Nate Thrasher tops 250SX East at Cleveland
By Team TMX on 20th Apr 26
Nate Thrasher emerged victorious from a chaotic and rain-hit Eastern Divisional 250SX round in Cleveland, but it was championship leader Cole Davies who strengthened his grip on the title fight.
Treacherous conditions at Huntington Bank Field played a major role throughout the Triple Crown format, with crashes, a red flag and fluctuating track grip testing the field across all three races.
Race 1 saw Seth Hammaker take control, capitalising on a mistake from Davies - who had initially taken the holeshot - before pulling clear for the win. Thrasher followed him home in second, with Daxton Bennick third, while Davies recovered to fifth after a fall.
Race 2 brought even more drama.
A first-lap incident triggered a red flag following contact initiated by Davies, forcing a full restart. When racing resumed, Thrasher took control and delivered a composed ride to claim victory ahead of Landen Gordon, while Hammaker edged Davies in a fierce battle for third.
The final race flipped the script once again.
Davies seized the holeshot and made it count, building a decisive lead as his title rivals hit trouble. Hammaker went down in the opening laps and was forced to fight from the back, while Thrasher had work to do from outside the top five.
Out front, Davies remained calm and controlled to take the win, with Gordon second and Bennick third. Thrasher salvaged fourth, while Hammaker could only recover to sixth.
Despite Davies’ Race 3 victory, it was Thrasher’s consistency (2-1-4) that secured the overall win with seven points - marking his seventh career victory and continuing his streak of at least one win in every professional season since 2021.
Gordon impressed with second overall, just one point shy of victory, while Davies completed a Star Racing Yamaha podium sweep in third.
Crucially, Davies’ podium result allowed him to extend his championship lead to 21 points over Hammaker with just two rounds remaining, putting him firmly in control of the title race.
