- 5 weeks ago
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00:00It was an incredible talk that we had with all of them yesterday, and man, it's just, you talk about
00:06a feel-good story.
00:07I love talking to his grandpa. His grandpa was so pumped to be here.
00:13Crazy, like, I haven't seen him race four years in the flesh.
00:16And I can tell you, for the world-famous Kiwis in motor racing, like Scott Dixon and Brendan Hartley, the
00:23Lamol winner, Shane Van Gisberger,
00:24and they are all watching this guy. 2.50 East here in Philly is tonight the night for Cole Davies.
00:32Seth Hamaker, his rival, the second points man, gets the whole shot, gets the jump.
00:39How about Derek Kelly there? Oh! Hamaker's down! Hamaker goes down while in the lead. Davies misses him.
00:47Oh.
00:48And that right there might be the end of Hamaker's championship hopes here at home.
00:59What in the world happened there? Let's take another look at it. That was bizarre.
01:05It was.
01:06Everything's good. Double. Double. It gets a little sideways. Oh, he cross-ruts is what happens.
01:13Wow.
01:13The end drops and goes down. How did Cole Davies miss him?
01:17How did Cole Davies miss him? Here's a second look. Everything's good. Double.
01:23Right over. He gets a little crossed up. Looks like there might have been a hole on the takeoff of
01:29that jump.
01:30He did not get the drive. That front end just went straight down. He is lucky.
01:36Cole is lucky that he didn't hit him. He is lucky he did not get hit by any of these
01:40riders.
01:40Back out this, though. Feel-good story.
01:43Derek Kelly aboard the MX-6 racing Kawasaki.
01:47This first-year team. And Derek leads the way over the championship leader.
01:52But it's only a matter of time, you feel, because Cole Davies leaps his way into the lead.
01:58And it's all going to plan for the 18-year-old Kiwi.
02:05His rival out of the picture and down in 21st position. And he leads.
02:11And he looks a lot better right now.
02:13Sure does.
02:14Than how he was riding in that heat race. I was worried for him.
02:17But such a bummer to see Seth Hammacher go down, trying to keep this title fight alive.
02:25I see a lot of racing left. Uh-oh, Thrasher's down.
02:29Or Nate Thrasher goes down and the whoops picks it up.
02:33And I thought Hammacher had a really good shot to keep this thing going.
02:39Oh, he's rallying. He's not giving up. He's moved up a couple of positions.
02:43But it is, as far as his championship hopes. Oh, Nate Thrasher again.
02:50Oh, no.
02:51Oh, man. Takes so much strength. Keep it. Tipping over.
02:58Oh, he's going to lose some serious positions.
03:01The Cleveland winner is having a really rough night.
03:06He crashed in his heat and crashed quite hard.
03:08He was able to rebound.
03:10This is the first crash.
03:12Going to the inside there. Gets a little sideways.
03:15And the ruts are so deep.
03:18And, yeah, he just gets going a little bit sideways.
03:20And very similar. Doesn't go down.
03:22Very similar to what we just saw.
03:24Yeah.
03:27Wow, this is a really jumbled up top ten.
03:32Well, and again, they've shortened this race time.
03:35Only eight minutes, 53 seconds left to go, plus one lap.
03:40This race is going to absolutely fly by.
03:43The SMX track crew and Dirtworks have done a great job fixing some of the problem spots.
03:49Lap times are a bit faster right now than what they were.
03:52Oh, down goes Davies.
03:54He's got time on his side.
03:56Oh, the bike.
03:56The bike stalled.
03:58He better hope it gets back going.
04:00Here comes Derek Kelly, but Davies is able to get it going again.
04:04That's how much time he had.
04:06What a ride for Derek Kelly again.
04:08Talking about it like we were speaking in the heat races.
04:12A great opportunity for these guys to get some personal bests.
04:17Man, he is riding phenomenally right now.
04:20Uh-oh, look it.
04:21Red Cross is out.
04:22He's got to roll all through here.
04:24Let's make sure everybody does what they need to do.
04:31And man.
04:34That was Isaiah Clark down.
04:37And Isaiah had been having a good night.
04:40But that has come to an abrupt end.
04:43Here is Daxton Venick.
04:45And this is exactly what Dax did in the heat.
04:48Yeah.
04:48He really worked his way through.
04:50With every lap that went by, he got faster and faster and climbed the order.
04:55Will, this is looking good for the Husqvarna man.
04:58And he's been waiting all season long to get back on this podium, dancing around sort of that fifth, sixth
05:03for the most part, Lee.
05:05And a couple of fourths in there.
05:07And I got to speak to him yesterday.
05:08And Nate Ramsey, his team manager over there at Rockstar Husqvarna.
05:12And they just talked about how the pieces are kind of coming together.
05:16And we got a red flag, guys.
