Jason Anderson, Seth Hammaker Return for RedBud

Finally some good news on the injury front. Monster Energy Kawasaki 450 racer Jason Anderson is set to return to action this weekend for the RedBud National, after suffering a non-displaced fracture in his neck during the Nashville Supercross on April 29th. Anderson returned to riding the week before the High Point National, and hinted on Monday that if he felt good this week, he'd race RedBud. On Tuesday night, Kawasaki confirmed on social media that Anderson would indeed return to racing this weekend.

Also, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki 250 racer Seth Hammaker, who has missed the full 2023 season with a badly-broken arm/wrist, will return at RedBud as well, also confirmed by Kawasaki.

Both riders will be chasing points for the SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX), which is the name of the new playoff series that begins in September. Anderson, thanks to his Monster Energy Supercross points, still sits eighth in the  SMX 450 standings (which combines supercross and motocross points together) but would like to move further up to improve his seeding when the playoffs begin. Riders begin the playoffs with extra points based on seeding.

Hammaker has yet to score any points this year. Only the top 30 riders get to race the playoffs, the 30th 250 slot is currently held by Jace Owen, with 81 points.