sent it so hard, that first moto, to get up to fourth from last, that I kind of blew myself out. So, second moto, it was more of a dead pace. I felt like I didn't have that spark that I needed. The boys were able to get away pretty quick. And by the time I got into third, it was too big of a gap.”

Deegan spoke on the differences in sending it through the field on a 450 compared to a 250, where now the energy spent is more significant.

“Yeah, it's heavier, it's faster,” he said on the YZ450F. “Southwick, I was pretty strong. Both 35s I was able to hold off Prado in the second moto and I felt good there. I felt like I had good fitness and it's just a little unfortunate. You go down in the first turn and you eat roost and you hold your breath for 35 minutes going through a pack and it's going to wear you out. 250, it's a lighter bike, easier to throw around. I was strong on the bike, which I'm still strong now, but I'm still building myself up to the 450. And once I get that turned over, I think we'll be chilling.”

In the first moto, Deegan hit another gear once he got into the top ten—which he was asked about after the race.

“My mechanic put ‘Tomac’ on the pit board and I was like, ‘I mean, shoot, Tomac's the beast mode, I'm going to show him some beast mode right here!’ I got to his rear wheel and I just sent it. And it was like I knew there was going to be probably a group upfront once I got around those guys. I was like, if I put a hard charge in right now, I have a feeling I could get to the top five. It's going to be hard. And I ended up getting, it was Cairoli and Barcia were battling together, and I ended up being able to pick them off in the last two laps and get to fourth.”

He was also asked about battling Tomac, who he was teammates with—albeit in different classes—for the previous handful of years.

“Yeah, for sure,” Deegan said on growing up watching Tomac. “Especially when you're coming up to pass and look, I got a little nervous. I'm like, ‘Man, that's Tomac right there.’ Even though I've been taking podiums and stuff in the 450 class, it's still a shock to me. It's like you're a little kid watching Eli Tomac. I know I got a little nervous pulling up on him like that. I was like, damn, this is a cool feeling. But it's exciting for sure.”

The second-generation rider also had an initiation of sorts when he was battling similar competitor Justin Barcia, who bumped the #38 off the track in one of the turns.

“Yeah, I was getting hazed,” Deegan said. “Nah, it's cool. I figured it was going to do its last lap. I probably would've done the same thing. It's all cool. It wasn't too dirty. It was just a little block pass. I've done a lot worse and I'm sure he's done a lot worse too. It is what it is. We talked after whatever. It was all cool. But, yeah, it's fun like that. I like going head-to-head racing like that. And especially last lap, it's going to go down.”

Next up: the Washougal National, where Deegan has finished 1-1-2 overall in his three 250 Class starts there. In his six motos in the PNW, Deegan has finished 1-1-2-1-1-2. Could his first 450 moto win come in Washington?