Okay, we’ve watched 17 rounds of Monster Energy AMA Supercross and four rounds of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship and with that, there’s now some early math toward seeding for the second-ever SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) Playoffs. We’re noticing some interesting trends and stories within that math, and we’ll present those stories for you right here in The List.
How it works:Beyond just making it in, those top 20 points create a “seeding” going into the playoffs. The rider who scores the most combined points gets the number-one seed and will begin the playoffs with the equivalent of one race win (25 points) where the second-ranked rider will start the playoffs with the equivalent of a second-place finish, which is 22 points.
These extra points going into the playoffs really matter! Haiden Deegan won last year’s 250SMX Championship by five points over Jo Shimoda. Currently, Deegan is first in SMX points seeding and Shimoda is fourth, and that would equate to a six-point difference when the playoffs begin. That could make all the difference!
A few other details to note is that a rider that wins a race (SX main event or MX overall) but doesn’t end up top 20 in points still earns an automatic LCQ spot. Also, the 250SX West division raced one more time than 250SX East, so West riders dropped their worst score to create to combined points.
The Leaders: Jett Lawrence is leading the combined 450SMX standings. Duh. Haiden Deegan is leading the 250 class, which also seems obvious, but it’s actually a big deal because Deegan started in a big points hole compared to Levi Kitchen. Even with the West’s one drop score (see above) Kitchen outscored Deegan and Tom Vialle by a bunch in supercross and held a solid lead going into Pro Motocross. (Sadly, the 250SX West Region Champion RJ Hampshire went out with injury.) The 250SX East Region gang really suffered in points with that big first-turn crash at Detroit. Anyway, Deegan has now made up all that ground, and he leads Kitchen by 20 points. He’s nearly 50 points ahead of Kitchen in Pro Motocross.
Anderson is Third in 450SMX: Consistency counts, and while a lot of 450 riders have had standout seasons and breakout rides, Jason Anderson, without a win this year, is third in combined points.
Watch the Rookies: Anderson has been solid but credit to 450 rookies Hunter Lawrence and Justin Cooper, now ranked fourth and fifth. They’re also just eight points apart after 21 races run!
Eli, Cooper, and Ken: When the SMX playoff format was first announced back at the end of 2022, a lot of people feared that superstar riders who get injured might not make it. That ends up not being much of a threat, because an elite rider can stack so many points in one series that playoffs become nearly a lock. To that end, Cooper Webb (seventh), Eli Tomac (tenth) and Ken Roczen (12th) are still sitting fine in SMX points. Roczen has 223 points, which is well above the 170-180 points most riders think they’ll need to be top 20. Last year Josh Hill got the 20th 450SMX slot with 155 points.
Will They Return?: That’s perhaps the best part of SMX. In a normal year without playoffs, you’re not seeing Webb, Tomac, or Roczen race again until the off-season, next season, or the FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX) overseas in Roczen’s case. Showing up for some Pro Motocross? Unlikely, normally. Superstars know the rest of the pack will be way ahead of them in speed and endurance, and they don’t want to get beat down. Now there’s an incentive to rush back, score as many points as possible, and try to ramp up the intensity before those three playoff races. So, expect all three of these guys to do that. Does this mean Eli Tomac shows up at Unadilla and goes 5-6 in the motos? It does. Would he have done that without SMX? He wouldn’t.
Guys That Need the Money: The SMX headline was Jett Lawrence making $1 Million by winning the 450 class last year, but here’s a newsflash: Jett had already made several million dollars in bonus money last year already. The cooler story was Colt Nichols patching together enough Pro Motocross rounds on a Kawasaki 450 to match up to the 450SX points (that he scored as a member of Honda HRC) and sneak into the playoffs. Then he crushed it at those three races, finished ninth, and netted nearly 100K for his efforts.
Colt provided the road map and there are tons of guys on that factory/privateer team bubble that want to follow it this year. This is why Justin Hill raced the first three Pro Motocross rounds for the usually supercross-only Monster Energy Team Tedder and picked up 35 key points in the process. This is why Phil Nicoletti twisted his knee at Hangtown but showed up at High Point to ride those ruts in pain. This is why Garrett Marchbanks will return at Southwick and aim for an average of ninth place in every 450 Pro Motocross moto from here, because he thinks that’s what he will need to get in. Will Benny Bloss get healed up enough from supercross injuries to get some Pro Motocross points? What about Nichols himself? Will he race some motocross on the Liqui Moly Beta? Also, check out Freddie Noren. Always a strong 450 motocross rider, he’s moved from outside the top 20 in supercross to now 14th in the combined SMX standings, with probably more gains to come. Freddie’s skill set is getting rewarded in ways it would not have in the past.
Grant Harlan, who struggled in supercross coming back from injury, is now stacking the points in Pro Motocross and is ranked 20th.
These guys are here for the money, full stop, no further message.
250 Bubble Riders: The 250 class is little more complicated. Ty Masterpool, who raced 450 in supercross, has already rocketed his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki KX250 into 19th in combined points. Joey Savatgy would like to use Pro Motocross to do the same, but he still sits 27th overall. He should still make it, though, as he’s currently about 30 points out of the top 20, which is one good motocross weekend for him. But, hard to say if other 250 guys could jump back in and try to steal points if they realize they’re close. And what if Seth Hammaker (22nd) and Cameron McAdoo (17th) return from injury? Could Casey Cochran (29th) score enough points to make it to the top 20? Even RJ Hampshire isn’t as safe as say, Webb was in the 450 class. Webb raced 17 450SX races to really solidify his standing. RJ only raced half the season with 250 West, and riders stacking 22 solid motos could push him dangerously far back if he doesn’t return soon. Currently, RJ is 10th overall. Note, Hampshire getting at least one win in supercross (he earned three total en route to his title) will gaurentee him in the LCQ spot for all three rounds, but he would like to avoid that and get into the top 20.
With 14 Pro Motocross motos remaining, a lot can and will happen in the SMX standings, and that’s by design. Enjoy the series within a series for the next two months, and we’ll see who is lining up at zMAX Dragway on September 7.
