The Honda RedBud National was an incredibly successful race for Team Honda. With Honda’s global racing boss on hand, Jett Lawrence and Jo Shimoda swept all four motos, while Hunter Lawrence finished second in the 450 class. Jett came from way back in the second moto, passing his way to the front while sometimes going two or three seconds a lap faster than everyone else—and he was dealing with traffic. A couple of his passes were highlight-reel quality, and he ended his day by mimicking the Indonesian boat kid’s dance (which our friend @Legomotox showcased on his Instagram). The #18 has now won 21 of the 22 450 Nationals he’s competed in, dating back to his perfect summer of 2023.

As good as RedBud was for Team Honda, it was just as bad for Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing. Both Eli Tomac and Cooper Webb suffered DNFs due to engine failure, Aaron Plessinger had to skip the second moto due to an illness, and Haiden Deegan experienced his worst race of the season, with multiple crashes leading to a 14th place finish in the first moto. Deegan rebounded with a second place in the final moto to salvage what he could, despite riding with a badly bruised thigh. Webb had it worse; he tweaked his knee enough to require what he called “a minor procedure,” meaning he’s done for the summer. He hopes to be back for the SMX Playoff rounds in September.

The brightest spot for the entire Star team was the podium finish of Michael Mosiman, who was even happier to be on the podium than Evan the Deer.

Webb’s injury and Plessinger’s health, combined with Red Bull KTM’s Chase Sexton’s return, shake up the Team USA picture for the upcoming Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations. While Tomac and Deegan seem like sure things, the second big-bike spot remains uncertain. I imagine we will know more after this coming weekend—and don’t forget about Justin Cooper.

Speaking of the MXoN, some of the site coordinators from Infront Moto Racing came over to see the RedBud National and then drove down to Ironman Raceway, two and a half hours south, to check out the work being done on the track and facility. With the Ironman National in early August, we will have a chance to see how some of the changes affect the racing. It will likely be the race where they announce the Team USA lineup, so stay tuned.

It was also nice to see and hear many of the pro riders pay tribute to Aidan Zingg, the young prospect who lost his life in a crash at Mammoth Mountain two weeks ago. Malcolm Stewart wore Aidan’s #39 on his jersey in qualifying, Jett Lawrence spoke about him in his live post-race interview on NBC, and several butt patches and decals were spotted as well. It was clear that Aidan was already respected by the same riders he hoped to one day compete against.

And if you're local to southwestern Pennsylvania, come out to the Primanti's Spring Creek National watch party tomorrow afternoon. July 12, 2 p.m. ET at Primanti's in Washington, Pennsylvania. The address is 400 Adios Drive, Washington, PA 15301.

There will be a Washougal National watch party next Saturday at the Primanti's in Morgantown, West, Virginia. Washougal National watch party: July 19, 3 p.m. ET. Address is 402 Suncrest Towne Centre Drive.

A Better Chase Sexton (Jason Weigandt)

Wow, Chase Sexton was in a good mood throughout the weekend at RedBud. He was smiling during Friday’s press sessions, he was fast on the track, and he was happy to do what seemed like an hour of post-race media. Sexton can often be found hanging out at the track well after the race, catching up with friends and family, especially at RedBud, the track closest to where he grew up. Even knowing that, I thought his mood was exceptional.

I spoke to Sexton after the race for The Weege Show, and you can watch that interview in full on our Instagram. When Chase returned from time off at RedBud in 2023, it didn’t go well, so he learned to temper his expectations this time. He didn’t finish on the podium, but he was pleasantly surprised with his speed and fitness right off the bat. In the first moto, it just took about half the race to shake off the rust, and then he moved forward from around tenth. In moto two, Jett Lawrence went by him, and then he picked up on Jett’s lines and pace and really started moving. They were passing riders together, and it was a strong showing from Chase until he went down in a corner. So, no podium, but he was happy and expects to keep getting better. That’s a good sign for the battle this weekend!

Pro Perspective (Jason Thomas)

What might be the best racetrack on the Pro Motocross calendar is on deck. Spring Creek boasts great dirt, elevation, and fun jumps. It’s a track where riders actually enjoy racing rather than feeling the high-pressure situation it can create.

The dirt is one of the main attractions, as mentioned, and should be prime for Saturday. Intermittent rain leading up to the weekend will leave the sand soft and the clay tacky, creating perfect conditions. Yes, it will be rutty, but that helps to slow the race down a bit, too. All in all, this is a race riders look forward to amidst a sea of racing weekends.

