Wild Card Mayhem

There are a whole bunch of fast guys in the 450 Class who have to race the Wild Card race (SMX’s version of an LCQ) to get into the show, and that resulted in a pretty good race between Dean Wilson, Marshal Weltin, and Kyle Chisholm for the final transfer spot. Wilson got it, but it could have gone in a number of different ways. Expect the same this weekend too, as guys like Coty Shock, Benny Bloss, Mitchell Oldenburg, Grant Harlan, Wilson, Chisholm, Weltin, and more are all lining up. And remember, the Wild Card Races are on the Race Day Live broadcast on Peacock, not on the actual race broadcast. -Hansel

Rebound

Jo Shimoda took third in Concord, which is a great result. However, Shimoda was in a position early to pull off the win but got impatient when trying to get around Seth Hammaker for the lead. Shimoda hit a Tuff Block while pushing the issue and went down, and just like that, his shot at lighting the candles was extinguished. But with the points counting double this weekend, Shimoda will have a chance to help ease the sting of Concord. And if he gets the win, it’ll help keep his bid for a championship healthy. -Hansel 

On the Upswing

Austin Forkner didn’t exactly come out of the gate swinging in the beginning of the year. You can’t blame him though; he’d been off the bike for a while and was literally coming back from brain surgery. He’s improved over the course of the year, however, and he’s currently displaying the best form we’ve seen in a long time—he ran as high as second in Concord before taking a solid fifth place. Can he keep it going in St. Louis? -Hansel

Victim of Circumstances

For any rider who didn’t place well in the first race in Concord, the cancelling of the second moto due to lightning had to sting. Especially for Justin Cooper, who came in as the #1 seed in the 450 class but went down on the start and got stuck under his bike. Cooper was dead last for the first three laps before eventually racing his way to 11th. He no doubt hoped to improve that in the second moto but never got the chance. Look for Cooper to record better scores in St. Louis. -Hansel

All-Stars Double Up

When the rainstorm and the lightning started Saturday in North Carolina, the SMX Next World All-Stars main event was going to be the very next session on track...until the remainder of the race day was cancelled. So what happens next? (No pun intended). This weekend, the SMX Next World All-Stars will now race both on Friday AND Saturday at this weekend's SMX Playoffs 2 race. Today's main event will count as the makeup for the missed North Carolina race and will count as single points, then we will have a full reset for Saturday. The riders will go through qualifying Saturday, lining them up with their gate picks for the main event, which will then be double points. When the checkered flag waves Saturday, we will crown our SMX Next World All-Stars Champion. So, who takes the championship at the end of Saturday night? Enzo Temmerman, Caden Dudney, Kayden Minear, Carson Wood, and Kade Johnson are a few of the favorites. Does the title go to one of these riders, or someone else? -Mitch Kendra

The Challengers

Eli Tomac was looking good in second behind Jett for a while in Concord until he went down allowing Chase Sexton to go by. Then Chase was able to close the gap a little bit on Jett but was unable to get any closer than a couple of seconds. A holeshot from either one of them this weekend would certainly help in their efforts to snag a playoff win. -Sarah Whitmore

Kawi Boys

Both Seth Hammaker and Levi Kitchen rode great in Concord, Hammaker led most of the race even after a very scary get off in practice. Kitchen finished third but was credited with fourth after passing on a red cross flag. While both of these riders had an okay Pro Motocross run, they both rode much better in supercross (until Kitchen got hurt of course). Will the track in St. Louis suit their style this weekend and will we see more green up front? -Whitmore