What We Noticed: Houston
February 04, 2026
Over to Texas for the first Triple Crown of the year! Here’s What We Noticed:
- Classic Cooper
Such a Webb way to win! Just when he needed to majorly make up some points, Webb comes in clutch and snags the overall victory (and the max 25 points) without winning a single race. Webb is a master of pulling through in these moments, and he sure didn’t disappoint in Houston. After making a BIG mistake and almost crashing over the finish in the first lap of the last race, he regrouped, passed some of his main competitors, and held off a charging Roczen to get the win. Webb is back folks!
- What If?
Webb’s win was partly gifted to him by a couple crashes: Hunter Lawrence and Eli Tomac. Both of these guys could have asked: what if? If Hunter didn’t crash, it’s easy to imagine him going 3-1-2 to win. If Tomac didn’t crash, it’s easy to imagine him going 3-3-1 to win. Alas, staying on two wheels is part of the sport, and they failed to do so. Tomac in particularly is just lucky to be okay after that crash, so he’s probably leaving Houston feeling somewhat relieved despite what could have been.
- Sexton Struggles
Gosh… “Sexton Struggles” has been a header in this column for too many times. But he just keeps it going… what is with these super weird races? He looked good in Race 1, was in a perfect position for the overall, then has a very mediocre Race 2 with a crash to boot. Race 3 was probably even worse though… straight up couldn’t handle Webb, Roczen, or even Anderson. That IS NOT the Sexton we saw in A2, and is definitely not the Sexton he needs to be if he wants to win this championship. He has to be better… simply can’t have many more races like this.
- Deegan Dominance
It seemed pretty clear already, but with each passing weekend Deegan continues to prove his dominance in the 250W class; no one can beat him! Kitchen was playing with him a bit but didn’t have anything for the entirety of the race. Anstie was almost fall enough in Race 3, but “almost” isn’t gonna cut it. It’s looking pretty easy for Deegan at this point to win the championship.
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Tough Track
A lot of riders said it was easy at first… but damn, that was jumpy, and with how much it broke down during the packed night show, tough to be consistent for a full race. It was hard to make up time anywhere, but rather easy to lose it if you missed out on a rhythm section. When you see the best guys in the world doubling through a rhythm because they lost drive out a corner, you know it’s tough. Ruts were intense towards the end.
- Watching from Home
This was the first race of the year that we weren’t at in-person. It sucks not being there to get some Insta content, live tweet, interview riders, partake in the media scrum, take notes for articles, etc. However, kudos to the TV broadcast! Brayton and Cianciarulo are great during RDL, and Weege and Carmichael have become an awesome duo for the main broadcast. The TV package has improved a great deal within the last decade; we need to be appreciative of that!