05:17The pieces are coming together for Dax Venick, which is going to be unfortunate for him now that he's got
05:22to restart this race.
05:23But he's the sort of kid, Lee, that we have seen.
05:25We've seen so much from him.
05:27And the results on paper aren't really matching how well he's been riding.
05:31He's desperately been wanting to get back on the podium.
05:34And unfortunately now he's going to have to do that all over again as this red flag flies.
05:38Tell you what, if that red flag hadn't have come out, Venick would have caught Davies.
05:41Oh, yeah, 100%.
05:42He was right there.
05:43Oh, he was rolling.
05:44It doesn't even look like he's in the mud riding.
05:48And look, he don't even know that the red flag is there.
05:50It doesn't seem like.
05:57So.
05:58Yeah, Ben.
05:59I don't know that Benick thinks that there's a red flag.
06:02Well.
06:04The red flag is on display at the finish.
06:07Yeah.
06:08But nowhere else.
06:09So now they all, now they've been made aware of it.
06:13The Alpinestar medical team, they report and communicate with race officials.
06:21And they tell them if they need to be able to get access to a certain part, get the rider
06:27off the track in a safe manner.
06:29And that's exactly what's happened here.
06:31This is going to be different than what we've seen recently with the red flag situations because so much time
06:37has expired.
06:39It's, it wouldn't be a full restart.
06:41That's right.
06:43And I, Cole Davies, they're looking a little perplexed saying, well, what's going on?
06:47This, this is, won't be too bad for him because I think it'll be a single file restart, I believe.
06:55The race wasn't halfway over, so.
06:57So to remind you of the championship scenario, the win scenario, what this man on the screen had to do
07:03was outscore Seth Hamaker who crashed on the opening lap.
07:06He has to outscore him by four points.
07:08To leave here with a 25 point advantage, he is crowned champion.
07:12He had 25 points for a race win and he has won the majority of the season.
07:17So even if Ian Hamaker were to be in a tiebreaker situation, he would win on that.
07:23So he's still, he's still in a very, very good position.
07:29So a slight pause here while the Alpinestar medical team take care of Isaiah Clark.
07:34Here's JT.
07:35All right, staggered start right here.
07:38This Oakley tough block, they cannot pass before they get there.
07:43So keep your eyes peeled to that.
07:45Make sure nothing happens there.
07:47Single file.
07:49None of those riders can do anything until they cross that line.
07:53Look at, I don't know what Cole Davies is doing there.
07:59Last rider into place was Nick Romano, way at the top of his screen.
08:03And especially after a great heat race win, timing and scoring has him 20th.
08:10It's like Ryder Floyd.
08:11Is it lined up?
08:16Yeah, Hamaker's P13 right now.
08:21Cole Davies getting amped up.
08:23He's going to have to turn it loose here on this first rhythm lane.
08:26Make sure he's able to get through there first and foremost safely, but execute the rhythm lane.
08:31Revisiting this championship state of play.
08:34Cole Davies simply needs to finish four points better than Seth Hamaker to be crowned the 2026-250 East Division
08:44Monster Energy AMA Supercross champ.
08:50Well, it looks like the rain has stopped.
08:54Finally.
08:55From what I can tell.
08:56So, I mean, at least it's not raining on them while they're sitting there waiting to get this race back
09:01going.
09:01That would be incredibly annoying.
09:03Not sure what we're waiting on here.
09:06Maybe get all the officials safe.
09:08Is it still raining?
09:10Yeah, hard to tell here.
09:12New Zealand has an incredible track record for its relatively small population of producing global sports stars.
09:25And amazing sporting success stories.
09:27And this young man is the latest.
09:29Well, it's been incredible.
09:31I mean, we've been talking about him all season long and just his form and his composure on the motorcycle
09:37and what he's been able to do.
09:39And just how he really focuses on his self, doesn't get caught up in the game.
09:45I noticed that a lot.
09:47His rookie season last year was very impressive.
09:50Here we go.
09:51He's doing it for his team.
09:53He's doing it for his manufacturer.
09:55He's doing it for his country of New Zealand.
09:57He's doing it for his family.
09:59Mom, dad, and grandfather are here from New Zealand.
10:06So watch this incredible teenager do what he does best.
10:10Here we go.
10:12Keep your eye.
10:12Great run for the number 77 to Derek Kelly as well.
10:16Here's the 30-second board right there.
10:18Keep your eye on that.
10:21As soon as that goes up, it'll go sideways, I believe.
10:26There's the official holding the green flag.
10:29And once that thing flies, this race is on.
10:37Just over seven minutes on the clock, plus a lap that stands between Cole Davies and a championship to join
10:46his Monster Energy star Yamaha teammate Hayden Deegan in that championship arena.
10:57We've had to wait for it.
10:59We've had to wait for it, but the wait's going to be worthwhile.
11:00Here we go.
