In the months that followed Haiden Deegan’s victory during the SuperMotocross World Championship finale at L.A. Memorial Coliseum last September, there was one regret that ate away at the teenager.
He didn’t ghost ride his bike at the finish line.
To understand the significance of the ghost ride and why it would’ve been important in that moment, one must first understand the legacy of Deegan’s father and freestyle motocross pioneer Brian Deegan.
On Jan. 18, 1997, Brian Deegan won his first 125cc Supercross race inside the L.A. Memorial Coliseum.
Upon reaching the finish line, close to 60,000 fans watched in awe as Deegan hopped off his No. 38 Suzuki while simultaneously letting go of the handlebars and sending the bike straight into the air in front of him.
At that moment, the ghost ride was born.
Nearly 30 years later, inside the same venue, his son had a chance to repeat history.
However, when Haiden Deegan passed the checkered flag on that September night —earning the inaugural 250SMX championship and $500,000 winner’s check — he stayed planted on the seat of his No. 238 machine until reaching the mechanic’s area.
“I just didn’t know I won until Duffe came up to me,” Deegan said, referencing his mechanic, Brent Duffe. “Looking back, I should’ve done it at L.A. Coliseum. It would’ve been more historic.”
Five months later, the 18-year-old finally got a second shot at carrying on his father’s legacy.
On Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, during the second round of the 250SX East season, Deegan inherited the lead after Austin Forkner crashed with two minutes to go in the main event.
The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider collected his first Monster Energy AMA Supercross win in front of roughly 62,000 fans.
On the jump following the finish, Deegan lunged backward off the bike and launched his No. 38 Yamaha YZ250F into the air, perfectly mirroring his father’s famous ghost ride.
“I was like, it’s a little jump, I’m gonna ghost ride this thing,” Deegan said during the post-race press conference. “I’ve been telling a lot of people that I was going to ghost ride it eventually…so I was like, ‘I gotta do it.’”
Last year was Deegan’s first season in the professional ranks.
After tallying three podium appearances, he finished second in the 250SX East point standings.
This year, the California native is continuing the hunt for his first Supercross title. He’s hoping he can mimic the path two-time 250SX champion Jett Lawrence, who is now a 450SX rookie, laid out over the last few years.
“Jett Lawrence came in, won and went to the 450 class quick. He didn’t spend a lot of time here. He was consistent and up front and didn’t make dumb moves,” Deegan said. “You just want to be consistent.”
Unfortunately, Deegan’s sophomore campaign didn’t get off the best start during the opening round at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich., on Feb. 3. He was collected in a first-turn crash and salvaged a 16th-place finish.
“Detroit went a little south on the start — it was my fault, I didn’t get a good start,” Deegan said. “It bit me, so I went and worked on starts and nearly holeshotted the main (this week).”
Following his triumph at Arlington, Deegan is fifth in the standings with seven races to go. The next venue on the schedule is Daytona Int’l Speedway, where Deegan finished third last season — the first podium appearance of his 250SX career.