Looking ahead to Charlotte, Sexton is the overall points leader and will start with 25 points, followed by Hunter Lawrence (22), Jason Anderson (20), Aaron Plessinger (18) and Justin Cooper (17). And despite missing the last seven rounds of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship, Jett Lawrence will return to SMX ranked sixth, based on combined points for the 2024 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship, which he won, and the first four Pro Motocross rounds, three of which he won. I’ve yet to see Jett ride since he was cleared by his doctors to get back on the bike, but the word is that he’s already up to speed. We will also have Cooper Webb and his teammate Eli Tomac back in the mix, ranked tenth and 11th, respectively, in the combined standings. And with another $1 million bonus on the line these last three races at Charlotte, Dallas, and Las Vegas are going to be incredibly interesting! If you’re thinking about going and want to do it in style, check out some of the VIP packages that are being offered for all three rounds. And for an update on Jett Lawrence, check out the SMX Insider show later in this post (in the "Hey, Watch It" video section) as Jason Weigandt caught up with the Honda HRC rider mid-day during the Ironman National.

With this being a very rare off-weekend for me too, I was hoping to get some rest, enjoy a quite Saturday afternoon and do some things around the house that have been on hold for most of summer… Then I remembered it’s the season-opener for our beloved West Virginia Mountaineers football team and the renewal of our long (and mostly one-sided) rivalry with Penn State. Morgantown is packed with fans, and they even shut down schools across the county because the Pat McAfee Show is doing a live show on campus as I write this, and about 20,000 kids are there watching. My Racer X colleague Dustin Williamson is going to line up at 6 a.m. to get a tailgating spot for everyone, with a noon kickoff… There goes my quiet weekend!

Thanks to the riders and fans and teams, plus all of the promoters, their event staffs and officials at every round of Pro Motocross this summer for helping us have the most successful season yet. The crowds were up everywhere, as well as the TV and streaming numbers, and the excitement that keeps building across all of SMX really does make this a great time to be a part of this sport. And congratulations to Chase Sexton and Haiden Deegan and their whole teams on winning championships this summer. Now on to SuperMotocross.

Here's the rest of Racerhead, see you in Charlotte!

Chase Versus Jett and Eli (Jason Weigandt)

KTM held a virtual press conference on Wednesday with Chase Sexton, Ian Harrison, and Pit Beirer all taking questions (plus Sexton was on the PulpMX Show this week so he’s doing the media rounds as DC mentioned). The virtual event was really a chance for non-U.S. media that didn’t attend the Ironman National finale to ask about Chase’s new title, but somehow they invited Racer X, as well. So, I asked Chase the question everyone is asking. If he really is better than ever right now? And is he looking forward to tangling with a healthy Jett Lawrence and Eli Tomac again?

“Definitely, because I think, like I said earlier, it’s a different version of myself, and the guy that was out there last year was not the same guy that raced this year,” said Sexton. “We’ll find out in a few weeks at SMX, although obviously that’s a different series.  Yeah, I’m excited. This outdoor series allowed me to unlock that new level for me. I think a lot of people knew I could get there, but it just took a longer road than we all planned. Yeah, I’m excited and it’s going to be a different story come next year, for sure. I’m just ready to go out there and battle with everyone.”

That’s good stuff. The budding rivalry between Sexton and Lawrence has been largely respectful over the last year, but these two are clearly on a collision course for supremacy since they have now split all the 450 titles over the last two years, indoors and out. It’s not unlike Ryan Villopoto and Ryan Dungey starting to take all the titles even though legends like Chad Reed and James Stewart were still there and capable of winning races. Tomac will be back for more in 2025 and Cooper Webb would certainly like to have a word about 450SX championships, but Sexton and Lawrence are creating a pattern of holding #1 plates. Cool to have SMX coming up as a little preview of the future, although Sexton is one of the few top dogs not coming in with time off following an injury. Kind of like Dungey, staying healthy is part of the game and Sexton has been very good at that. Yes, Chase hits the ground more than Ryan did, but he usually gets up and keeps going.

“I mean I think a lot of it is genetics,” said Sexton with a laugh. “I’m a bigger guy. Some would say I’m a little too big and strong to ride a dirt bike. Then a lot of it comes down to my training with my trainer Peter Park. He’s very smart and he’s trained so many different athletes, basketball, baseball, movie stars, it doesn’t matter. He’s able to take all that and put it into a program. He wants me to be strong, he’s seen me hit the ground too many times, I guess! It’s being strong and mobile. I do a lot of PT work and stretching. There’s a lot that goes into motocross, you have to be good at a lot of things and you have to cover all of your bases. A little bit is genetics, my training program and sometimes just luck! You don’t always get back up. I’m trying to eliminate those crashes.”

Pro Perspective (Jason Thomas)

One chapter closes and another begins. It's playoffs time, baby! With one weekend off until the SMX opener in Charlotte, there's no time to waste. Riders will try to balance a much-needed rest with the change to tighter confines that the SMX playoffs bring. The main focus will be on dialing the settings in as last year surprised everyone. Riders were expecting a prototypical SX layout and instead got hybrid tracks with faster, rougher sections than they anticipated. That expectation pushed riders to go stiffer on their settings, a rude awakening when they hit the Charlotte clay. Riders chased their setup all day long and many never quite got it right. Watch for that to be the one aspect riders zero in on. They will try to find the balance between fast, rough sections which beg for softer settings with the steep jumps and rhythm sections that lend to stiffer suspension. Perfection is unlikely but something tolerable is certainly the goal.

For some, they will be looking to harness motivation for three more vital rounds. It's been a long stretch to get here and the most important month of the year lies in wait. Whether it's a quick vacation, a staycation of rest, or simply burgeoning through the fatigue, riders will need to ensure they come into Charlotte ready to roll. There is too much money up for grabs to go through the motions. Riders can make up for a lackluster season with three good rounds. When everyone is tired and longing for the off-season, that spells opportunity for those that can lock in. How many thousands of reasons do you need?

Back to School (Mitch Kendra)

That’s right, summer break it over, it’s time to go back to school! Well, in the case of the Progressive Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Racing Series, it’s time to go back to racing. After its regularly scheduled summer break from late June through the end of August, the woods racing series resumes for the Buckwheat 100 GNCC this weekend at CJ Raceway in nearby Newburg, West Virginia. KTM’s Jonathan Girroir has taken five overall wins in the first nine rounds of the 13-round championship as he enters this weekend’s race up 43 points over Kawasaki-mounted Steward Baylor Jr. Jordan Ashburn (GasGas), the 2022 GNCC overall champion, sits third ahead of 2023 Champion Craig Delong (Husqvarna), and Grant Baylor (Kawasaki). So far, we have seen four overall winners—Girroir (five), Stu Baylor (two), Delong (one), and West Coast visitor Dante Oliveira (one)—but with summer break giving everyone a reset, it could be anyone’s day at CJ Raceway.  Oh, and another thing to note is Josh Strang recently parted ways with Sherco. We are not sure what Strang will be lining up on just yet, but the veteran rider could easily get into the mix for the race win aboard any machine. Strang won the season finale in 2023 and has won The John Penton GNCC twice in the last three years and the adjusted schedule now has the Ohio-based event set for late September. As for now, tune into RacerTV.com for all the pro action live both on Saturday (quads) and Sunday (bikes).

FOXHILLS (Matthes)

Didn't make it to Ironman but as I wrote in Observations, I was over in the UK at the third annual Vet MXDN at the legendary GP track Foxhills. Dave King and Robin Walters (Reynard's old mechanic in the Primal Impulse days) do a great job with the race and it's got a super cool vibe with some great looking old two-strokes. The USA team was Mike Brown, Andrew Short and Sean Lipanovich and they got second behind the hometown heroes. Tommy Searle went 1-1 on the day with some great rides while Brown hounded Tommy for the second moto. Searle was pretty impressed with Brownie, who is 20 years older or so than Tommy! Great racing there and I'd like to point out that I "managed" to manage Team Canada to a ninth overall on the day with Tyler Medaglia dragging the two Ryans (Gauld and Lockhart) to that ninth. 

Lockhart had never ridden a 500 two-stroke in his life before jumping on a KX500 over there so that was a source of great amusement to all of us all weekend. He left it in third and survived the day! I rode a 2004 YZ250 and went 23-17 in my class. The weather cancelled Saturday activities so just two motos on Sunday in front of a lot of fans. Super cool event, I recommend everyone checking it out one day. 

Check out some highlights from the event, courtesy of JHMX.

PULPMX RIDE DAY (Matthes)

I got home from the UK Monday night and yesterday morning loaded up and drove out to Colorado for the second annual PulpMX Ride Day. Last year was Spring Creek Motocross Park (“Millville”), this year we did it at Thunder Valley Motocross Park. Thanks to David Clabaugh for being super awesome to work with and Yamaha and Fly Racing for supporting this event. Just two days of open riding on a sweet, prepped track. We got Andrew Short, Weston Peick, Kris Keefer, and the great Damon Bradshaw showing up to hang out and ride. We have a live PulpMX Show Saturday night also and a good time will be had by everyone! 

The 2007 Honda CRF450R Test (Keefer)

Since we did this 2007 vs. 2025 Honda CRF450R my phone has been ringing from some industry people that I talk to you on a regular basis and some that I have not spoken to in over 20 years. How does a 2007 Honda test spark so much interest from people on the inside of our industry? The reason being is I think some of our new bikes have not improved A TON in 18 years. I think some people at other colored manufacturers understand that a lot of these new modern 450 frames have gotten too stiff feeling on the track. On paper some frames may be soft and feel stiff on the track, but A LOT has to do with certain manufacturers shock tower area dimensions/thicknesses/heights. Yes, of course other portions of the frames have evolved but since the introduction of FI, some things have changed on frames (and not for the better). 

When riding the 2007 CRF450R one thing is for certain. There is more comfort and rear wheel traction than what is available on some of these modern 450 motocross machines. This test sparked some interest with Honda R&D and even they asked to ride it at one of their joint tests a couple weeks ago. Although I don't know the outcome of their findings, this 2007 Honda STILL has the chassis comfort that I think the current motocross consumer is looking for. I also think with some older R&D riders at other brands, even they know that their chassis' development has evolved into a more front wheel biased/stiffer machine and that isn't always the right direction for these newer 450 four strokes.

My suggestion would be to have some of these manufacturers go back to some of their older bikes at some point to test and see how their current MX machines are trending. Yes, the 2007 CRF450R wasn't as fast or well suspended as the 2025 version but there is still something to be learned with the ‘07 bike. Having my phone ring as much as it did after this ‘07 test was completed shows me that there is interest in bringing some comfort back to our 450 production motocross bikes. I am not the only one who thinks we can get better with 450 chassis comfort! 

Hey, Watch It

Jeremy Seewer hit his 200th straight MXGP start in Switzerland

SMX Insider with Weege and JT previewing the Playoffs:

Weege’s Best-Ever Post-Race Show from Ironman:

Here’s a look at the amazing Vet MXDN at Foxhills that Matthes was talking about:

Jeff Emig TAKES ON LORETTA LYNNS 2024

Exclusive Tour of the All-New Ducati DESMO with TONY CAIROLI #MXGP

GoPro: Amateur Racer Dakota Baker Crushes at Lincoln Trail
Go onboard with 250 B amateur motocross rider Dakota Baker at round 6 of the Thor Showdown Series at Lincoln Trail as he crushes the second 250 B moto