Most Impressive: Houston
February 03, 2026
Who was Most Impressive in Houston?
450 Class: Cooper Webb
The reigning 450SX champ has had a disappointing start to the season results-wise. He actually looked good in the opener: was leading before the red flag, and after getting a bad start in the restart, probably would have ended up with a podium if not for crashing. But that has been the problem; Webb just can’t stay on two wheels (he crashed in every main event before Houston, even if the crashes weren’t necessarily his fault). Entering Houston, it was almost do or die for Webb in terms of title chances; he was 24 points back and didn’t look anywhere near close to getting his first win of the season.
However, Webb does what Webb does. It’s a classic victory for Webb to pull out the Triple Crown overall win without winning a single race, AND to do it in the most clutch of moments. Now, with Tomac and Sexton having “bad-ish” nights, Webb is all of a sudden right back up there in terms of title chances.
It’s not just the win that is impressive, but how he did; Webb was the fastest guy on the track for the latter half of all three races. One lap speed has always been an issue with Webb in the past, but he somehow pulls it together come race time. In Houston, he did just that and proved he’s one of the guys to beat once again. Most Impressive indeed!
Webb talked about the highs and lows of the season so far in the post-race media scrum:
“It was very emotional... It's been an emotional month for sure, but this week was tough. Last week was just a hard one; you get three bad weekends in a row and it can take a toll on you. So tonight is just the complete opposite. I feel like a kid again, just to have that feeling of winning. And obviously I didn't win a main event, which is a little unique, but I'll take it any way I can get it. A win's a win and [it] was awesome. Like I said, we've been pushing for this and it hasn't gone our way yet. So to finally have it go my way for sure was just really incredible.”
He dived a bit into his mentality shift from the past few weekends into Houston:
“It’s such an incredible [low to high]: from last weekend to a high of this weekend and [I] didn't make it easy, right? That first lap [I] made that big mistake and I knew like, dang it, this is not good. The two guys I need to beat to win the overall are ahead of me by a little bit. So like I said, to put my head down and pass the guys in front of me like I did was awesome. I committed and obviously the team was on me hard this week about the whoops and I was proud of myself for committing even though I felt Kenny was a little better. I committed to those all day. And just like I said, all day, I think my riding was pretty good and just stayed locked in and focused and just never lost faith and knew like, okay: just keep plugging away. And I thought the riding was good; it is easy to get counted out, but it is something like even for myself that maybe weighed on me too much at the beginning of the season; I just needed to take a chill pill as some people would say. But yeah, when doubt creeps in, you feel like you might not ever win again. So to win again tonight is just uplifting to say the least.”
250 Class: Haiden Deegan
Deegan has been good all year. Even with a so-so start to the season at A1, he has been consistently fast and the guy to beat. With every passing weekend he just solidifies that more and more, and his competitors title chances are quickly fading away.
Deegan was ultra impressive in Houston. He was the fastest guy on the track for the majority of laps, stayed calm and confident, and passed his way forward to the lead when he needed. Honestly, no one could match his pace.
The part that I’m most impressed with is his ability to ride within himself and let the race come together. He doesn’t exhibit a sense of urgency: he rides the pace he needs to in order to win, and is so confident in his delivery. He knows he can and will win every time that gate drops.
Deegan talked about racing at around 70% of his full-speed:
“I was just riding smooth. That's kind of where I'm at right now. Mistakeless and that's my goal is to just put perfect laps down. And the only way you can really get better at something is if you're doing it multiple times, trying to better yourself and doing perfect laps. I feel like if you're kind of messing around too much, you're not going to keep getting better.”
Our Opinions
Scott's Opinion: Both of the overall winners are Most Impressive in Houston! Webb with a classic clutch Webb ride, and Deegan just dominating the field.
