The Championship Picture – 450 Class

In the 450 Class things are a bit more open. Jett Lawrence holds a six-point lead over his brother, Hunter, and a 16-point lead over Eli Tomac in third. This means both Lawrence brothers control their own destiny—an overall win for either results in a 450 SMX Championship. Tomac would need some help, although it’s definitely still possible. If he won, he’d need Jett to finish fourth or worse, and he’d need Hunter to take third or worse. It’s tough to imagine Jett finishing off the box, but hey, nobody expected Deegan to take fourteenth in the second moto in St. Louis, either! We’ll see how it all plays out this Saturday night. -Hansel

Deegan vs. Kitchen

Deegan going 1-14 for sixth overall wasn’t anything anyone saw coming, except for maybe Levi Kitchen, who helped Deegan to the dirt when he came across the track in a turn and made hard contact with him. Deegan’s front brake lever broke in the crash, and Kitchen wound up on the ground too, so it wasn’t exactly a strategic success. We all know Deegan holds grudges, and we’ve seen him get into it with other riders plenty of times, both on and off the track. It’s going to be extremely interesting to see how Deegan plays his cards if he finds himself near Kitchen this weekend. -Hansel

Tight Confines

Chase Sexton currently holds fourth place with 68 points, but Cooper Webb has 67, Justin Cooper has 64, Ken Roczen has 63, and RJ Hampshire has 61. Fourth through eighth are only separated by seven points! Even under normal points-paying races that would be tight, but when the points are tripled, that’s a razor’s edge! And guess what, fourth place in the championship pays $100,000 more than eighth! A championship for the guys in those positions is unlikely, but after seeing the payout, you can bet there will be plenty of motivation to be the best of this group! -Hansel

Couch Cash-In

Aaron Plessinger’s ongoing health issues kept him from racing the SMX Playoffs, but thanks to the 14 SMX championship points he accrued during the supercross and motocross seasons, he’s still in the running to win some money. Right now, he sits in 19th place. Marshall Weltin has 12 points, and Mitchell Oldenburg has 11, so there’s a strong chance they’ll eclipse Plessinger this weekend if the Wild Card race goes okay for them. Jorge Prado has nine points but he’s not racing, and Dean Wilson has eight points, which means he could also displace Plessinger. But even if all three of those riders surpass Plessinger, he’ll still be in 22nd, which pays $25,000! Will The Cowboy cash in? -Hansel

Up and Down

It’s hard to understand how Tom Vialle could fall off the pace late in the first moto in St. Louis, then go out and win the second. We’re hearing he might be dealing with some suspension issues, which is creating some inconsistency, but results that far apart are pretty wild! Will Vialle put together a pair of good motos in Las Vegas, or will he put in another puzzling performance in what could be his last race in America? -Hansel 

Rubbin’s Racin!

As we saw last weekend with Kitchen and Deegan, money makes people do some crazy things! Probability of the Lawrence brothers duking it out and knocking each other down for a million dollars may be pretty slim, but in the 250 it's fair game. AMA officials are going to have to stay on their toes and have the fine book out and ready. -Sarah Whitmore

Haymakers From Hammaker?

Hammaker said in the post-race press conference that now that he has been in a championship battle before (Salt Lake City where RJ Hampshire went all RJ on him) he is now prepared for the fact that riders will do whatever it takes to win. He stated himself he is not out of it at 14 points back, and he has a half a million reasons to get aggressive this weekend. -Whitmore

The Track

We are back to the drag strip this weekend in Las Vegas, and do you know who does really well at speedway/drag strip style tracks? Nate Thrasher. Nate got third last weekend in St. Louis and sits fifth in points. Too far back to really have a legitimate shot at the title unless something crazy happens, but every position he moves up in the championship pays more money. Could he pull of another Atlanta Motor Speedway-esque ride this weekend? -Whitmore