Season 4 – Episode 10 – The Season So Far

0:00Your turn I'll be playing against like a no-go me I'm gonna begin on How the larynx goes to the bright The championship leader Another win For Hey Vegan And the nerves began to claw And now the race is ready Get down The world's title in the mallet Let's go racing Yeah, a special edition of SMX Insider here As always, we're the Jason's at Thomas This is why again, we just wrapped up the Indianapolis round of Monster Energy SMX, we're wearing our shirts from various duties announcing But there's a weekend off And we're gonna take a chance to reflect on what has been a dramatic And exciting first half of the year Usually the excitement starts and begins to wane We pretty much made it to the halfway point With a lot of things still in doubt Yeah, I think parody for me has been the story And we're starting to get a little bit of separation

1:02But really up until now, you never know who's gonna win There's a range of riders, a range of Williams that can win But I really like how this is setting up for the back half Because we're starting to develop a two-man storyline now Yeah, and we've seen that multiple years Usually two riders start to pull away And then it takes on a whole new dynamic when every inch counts And in the indie race we just saw And Daytona last week, a perfect example of that Trading blows between Hunter Lawrence and Eli Tomac Yeah, I don't think this would have been in my top five of scenarios Of two guys that it was gonna come down to I was late to the Hunter Lawrence hype in this story I knew it'd be good, you know he's been so consistent But for him to kind of take charge now And hold the red plate for this long I didn't have that for 2026 So maybe we're in for more of that Maybe those guys come back Ken Roxon said he's not done, he told me tonight 28 points down, I don't care, I'm gonna go win some races So as soon as we think we have things figured out We're usually proven wrong But it felt like we got more separation than ever tonight Yup, they're just trading wins back and forth

2:03And we'll see if that continues with the week and off Cooper Web said I'm gonna use that week and off to get better As for the 250 class, I feel like the West has been what we expected It's been a domination run from Hayden-Degan But the East, there's three winners and three rounds Yeah, we knew what we were gonna get in West It took a minute to get there But this East Coast class is everything you could ever want from racing Colt Davis finally showed up But those other guys are working And I was standing up here on the podium with Seth Hammack And he's looking at the points and he said an expletive But it was mostly just because he was like This is going to be gnarly Like this is going to be a knockdown dragout fight all the way to Salt Lake City And you can just tell in the tone of it He knew it and he's ready for it But what an East Division we have And a showdown looms with both divisions together at the next race At Birmingham It's been spectacular But don't just take our word for it at Daytona We caught up with some past champions in this sport For their take on what has been a great first half of 26 For me personally, it's been great We've got such parity that top riders

3:04You have multiple winners The points are very, very close I know some people say If Gett was here it'd be maybe a little bit different Well, I understand that, but injuries are part of the sport And because of that we've had just fantastic racing And every week I enjoy watching it Probably what like stands out the most to me is the level of the competition Sure we've dwindled a few guys down already from injuries Obviously me like still got it in him Kube, Kenny, like it's just amazing Those guys can like still bring it If you look back at my days we weren't racing That we're already packing it up Thinking what we're going to do out the retirement So I love seeing the past champions And the guys still holding up Holding that flame to keep going And it pushes the younger guys like Gett And even Hunter, Hunter's kind of in the middle there So yeah, it's always impressive to see Like what the guys can bring year in and year out I mean it's been great, right?

4:04You know, all those guys have been battling I think it starts in qualifying I've been pretty important for these guys The 450 side has just been electric, right? You know, like last weekend I mean the crowd was really in it And there was basically three, four guys The whole time battling We've had a couple different red plate holders right now So I think for me is a guy that used to Put the boots on and then now has them up on the shelf And being here weekend week out It's really fun to be a fan in the stands right now The 450 side is really good, a lot of different winners And the class is stacked The race is being tied as we can see in the 450 Hopefully that stays back that the full year And we have a good year of racing Yeah, the season's been awesome Lots of good competition Some different winners, both classes And I think the most deep the field's been in a long time And even as a fan, it's really cool to see It's been pretty exciting to watch I definitely think as a fan from our side Eli's been riding really good Obviously got that first win at A1 right off the bat And been super consistent

5:05It's been challenging Hunter Lawrence Been riding really good, got his first win last week and two So there's just a lot of guys up there Kenny It wasn't like it wasn't my day I mean there's five, six, seven guys going for one on any given night So it's challenging for him But overall, Eli's doing a good job Well, my thoughts are we've had some great racing I mean as a fan we've had some great battles What we've seen is sort of the guys that can last the distance in the motos And the main events are kind of rising up the top Well, I'm hoping for more of the same Because we don't know who's going to win each week And I would love to, you know, for me as an ex-writer I'd love to see the injuries stay out of it And let the writers stay as healthy as possible So we can have all the best racers at the front of the pack I think for me it's like, I just look forward to seeing the battles Go down, right? Like you got KTM in it You got Cooper Webb up there You got Kenny fighting for it So you got a mix of some of the older guys Still hammering it out and doing well And then you got the next crop coming in Like Hunter's a little bit younger and stuff like that So I just think it's for me