11:01Staggered restart.
11:04Let's go.
11:06All right.
11:07Race is on.
11:08You can do whatever you want.
11:09Once you're past that tough block.
11:11Remember what I talked about here.
11:13Cole Davies get a good run through this first.
11:16Good plane.
11:17Dax Abinic.
11:18P2.
11:19Cody Shock on the attack as well.
11:21Bike 22 in fourth place.
11:22Right behind Derek Kelly.
11:25Kelly is racing for his first career podium.
11:28His best has been sixth.
11:30His best this year was eighth.
11:32But Cody Shock's going to spoil that party for the time being.
11:35What a comeback this would be.
11:36Not often do you see someone go to the last chance qualifier, then come back beyond the podium.
11:42But his teammate is just behind him as well, I believe.
11:46And that's Devin Simonson.
11:48Yep.
11:48Oh, look at his right here.
11:50Wow.
11:51He's on the floor.
11:52Oh, this guy is absolutely rolling.
11:55Takes that outside option.
11:57Still ahead of his teammate.
11:59Simonson now in third.
12:02Came out of nowhere.
12:04Relishing this second chance.
12:106.15 plus a lap on the clock.
12:14Ah, the great equalizer, Lee.
12:17And this has been exciting.
12:19I wasn't anticipating there to be this much excitement.
12:23Cody Shock's not done with yet.
12:25Oh, he says, nah, nah.
12:29Oh, Simonson gets crossed up.
12:31And that was a nice save.
12:35Like this drone shot here, you can really get a good idea of just how gnarly the ruts are going
12:41through these rhythm lanes incredibly hard to do with these athletes.
12:45I mean, you want to talk about all muscle groups.
12:48These bodies are getting worked out at an incredible amount of strength.
12:52I can tell you after these mud races.
12:54Oh, oh.
12:54Down goes Simonson.
12:55After these mud races the next day, you had muscle sore that you realized you never had.
13:04You may have noticed on the running order that Seth Hamaker has done a really nice job in coming back
13:10all the way up to fifth.
13:12I mean, he was down in 21st place.
13:15Yeah.
13:16So that's a heck of a comeback.
13:17I spoke too soon.
13:19Daxton Binnick, I thought he was for sure going to march up here and get by Cole Davies, but Cole
13:25is absolutely checked out.
13:28He ran a 1.06 last lap, okay?
13:32And Daxton was second fastest at a 1.10.
13:35There's Dan.
13:36There he is.
13:37Dan proudly watching on.
13:39A man who's done a lot of travel back and forth from Auckland, New Zealand, to the States, wherever the
13:45races may be.
13:48Diff, we had an opportunity.
13:53Go ahead, Will.
13:54I just had a chance on the sidelines here when they were getting ready to take back off after the
13:59Red Quacks.
14:00You talked to Wayne Davies, who you see on the screen there, and he was actually kind of disappointed in
14:04how the conditions have turned out.
14:06You know, he said, yes, a win's a win, but he's like, this isn't really how we wanted to do
14:09this.
14:10He's like, I wanted to see him and his son and Seth go and battle in good condition.
14:15He's like, that means that we have to take this to next weekend to get the title taken care of.
14:20Then so be it.
14:21But he's like, I wanted to see them race.
14:23So he's actually disappointed, but they've got that mentality.
14:26That's that same mentality that we heard in Cole yesterday, guys, when we spoke to him.
14:30They really are.
14:31They're true racers, athletes, and they put everything into what their son is doing right now.
14:36Yeah, well, incredible.
14:38It would have been cool to see this happen, but hey, Hammacher's coming up here now, and Hammacher is able
14:43to catch up to Benick, which is going to be tough.
14:45We only have three minutes left.
14:49It still isn't over.
14:50It pushes the championship to Salt Lake City.
14:53Look, this has been a monumental comeback.
14:57Oh, it has.
14:57From Seth Hammacher here at home in his home state of Pennsylvania.
15:01Quick reminder to stock up on Monster Energy drinks at Acme.
15:07So Davies a whopping eight seconds out in front over Daxton Benick.
15:11Hammacher's got a huge amount of ground and time to make up as well to try and catch the Rockstar
15:18Energy Factory Husqvarna rider.
15:19With just three minutes left on the clock, plus a lap in this 250 East Division race here in Philly.
15:25Way to keep fighting, Seth.
15:27And, you know, as we're anticipating what was going to happen this weekend, we had a great conversation, Lee, you
15:33and I did with Ben Townley earlier this week.
15:36And the story that he was able to share with us and how Cole's journey began and what that looked
15:43like.
15:43The journey began at the kitchen table at the Townley household in New Zealand.
15:48And we asked Ben Townley, how similar has Cole Davies' journey been to yours?
15:54He said, absolutely nothing like it.
15:56This was thought out.
15:57It was planned.