Starts will be important, and scoop tires will be abundant. The soft soil will make the standard tire too significant a disadvantage in the deep stuff to justify. This race in 2024 saw Justin Cooper try the standard tire, and his starts suffered as a result. I would expect every rider with access to the deep digger to be utilizing it.

SMX Next Combine (DC)

Friday’s SMX Next – Motocross Scouting Moto Combine at RedBud was a wild one, featuring a couple of unfortunate bike breaks, crashes, and a last-lap overall winner. The 25 participants enjoyed a day of instruction from coaches like Chad Reed, Ezra Lusk, Michael Byrne and Broc Glover, and Gareth Swanepoel, whose team actually won him the Coach’s Cup. Just like a Pro Motocross event, they had two timed qualifying sessions and two long motos (though they were only 25 minutes plus two laps, rather than 30). Husqvarna’s Landon Gibson won the first moto by six seconds over KTM rider Deacon Denno and Yamaha-mounted Kade Johnson, with Kawasaki Team Green’s Landen Gordon finishing fourth.

Things really went haywire in the second moto. First, Tiger Wood had bike issues—including a holeshot device that would not release—and pulled out of the race before the second turn. His bike was bogging badly, so his moto was over. Then Carson Wood went down in the same turn. First moto runner-up Deacon Denno went down hard, and then Kade Johnson DNF’d after six laps. Gibson was out front and leading by nearly 20 seconds, but then, two laps from the end, his bike seized just before the big ski jump down into the valley. He was very fortunate it didn’t lock up on the takeoff. Into the lead rode Gordon, and the Californian ended up winning with 4-1 moto scores. But he did not know he had won until he was on the podium afterwards! Finishing second in the moto and overall was Pennsylvania’s Luke Fauser with 7-2 moto scores; then came Arkansas’ Jesson Turner, who claimed third overall with 9-3 motos.

The Other Internationals (DC)

RedBud may have been Fourth of July Weekend, but U.S. riders were mostly outperformed by international visitors. There were, of course, the brothers Lawrence from Australia, once again going 1-2 overall in the 450 class, with Jett extending his current winning streak to six in a row to start the Pro Motocross portion of the SMX schedule. There was also Japan's Jo Shimoda, who had his best ride ever, finishing 1-1 in the 250 class, completing a Honda/international sweep of the RedBud motos and overall. And of course, nine-time FIM World Champion Antonio Cairoli from Italy drew a lot of attention in the debut of the Italian-made Ducati, though an unfortunate electrical problem ended his second moto while he was running in the top five on the fourth lap. Not much further back, other riders from abroad were having an excellent day at RedBud.

In the 250 class, Danish rider Mikkel Haarup continued his steady improvement with a career-best fourth overall finish in his first trip to the capital track of American motocross. (Haarup probably would have been part of the Denmark team at the '22 Motocross of Nations at RedBud, but for some reason, the Danes did not attend the MXoN that year.) Haarup is now ranked seventh in the MX championship.

And props to the Triumph Racing team in general, as Haarup’s fourth, coupled with Jalek Swoll’s runner-up overall finish, set another high-water mark for the British brand. Swoll’s 6-3 score was an unlikely tally for second overall, but he was happy to hold up the trophy—he just came back from a torn Achilles tendon.

The Frenchman Tom Vialle had a good first moto, finishing third, but he crashed off the start with Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's Michael Mosiman, which pretty much ruined his second moto. Vialle is now fourth in the standings, with Shimoda in second, though not really in striking distance of Haiden Deegan.

In the 450 class, we finally got a glimpse of the potential of Spanish import Jorge Prado, as he led the first part of the moto but faded back to fifth. Still, his 7-5 moto scores must be a positive for the four-time FIM Motocross World Champion, who has struggled thus far outdoors. Estonia's Harri Kullas and Frenchman Benoit Paturel each had good days, with Kullas finishing tenth overall and Paturel 11th, while Romain Pape took 17th and Venezuelan Lorenzo Locurcio rounded out the top twenty in the 450 class. As for Cairoli, he was ninth in the first moto and looked strong early in the second before an electrical issue ended the debut of the Ducati while he was running in the top five.

