In the 250 class, well, the East Region has been wild, starting with that massive first turn crash in Detroit and staying that way until now, where series points leader Max Anstie of the Firepower Honda team has gone 2-6-8 but still carries the red plates. Pierce Brown and Cameron McAdoo are just one point behind, which means after three races none of the top three in the standings have won a race. Two more points behind are two guys that have, Vialle and Haiden Deegan. And how cool is it that Coty Shock has 48 points, just four behind the points leader? If it does rain though, keep an eye on Max, who is one of the best mud riders of this generation.

Also this weekend we have the start of the FIM Motocross World Championship (MXGP) down in Argentina, where Jorge Prado will be defending his MXGP title from multi-time champions Jeffrey Herlings and Tim Gajser, as well as Romain Febvre, Jeremy Seewer, Maxime Renaux, Jago Geerts, and more. Qualifying is tomorrow and the races are Sunday, and you can watch on www.mxgp-tv.com. Also, the second motos will be shown on Sunday evening after a slight delay on CBS Sports Network.

Wait, there’s more: The third round of the Progressive AMA Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Series takes place this weekend as The General GNCC goes off in Washington, Georgia. You can watch the ATVs stream live tomorrow beginning at 2:00 p.m. Eastern while the motorcycles go on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Eastern. And finally, the annual Red Bull Day in the Dirt is happening this weekend down at Dade City MX in Florida. If you’re near any of these events, try to visit—and hopefully stay dry!

And check out a few of Mitch Kendra’s best photos from the Ricky Carmichael Daytona Amateur Supercross (RCSX). And read on for more on RCSX later in this post!

To view Mitch’s full gallery, check out our Next: 2024 RCSX Photo Gallery feature with over 100 photos.

Alabama SX/MX History (DC)

There have been three AMA Supercross/Pro Motocross events held in Alabama, but none of them were in Birmingham. Rather, they were held on the infield of Talladega Motor Speedway, one of the premier stock car tracks in America. The first race was held in 1972 following the Superbike race there on Labor Day weekend. The event was the last stand-alone round of the inaugural AMA Pro Motocross Championships for 250cc and 500cc classes; all others were either tied into the summer Inter-Am Series (250s) or the fall Trans-AMA Series (500). On a track built by the Professor himself, Gary Bailey, the winner of the 250 class was--checks notes—Gary Bailey! The 500 class winner was "Bad" Brad Lackey, who actually raced with a rubber peace dove on the handlebar of his prototype Kawasaki. (Hey, it was the Vietnam War protest era!) One year later, at the second and last Talladega National, the winners were Honda-mounted  Gary Jones and Yamaha's Pierre Karsmakers.

Fast forward to March 1984 and a really confusing time for AMA Supercross. There was a battle going on between most of the promoters—Mike Goodwin, Allen Becker, Mickey Thompson, Bill West—and the AMA. The promoters called themselves InSport and decided to have their own championship without the AMA. But there was one AMA promoter who did not want to race under another sanction, Jim France of NASCAR and Daytona International Speedway fame. He just happened to have two SX races schedule for that year, Daytona and Talladega, on back-to-back weekends. And while InSport would have all of the factory teams, Honda and Yamaha decided to participate in Daytona, but not Talladega. Well, at least not all of Team Honda. While Johnny O'Mara and Ron Lechien were sitting out Talladega, David Bailey decided to race it since his dad Gary was again the track-builder. Honda let him go do it, but on a production bike with only his works suspension. 

Making matters even MORE confusing was the fact that 1984 was the year the Paris-Bercy SX in France began, and they did it in the spring, in the middle of the week, right between Daytona and Talladega. O'Mara, Bailey and Yamaha teammates Broc Glover and Rick Johnson all competed in it, but only Bailey--the winner--immediately flew back home that Friday afternoon to get to the Talladega SX. With Scott USA's Bevo Forti moonlighting as his mechanics, Bailey would finish fourth behind Kawasaki's Jeff Ward and Suzuki teammates Mark Barnett and Scott Burnworth. (It wasn't a very successful race, that one and only Talladega SX, as Cycle News said that it was probably the "least attended" race in supercross history.)

