So, Deegan will again have the red plates on his #1, plus an eight-point SMX lead on Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Levi Kitchen, Chase Sexton will keep the red number plate on his bike while Jett Lawrence continues with his SMX purple #1 plate, though his whole back looks quite different from your basic Honda, as does the rest of the team as Honda HRC Progressive are running “special looks” for their race bikes and riders as a part of the team’s collaboration this weekend with the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation (PBTF). It’s an organization dedicated to helping out families that are dealing with cancer.

The PBTF has partnered with Honda for more than 30 years now, but I really think this year’s collaboration is the coolest yet, as each bike is dedicated to what’s called the “Imaginary Friend Society,” which are cartoon characters that the kids themselves created. Our buddies Matt and Robert Davis at Throttle Jockey did up the bike graphics for each rider. According to the press release Jett Lawrence is “Mr. Spikes” (a Tyrannosaurus Robot who explains what to expect with medical procedures like blood transfusions); Hunter Lawrence and “Charlie” (a sharp dresser who explains that MRI's are really just a fancy way of taking photos inside your body); Chance Hymas and “Blu” (a furry azure character who shares secrets on how to reduce the fear and pain that often goes with getting shots); and Jo Shimoda and “Ninja” (a multi-talented white blood cell who has kids’ backs in a number of different areas).” The riders also visited a local hospital to hang out with some of the patients, and they also some of the families and hospital personnel with a get-together at Al Lamb’s Dallas Honda. All very well done, Team Honda.

Back to the race at hand. As the second round of this three-race playoff tomorrow’s race with offer double points in both classes. And with a $1 million bonus for the title on the line for the 450 class and $500K for the 250 class, I wouldn’t be surprised is things got a little heated out there (pardon the pun). And just one other observation: There wasn’t a three-digit rider in the entire 450 field last weekend. Every rider in the race was either a two-digit or single-digit rider. SMX is a new concept, but so far, it’s delivering.

They just finished up the press conference and the bikes are out on track right, so I will keep this intro short. Later on this evening they are having another one of those moto podcast mashup shows in front of a live audience, featuring James Stewart and Ricky Carmichael, Steve Matthes and Jason Weigandt, Jason Thomas and “Gypsy Tales” Jase Macalpine, and more. We will have it up later in the week. And since I was not invited again, nor were Lewis Phillips and Darkside, I am joining them on their own side stage conversation.

Oh, and the Progressive Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Racing season is back racing this weekend at The Mountaineer GNCC in West Virginia. Tune into the RacerTV for free both Saturday and Sunday.

Pro Perspective (Thomas)

Everything is bigger in Texas, I hear. Well, the track is certainly going to live up to that reputation as Texas Motor Speedway is a monster. The track is going to seem a bit like Daytona at first glance, but the dirt will be far from that black Florida sand. The 100-degree heat is going to have the track hardened and slippery and the Texas clay is not going to help that dynamic one bit. The layout is fast and relatively benign as far as challenging obstacles, too. Riders will be putting the "speed" in speedway as they rip around sweeper after sweeper. It's not that it's missing jumps, it's more that they are fairly straight forward and will be an afterthought as far as strategy goes. 

The challenge more will come in putting the whole track together at speed. The never-ending curves on this layout will ask riders to truly think about their entry and exit angles. There won't be significant ruts in the corners so watch for body positioning to be over emphasized as riders search for traction. This could be a big point of emphasis for Sexton as he mentioned this specific struggle at round 1 last weekend. Intensity will be an absolute must with so many basic rhythm sections and fast corners. Good starts and hit your marks each lap; that's the secret to success in Fort Worth. 

These SMX tracks are built to keep riders guessing. They aren't supposed to be SX nor MX. The goal is a combination of the two. The Texas layout looks very Daytona-ish but I believe the racing will feel different. Daytona is slow because of the awkward obstacles, sand, and rough bumps that develop throughout the day and night. Texas will have none of that. Speed will rule the day. Buckle up, folks, it's going to be a fast weekend.

Paddle (Matthes)

As I wrote in OBS, some riders on the line with Eli Tomac couldn't believe that he went with a paddle tire for both motos on his way to 1-2 finishes. Couple things to note: Eli's a beast and he's so strong, he can almost move the bike where he needs to and his throttle happy style can make that tire work. We had Zach Osborne on the Fly Racing Moto: 60 Show yesterday and he really dove into the positives and negatives of running a paddle and how good it does work in certain sections where you can give up .1 or whatever here and there. You can go to Pulpmx.com to listen to Wacko break that down also. 

A Star is Launched—Two, Actually (DC)

One of the cool things we’ve been experimenting with in SuperMotocross are the All-Star races for 65cc, Supermini, and SX Futures 250 riders. The 65s went off last weekend, the Superminis are here in Texas, and the SX Futures will compete in Las Vegas. There was a bit of controversy last weekend when it became clear to everyone that some of the very talented pre-teens on 65s were launching some of the biggest jumps on the track. There was plenty of concern about that after a couple of crashes on Friday, and so the Dirt Wurx decided to rework a couple of the jumps, making the one coming back into the stadium easier while trying to adjust the finish-line double to make it impossible for any of the kids to jump. But when one of them went ahead and did it in practice, the AMA made the decision to tell all of the kids and their parents to not jump the finish line double for safety reasons. It was a huge huck and there were concerns for whoever might jump it, and whoever else in the race doesn’t jump it and might get landed upon.

Unfortunately, they didn’t inform the TV broadcasting crew, so when the very impressive young Carter Gray launched the finish line jump, as they didn’t realize the kids were told not to jump it. And the two seconds that Gray made up on Chase Brennan by doing the jump were just enough to win on a dramatic final lap. But then the officials decided to dock Gray two spots for breaking the rule and doing the finish-line double, as well as another rider who was further back in the pack. It was an unfortunate turn of events in an otherwise entertaining 65cc race.

We all got to see a glimpse of a couple of very fast kids in Carter Gray and Chase Brennan, as well as Joey Vicari, Jaydin Smart, and more. A lot of these kids will be out there in SMX in a few years, so it was cool to get a glimpse of them now, though also scary to see 65s jump some of the things they were doing on a track designed for professional on full-sized motorcycles. Needless to say, it’s back to the drawing board on this one.

Maico Men (DC)

In brand new issue of Racer X Illustrated there is a feature called "A Race of Their Own" about the three riders who each decided to race older motorcycles at the recent 2024 the Monster Energy AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch. South Carolina's Robbie Taylor raced a 1987 Yamaha YZ490 in the Masters +50 class, Kentucky's Johnathan Yelton raced a 2007 Honda CR125 in the 125 Schoolboy division, and Rodney "Aircraft" Carrier raced a 1981 Maico 490 Mega 2 motorcycle in the Masters +50 class. All three said they had a blast.

While researching the story I went into the Loretta Lynn's Vault to see the last time someone had competed in the big race aboard a German-made Maico, once one of the strongest brands in the MX world. There were several in the first few years of the event, but then the brand more or less went away, until Carrier revived it in 2017, the first time he chose to race his old 490. There were several errors in the 51cc class over the years where 51cc class included a few entrants on Maicos (MAI), but those were mistaken IDs and almost certainly supposed to be "YAM" or LEM" because Maico never made a junior minicycle for competition. 

But then one year caught my eye: 1993. In the results there were two riders listed as riding on Maico motorcycles, Senior +40 rider Daniel Morrison of Hubert, NC, and Pennsylvania's Dan Nowakowski in the 250 C Stock class. So, I reached out to Nowakowski on Facebook to see if it was in fact true that he raced a Maico that year. Still a moto man, Nowakowski told me he had just complete the Can-Am race at Area 51 in New York. 

"Yes, that is correct," he answered on the Maico question. "But I did ride two bikes that year. Long story short, in the 250 C Stock I rode a '93 Maico, but I cracked the swing arm in the first moto, so I rode my Kawasaki in the 250 C Mod class."

Nowakowski was actually quite good in the Maico, having won his Area qualifier at Pleasure Valley aboard the Maico. "Boy, we were planning on winning with that bike! Just like so many other ranch stories, had our highs and lows." Nowakowski had picked up the bike and some sponsorship from Niagara Cycle. As for his '93 Maico 250, Dan added, "I think I was the only one in the '90s with a correct year-for-year model." We are almost certain he was too!

And speaking of Maico, my friend Stan the Stump Grinder sent a link to a cool weekend read about a longtime Maico motorcycle dealer’s journey through the industry.

Fire Hazards and Heroes (DC)

Here’s a shoutout to our longtime contributor David Pingree, the the man behind Whiskey Throttle Media. Ping is also a longtime firefighter and he’s been in the thick of what’s called the Line Fire in California right now, helping put out the flames and also supporting his crew of firefighting heroes. There was another big-time fire further south in Orange County the afternoon and night of Monday, September 9, and it got very close to the home of our own Simon Cudby's house, less than a mile from where the fire started in Trabuco Canyon, and located about 15 miles from the original Saddleback Motocross Park. Simon snapped off these photos and also sent us a report from ABC-7 in LA that explained that the fire was apparently started by public works crews who were trying to prevent access to dangerously dry brush in Orange County's Trabuco Canyon. Simon told us that the access that ABC7 is referring to is jeep and motorcycle traffic that has a tendency to stray off the official canyon dirt road. 

As of first thing Tuesday morning the fire had settled down, but there were still mandatory evacuation orders in place.

And here’s Mike Alessi's video from Tuesday with the fires in the background:

MXGP in China (DC)

Last weekend the FIM crowned its first Motocross World Champion of 2024 as 17-year-old Lotte Van Drunen of the Netherlands clinched the WMX title at the Grand Prix of Turkiye, and they may crown a second one on a rare Monday race when the MXGP of China goes off. The Chinese race will mark the next-to-last round, and another Dutch rider, Kay de Wolf, holds a lead of 45 points over Belgium’s Lucas Coenen. It’s in the MXGP class where things are still tight. Honda HRC’s Tim Gajser holds a 14-point lead over defending champion Jorge Prado with four motos (and two points-paying qualifying races) left to decide the title. And with the last race on home ground for Prado in two weeks, it should be interesting to see how things shake out this weekend between the two rivals. Third-place Jeffrey Herlings still has an outside chance at the title, but it would take some serious mistakes by both Gajser and Prado to catch them at this point. If you feel like playing hooky from work or school, you can watch what’s called the Oriental Beauty Valley MXGP of China on Monday on mxgp-tv.com.

MC Themed 1996 Honda CR250R Sneak Peek (Keefer)

In 1996 Jeremy McGrath sent the supercross world on fire by winning 14 out of 15 rounds of the AMA Supercross series. Jeff Emig stopped MC at St. Louis, ending the King’s 13-race winning streak and a run at the perfect season. Even though I was a Jeff Emig fan at the time, I wanted to see MC go undefeated that year. I feel like in 1996 Honda had one of the best looking factory bikes in the paddock and to this day I still can hear McGrath going through a set of whoops on that crisply Skip Norfolk-tuned HRC CR250R. Jay Clark is no stranger to our Garage Builds but once I saw this specific 1996 MC-themed bike I knew it needed to be in the magazine for the world to see. This week Cudby and I had the chance to shoot as well as hear the back story about the bike and what it took to make it look this good! Stay tuned for an upcoming issue of Racer X Illustrated to see more of this beauty of a machine. Here's just a taste. 

PULP (Matthes)

Round two of the SMX series in Dallas this weekend, or Fort Worth? Whatever man. There's a suburb attached to Vegas called Henderson and literally everyone just calls it Vegas, so YOLO. Anyway, should be a good race, double points! Like a double rainbow, races with double points are rare so soak it in.

This week on the PulpMX Show we had Lewis Phillips of Vital MX in with former 250SX Champion Jake Weimer as well to discuss the opener at zMax Dragway and more. Jake was in agreement with us that although Chase Sexton's bike didn't look great, as Weimer said "when your head hits the pillow, you know that you didn't have a good race" regardless of bike set-up. And we all agreed with Lars Lindstrom that Jett Lawrence might be an alien. 

Phil Nicoletti called in (surprise!) to tell us about his shock blowing up and sending him into a loop-out Larry, he then talked about how last year he lost out on a lot of money by just a few points due to one bad race in SMX and lamented that it's going to happen to him again because, well, Phil never looks at the bright side. Wil Hahn called in to tell us about a gnarly water hose incident at Glen Helen Raceway that left him blind for a few minutes. (Yes, I'm serious.) Then Jake and Wil regaled us with tales about how one guy had a broken arm, one guy had a broken back, and they were gambling at Pechanga a lot because there was nothing else for them to do. 

Justin Cooper called in to say that he was happy with his first 450SMX ride, he qualified quickest and led some laps. And Cooper went on to tell us that he's just missing that bit of "hang it out-ness" of the top guys. He then told us he's going to try to work on that and I would agree with this, Cooper's a very methodical rider, super skilled but when do you ever see Cooper getting a bit wild out there? So, Justin Cooper is close to winning races, getting on the box a lot more, he just has to work on that.

Max Anstie called in tell us about pulling that quad out in the main event and as he said, if his teammate (Haiden Deegan) can do it, then he knows that A- his bike can do it and B- it'll be okay. So, Max sent it, got on the box in the second main and all was good from there. We then talked about him going back to the MXoN at Matterley Basin next month where he swept the MX1 class with a 1-1 in 2017 and how awesome that must have been. Anstie then told us all about how he still wears a kidney belt (or body belt as he calls it) and we all had a laugh at that. 

Check out Pulpmxshow.com for the latest show!

Travis Pastrana Pro Challenge (DC)

The annual Travis Pastrana Pro Challenge presented by Cleveland Brothers will take place on September 27-29 at Pleasure Valley Raceway, just above Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and organizer Jeff Cernic told us the event is going to be bigger than ever. There will be a 450 Pro class purse of $19,998—$9,999 per moto—plus $3,000 for the WMX class and another $1,000 for the Vet A class. And there's also Wes Kain's $4,000 bonus.

If you can't make it to the Travis Pastrana Pro Challenge you will be able watch it live on RMG Sports as they will be hosting a live streaming every moto and every podium.

According to Cernic, who sponsored Travis throughout his amateur and professional career, the Pleasure Valley track has some changes to it, so if you're looking for a bit of a warm-up race there is the Battle of Pennsylvania Motocross on September 21-22 which features the western PA-based PAMX Association riders against the east side's MDRA riders.

Hey, Watch It

Here’s Weege and Mitch’s Best Post-Race Show Ever from SMX Playoff 1:

And here is this week’s SMX Insider Preview:

Aden Keefer in the '25 Kawasaki KX250 commercial: The All-New 2025 KX250 | Official Video

Eli and Jett lining up on the same gate is special - Generations Of CHAMPS- TDBS Ep# 34