More Oh Canada! (Matthes)

I headed up to Canada last week for the Gopher Dunes National, and it was a wacky one. The MX1 points leader, Jess Pettis, crashed out in practice, and his main competitor, Dylan Wright, who would have taken an almost 20-point lead if he had gone 1-1, had a bike break and went DNF-1. And with all that commotion, Racer X's own Phil Nicoletti (who also didn't ride nearly as well as he had been) went 7-6 and tied Pettis for the red plate! I have to ask DC to dig into some stats and see if a 7-6 day has ever moved someone into the points lead in a national class… (DC: Doubt that's ever happened!)

Tanner Ward won his first-ever MX1 overall with a couple of great rides, as well as Wright's misfortune. Just to continue the nuttiness, Dylan Rempel scored his first national win of his career in the MX2 class, as the two dominant riders in MX2, Preston Kilroy and Ryder McNabb, both let the sand and heat get to them in their two motos.

It was great to return to Canada to watch a national for the first time in five or six years. I met a lot of listeners, and it seemed like the riders and teams appreciated my coming up there, which was cool. Wright and Pettis have really been riding well this year, and I hope that they, along with McNabb, can achieve good things at the MXoN for Canada.

Fast Fred (Matthes)

At the beginning of the outdoors, it was pointed out to me that if veteran Freddie Noren raced all 11 rounds, he would be tied with Mike LaRocco for the most career starts in the 450MX class of all time. If you think about it, that's pretty cool for the Swede and a testament to his speed and skill. Weege and I joke all the time on the Re-Raceables Podcast that when you're looking at past races, there's Freddie always in that 8-12 range in the 450 MX class. Unfortunately, Fred's not going to tie that record as he's had a horrible season with the ISRT Kawasaki guys. It started with a bad crash at Pala, and he hasn't been anywhere near as good as usual. Now, yesterday a press release dropped stating that he and the team have parted ways. I'm not sure of the whole story, but reports have him on a Yamaha at ClubMX, and we'll see what happens next. The ISRT guys picked up Max Miller a couple of weeks ago to fill in, and maybe he'll stay on the team? Stay tuned.

Junior World Cup (DC)

America has a new FIM Junior Motocross World Champion in 65cc rider Kannon Zabojnik, who piloted his Cobra through deep mud in France to win, though it did not come without some controversy. The heavy rain around the Romagné circuit led race officials to throw a red flag on the first 65cc moto, just after British rider John Slade had moved into the lead. It was the last lap of the race, and the course had become almost completely impassable due to a deluge that hit as soon as the starting gate dropped on what was supposed to be a 12-minute plus 2 laps race. So many riders were stuck on one hill that the officials deemed it unsafe and threw the red flag instead of the checkered flag, which seems like it would have made more sense.

Unfortunately for Slade, the officials decided to revert to the last fully completed lap, which was two laps earlier because so few riders had come around. At that point, Slade was only in fifth place, so his move to the front during his last two laps was not reflected in the results.

The track was even worse for the second motos. They tried to race, but before the first lap was completed, the officials realized it was going to be pretty much hopeless for the 10 to 12-year-old 65cc riders, and they red-flagged it before a lap was completed. Only the first moto would count towards the world championship, and the winner was the American Zabojnik, already a four-time AMA Amateur National Champion at Loretta Lynn's, followed by local French talent Mathys Agullo and another American, Levi Geis, rounding out the podium.

Also in the 65cc class was Raycin Kyler, the very fast and impressive girl who was absolutely launching her Cobra on some of the track's big tabletops on Friday before the rains came. She qualified 14th and finished 17th in the mud.

In the 85cc class, Gauge Brown was the top American with a sixth overall aboard his KTM, while Maddox Temmerman finished 11th.

There were two young Americans in the 125 class, both of whom unfortunately struggled in the muddy conditions. Tristan Prueitt ended up 27th overall, with Brady Olson in 32nd.

When the scores were all added up, Team USA Junior finished fourth on the day behind the winners and hosts from France, followed by Team Italy and Team Great Britain.

Looking back at the history of this event, Zach Osborne was America's first FIM Junior World Champion, winning the 85cc title in 2004 when the race was held in Latvia. We would not have another 85cc champion until 2018 when Caden Braswell won in Australia.

Blake Wharton won the 125 class in 2008 in Bulgaria, and one year later, Eli Tomac won it in Australia. Then in 2011, Joey Savatgy won the 125 title in Italy aboard a Suzuki.

We have had two 65cc world champions, first with Jake Pinhancos in 2010 when the race was held in France, and again in 2013 when Aiden Tijero won in the Czech Republic. We can now add to the list Kannon Zabojnik.