15:58And Davies and his family, all of us, Will Hahn, you've got to include Will Hahn on that, in recent
16:05times, has been executed as we thought of around the kitchen table.
16:09Which, that doesn't happen very often.
16:12There's been a lot of sacrifice, a lot of hard work.
16:14But he just said, when I first saw this kid when he was, like, about seven or eight years old,
16:23we came to working together when he was in his early days, like around about 13.
16:27And he said his ability to compute.
16:30Sometimes he thinks that Cole's not listening or not taking it in.
16:34But he is, he just doesn't say much.
16:36And his ability to compute that information and then execute it on the track was remarkable.
16:42Well, and exactly.
16:43And how we got to that and how Ben said that, as I asked him, I said, Ben, you've worked
16:48with so many guys.
16:49I mean, you were a champion when you were racing.
16:51And what was it about Cole, and that's exactly what he said.
16:55He's able to compute everything that I say, and he makes the change when change is needed and how he
17:03adapts.
17:04Extremely, extremely impressive, Will.
17:08And I just wanted to go back to Ricky there, something that Lee said, because he talked about Will Hahn,
17:13who's part of the management at Star Racing Yamaha there.
17:16And a very important role, like you said, Lee, because Ben Townley checks in with Cole on a weekly basis,
17:22as they said.
17:22But he's not obviously here.
17:24So who is here in his place is Will Hahn, who's played a very, very pivotal role in making sure
17:32he sort of mentors in the U.S. here for Cole.
17:36His parents said he steers the ship.
17:38Will steers the ship.
17:39Cole listens to him.
17:40They're in a very close relationship.
17:42And having Will here to help him with that on all the day-to-day throughout the early stages of
17:48his career up to now potentially winning this championship here tonight.
17:53Very important role, too.
17:54He said the two of them, Ben and Will, work very closely together as well.
17:58So he's got such a solid team behind him.
18:00Keep your eye on this part right here, okay?
18:03Hammacher is making up a ton of time on Benick.
18:08And again, if he gets to second, the title cannot be decided tonight.
18:13It'll be pushed to the season finale in Salt Lake City.
18:17Talk about a plot twist.
18:19This is tenacious.
18:20This is gunsy.
18:21Gunsy.
18:22This is an amazing home performance by Seth Hammacher.
18:27Frustrating and disappointing for him and his team for him to crash on the first lap.
18:31But what a comeback.
18:33This is the story.
18:35There it is.
18:36There is the gap.
18:38Seth was cutting into that deficit almost by three seconds a lap.
18:44Now, it was a little bit less at last lap.
18:46Only about a second.
18:49So, they come around this next time by, there's only going to be one lap to go.
18:53Time running out to keep this title fight alive.
18:56And it has been incredible.
18:59Look.
19:03You've got to give Hammacher all of the praise possible.
19:08But he, too, also praises how well his championship rival, Cole Davies, has raced this year.
19:16Yeah, lots of respect.
19:19Yeah, lots of respect.
19:20You've got to respect the nation of New Zealand for producing yet another elite sportsman on a global stage.
19:30These guys are racing for second and third.
19:35It's all about the guy at the front.
19:3818-year-old Cole Davies from Waitoki, New Zealand.
19:42Add him to the list of global Kiwi greats.
19:47And he's only just getting started.
19:49He's going to be the youngest champion since Trey Kennard back in 2008.
19:56He's going to win a 250 title at a younger age than Jett Lawrence.
19:59And Jett was with us a couple of weeks ago and said, this kid is racking up unbelievable numbers.
20:05Ben even told us, Diff, what this does for the country.
20:11Hammacher got caught up there.
20:12It's over.
20:13It really is over.
20:16Cole Davies!
20:17Here's a Monster Energy AMA Supercross champion.
20:22Puts New Zealand on the map big time.
20:27He wins the 250 East division.
20:30Seth Hammacher gave it everything he got.
20:34We'll remember this tenacious fight.
20:38And season-long really good results.
20:41But Cole Davies is your champion.
20:50At a recent East-West showdown, he was asked about racing Hayden Deegan.
20:55He said, I'm not worried about that.
20:56I'm focused on winning a championship.
20:59Well, he's just done it.
21:01And there's dad.
21:02Mum won't be far away either.
21:04And his granddad watching him race for the first time in four years and the first time ever in America.
21:12Davies is the man.
21:13Oh, look at the emotion from his mom and the parents.
21:19I love it.
21:25I love it.
21:40You think about the sacrifice, you know, and you just have to think, oh, he's obviously happy for everybody.
21:47But his parents, you know, giving it everything that they got to get him to a place where he can
21:55have this opportunity.
21:57All the money spent.
21:58They get a lot of parents to it.
22:01And that's certainly what I would be thinking that is going through his mind right now.
22:05And it's so special.
22:07Oh, my God.
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