Later on, the AMA and InSport would get back together again, and the points from both "super speedway" rounds would be added with the 15 other rounds. Johnny O'Mara would end up the 1984 AMA Supercross Champion by out-pointing David Bailey by 21 points. But then when the total points for the whole season were added up for the Wrangler AMA Grand National Championship, and Bailey, who rode the 500 class outdoors, totaled 541 points when combined with his SX finishes. Jeff Ward, who won the 125 class outdoors, ended up with 534 points. Had Bailey not raced Talladega, Alabama, as a semi-privateer and earned 18 points, Kawasaki's Jeff Ward would been that year's Grand National Champion!

"I flew straight in from the Paris Supercross and rode. It was kind of a joke. I had a bad day, finished fourth and Ward won," Bailey told Cycle News. "If I had not gone (to Alabama) and everything was the same, Ward would have been crowned as Grand National Champion. So I'm glad I went." Told you 1984 was confusing! 

One more thing: In some old media guides for AMA Supercross there are actually two sets of final point standings, one for the combined InSport/AMA rounds and one for just the two "super-speedway" rounds that were strictly AMA, Daytona and Talladega. Listed as InSport 250 Supercross Champion is Johnny O'Mara, but listed as just "250cc Supercross" Champion (points based on two races)" is Jeff Ward, by just two points over David Bailey after adding in heat race points like they did in '84.

Finally, there's Monster Mountain in Tallassee, Alabama. It's a national-caliber motocross track that's widely regarded as one of the top racing/training facilities in the entire country. There has been talk about an outdoor national or even MXGP over the years but it never quite panned out, due in part to how hot it might be for both riders and spectators in the window for AMA Pro Motocross (late May to late August). Having been there a few times, I can attest for just how good the track and soil are for moto. And for what it's worth, the vast majority of the riders competing tomorrow night in Monster Energy Supercross have spun laps at Monster Mountain. 

Don’t Look Now (Jason Weigandt) 

You know the scariest part of the movie Jurassic Park? It’s when the Velociraptor learns to turn door handles. Earlier in the movie, folks are warned that the raptor is smarter than it looks, and it can learn to open doors. Later, when everyone tries to hide in the lab, the raptor opens the door and comes right on in. That’s when they know they’re in trouble.

At Daytona, Jett Lawrence won a showdown, straight up and hands down. In Pro Motocross last summer, Jett caught a lot of contenders on their back foot, but the veterans threw everything they had at him early in 2024 Monster Energy AMA Supercross. The series been competitive and exciting, but the rookie is the points leader and the only rider with three wins. He passed key contenders to win Daytona. The window is closing, I think, for the competition to answer back and keep him in sight. So that makes the next few weekends, including this one in Birmingham, very important. Hyperbole? I don’t think so, and I’m not alone. James Stewart, on his Bubba’s World Podcast, said the same. These guys better stop him now or they’re not going to stop him for a long time.

Plus, the rookie is getting smarter by the week. Back at San Diego, he crashed spectacularly when he cased a jump on press day. He should have been really hurt with that one. I talked to his dad, Dazzy, about that and he said that was a quick reminder that you have to stay focused on a supercross track. Dazzy feels like things come so naturally to Jett that sometimes he doesn’t even worry enough about the basics, like doing a routine rhythm section on press day. I’ve seen this scenario before, it’s what I call having too much talent. Travis Pastrana was like this. He could do the amazing but got too bored and lost focus doing the basics. I think Jett got caught, again, in that rhythm, in Arlington.

At Daytona, the goal was to stay switched on and learn from that mistake. When Jett came across the line at Daytona pounding his chest, I don’t think it was just because he beat Eli Tomac and Chase Sexton, It was because that was a very tricky track, and he learned how to avoid the big mistake. That’s the scary part for anyone racing him.

Repairs on the Line (Jason Weigandt)

You also saw the start of that race, where Jett’s mechanic Christian Ducharme barely, and we mean barely, got a wheel cover off before the gate dropped. Jason Thomas and I talked to Ducharme for this weeks’ SMX Insider Show (below). He told us they were pressed for time, because Daytona’s longer track means a longer site lap, but there are still only five total minutes between the start of the site lap and the start of the main.

He said the normal fire drill of a wheel-change took longer than usual because it’s harder to remove that tire cover when it’s covered in slimy mud. Christian said the muddiest part of the Daytona facility was the dirt right behind the gate, so that’s what they were trying to protect the tire from. Next time, they will just skip the wheel cover part and just carry the bike over to the starting grates.

Some have asked why Jett didn’t get penalized for having a mechanic on the gate with him as the board went sideways. I talked to the AMA’s Mike Pelletier this morning, and Mike said that while the rule says that all repairs must take place behind the starting gate, they determined that removing a wheel cover was not a repair, and, thus, okay to do on the gate. Since the point of the wheel cover is to cover the tire until it’s on the gate, the AMA decided it doesn’t need to be removed before the bike reaches the starting line, so it was okay for Honda to wait until the bike was in position before they removed it. It is also okay for a mechanic to be there late into the starting process like that, as long as they mechanic does not attempt to interfere with other riders on the gate. And as you probably saw, they had a little trouble engaging Jett’s starting device, which made for even more of a fire-drill. To the kid’s credit, none of it phased him in the least.

'BAMA (Matthes)

First-ever SX visit in Birmingham this weekend and it's going to be a wet one. Well, it may not rain on Saturday but there was plenty of rain today and the Dirt Wurx guys had a trying week of building the track as well. I'd look for a modified race schedule as well to try and save the track the best they can and also, there's been modifications made to make it a bit tamer because of how soft and rutty it will be. And also, if it rains.

I'm a proponent of this, as it never made sense to me to build a normal SX track and then try to react to rain that, a lot of the time, we know is coming. We can still have great racing with some "waves" instead of whoops, easier doubles and triples, more rounded jumps, etc. Watching the riders roll down steep backsides and get crazy in the whoops is no fun at all. Maybe this will work, maybe not but why not try? The bottom line is passing and side by side racing makes for a great night at a stadium, not a particular track. Remember the nationals discovered something in terms of track prep when the sealed Thunder Valley and left it alone in anticipation of the rain that never came. Afterwards, the riders raved about the track and ability to move around out there. Going forward from there, we had less disced up tracks and riders seemed to love it.

Maybe this will work pretty well, and we'll learn a thing or two. And if not, well we can always go back to building a normal SX track and make adjustments from there. I, for one, am looking forward to seeing how this turns out. 

Pro Perspective (Jason Thomas)

The halfway mark of the series has arrived (or past) and it could be a wet end to the season. With more inclement weather in the forecast for Birmingham, this has certainly been one of the wettest seasons in recent history. Further, we still have Seattle, Foxborough, Nashville, Philadelphia, Denver, and Salt Lake City's outdoor venues to contend with. Spring weather is anything but predictable and if you are a news watcher, you've certainly seen the craziness thus far in 2024. So, what does this all mean as far as the results column is concerned?

The only real vulnerability in Jett Lawrence's game to date has been the two mud races. Not that he can't ride mud well, but his poor starts, and subsequent mistakes have left big points on the table. If we get more mud between now and May, does that trend continue? If so, this championship could burst wide open after a Daytona round that left us in awe of the 18. That might very well be the field's best shot at reeling the points leader in, too. Can they hope to beat him straight up in neutral conditions? I think that's a tall order from what we have seen. The variance that these outdoor venues could bring shouldn't be downplayed. You've likely heard that mud is the great equalizer. In 2024, it might be the defining factor in this championship. If Jett conquers inclement conditions down the stretch, all bets are off. If he falters, the floodgates for alternatives will open. All eyes on the skies as we roll through March and April. In the story of this title, weather might be the spoiler.

Welcome to Daytona (DC)

We've been talking a lot about milestones for new motorcycle manufacturers, with both Beta and Triumph scoring their first AMA Supercross points this season. Last Saturday each lined up for the Daytona Supercross for the first time, with Benny Bloss at the controls of the Italy-made Beta 450 and Jalek Swoll aboard the Great Britain-made Triumph, after missing the last round in Arlington with an injury. Both had positive outings in debuting their respective brands at Daytona, with Bloss setting a new high-water mark on his Beta with a 10th place finish in 450SX main event. That was after Swoll held off 250SX East points leader Max Anstie at the finish line for seventh-place, on spot lower than his previous best finish of sixth at the Detroit SX. Both Bloss and Swoll remain the only riders so far to have scored points on these brands, as Bloss' Beta teammate Colt Nichols making his season debut this weekend after a shoulder injury sidelined him for the first half of the season, as is Swoll's teammate, rookie Evan Ferry, who qualified for the Detroit opener but then got caught up in that huge first-turn crash off the start, getting driven into the wall and ending up with a concussion. 

For what it's worth, way back in 1973 Honda made its debut at Daytona (in what was an outdoor national and not a supercross race). Gary and Dewayne Jones showed up with their new Honda CR250M Elsinores, with mixed results. Dewayne finish fifth overall in the three-foot format while Gary, the defending 250 National Champion, failed to qualify after his clutch went out in qualifying. By the end of the year he was again the 250 National Champion, bouncing back nicely. 

So, think about this: Had Swoll not been hurt at the second round and just had another consistent finish of sixth (his sixth and seventh in the other two rounds) he would right in the thick of this crazy 250 East Region. Right now, he has 31 points; 16 more would have had him at 47, just five down on the man he held off at the finish at Daytona, the points leader Anstie.

When the veteran Joey Savatgy joins Triumph this summer for the AMA Pro Motocross Championship, he could be formidable. And keep an eye on the results from Argentina this weekend as the FIM Motocross World Championship opens on Sunday, with the formidable Mikkel Haarup piloting the Monster Energy Triumph Racing TF 250-X in the MX2 class. As the media guys who tested the production bike last week at Gatorback will tell you, the bike is already good, and it hasn't even had a first birthday yet.

Oh, and if you're wondering about what's going on with Ducati, Eric Johnson caught up with Ducati Corse racing director Paolo Ciabetti (who was at the Daytona SX, the RCSX and the GNCC in Florida, just taking it all in) for this cool feature with MXLarge.com.

Spring Nationals (Keefer)

The family and I are at another amateur race, and this is one is at Freestone for the James Stewart Spring Championship. The weather has been good so far, but it looks like we will be getting some rain tomorrow. Damn it! Aden is racing three classes which means a lot of washing and working on bikes for dad. I ran into Andrew Short as he is racing along side his son this week and I can tell you that Hudson has gotten a lot better on a bike and his dad still hauls. Someone else who is hauling is Drew Adams. He has won both 250 and Open Pro Sport first motos by huge margins so looks like this 15-year-old kid is going to be the next big thing we need to watch. In the B class there are at least 5-6 kids who can win and some of the B class times are within the top three of the Pro classes. Aden has his work cut out for him, but the future of our sport is looking to be very bright. We are not sticking around to go to Spring A Ding as I have too much testing ahead in the coming weeks, but good luck to all the families racing the next couple weeks out here in Texas. 

RCSX (DC)

As soon as they cleared all of the fans off of the track after the race the track crew, led by Jason Baker and his Dream Traxx team, as well as SX track builder Dirt Wurx, began the process of transitioning the Ricky Carmichael-designed pro track to a tamed-down version for the amateurs, who would be out on track at 7 a.m. Sunday morning. At least that was the plan. But after working all night until 5:30 in the morning, taking out the over-under tunnel and most of the infrastructure required for Monster Energy AMA Supercross, it started raining. And pouring. And lightning. The infield was totally swamped, and due to Daytona International Speedway policy, every time there was a lightning strike the infield had to be cleared for 30 minutes, so the track crews couldn't much, other than set up water pumps and do their best to drain the infield. Three different times they had to clear the area, pushing practice off into late in the morning. But to their credit they got it done, and by the end of the afternoon of the first day the track really started coming around. By the end of Monday, it was almost perfect. And while it was tamed down from Saturday night, it got really rough and choppy—with so many bikes on such a soft, sandy track, breaking bumps, and ruts happen.

Among the standouts in the RCSX were Kawasaki Team Green's Drew Adams—the same young prospect from Tennessee who won Saturday night's thrilling SX Futures race over New Zealand's impressive Cole Davies (winner of the Anaheim 2 SX Futures main event) by just .263 seconds—was the big winner in the A classes.

The RCSX also included the return of the WMX Championship Series, with Florida's own Hannah Hodges taking the first win in this new era of women's motocross. 

The just-married Hodges' victory, and the whole return of the WMX, was picked up by NBC Sports for their website, under the headline:

Hannah Hodges wins first relaunched Women’s Pro Motocross round, gives girls someone to follow and look up to. Read more on the WMX series in this article by NBC Sports’ Dan Beaver, and read more on Hodges herself in this interview by our Sarah Whitmore, former WMX racer herself.

From the RCSX Baker and crew loaded up their equipment and went straight to Dade City to finish up working on the track for Red Bull's Day in the Dirt Down South, which is taking place this weekend. Well done, crew.

MXGP Preview Photos (DC)

Our man in Argentina, Sergio Clot, was there as the MXGP paddock started filling up for this weekend’s season-opener at Villa La Angostura, site for the YPF Infinia MXGP of Patagonia-Argentina, and here are some of his shots of some of the set-ups.

Stopwatch Nationals (DC)

We received an email from Glen Helen Raceway with an interesting concept that seems like it will be both helpful for the riders getting ready for AMA Pro Motocross, which kicks off on May 25 at nearby Fox Raceway, as well as fun for fans, with proceeds going to a great cause:

If you’re in the area May 16, which is a Thursday, the first moto will go off at 10:30 a.m. and then the second at 12:30 p.m.  The track will be closed for all but the pro riders and have caution flaggers. Spectator admission is $20 (with advance tickets costing just $10). All spectator proceeds go to support Alpinestars Medical Mobile Unit. The track will be open that same day for the general public except for when the pros are out there. They will also have some concession stands open. We will have more details on the Stopwatch Nationals as it gets closer.

Due to One Awesome Photo, We’re Putting Flannels on Sale

Here at Racer X, we sort through literally thousands of photos from the best photographers of the best riders at the best tracks. We know what the goods are supposed to look like, but we’re certainly not used to playing the starring role.

But something changed two weeks ago. On one cold morning in South Carolina, our social media man Matt Rice went for a rip on a Yamaha YZ450FX. He was wearing one of our Racer X flannels. Matt shredded a berm and Mitch Kendra caught it on camera, and, behold, the greatest photo in Racer X brand history. This might as well have been Simon Cudby catching Eli Tomac in full Beast Mode! But with a flannel!

(Side note: Eli, we know it gets cold in Colorado. If you need a flannel for your early-morning moto, let us know. We’ll hook you up.)

Anyway, we’re so stoked on this photo that we’re looking for reasons to use it. So let’s throw together a sale on Racer X flannels! Yeah! And now we’ll write up a post about it here so we can show the photo. Yaaaasss!

We’re taking $17 off the $55 flannels. So that’s just $38 bucks which is a legit deal on a high-quality item such as this. Just look at it. Like, seriously, we beg of you. PLEASE LOOK AT IT. 

We might never look this cool again. Nor will you unless you buy the darned flannel. It’s on sale. Do it.

SHOP ALL RACER X MERCHANDISE

Hey, Watch It!

ClubMX' vlog: Every Second Counts Ep 5: Daytona, featuring our own senior online content manager Mitch Kendra:

Between the Arrows: 2024 Moose Racing Wild Boar GNCC Motorcycles

MXPG Pre Season Training | Jeffrey Herlings Returns

Welcome | YPF Infinia MXGP of Patagonia-Argentina 2024

No one does Bike Week quite like Dirt Shark:

Here’s Donnie “RotoMoto” Southers’ injury report/preview of Birmingham:

Defending MXGP Champion Jorge Prado did a different kind of off-season training, joining the Monster Energy Supercross tour for the first month:

With MXGP starting up this weekend the Racer X Video Vault features that incredible race more than six years ago when Jeffrey Herlings showed up at the Ironman National and blew everyone’s minds, JMB-style:

Johnny Hopper has started a cool (and brief) “This Week in Moto” wrap-up/preview:

Matt Burkeen caught some cool footage of Carson Brown racing the RCSX on a 2001 Honda CR250: