1. Deegan/Kitchen: The story of the weekend undoubtedly involved Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Levi Kitchen and Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's Haiden Deegan. On the opening lap of 250SMX moto two, Kitchen went for a controversial pass on Deegan that ended with them both on the ground. Deegan’s troubles did not end there as he found himself on the ground once again in the rhythm section. At that point, he was WAY back and left without a front brake lever. It ended up being a major blow to Deegan’s run at the SMX Playoff three-peat. He was only able to get up to 14th in the moto and salvaged sixth overall on the night. Haiden heads to the Finals in Vegas ten points back of the overall winner on the night, Jo Shimoda.
As for Kitchen, he went on Monday night’s PulpMX Show to tell his side of the story. “I really thought I had a decent enough opening there to do something and get somebody. I mean, dude, there is a lot of money. And it was double points,” Kitchen explained. He claimed the move was more points motivated than a personal attack on Deegan, saying, “Yeah, if I’m him, there’s no way I’m surprised. If it wasn’t me, then it has to be somebody in Vegas, right? Unless nobody wants to do what they have to do for hundreds of thousands of dollars, you know what I mean?”
2. Deja Vu: Honda HRC Progressive’s Hunter Lawrence claimed his second win of the season in St. Louis. Hunter is arguably in the best form of his career and for the third time in three years finds himself in a winner-take-all scenario heading into the SMX World Championship Finals. We were talking about this same storyline 365 days ago when Hunter came into the last round with a nine-point lead over his younger brother Jett. This year he comes in six points down, but with triple points on the line, the setup is still the same. The win in St. Louis also put him three-for- three in the middle round of the Playoffs (250SMX in 2023 then 450SMX in 2024 and now 2025). With a million dollars at stake in Las Vegas, can Hunter finally get one up on Jett and snag an SMX World Championship?
3. Jett’s First Moto: Jett Lawrence took a rare L in St. Louis. He went 4-1 for second overall, but it is the fourth that has everybody talking. Jett put on an absolute clinic, charging from 21st to 4th, nearly passing Eli Tomac for third in the last turn. Lawrence was forced to ride with a sense of urgency we rarely see when he can control the race from the front. His moto was highlighted by some explosive passes, unexpected cutting down in the turns, and jumping the double out of the off-camber turn from the inside rut. His ability to see the track differently and make in-the-moment changes or decisions is unlike anyone else in the field. It is rides like that that leave us wondering how hard Jett Lawrence is really trying when he is in the lead.
SMX Playoff 2 - 450SMX
September 13, 2025| Rider | Hometown | Motos | Bike | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Hunter Lawrence | Landsborough, Australia  | 1 - 3 | Honda CRF450R Works Edition |
| 2 |  Jett Lawrence | Landsborough, Australia | 4 - 1 | Honda CRF450R Works Edition |
| 3 |  Eli Tomac | Cortez, CO  | 3 - 2 | Yamaha YZ450F |
4. Kayden Minear clinches a title: The SMX Next World All-Stars raced each of their two championship rounds over the weekend in St. Louis. Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's Kayden Minear dominated Friday’s main event and backed that up with a charge up to second on Saturday to clinch the title. The Aussie phenom has had an interesting path since coming to the States full-time. He put himself on the map in his SMX Next Scouting Moto Combine debut at Ironman Raceway last year, where he dominated moto one. Minear was riding for Orange Brigade at the time, but to no one’s surprise, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing snatched him up over the offseason. Kayden missed the SMX Next - Supercross rounds with a couple of injuries, as well as a VISA issue, but showed up at the Hangtown combine and went 1-1. After his impressive performance, he turned pro for Thunder Valley and High Point, but a thumb injury before Southwick set him back once again. There has been chatter about Minear’s future with the team, but he has proven that when he is on the gate, he is as legit as any prospect in the sport.
