Main image by Mitch Kendra

Welcome to Racerhead and welcome to the Monster Energy SuperMotocross World Championship Playoffs. We're at a place called "Historic Crew Stadium" in Columbus, Ohio, the first purpose-built professional soccer stadium in America. But we're not here for footie, obviously! Tomorrow afternoon begins the first race of the post-season—and thank goodness it's tomorrow because it rained cats and dogs last night. As you can see from the video we posted earlier on @racerxonline, the SMX Track Crew is hard at work getting the track in shape for practice this afternoon. Last night was the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026 Induction ceremony—the AMA Motorcycle Museum is just 15 minutes from the stadium—with Damon Bradshaw the latest SMXer to put on the golden jacket as a member. Plenty of his industry friends and sponsors were there, as well as fellow Hall of Famers Kevin Windham, Broc Glover, Mark Blackwell, and many more…

As I typed that, a plane just took off behind me from the Columbus Airport, which is not far away, and it immediately reminded me that it's been 25 years ago today that the whole world changed. The 9/11 attacks were the worst terror attack ever in this country. September 11 will always be a somber day. I imagine every person who is old enough to remember knows exactly where they were when they saw the planes hit the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and an empty field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania—that was the plane thought to be headed for the White House before some very brave passengers fought back. Nearly 3,000 people died that day, between the passengers, the people in the buildings, and the extraordinary First Responders who ran into and up the Twin Towers to try to help and save lives. Someone wrote that the newspapers that came out on 9/11—the ones printed the night before the surprise attacks—are worth keeping forever, just as the ones were that followed in the haunting and confusing days that followed. That day's papers were the last record of the last day of an era of peace and prosperity in this country and most of the rest of the world, because on that day 9/11 was still just a date. Now it's a day of infamy, just like December 7, 1941, was to our grandparents and great-grandparents and everyone else who watched the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and immediately realized the United States was about to enter World War II. We've been in what's considered the War on Terror ever since that terrible morning 25 years ago. And we can never forget the sacrifice of so many, not only on that day but in the years to come, as many more lives would be lost among the brave men and women of the U.S. military. God bless them all.

Three weeks after the 9/11 attacks, I was invited to New York City by the guys who ran Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey. The attacks obviously hit very close to home for Ken Landerman, David Chase, Jay Irwin, and the rest of the New Jersey motocross gang. The world was just starting to get going again, and they collectively decided to go ahead with what would be the 25th Annual Kawasaki Race of Champions, an end-of-summer celebration for East Coast motocross that was set for the first weekend in October. They felt that it was their small but important way to honor all of those lost, as well as giving the rest something to take their minds off that horrible day. It was a way to show that America was not defeated and life would go on—the same calculation made by the NFL, Major League Baseball, college football, the U.S. Open of Supercross, etc. I decided to go because it was only about a six-hour drive for me. And like so many other companies, the Racer X office had collected and gathered what we could to donate to the Red Cross and rescue workers, things like goggles and gloves, cases of water, soda, snacks, and even eyedrops. So, we loaded up the truck and took off.

I remember seeing more and more American flags hanging from highway overpasses the closer I got to Manhattan. And when we were finally in sight of the city, just past sunset, it was haunting. Even from a few miles away, you could see the lights, smoke, and dust from all of the rescue workers and their equipment where the Twin Towers used to be. Everyone knew what was happening from the seemingly endless TV coverage, but nothing prepared me to see it like this. And once we crossed through the Holland Tunnel into the city, I wasn't prepared for the smell of the air around Lower Manhattan, which I will also never forget.

There was a depot set up to drop everything near Canal Street, which was the closest one could get, as everything was fenced off from there. And on the chain-link fences were a canvas of photos and posters with pictures and names of the missing, posted by their families and friends, hoping and asking if anyone had seen them... It's still heavy to think about those images even now, 25 years later.

As far as the race goes, the 2001 Kawasaki Race of Champions might best be remembered as one of then-15-year-old James Stewart's last races as an amateur, which he dominated, and Steve Lamson's 250 Class win on a Fast by Ferracci Husqvarna. But I also remember it was an incredibly cathartic weekend for everyone, the first get-together after such a traumatic, painful shared experience. There were lots of tears when the national anthem played, but also lots of smiles as moto friends hung out, bench-raced over a beverage or two, and just tried to get back to normal. Twenty-five years later, we still are.

Okay, sorry for the trip down memory lane. The press conference is going on right now. The rain did a number on the track, even though it was covered in plastic, but it's rush hour down there right now for the tractors and workers. It should be perfect by tomorrow, so long as it doesn't rain again!

We wanted to get Racerhead in early this week, with all that's going on, so let's go straight to JT.

• SuperMotocross

  • Race Day Live (Qualifying) 

    Live

    September 12 - 9:00 AM

    

  • Race Day Live (Qualifying) 

    Live

    September 12 - 9:00 AM

    

  • September 12 - 2:30 PM

    

  • September 12 - 2:30 PM

    

  • September 12 - 3:00 PM

    

  • September 12 - 3:00 PM

    

  • September 12 - 6:00 PM

    

  • September 12 - 6:00 PM

    

  • Encore Presentation

    September 13 - 3:00 PM

    

It's playoff time! That sigh you hear is Steve Matthes shaking his head at my enthusiasm, but I love this stuff. The amount of money on the line, the change in format, and the "anything goes at the finale" mentality all do it for me. Is it perfect? No, it could always be better. I would love for the marquee venues to be available and even take things international, but I can see past the imperfections and focus on the awesome. The powers that be created something great, and I am not going to pooh-pooh their efforts. Let's do the damn thing, I say!

As for the who and the what, Hunter and Davies have to be the favorites, right? They aren't without questions, though. For Hunter, can he rekindle the fire he's had all year? Can he get motivated yet again to go out and be his best? He found this very difficult in 2023, but maybe he's matured to a place where he can more easily summon the intensity needed to win at that level. Second, is his wrist good to go? He reaggravated his injury from Detroit in that crash with Haiden Deegan at Ironman. Hunter is not one to complain or whine about nagging injuries, so we often don't know what he's dealing with. Outside of those questions, he has to be the favorite going in based on the consistent excellence we have seen all year long (and a lot of 2025).

For young Cole, winning both titles this year automatically puts him out front on paper. The SX-style tracks favor him, but these playoff rounds also don't have whoops, which are undoubtedly his biggest strength. Without whoops, the gap narrows to Kitchen, Hymas, Beaumer, Shimoda, and whoever else you consider worthy. He's still plenty good enough to win, of course, but his edge is much smaller than the season results would indicate. He's going to need his best stuff to win: good starts, solid execution, and staying out of trouble. That's the winning recipe for all of the contenders. Davies is the favorite, yes, but I think it's tighter than most think. This year in SX, Hammaker was faster than Davies on all segments not named the whoops. That was a consistent theme that went underreported because Davies was able to overcome it. Will it be important in the playoffs? Time will tell. It is worth noting, though, and why I think this 250SMX series will be a doozy.

Here is a look at the overall winners in the brief history in the SMX Playoffs. Again, Honda has won all nine 450SMX races to date! But with Jett Lawrence out, we will have a new 450SMX champion. Who will it be?

We're into year four of the SMX Playoffs here, and has it caught on yet? I'm not sure. It's more money for racers, which is great, and more racing for the fans to watch, but in talking to team owners/personnel, it's a bit of a grind after a long, hard AMA Supercross and Motocross season. But here we are, Columbus, so catch the fever, I suppose. Really though, even though Honda has won all of these things (as pointed out above), I could make a case for Jorge Prado or Haiden Deegan to take down the lone Lawrence brother. Hunter's got a bit of a wonky wrist (a torn ligament, he confirmed today), Honda canceled some test sessions they had scheduled because of that, and he's already got his 450 MX title. I think he's still my favorite, and hey, it's a million bucks, but Prado or Deegan will be in the mix and right there with him. Don't count out Cooper Webb either, because he likes money.

One thing about Charlotte was that there were complaints about bike set-up; the "outdoor" section at the dragstrip got really rough with big braking bumps. But then you had that one SX rhythm as well, so riders were saying that it was tough to get the bikes working well for both sections because, duh, it's SX and MX. We won't have that for the first two rounds as we're going to SX-style tracks, only with no whoops. No more dragstrip walls! Looks like more sand thrown in than usual, but really, bring your SX setup and adjust accordingly from there. The rain will also have tacked everything up, so there's that too.

