Haiden Deegan shot out to the lead early and never gave it back, winning the Salt Lake City 250 Showdown West heat in Salt Lake City, Utah, by more than seven seconds over Levi Kitchen. By Lap 4, Deegan had built a significant advantage over the field and spent the rest of the race turning that gap into a runaway finish.
Behind him, Cameron McAdoo led Kayden Minear and Kitchen in the fight for second through fourth until Kitchen spent the second half of the heat stalking McAdoo and then made a dramatic last-lap pass in the sand section. Minear finished fourth in his second career start, a strong result in a race that kept shifting after Ryder DiFrancesco earned the holeshot and early lead.
The heat also had a reset after a crash involving Brandon Ray brought out a red flag and a complete restart. Earlier, Gage Linville went down in Turn 1 and trapped Daxton Bennick deep in the field, adding to the traffic Jam that shaped the opening laps before Deegan separated himself from the pack.
The result sent Henry Miller, Justin Rodbell and Gavin Towers on to the East/West Showdown. For Deegan, it was the kind of clean, commanding run that leaves little doubt about who owned the West heat in Salt Lake City.
