10. Don’t Ride the Lightning
Let’s address the elephant in the room. This weekend’s SMX Playoff opener in Concord, North Carolina’s zMAX Dragway, was cut short when lightning and heavy rain entered the area soon after the first 450 moto. Fans were evacuated and the event went on weather delay nearly two hours before it was called. It is a huge bummer for fans and also for the series, as the race was aired live on NBC for the first time in SMX Playoff history, but a lot of that show ended up being a replay from last year, played during the delay. These days, lightning is taken seriously and racing in it is not an option. To be clear, the race could have resumed in the mud once the storm had passed, but they were running out of daylight, the lighting at zMAX Dragway would not have been sufficient to race in, and THAT is ultimately why the event was called. Unfortunately, the SMX Next World All-Stars were unable to get their race in but will make up for it on Friday in St. Louis. Gate pick for Friday’s race will be based on Charlotte qualifying, and then Saturday’s program will go on as scheduled. But the second motos at Charlotte? They’re done.
Related: Feld Motorsports' Mike Muye on Decision to Cancel Second Motos At SMX Playoff 1
9. Gnarly Track
The track inside of zMAX Dragway may have been the gnarliest SMX track to date. It was a basic track by design, but heavy rain came through the area Thursday and made for soft, rutted, and unpredictable track conditions. On the outdoor section, the track crew mixed in some mulch and sand with the Carolina Clay and with the rain Thursday, the moisture stayed deep within the soil which created an outdoor section as rough and rutted as any Pro Motocross round on the circuit. On the Supercross sections a lot of the jumps were getting extremely rutted, and the one long rhythm section wreaked havoc all weekend. A lot of riders commented on how sketchy they felt riding the track, and probably weren’t all that bummed have the second moto canceled. Eli Tomac said afterwards:
"It was a very tough track. This was one of the most interesting tracks I’ve ever ridden, and it was a true combination of conditions – with crazy deep motocross ruts, and we had to go back inside the stadium there and still get through those supercross rhythms."
8. Injuries
With the gnarly track conditions came some big get offs. Ryder Malinoski, Christopher Harris, and Landon Gibson all had big moments in the SMX Next practices. Gibson announced that he would be sitting the race out but would be back this weekend in St. Louis, so the cancelation of their main event works out for the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna prospect. Seth Hammaker had a highlight reel crash in qualifying practice but was able to walk away unscathed while his teammate Garrett Marchbanks was not so lucky. Marchbanks went down early in the 250 race and was carted off with a possible leg injury. Luckily, he should be back in St. Louis. Red Bull KTM’s Julien Beaumer was not as fortunate. Juju had a huge get off in the big rhythm lane. He has since updated us via social media that he suffered burst fracture in his L3 vertebra, has had surgery, and is on the road to recovery. Get well soon Julien!
7. Red Plate Debut
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Justin Cooper came into Charlotte as the points leader, sporting a red plate for the first time as a 450 rider. It turned out to be short-lived as J-Coop was down off the start and remounted dead last, over ten seconds back of 21st position. Cooper put in a charge to get back to 11th but is now third in points and 11 points back of Jett Lawrence. If there is one rider wishing they ran the second moto, it is likely Justin Cooper.
6. Threepeats Loading
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's Haiden Deegan and Honda HRC Progressive’s Jett Lawrence are the only SMX Playoff Champions in their respective classes in the series’ two-year history. They came into year three as the heavy favorites, and both delivered in impressive fashion in Charlotte. In the 250 class, Deegan came through the field, erasing Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Seth Hammaker’s 12 second lead to take off with a dominant win. In the 450 Class, Jett Lawrence did what he has done so many times. Lawrence grabbed the early lead, managed a roughly two second gap the entire race, taking a seemingly easy win. It was a predictable result for round one of the playoffs, but with double and triple point rounds looming, there is little room for error moving forward.
5. Surprise Contender
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s RJ Hampshire has been a revelation since moving up to the 450 for the AMA Pro Motocross Championship. By the end of the series, RJ had become a top five lock and even took home a second overall at Ironman. In interviews leading up to Charlotte, Hampshire himself was tempering what should be expected from him in SMX, claiming that he had little time to ride supercross on the 450. In Charlotte, Hampshire picked up right where he left off with a fifth in his 450SMX debut. He made a late race pass on Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki’s Ken Roczen to secure the top five finish and is inching closer to the podium level tier more so than the seventh-to-tenth guy many expected heading into Pala.
4. Blown Opportunity
Honda HRC Progressive's Jo Shimoda established himself as Haiden Deegan’s main threat throughout the Pro Motocross Championship. Shimoda proved that he could bring a race winning level week in and week out and is considered the main threat to Deegan’s perfect run of 250SMX titles. Early in the Charlotte 250SMX first moto, Shimoda was making a run at race leader Seth Hammaker until he clipped a Tuff Block and went down. Jo dropped outside of the top ten and charged his way back to fourth and was credited with third after Levi Kitchen was docked one position for passing on a red cross flag. Shimoda was matching or besting Deegan’s speed late in the race and had the fastest lap by nearly a full second. It was a great salvage from Jo, but he must be kicking himself for crashing away an opportunity to win and tie Deegan in points going into St. Louis. Instead, he trails Deegan by eight points and is in a bit of a must-beat-Haiden scenario this weekend.
3. Summer of Guillod
Rock River Yamaha’s Valentin Guillod had a hell of a Pro Motocross season debut with five top ten finishes, ninth in the series standings and a top 20 seed in the SMX Playoffs. Despite his impressive summer it was difficult to gauge where the Swiss rider would fit into SMX, but in Charlotte Guillod picked up right where he left off in Motocross. He ran 12th until a last lap crash pushed him back to 14th. It was a solid showing for the three-time MX2 GP winner, and St. Louis should be more telling on what kind of indoor skills Valentin has.
2. Return Of Coop
It feels like a long time ago now that Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's Cooper Webb became a three-time 450SX Supercross Champion. Webb dropped out of the Pro Motocross Championship due to a knee injury. He had surgery on the knee and came into Charlotte a little underprepared but rode to a quiet seventh place finish. Webb only has one SMX moto podium to his name but maybe a regular supercross series venue like the Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis is what Coop needs to have a SMX breakthrough performance.
1. Impressive Rides
Arguably the most impressive rides in Charlotte came from Triumph’s Austin Forkner and Rockstar GasGas’s Ryder DiFrancesco. The duo finished fifth and sixth on the weekend and each showed something they haven’t shown much of in 2025. For Forkner it was a good start. Austin has struggled off the gate all year and has mentioned in several interviews how difficult it has been for him to feel comfortable racing with the mid-pack guys. He finally put himself in a good position, running as high as second and matching a season-best fifth place finish. For Ryder D it was the opposite. Often, we have seen DiFrancesco run up front early and slowly start to fade, but in Charlotte he charged up from mid pack up to sixth. It was the first time Ryder has shown podium-potential since returning from an internal injury and broken arm early in Supercross. For both riders, a strong SMX Playoff could be just what they need to bring an extra spark into the off-season and into 2026.