And if you're wondering whether any other top stars from other countries have won FIM Junior World Championships, Jett Lawrence, Jeffrey Herlings, Jorge Prado, Tim Gajser, Ken Roczen, and Maxime Renaux have all won this race at some point on their way to the top.

Loretta Lynn’s Roster (DC)

MX Sports has posted the rosters for the 44th Annual Monster Energy AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch, which you can see here.

One class to watch is the Senior +40, as it now features not only Andrew Short but also Chad Reed. Mike Brown may be out, but having #22 join this class is a great addition.

MXGP Returns (DC)

After a two-weekend summer break, the FIM Motocross World Championship picks back up this weekend in Finland for the 13th round of the 20-race tour. Frenchman Romain Febvre and his Kawasaki lead the MXGP division by 32 points over Belgium's Lucas Coenen, who rides for Red Bull KTM. (This also marks the end of the two-week speculation about whether Coenen and his twin brother Sacha would come to America for Southwick/RedBud.) The next closest rider is Fantic's Glenn Coldenhoff, who is more than 100 points behind Lucas Coenen.

In the MX2 division, KTM's Simon Langenfelder of Germany leads by an even larger margin over Italian Andrea Adamo, with defending MX2 World Champion Kay de Wolf in third, now 70 points behind the leader.

And gone for now from MXGP is Jeffrey Herlings, who fractured his collarbone while practicing in Arnhem, Belgium, during the break. He posted this earlier this week on his social media:

Hopefully, Herlings makes it back and gets fit before the MXoN at Ironman in early October. He obviously has a great record at the track; he's undefeated at 1-0! With De Wolf and Coldenhoff as his likely Dutch teammates for the race, they would have a decent shot at the win.

Winners (DC)

With his sixth straight win in the Pro Motocross series, Jett Lawrence earned himself the cover of this week's Cycle News, as well as win ads from American Honda, Yoshimura, and Dunlop. His Honda HRC Progressive teammate Jo Shimoda won the 250 class and also earned win ads from those same three sponsors, though both Jett and Jo had to share the Dunlop spread with young Landen Gordon, the Kawasaki Team Green prospect who won the SMX Next Combine on Friday.

Fan-Viewing Improvements (DC)

If you've been around the sport for a while—okay, more than 20 years—then you know who Wheels is. Jason "Wheels" Todd is a longtime enthusiast and creator who, unfortunately, didn't get to have much of a racing career of his own before muscular dystrophy meant that he would have to find different ways to contribute. Fortunately, he's found plenty, and is not only super-positive and super-connected—for five years, he's been the Monster Army's Content Coordinator, and before that, Racer X and MX Sports—but he's also super-determined to make a positive and lasting impact on the sport. His most recent accomplishment is his successful advocacy for Pro Motocross tracks and the series in general to improve viewing access and create a better overall environment for fans who might be wheelchair-bound and don't have the same access he has through his work and connections. Check his post on his RedBud visit: 

Lammy (Matthes)

Seth Rarick, Weege, and I looked back at the 1995 Steel City National where Steve Lamson and Ryan Hughes battled for the title that came down to the last moto. Lammy was about 60 points down after missing round two due to a knee injury, so when Hughes caught and passed him in moto one, they were tied. Lamson had a clutch ride in moto two and took the title while Ryno, running second, broke his chain with one turn to go and had to push across the line. What we learned in the podcast was that Hughes' mechanic, Wyatt Seals, had actually borrowed that VERY chain from Lamson's mechanic Mike Gosselaar before the weekend started! Yes, you read that right. Crazy, right? Lammy himself joined us to take us through that knee injury, his Washougal DNF, and more. What a day at Steel City! You can listen below.

Hey, Watch It!

A Lap of LOVE For Aidan Zingg

This is Lawrence: REDBUD 2025

Jett Lawrence on his career plans, life hacks, what he thinks about while riding |The RedBud Review

Head-Scratching Headline/s of the Week 

"AI-Generated Band Already Boast Over 500,000 Monthly Spotify Listeners"

"People With Swamp Crotch Keep Setting Off TSA Alarms"

"Gen Z Has Invented 'Micro-Retirement', Where You Take a Week Off Work and Then Go Back" -Barstool Sports

Random Notes

Oh man, check out what happened to David Vuillemin's house this week:

After playing on over 300 screens in movie theaters, "Pay Dirt" is finally coming to the internet - dropping on iTunes/Apple TV, Amazon and other platforms next Friday, July 18th.

A get-well-soon to Derek Kelley, who suffered a broken leg at RedBud.