Most Impressive: Arlington

February 24, 2026

Most Impressive: Arlington Who was Most Impressive in Arlington?

450 Class: Hunter Lawrence

Hunter Lawrence is finally a 450SX winner! And wow, what a manner to get his first win: he passed Webb and Roczen to get into the lead, and held off / pulled away from a charging Tomac to get it done. Most first wins come easy: holeshot, bad luck from competitors, lead from start to finish, etc. This win? Complete opposite: Hunter earned it and was straight up the best guy tonight.

Hunter looks like he belongs out there; no doubt this is the best we’ve ever seen him look in Supercross. He’s a genuine title contender and can win races any weekend. Is this is the flood gates just opening? Can Hunter go on a tear? I think yes!

Hunter described his first win:

“Tonight I got around the first turn, and that’s really important with how good the class is, because it’s hard to get a bad start and expect to battle your way through for a win. It’s tough to replicate racing, but we’ve been working hard on the bike and myself. My first half of the races have been getting better, for sure. Ken [Roczen] would make a little mistake, and I’d try to get him, but then he would have the inside for the next corner; I think the racing was really cool to watch and to be a part of, when the battle goes on for multiple laps. I was playing defense but still playing offense—it’s such a tricky spot to be in, but I really enjoy that and it feels good when you pull it off. On the last lap, I was just thinking, ‘Hit your marks, don’t do anything stupid, and get across the finish line.’ I feel like I’ve been doing the same thing every round this year and it’s been going well, so I keep the same approach. I don’t need to change a lot of stuff—I’ve been getting good starts and riding well in the main events, so just keep doing that.”

250 Class: Jo Shimoda

Shimoda is back! We didn’t even expect him to lineup after breaking his neck in the off-season, but Jo healed miraculously quick, and was able to race despite only having 2 weeks on the bike. The result? A 1st place! Erm… 2nd place! He got robbed of a win with the AMA ruling no penalty to Brown who passed him on flashing red lights (Jo rolled, Brown jumped). How crazy of a story would it have been with Shimoda winning with such little time on the bike and fresh off a broken neck? Regardless, his 2nd place finish was great, and his riding was awesome; very impressive return to racing for Shimoda.

Shimoda’s real goal is the title, and this is a great start to realizing that goal. He no doubt has some real competition with the likes of Hammaker, Davies, and Brown, but Shimoda will only get better and better. It has to be somewhat alarming to his competitors how great Jo was… fast, smooth, and got great starts.

Jo reflected on his race:

“My night was good. I wanted to keep building my momentum from last year, so I’m just happy to be here. I get paid to race and do good, but at the same time, a neck injury is pretty sensitive. I got approved by the doctors two weeks ago to ride again, but you never know until you’re on the bike. I feel comfortable and strong enough, and I’ve been doing the right preparation to come back. I was pretty rusty all day long, but it ended up being a good night. I haven’t been doing a lot of testing, so each session we’ve been getting a little bit better. When the main event came around, I was like, ‘Let’s just make it stiff enough to where I can send it and shift the focus to get a good start, jump whoops, and do the things I can do.’ Once the race came around, I was really locked in. I did see a red light on the double, so I had to slow down and roll the jump. If the red light was still on for the other guys, I think it’s fair that the points are given to me—three points could matter at the end of the year. I did better than I expected, as far as the pace and finish position. It’s a really good way to start the season, but we still have a lot to work on, the bike and myself. I think we’re only going to get better from here, so I’m excited for the upcoming rounds!“