The 250SX East Division season began at the Arlington 250 inside AT&T Stadium, and it proved to be a mixed night for New Zealand’s Cole Davies.
After showing strong speed in his heat race, Davies had to fight back from a first-turn crash in the main event to salvage a top-five finish and valuable championship points.
Davies made an immediate impact in Heat 1. He moved to the front early and quickly settled into a strong rhythm.
Jalek Swoll ran second in the opening laps, while Caden Dudney impressed in third in his 250SX debut. Nate Thrasher worked his way forward midway through the race, passing two riders to take over second. Cullin Park completed the top five.
Up front, Davies steadily built a gap. By Lap 7, he held a comfortable advantage of around five seconds and went on to win the heat ahead of Thrasher. Swoll, Dudney and Park followed him across the line.
It was a composed ride and an encouraging start to the night.
The main event began with chaos in Turn 1. A multi-rider pile-up involved Davies, Coty Schock, Caden Dudney and Thrasher. While most were able to remount, Marshall Weltin was unable to continue.
Davies rejoined near the back of the field and immediately faced the task of working his way forward.
At the front, Jo Shimoda grabbed the holeshot, leading Pierce Brown and Daxton Bennick. Shimoda built an early lead of around three seconds before the race changed on Lap 5. After appearing to stall or lose momentum briefly, he surrendered the lead to Brown.
Shimoda remained close and applied pressure through the middle stages of the race, but Brown responded each time and rebuilt a small advantage — around one second by Lap 11.
While the leaders fought at the front, Davies focused on damage control. With four minutes remaining, he had progressed to sixth place.
On Lap 14, Davies passed Drew Adams to move into fifth. Soon after, Cullin Park crashed at the end of the whoops while battling for sixth and dropped to ninth, helping Davies secure his top-five result.
Considering the first-turn crash, fifth place represented a strong recovery and ensured Davies left Arlington with solid points.
Brown’s win puts him at the top of the 250SX East standings on 25 points, ahead of Shimoda on 22 and Bennick on 20. Seth Hammaker sits fourth on 18 points, with Davies fifth on 17.
While the main event didn’t go smoothly, Davies’ heat race win and charge through the field showed he has the pace to challenge as the 250 Eastern Divisional season continues this coming weekend at Daytona.
Header Image: Align Media
