Haiden Deegan has nothing to prove during the next two rounds, but as the 250 West riders enter Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado, the battle for second in the standings took center stage.
Max Anstie outpaced Hunter Yoder in the first heat, and will have one of the best gate picks for the feature.
Heat 1
Max Anstie and Hunter Yoder took the early lead, with Max Vohland giving chase.
In his first professional Supercross start, Kayden Minear put his name fourth on the leaderboard.
Justin Rodbell rounded out the top five on Lap 4.
Levi Kitchen got a slow start and was just outside the top five for most of the heat. He passed Rodbell for fifth on Lap 5.
As time ran off the clock, nothing changed among the top five with Anstie leading Yoder by 3.9 seconds.
Vohland hung onto third.
On the final lap, Kitchen forced Minear off course at the finish jump. Minear’s transponder did not register.
Kitchen took over fourth with Rodbell scored in fifth.
Reven Gordon (sixth), Crockett Myers (seventh), and Gage Linville (eighth) also advanced into the feature.
Cameron McAdoo was on the cusp of qualifying, but was penalized two positions for jumping in a red cross flag section.
Despite getting pushed off course, the AMA determined that Minear would not be credited with completing the final lap.
Heat 2
Joshua Varize grabbed the early lead with Haiden Deegan chasing in second.
Varize fell to third on Lap 2, as Deegan and Ryder DiFrancesco slipped past.
Fourth-place Carson Mumford and Lux Turner round out the top five halfway through Heat 2.
On Lap 6, the battle was for the final transfer position, with Hunter Schlosser taking the position from Keegan Rowley.
Deegan held on for the victory by more than three and a half seconds over DiFrancesco.
Turner held onto third.
Fourth-place Varize and Mumford rounded out the top five.
Robbie Wageman (sixth), Cole Thompson (seventh), Parker Ross (eighth), and Schlosser also advanced into the feature.
Last Chance Qualifier
Cameron McAdoo did not get off to a particularly strong start in the LCQ, but he advanced to win handily.
The path was filled with greater drama for Minear, who was denied a fifth-place position in his heat after getting pushed off track. He fell twice in the LCQ, but recovered to finish second.
Brandon Ray and Keegan Rowley also advanced to the feature.