The 450 SMX Wild Card is stacked. With injuries to Justin Cooper, Jett, and Chase Sexton, we'll end up taking five from there, but still. Colt Nichols and Jason Anderson are in it, both SX champions. Benny Bloss and Shane McElrath are in it on the Betas—both guys got numerous top tens in 450SX. Dean Wilson is in, and he LOVES money. Vince Friese is a great starter, and Mitchell Harrison is a main event guy every week. I just named off seven guys that will be seriously bummed if they don't make the main event. Buckle up for those races, everyone.

One rider that won't be at peak form is Joey Savatgy. The Quad Lock rider is lining up for SMX, but due to a wrist injury he suffered in SX, he's only been on the bike three times. So, he'll not be 100 percent but he'll be out there.

Quick trip to Orlando today to test ride Zach Osborne's factory Loretta Lynn’s-winning Beta machine with Keefer. Pretty cool opportunity we got here, and I've never ridden one of these machines, so I thought it would be cool even though it was kind of inconvenient on the eve of SMX. And also, I need to ride more. Fun day, Kyle Chisholm even came by to hang out! The PRMX team has a nice little shop there. Chase Sexton rides there, as well as Zacho and the PRMX team. Stay tuned to this very website to see the video and hear what we thought of the red, white, and blue bike.

As Steve mentioned, we had the honor of flying to Florida to ride Zach-O's Beta 450RX race machine. I reacquainted myself with the production bike last week just so I could really hone in on what the factory Beta does differently. While we will have several pieces of content going up on this bike, I can tell you that Zach's bike is one of the friendliest machines/factory bikes I have ridden. Jett Lawrence’s Honda was absolutely the easiest to ride, but Zach's is right up there near the top. His KYB suspension setup is quite unique, and even though Zach is a little short, his rider triangle did not feel cramped. His custom bars are a little weird, but this is what makes riding factory bikes so cool; it's all the intricacies that each has because each rider is unique in his own way. Look for a full breakdown over on Racer X Films hopefully next week, and a full podcast on Keeferinctesting.com as well as a full write-up version of the test over on Steve's site, Pulpmx.com.

The FIM Motocross World Championship (MXGP) heads to China this weekend for the 18th round of the 19-round championship. Jeffrey Herlings already clinched the 2026 MXGP title last weekend in Turkey, as the #84 earned the title in his first year with Honda HRC Petronas. Herlings has a perfect 1-1-1 streak going since the MXGP of Great Britain in mid-July. Can he keep that streak going, or will another rider take a race win here late in the season with Herlings already crowned champion? It would not be surprising to see Herlings win out, but Tom Vialle has looked good in his first year in the MXGP Class. The MX2 title fight is still up for grabs, but it looks to be Guillem Farres' barring disaster. Farres leads his Triumph teammate by 50 points entering this weekend, with 120 points still available via the qualifying races and motos. Tune into the penultimate round this weekend via MXGP-TV.

• MXGP

  • September 12 - 12:00 AM

    

  • September 12 - 1:15 AM

    

  • September 12 - 1:55 AM

    

  • September 12 - 3:15 AM

    

  • MXGP Qualifying Race 

    Live

    September 12 - 4:00 AM

    

  • September 13 - 12:00 AM

    

  • September 13 - 1:00 AM

    

  • September 13 - 3:00 AM

    

  • September 13 - 3:00 AM

    

  • September 13 - 4:00 AM

    

  • September 13 - 4:00 AM

    

It was a busy week of racing around the dirt bike world. Here's a shortcut to see the big winners, according to the win ads in cyclenews.com.

"Man fatally shoots cousin after argument over whose enchiladas were spicier" - Boston 25 News

"49ers Cut Tight End After Making Him Endure 16-Hour Journey to Australia"-Essentially Sports

"Today in Small Town Politics – Missouri House Candidate Accused of Trying to Plant Cocaine and Adderall on His Opponent" - Barstool Sports