Lawrence vs. Sexton

Coming into the weekend, one of the most compelling storylines is the return of Jett Lawrence, who injured his thumb during the AMA Pro Motocross Championship, and how he’ll stack up to Chase Sexton, who just put the finishing touches on an astounding season of Pro Motocross. Lawrence has been hurt and hasn’t raced since Southwick, while Sexton has been at race pace all summer. Will that give Sexton the edge, or will Lawrence get right back to his winning ways in North Carolina? -Aaron Hansel

The Track

The track the riders will compete on this weekend isn’t like the ones they’ve been riding all summer, and it’s unlike the indoor tracks they raced on during supercross—it’s a hybrid of both! There’s a split start, there are several high-speed sections, a large portion of it is motocross-like, while another huge portion features a supercross-style layout. Last year we saw riders and teams struggling with finding a setup that worked well for both styles of terrain, and with a track like the one in Charlotte that has so much variance, setup struggles will likely be a thing this year too. -Hansel 

Doublin’ Up

The track isn’t the only aspect of the SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) that combines elements of both motocross and supercross. Unlike Monster Energy AMA Supercross, competitors will race two motos to determine the overall finishing position. We saw a lot of shuffling in the results from the first to second moto last year. Consistency will be key, while riders who make mistakes in one moto will have a shot at mitigating the damage in the next. -Hansel