How RedBud being on America's 250th birthday made the event even more 'epic'

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BUCHANAN, MI — RedBud has always been about celebrating America.

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When Independence Day weekend rolls around, Buchanan becomes the home for pro motocross’s biggest event. For more than five decades, RedBud Pro Motocross National has been just as much about the racing as celebrating the USA’s birthday.

And America celebrated a big birthday this year.

Saturday, July 4, 2026, marked 250 years of the United States. A patriotic weekend became even more so because of the seminal value of a whole number like 250. It’s the biggest celebration of Independence Day since it turned 200 in 1976.

The people of RedBud responded accordingly.

Already a sea of red, white, and blue, there seemed to be even more of it Saturday. To have RedBud on the actual 4th, on America’s 250th birthday? A match made in heaven for fans of this event.

The racers felt it too — even the non-Americans. Cole Davies, who won the 250 class title, gave out a “MERICA” on the championship podium after he won the first of two races Saturday. The New Zealand native tried his best to do an American accent … ‘A’ for effort, let’s just say that.

The only American to place on the podium in either the 250 or 450 classes Saturday was Ryder DiFrancesco. It was the first time he placed in the top three of any pro motocross race. The Bakersfield, California native got emotional on the championship stage, soaking in a moment he’s been working toward for quite some time.

“It’s really a dream of mine, as an American,” DiFrancesco said. “It was going through my head there with a couple of laps to go that Jo (Shimoda) was in front of me and Cole was up there. And obviously, how the 450 turned out — going onto the podium as an American, that’s amazing to me, especially on America’s birthday. … You can’t draw it up any better.”

Jo Shimoda of Japan, who won the 250 class of RedBud in 2025, was runner-up. In the 450 class, Australia’s Hunter Lawrence brought home the title, Jorge Prado from Spain was second and Lawrence’s brother, Jett, finished third.

It was the first time the 450 class featured three non-American finishers. Haiden Deegan was the top performing American, placing sixth. They still invited him on the stage afterwards to wave an American flag, sending the patriotic crowd into a frenzy.

While Shimoda is not from America, the RedBud fans have adopted him as one of their own over the years. He showed his appreciation for them post-race.

“It’s cool, you know?” Shimoda said. “Of course, I’m from Japan, which is a foreign country. Me personally … I always choose (competing) in the U.S. series. To come here, it’s really a dream come true. I love the fans here. The energy was really cool.”

Motocross is now an international sport. The top 10 season standings for both the 250 and 450 classes are littered with non-Americans. As Davies and Shimoda showed, though, you can be from a foreign country and still get down with how patriotic this event is.

“It was probably the coolest RedBud for me,” Hunter Lawrence said. “July 4th was today, not Friday or Sunday like in past years. America’s 250th birthday. It’s epic.”

Austin Hough is a sports editor within the Center for Community Journalism at USA Today Co., overseeing high school sports and Notre Dame athletics coverage for five Indiana newspapers. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @AustinRHough. Hough can be emailed at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: How RedBud being on America's 250th birthday made the event even more 'epic'

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