Next came the drive to Columbus for the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame. My whole family was in town as my mother Rita was voted into the HOF by her peers--Lifetime AMA Members and current Hall of Famers. We were also there to see very close friends (and longtime participants at many of our events) Travis Pastrana, Ryan Dungey, Grant Langston, and Barry Hawk all honored as well. Travis spoke about the hardships he and his family faced as he tried to make it as a minicycle racer, and then all of the unfortunate mistakes he made as a professional athlete that ended his racing career way too early, and then all of the things that went into the incredible life he's been living ever since he was on RM80s as arguably the most popular motorcycle rider on the planet. In a moving speech GL talked about his family's great risk in embarking to Europe when he was just 15 to chase his dreams, some of the good fortune he had both there and here in the states, his impressive championship run from '00 to '07, the eye cancer that ended his career, and the impressive careers he's had since as both a TV analyst and as a powersports dealer. Ryan Dungey was introduced by The Man who discovered him, Roger De Coster, and he told about growing up in a racing family and all of the sacrifices that his parents made, and how thankful he was to them and everyone else along the way, and also touched on his incredible work in raising funds and awareness for many, many families at St. Jude's Children's Hospital (he deserves to be in the HOF for that alone). And Barry Hawk, the eight-time GNCC Champion, spoke about going from racing at a local fair on an XR75 to GNCC ATV titles again and again, and then switching to two-wheels, getting a factory Yamaha deal and winning a title and multiple races there. He's now the manager of the Coastal GasGas Factory off-road team. As for my mom, she talked about how my dad became a motorcycle fanatic after seeing the movie On Any Sunday and how they just started working at races small and big and developing their own brands of events like GNCC, Loretta Lynn's, the Blackwater 100, and more. And when Dad died in 1998, she had no choice but to carry on because hosting motorcycle racing events was all she really knew (though she was also a school teacher, worked in a print shop, and raised my brother and sister and I). It was an exceptionally fun event attended by lots of friends and I know our whole family, as well as the Langstons, the Dungeys, the Hawks and the Pastranas, who were humbled by it all. (And thank you to everyone at the AMA who decided to move the HOF ceremony from tonight to last night so that everyone involved in both SMX as well as the GNCC in West Virginia this weekend would be able to attend.)

I should mention now that on the way to the HOF I got the text that Team USA would finally be announced at 3 p.m. and, as I hinted at last Friday, it's an all-Austrian-brand lineup, though I wasn't expecting to hear Christian Craig's name. No matter, it's a very good team of three young men--Aaron, RJ, and Christian--who really want to go to France and race for Team USA. It's been a strange year for the team, as we all know, with riders unavailable because they were either switching brands, injured, or getting married (which would be, in order, the defending champions Sexton, Eli Tomac, and Justin Cooper). There were also some riders just plain not interested in going, as well as some teams not interested in participating. I understand all of that and have said before that I would never hold it against a rider who wanted to do what they felt they needed with their time and their career, and also that the MXON is a costly, high-pressure event for everyone, but it just sucks when this sudden inability to participate seems to happen all at once like it did this time around. (If you think this has never happened before, I can refer you to the 1979 and ’80 teams that did not actually exist, as well as 2004.) Here's guessing that when it returns to the U.S. in a couple of years many of those same riders/teams will have both hands up in the air begging to be chosen. Regardless, here's to AP7, RJ and Christian, and hopefully another Team USA win at Ernee. (I did get a kick out of Zach Osborne’s tweet, er, X, from earlier this week: "For the record, I have offered my services for MXdN and I’ve also offered to pay my own way with good equipment. I may not win but at this point it’s about getting a team to the race and showing we have the pride to at least be there."

Today was the long drive from Columbus to the south side of Chicago, and I got here just in time to catch the last lap of practice, and that was it. I did get to stop by the Honda truck and give Hunter a couple of copies of the brand new issue, which includes a big story on the "Silly Season," the standouts from Loretta Lynn's, a look at Star Racing's next amateur-to-professional graduate in Daxton Bennick, and a look at the struggles that Kawasaki has been having all season long in reaching the winner's circle, perfectly timed for Jo Shimoda's late-season breakout for Mitch Payton's Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki team. That and a whole bunch more are in the brand-new issue, so please check it out. Oh, and Hunter was very happy with the Chicagoland track, telling me he likes it much better than zMAX and he seemed in very good spirits, so keep an eye on his tomorrow…

Finally, we're here, back in Illinois for the first big race here in more than 20 years. Illinois has hosted exactly one AMA Supercross and one AMA Pro Motocross National. The SX race was the 2000 event at Route 66 Dragstrip, which was set up a lot like Charlotte's zMAX Dragway and won by Jeremy McGrath in the 250 class and Yamaha of Troy's Ernesto Fonseca in the 125 class (though this teammate Stephane Roncada clinched the 125 East Region title over Pastrana). The MX took place way back in '77 at Sandy Oaks Raceway in Keithsburg, a 125 National that many of the participants--including winner Bob Hannah--called the roughest sand track they'd ever ridden for an outdoor national. Despite having had only two major races over the years, Illinois boasts as many AMA Supercross Champions as Florida does. Bridgeview's Mark "Bomber" Barnett won the '81 crown while La Moille's Chase Sexton is the current SX #1. (If you're wondering, Florida's two AMA Supercross Champions are Ricky Carmichael and James Stewart.)

Illinois boasts one of the oldest continuously operating motocross tracks in America in Motorsports Park, which first opened in 1970 by the Vincer family, who still run the track. Illinois was the home of a couple of formidable semi-satellite teams in Dave Antolak's TUF Racing, as well as the Downer's Grove Yamaha team that's just a few miles up the road from Chicagoland. That DGY team won SX/MX races with the likes of Doug Henry, Jimmy Button and Chad Pederson, and TUF backed riders like Todd DeHoop, Ron Lechien, and Ronnie Tichenor. And I gotta mention my friend Junior Jackson, who was one of the most promising Illinois talents ever, only to suffer a severe wrist injury and two broken ankles at the Los Angeles Coliseum just as his pro days were getting started. Junior is still around, still fast, and still a big part of the Illinois scene—I just saw him here in the parking lot chatting with Nick Wey. He told me they still ride at Sandy Oaks, and it’s still rougher than hell, but quite run-down from its one day as a national track. 

Now we’re here at a racing facility that seems very happy to have any kind of motorsports back. The whole Chicagoland complex, which includes Route 66 Dragstrip where the ’00 SX was held, seems frozen in a pre-COVID time warp. The place shut down during the pandemic and never really got started up again. There’s even a billboard over on the dragstrip grandstands for an event to be held in Summer 2020, an event no doubt doomed by the shutdowns. The sponsor logos on all of the walls of the speedway seem a few years old, a little weathered by the sun and a general lack of progress. But every person I’ve encountered here so far seems truly happy to have racing back and while it’s not going to be full by any means, everyone coming will probably get a big smile and “thanks for coming” from the staff, vendors and concessionaires. 

That's all I know about Illinois SX/MX for now, but come tomorrow, we will have some whole new chapters to talk about, as SMX takes off at night under the lights. Wish us all luck on a good, safe race!

Hall Pass (Jason Weigandt)

What a fun night last night for the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame ceremony. I’ve never attended the event before, but this year’s class was all-time for me, as I’ve got a personal connection to all five inductees, and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world—although I almost missed it due to the SMX World Championship. Thankfully the AMA moved the event from the scheduled Friday night to Thursday, which allowed key people heading to Chicagoland to attend. As an example, it wouldn’t be right for Ryan Dungey to enter the HoF without Roger De Coster in attendance, nor Ian Harrison, nor his brother Jade. The move allowed those KTM boys to all go.

I’ll write more about the five speeches later, but I want to mention the fun connections between this year’s inductees. Rita Coombs, our Voice of Reason here at Racer X, is one of the most important people in my life and my God do I have hilarious stories from traveling with her to the races. She’s smart, funny, and never, ever stops working. Anyway, it was cool to hear everyone mention how her events (Loretta’s, GNCC, Pro Motocross) provided the platform for the athletes, in this case Travis Pastrana, Grant Langston, Ryan Dungey, and Barry Hawk, to perform. Then Pastrana and Langston joked about their battles against each other in the early 2000s. Pastrana joked that he was barely able to finish one GNCC, ever, while Hawk used to race two GNCCs races in one weekend, one on an ATV and one on a bike (Barry would race five total hours!) Oh, and then Pastrana said he knew De Coster was really attending the event for Dungey, but, hey, good to see you, Roger! Travis sheepishly told stories of jumps, tricks, crashes and injuries that surely drove Roger nuts. Then, Dungey was heralded for his record run of 31-straight supercross races with a podium. Yes, Dungey really is very much the opposite of Pastrana! 

Anyway, great times, and I love all five inductees. Congrats, lady and gentlemen.

Race City, USA (Weigandt)

Oh, to finally get a race in the Charlotte area! I’ve been living in North Carolina for a dozen years now, and I know so many local moto fans who have wanted to go to a darned big-time AMA race. SMX finally presented that, and the stands were pretty darned packed. I visited zMAX Dragway a month ago and the staff was already thrilled on the ticket sales. For this market, this race was much-needed.

My main takeaway was that the track was more hybrid than I expected. Everyone at Feld kept telling me this would not be the Atlanta Supercross, but I didn’t truly understand until I walked that track last Thursday and saw sections of deep, tilled dirt—stuff you can’t see on a track map. And while race winner Chase Sexton said the track did remind him of Atlanta, even down to the red dirt, he also said on the PulpMX show that he was sorer after this race than any other this year. It was tough to do supercross rhythms and motocross rough, at speed. I heard this from every rider I talked to. You have to run SX-style suspension in the rhythms, and that means you’re getting beat up really bad in the rough. Oh, and stiff suspension means the bike has less traction and doesn’t want to turn. To me, this unique challenge is the exact point of these races. No one is going to nail it, and they’ll just have to deal. I think it’s cool—even more so than I expected.

New Bike Season Update (Keefer)

With only TWO brand new machines coming out this year, the brand-new-bike-testing season has been kind of lagging. However, we are about to ramp up here in a couple weeks with the 2024 Yamaha YZ250F (September 26) and the 2024 Kawasaki KX450 in late October! We also have a special 2024 Suzuki introduction on the 25th of September that will allow us to ride Ken Roczen's HEP/Twisted Tea Suzuki race machine, so that will be awesome! With the LA Coliseum coming up it seems like A LOT of the industry is planning get-togethers and presentations the week leading into the final SMX round, so make sure to keep it locked into Racerxonline.com to get all the details on what is coming down the pipe! As always if you have any new bike questions, please feel free to email me at kris@keeferinctesting.com, our door is always open to help! 

Five Charlotte SMX Takeaways (AJ Pleasanton)

(We've been working with a new freelance contributor in AJ Pleasanton--thanks for the intro, Johnny Hopper--and he recently attended both the Budds Creek National for a magazine feature and the Charlotte SMX as a fan. We asked AJ to give us five takeaways on the new SMX event at Charlotte from his point of view) 

This past weekend the SuperMotocross World Championship made its debut at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte, North Carolina. The inaugural race offered a tapestry of memorable battles, gnarly crashes, and standout performances. Here are my five key observations from the groundbreaking event. 

1) Bounce Back

Towards the end of the final 250 qualifying session, Haiden Deegan endured a gut-wrenching crash while attempting to improve his fastest lap time. After Dangerboy went over the bars and smashed into the dirt, the tension of the crowd was palpable as he took off his googles, sat down, and consulted with an Alpinestars medic. Unfortunately, the 17-year-old did not remount his Yamaha for the remainder of the session and had to settle for the ninth gate pick going into Moto 1. Some even wondered if he was going to be able to line up after taking such a violent slam. Despite the crash, Deegan dug deep and managed to bounce back in that first moto in spectacular fashion. After chasing his teammate Levi Kitchen for 15 minutes, Deegan pulled the trigger on the inside of the split lane and the crowd went wild as he came back into the speedway with the lead. 

Later in the day it became clearer that the qualifying crash had had some effect on Haiden, and he lost his edge. After a not-so-good start he salvaged a fifth place in Moto 2 for third overall. On the podium, Deegan admitted, “My body was in so much pain,” but thanks to his strong mental state (and motivation from David Goggins podcast) Haiden was able to leave North Carolina tied for first in points with Jo Shimoda.  

2) Point to Prove 

After not leading a single lap of any race since the last Monster Energy Supercross in Salt Lake City back in May, Chase Sexton rode the first round of SMX in championship form, winning both motos in dominant fashion. After spending the summer in the shadow of his Honda teammate Jett Lawrence (due in part to a practice crash right after the outdoor opener) it was obvious that Sexton was eager to get a fresh start in the inaugural SMX series. Not only was Chase excited going into Charlotte with the top seed from combined SX/MX points, but he was also ready to return to racing on a bike with familiar suspension. Sexton’s mechanic, Brandon Zimmerman exclaimed, “You can’t beat the Champ! Chase is unreal on that supercross suspension. I knew from the vibe in the morning that he was going to dominate.”

And dominate he did. After Chase qualified first, he passed Justin Barcia for the lead two minutes into Moto 1 and then passed Ken Roczen for the lead on Lap 11 in Moto 2. It was obvious that the Honda rider has found his old flow as he was the only rider to dip into the 1:14 second lap times during the second moto. 

“I know what I’m capable of when I’m comfortable,” declared Sexton on the podium, $100,000 richer for this race win alone. Now that the #23 has found his groove, it’s clear that the rest of the field has their hands full for the last two rounds of the SMX tournament. They have some work to do too, because Chase has already built a 12-point lead over Jett Lawrence and Aaron Plessinger on the road to that $1 million ultimate prize.  

3) The French Connection 

As we inch closer towards the 2023 Motocross of Nations, it was hard to ignore the standout ride from the two-time MX2 World Champion Tom Vialle. Simply put, the Frenchman was going 100% all day, and he looked great doing it. From his line choice to his cardio, to his aggression and consistency, watching this rider navigate the SMX hybrid track was like watching a masterclass on dirt bike racing. Vialle locked down a strong third-place finish in Moto 1, but when the gate dropped the second time out it was clear that the Red Bull KTM rider had his mind set on taking the win. After leading for a majority of the race, Vialle got edged out by Jo Shimoda for the overall with six minutes and a lap to go. He didn’t take the checkered, but Vialle knows he has the speed to go the distance as he put down the fastest lap in the second moto. Despite going 3-2 for second overall, the #128 is headed to Chicagoland Speedway only fourth in points, but just four behind the co-leaders Shimoda and Deegan. Definitely keep a close eye on Vialle as he heads into the final two rounds of SMX, because we know one thing about the MXON coming up next month: Vialle will represent France on home turf alongside Romain Febvre and Maxime Renaux, and they will be tough to be beat, no matter who Team USA ends up being...

And how about a Japan Connection? After Kawasaki got blanked as a brand for almost the entire 2023 season, Shimoda has found his form and given the green team two wins in a row, first at the last national in Indiana, and now first at the inaugural SMX race. That's the good news for Kawasaki. The bad news is that Jo's going red in '24 and beyond to join forces with his old friends Lawrence brothers. And speaking of...

4) Bad Day for the Brothers 

The Lawrence brothers have already locked down four AMA Championships this year, but after a rare off day in North Carolina, some are starting to wonder if the trophy shelf is full for the rest of '23. After struggling with the track and hitting the ground early in both motos (and of course losing another visor) Hunter Lawrence was only able to salvage 9-7 moto finishes for eighth place overall. 

“He didn’t gel with the track at all; it was so one-lined.” stated Hunter’s mechanic Cameron Camera, “I know he’ll bounce back in the next two rounds, that’s when the points start to matter.”  Despite the uncharacteristic day for the 250 SX/MX champion, Hunter is still third in points and is only three points behind Shimoda and Deegan, who will share the red plate in Chicagoland. 

Unfortunately, the SMX Championship scenario for Hunter’s younger brother, Jett, is not as forgiving. Since Jett raced Supercross on a 250, he entered SMX third place in points, giving Chase Sexton a noteworthy head start going into the series. As Sexton broke the undefeated streak and swept the day in Charlotte, Lawrence was only able to salvage 7-2 moto finishes for fourth overall. Jettson will have to turn the jets on immediately if he wants to dig out of this 12-point hole and steal the SMX title from his soon-to-be former teammate. 

5) Sky High 65s 

Of course, the audience in attendance was generous in cheering for the world’s top professionals, but there was one race in particular where the crowd might have cheered the loudest, and that was for the 65cc All-Stars main event. Not taking anything away from Jackson Vick, Easton Graves, or Gavin McCoy, who finished 1-2-3 respectively, but there was one rider who found a ‘smart’ way to get the crowd on the edge of their seats cheering for him. Ten-year-old Jaydin Smart garnered the loudest applause from the audience as he fearlessly launched his Cobra 65 over the entire 70-foot Supercross triple every lap of the race. You could hear his wide-open throttle scream all the way from the parking lot as he sped through the rollers leading up to the jump. The three-time Loretta Lynn's AMA Amateur National Champion was one of the youngest of the 65cc racers on the track, but that didn’t stop him from showing the fans in Charlotte the size of his heart. If these kids really were a glimpse of our future stars, everyone at the SMX opener must have liked what they saw! 

Hey, Watch It!

First look: ChicagoLand SMX with Weege, Kellen, Tommy Tenders, and Sarah Whitmore:

Kellen’s Race Examination from Charlotte:

Here's a closer look at how Chase Sexton's excellent day in Charlotte when, starring the first SMX winner himself:

DC got in on the “Coliseum Moments” that the Los Angeles Coliseum is producing about the history of SX/MX in the stadium where it all started: