Two down, one to go in the second-annual SuperMotocross World Championship SMX Playoffs. Here’s a quick rundown of those who have made big jumps in the first two races, and also notes on those who have not had things go their way.
Up: Colt Nichols
Can we start calling him Mr. SMX? Maybe name the trophy the Colt Cup? Last year he leaped from 19th in seeding to ninth in the SMX standings, which earned him 90k. This year he didn’t make the top 20 so he’s racing his way in from the LCQ. He has totally stepped up to record 9-11 overall finishes. This pushes Colt from outside the top 20 in points into 11th which pays 50k. It will be hard to catch Jason Anderson, who is tenth, but Colt will be more than happy if he can hang on for that 11th place.
- SuperMotocross
SuperMotocross World Championship Final
Sunday, September 22- QualifyingLiveSeptember 21 - 8:30 PM UTC
- Pre-Race ShowLiveSeptember 22 - 1:30 AM UTC
- MotosLiveSeptember 22 - 2:00 AM UTC
- MotosLiveSeptember 22 - 2:00 AM UTC
- Motos (Re-Air)September 22 - 5:00 AM UTC
- Motos (Encore Presentation)September 22 - 5:00 PM UTC
Up: Eli Tomac
Eli was seeded 11th coming into the playoffs because he missed most of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship. Now he’s fourth. That’s not really what matters, though. He was gonna move up just by showing up—Eli is definitely not the 11th best rider on the AMA circuit. But the real question was, could he still be the best rider on that circuit? The answer. Yes. Eli won the very first moto of SMX at Charlotte and ran for the win again in Fort Worth. He has gone 2-4 in the results, but overall, he has ridden as well as anyone. That was the test, and he has passed it.
Eli would get 200k for fourth (where he sits right now) but you know he wants first, second, or third. Don’t ask Eli about what fourth pays, he will stare at you, and you’ll turn to stone.
Up: Dean Wilson
Another LCQ guy, Dean tried really hard to avoid such fate and race his way into the top 20. He missed it, so he, like Nichols, has sweated his way into the motos thus far. Now Dean is in 16th and that pays 31k. He started this without any seeding points, though, so he’s moving up quickly. A strong ride at the triple-points finale could get make him even more.
| Position | Rider | Hometown | Qualifying Points | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Jett Lawrence | Landsborough, Australia  | 561 | 156 |
| 2 |  Hunter Lawrence | Landsborough, Australia | 669 | 156 |
| 3 |  Eli Tomac | Cortez, CO  | 349 | 129 |
| 4 |  Aaron Plessinger | Hamilton, OH | 601 | 116 |
| 5 |  Cooper Webb | Newport, NC | 350 | 109 |
Up: Cameron McAdoo
So far so good for McAdoo, who is using SMX to get seat time after losing four months of riding with a cracked shoulder blade (he got hurt in Nashville, as you remember, then hurt it again trying to rush back for Pro Motocross). He has to qualify through the LCQ each week. McAdoo says this isn’t really about the SMX money, because the payback isn’t as wild in the 250 class. For example, 10th in points makes $15k. McAdoo will take it but that’s not life-changing money. For him the goal is to log all six motos safely. Four down, two to go. With two eighth-place finishes, he currently sits tenth in points.
Up: Julien Beaumer
Without SMX, Beaumer’s rookie season is solid but not exceptional, with SMX he’s now added a podium. Don’t call it a fluke, either, because his fifth at Texas was actually his second best finish this year. So, he’s on the upswing and also sits fifth in SMX points. Tell him in January he’s going to be fifth in this combined series (no separate East/West) and he’s taking that, for sure.
Down: Phil Nicoletti
Of course! Poor Phil! After stressing en route to LCQ King honors last year, Phil fought, scratched and clawed his way into the top 20 this year to avoid that. He got 16th overall even without racing a 450 in supercross. As always, good news for Phil never lasts long. He’s actually worse than he was last year. Charlotte’s first moto was perfect, his typical good start and a ninth. Perfect recipe. Then his shock blew in moto two and he went flying. Phil was miserable on the Texas track all weekend and then ended it by getting locked up with Malcolm Stewart in the final moto. Now? He’s 22nd in the standings, which pays $25,000. Did you know ninth place pays $90k?
Down: Injured 250 Guys
Jalek Swoll’s main goal this year was to make all the races. Well, he made all the regular season races but suffered a big concussion at Charlotte, and his season is likely done. Carson Mumford showed good speed on his Firepower Honda but broke his leg in Texas. Chance Hymas’ breakthrough season got derailed, temporarily, when he banged up his knee in Charlotte. Casey Cochran got injured his leg in qualifying in Charlotte and will sit out the rest of the Playoffs. Then there is Nate Thrasher who crashed in qualifying in Charlotte and was unable to finish the first moto due to a hematoma on his leg. He came back in Texas only to have a major get off again in the first moto, going DNF-DNS at both rounds of SMX.
| Position | Rider | Hometown | Qualifying Points | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Haiden Deegan | Temecula, CA | 649 | 166 |
| 2 |  Tom Vialle | Avignon, France  | 584 | 132 |
| 3 |  Pierce Brown | Sandy, UT | 400 | 131 |
| 4 |  Jo Shimoda | Suzuka, Japan  | 470 | 130 |
| 5 |  Jordon Smith | Belmont, NC | 430 | 124 |
Down: Justin Cooper
Mr. Consistency got inconsistent at the exact wrong time. A crash in Texas has left him with a small crack in his collarbone, which knocked him out of action. He’s not sure he can race this weekend. So now Cooper, solid all season long as a rookie 450 racer, might miss the one race that presents his best chance to make money. He was ranked fifth coming into SMX and finished sixth at Playoff 1. If you get sixth in points, you make $135k. If you finish 20th, you make $27k.
“It was not how we wanted to end the weekend. The track was really slick and could definitely catch you out. Unfortunately, it did. We’re down but not out. We’ll see how this week goes but will do everything we can to line up next weekend.”
Down: Jason Anderson
Same as Cooper, if you’re gonna get banged up, don’t do it now. Anderson was ranked third going into the playoffs but crashed out of Playoff Round 1. Awesome job to rehab and gut out Texas, getting him back to tenth in points. At least he got hurt for the single points race, not the double or triple. Anderson needs to rally this weekend to make the good money.
One thing to note with the factory guys like Cooper and Anderson is that they have factory bonuses for the regular-season races in Monster Energy AMA Supercross and Pro Motocross. So, a podium on any weekend will likely get them paid well, and they’ve gotten a few of those this year. They would just like more!
Down: RJ Hampshire
Okay technically Hampshire was only ranked 13th coming into SMX because he missed most of the summer, and he still sits 13th now. But RJ had huge aspirations of running with Haiden Deegan up front here. Instead, he has hit the ground hard multiple times. RJ will never not try!
