The 18-year-old from Texas dominated wire to wire in muddy conditions, becoming the first repeat race winner of the season and the only prospect to finish in the top five at all five rounds.
Photo Credit: Feld Entertainment
PICKERINGTON, Ohio (April 27, 2026) — The American Motorcyclist Association congratulates Deacon Denno of Triumph Factory Racing, who claimed the 2026 SMX Next — Supercross AMA National Championship in a dominant, wire-to-wire performance under rain-soaked conditions in Philadelphia.
“Some champions find a way to win. Deacon Denno found a way to lead in every condition the season could throw at him,” said AMA Director of Racing Mike Pelletier. “His consistency throughout this championship was remarkable, and his win is a reflection of the discipline and hunger he’s brought to every gate drop. We look forward to watching him carry that same relentless drive into the professional ranks.”
The SMX Next — Supercross AMA National Championship Main Event brought together the top 18 amateur prospects in the sport, all of them chasing a single coveted title on a track made treacherous by rain. From the moment the gate dropped, the race told a clear story: Denno out front, the rest of the field trying to write a different ending.
Denno’s Triumph Factory Racing machine immediately carved out the lead exiting the first turn, putting himself in front of the flying mud and giving him room to build something. Behind him, Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green’s Kade Johnson settled into a strong second, with KTM Orange Brigade’s Jeremy Fappani third. Denno’s lead grew to more than a dozen seconds over the field as he turned the mud into his medium.
The 18-year-old finished the race with a margin of 9.3 seconds — the biggest win of his young career. Johnson came home unchallenged in second, while Fappani rounded out the podium in third.
“I was just focused on the start,” Denno said. “That’s a big part of [racing in] the mud and it’s a big part of any race. I got the rhythms clean, and I felt like I rode smooth and calm, which is what you need in the mud. It feels good to make it known I can make it happen anywhere — Daytona, in the mud, wherever I want. A lot of confidence for me heading into the pros.”
What made Denno’s championship more than a single electric performance was everything that preceded it. Across five rounds and every condition the schedule could manufacture, he was the one rider the results couldn’t shake loose. Denno became the first and only repeat winner of the 2026 season and was the only prospect in the field to secure a top-five finish at all five rounds.
The SMX Next — Supercross program exists to identify riders who can perform not just on their best day, but across the full arc of a campaign — in the heat of Daytona, in the mud of a rain-soaked finale, in the moments when the pressure peaks and the margin for error disappears. Denno answered every question.
The SMX Next — Supercross AMA National Championship has become one of amateur racing’s most reliable proving grounds, a bridge between the amateur ranks and professional competition that has launched some of the sport’s brightest recent careers.
While the 2026 SMX Next – Supercross Championship concluded in Philadelphia, there are still two rounds left of the AMA Supercross season. For more information, visit https://americanmotorcyclist.com/racing/professional-racing/ama-supercross/.