5. Malinoski gets Redemption: Back in Birmingham, Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX Yamaha’s Ryder Malinoski was on his way to his first career SMX Next main event win but threw it away with half a lap to go. St. Louis started out rough on Friday when he got together with Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's Caden Dudney and DNF’d due to a mechanical. He turned it around in a big way on Saturday, leading wire-to-wire and can finally put Birmingham behind him. Malinoski started taking racing seriously just a couple of years ago but has had a quick rise through the amateur ranks. He has shown flashes of potential but has struggled to battle for podiums on a consistent basis. This win could give him the confidence boost he needs to find that consistency at the front.
6. Eli Tomac JUST short: Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's Eli Tomac has ridden great through the first two rounds of the SMX Playoffs. He has been the Lawrence’s most consistent challenger since returning from his broken leg but continues to come up just short. St. Louis was no different. Tomac went 3-2 for third overall. He shadowed Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki’s Ken Roczen for the entirety of moto one but was unable to make the pass. Had he been able to complete that pass, Tomac would have taken the overall, and we would be heading to Vegas with a three-way winner-take-all scenario between Tomac and the Lawrences. Instead, Tomac heads to the Finals 16 points down and an outside shot at taking home his first SMX World Championship title.
7. Shimoda Grits out a Win: Honda HRC Progressive’s Jo Shimoda took full advantage of the Kitchen/Deegan incident and went 2-2 for the overall. It was a gritty ride as Shimoda was fighting an illness all day. The illness was kept under wraps until Jo skipped out on his podium interview after moto one. Shimoda now leads Haiden Deegan by 10 points, which is enough for him to clinch the title with a second if Deegan were to win the overall at the finale. Jo has been the clear second-best guy since the beginning of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship, which should give him favorable betting odds to clinch, but something tells me this thing is far from over.
8. Vialle’s crazy turnaround: Red Bull KTM rider Tom Vialle's first moto was not good. The two-time and defending 250SX East Champion ran fifth for over half the race until he began to drop anchor. Vialle’s times dropped off two to three seconds a lap, and he faded back to tenth. One would assume that the performance was a continuation of the “fading shock” issue that the Austrian manufacturers have been struggling with. But in moto two, Vialle led holeshot to flag and left everyone scratching their heads. Turns out the fade in moto one was due to the forks being too stiff! Tom spoke to Steve Matthes after the race and explained the change from moto one to moto two. “When the track developed during the moto, it got drier and drier, my fork was way too stiff. So, I came back after the moto, and I was down bad. I said, ‘Guys, we need to take a big step because I am riding at 80 percent,’” Vialle said. This was just another chapter of the strange 2025 KTM saga, but it was nice to see Vialle remind us why he is a two-time 250SX champion.
9. Hammaker in the mix: Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Seth Hammaker barely missed out on the 2025 250SX East title, so it should not be a surprise that he is coming into Las Vegas with a legitimate shot at the 250SMX title. Seth’s gone 2-2 to start the Playoffs and is 14 points out of the lead. Unfortunately, if it weren’t for the five-point penalty he received for jumping on the red lights in Charlotte, he would be nine points down and in position to control his own destiny in the Finals. Regardless of how things play out next weekend, Hammaker has had a career season by keeping relatively healthy and asserting himself as a consistent podium and race-winning threat.
10.Thrasher gets back on the podium: It was a summer of mediocrity for Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's Nate Thrasher. Thrasher only had three top ten finishes during Pro Motocross but finished it off with a season-best fifth at Budds Creek and has carried that momentum into SMX. Thrasher was on it all day in St. Louis, showing legit speed, including an impressive 17th to sixth charge in the first moto. His 6-4 moto scores landed him on the podium for the first time since Pittsburgh SX (and his first SMX Playoffs podium). The roller coaster results are par for the course for Nate, but he seems to be gaining some momentum as we close in on the offseason. Thrasher currently sits fifth in points, which pays $50,000. However, if he can put in a good result in Vegas and move up one more spot, it would move him into the six-figure bracket.
