No expectations for Haiden Deegan, just pure joy from his family on first podium

When Haiden Deegan, 17, made his Monster Energy 250 East Supercross debut at Houston, he was not burdened by expectations from the team, his family or himself. At the start of the season, he was prepared to spend another year in the Supercross Futures class, but after finishing fifth in the season-opener at Anaheim 1, everyone saw all they needed to see.

“After futures, I wasn’t even sure if I was going race, so we pulled it and we’re like, yeah, we might as well go race, get the experience and so far it’s going great,” Deegan said in the post-race news conference for the Daytona Supercross race after earning his first podium in just his fourth 250 start.

It was a decision made not only by the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team and Haiden, but also by his parents Brian and Marissa.

Even without expectations, success came immediately for Deegan.

He finished fourth in his debut after riding at the front of the pack in the early laps of the Houston Main. Minor mistakes in both that race and the following week in Tampa denied him a podium. In his third round at Arlington, he had his first taste of disappointment. The Texas dirt was tricky and glassed over severely, as if often will in dirt sprint car races, making for slick conditions.

Deegan finished 15th in the first Main of the Triple Crown format before rebounding to fourth and fifth in the next two races. He was eighth overall.

“My mom didn’t want me to race dirt bikes after all my dad went through,” Haiden said. “We started and my dad got me on a dirt bike and it was going to happen eventually. And from there I just fell in love with it. … So, I fell in love with dirt bikes and from there, just been getting up to this spot pretty much and race supercross.

“I’ve