6:06It's just, it's going to be fun to see who prevails And these conditions All right, we're going to explore what we've seen so far this year A little more in depth As you said, 250 West Division has pretty much been as advertised Hayden Deegan taking that step And kind of teasing everyone Showing himself on a 450 Was he going to race Daytona? Will he jump on one later in the year? Probably not until Promoto Cross But he's taking that step in Supercross for sure He has, but I was a little nervous Yeah After the first one, he doesn't even land on the podium And I'm like, is he ready? Has he taken the step that he said he was going to do? We all thought he was going to do Not getting on the podium in the first round is a sketchy sign for that And then he just absolutely eradicated all of that He rips off five wins in a row He shows us everything we wanted to see Starts, whoops, dominance on every level He's ready for the 450 class So that 250 West, I think the entire story has been Hayden Deegan Yeah, no doubt And the mind starts to wonder about Deegan on a 450 in Promoto Cross

7:08And then who would try to take his place as the 250 motocross champion as well Could be someone from the West Or this East Division, there are some heavy hitters We didn't even expect Joe Shimoda to be racing He's right in the title fight And he's not even one of the three riders that have won yet Well, you know, coming off the back of that Hayden Deegan conversation We're going to get to see those guys go head to head in Birmingham Yeah That is going to be phenomenal Nobody can really match Pace with Hayden He's proven that These guys, I'm not so sure People, ladies, is scared of Hayden Deegan I don't think so I think they all are ready to go head to head They watch what Hayden did Those guys don't seem intimidated at all It is a beautiful setup for that 250 showdown in Birmingham Yeah, that's two points between I think four riders right now But as our man Ricky Carmichael said in the post-race show from Indy I don't think the points are going to be that close after the showdown Because those West and East riders are going to steal points from each other Now let's switch to the 450 division I wanted to see though, could we get to the gnarly conditions and Seattle with it still close Check that box, a couple of triple crowns, check that box, Daytona, check that box

8:10They're still in it Cooper Webb, Ken Roxon, they're still here They're still healthy, they're still capable, the math isn't good But it's better than other years where they're not even there Yeah, I mean, it's been really tight, right? And you see these resurgence We talked before the season, would Cooper Webb be able to fight that We call it like a sophomore slump It's always in the back of the championship, that hangover He's been great, but it's just that extra one percent He doesn't seem to have the speed He was able to overcome that in Houston, found a way to win But I believe over time, if you don't have the speed, it's going to show up You can only mask it for so long And I think that's why you see Cooper Webb go 20 plus points down Roxon's had his inconsistencies like he did again tonight And that's costing, but man those two guys at the front They are here for it And now, weekend and week out, they are proving that they are the best too I was waiting for them to show, and we got it raised through it in the Yeah, they were clearly the best too Let's get to the highlights from this first half

9:10The 20-26 monster energy Essex World Championship Drop the guy, here we go This is everyone, let's get it going Carnage red flag Fightin hard for that track position Here comes Kenny Oh, down goes Chasexton 250 West, here at A1 He's being back off, no Hitches down in the first corner And the wins A1 by more than seven seconds 450 mines, the king is in the building He likes homework wins A1 What a cool night The stars of this show brought this motto house alive Here in San Diego, let's do it He's looking over And his front wheel gets taken out from under him And here he is San Jemboi He made it in, wins A2 Crab was expressive, it's a displeasure It's 450 main time

10:10Oh, 6th and gut stuck at the gate Lawrence is as close as he's being It's less than a second, this could be a colossal final laugh Lawrence has got tarmac Has he gone to the inside for the move? Not quite there And another sell-out crowd greets the athletes inside Angel Stadium, 250 made. Big first turn craft. High misses and he's banged up. Danger boy. Winx again. It's SMX next. Big pile up. Hitman here. It is first appearance in SMX next. Grab the win. Underwater straight back out. Come back. It's sectioned. First win. Hunter Lauren second again. Look at that. Triple crowd. Let's go. And another finger guns and another win. Hayden Deegan wins. Sweet triple crowd racing in Houston. It was nice to hear some cheers out of the hair. It feels good. Get down. Trooper win has to get going. Here comes Hunter Lauren.

11:10No! Tomac has gone down. Race three. Tomac with a whole shot. This crowd is going absolutely wild. This is unbelievable racing. Lauren second is not enough. We're wet. Last one. In Houston. And this feels good. Rouse five. Inside state farm stadium. Two 50s. Come climb down. No one can stop. Hayden Deegan. Another win. Four in a row. For a 50 main. Tomac is down. It was banged up. Roxanne challenging and taking the lead before it. Ted Roxanne wins. Rouse five. Two 50 main event in Seattle. Watch it. Get you back underneath. Takes the lead again. Unquiet. I'm going to die. Look out there. You can see the move. Oh! Unbelievable. He can have the lead again. Time running out. Hayden taking wins. The battle. Up Seattle. Roxanne fights back. Oh! Hunter. And they both go down. Eli Tomac takes Seattle. Rouse seven. Harley ten. Two 50s. Oh!

12:10Davies goes down. Welcome back. Here's Brown. Game style. Hunter. I'll top it. Only ten. Two 50s. Seven. Amiga wins. Daytona. Eli Tomac. The magic is Daytona continues. Somehow I'm one eight of these. Triple crown knife. Cold Davies. Here comes Kenny. Cold Davies. Two for two. Finally. Justin Cooper. Third and final race. Two 50s. Triple crown winner. Cold Davies. Final four 50 race. Well, it's not about Jen now. This is Hunter Lawrence's time. He gets the overall. And we'll keep them real tight. Well, it's been great so far. And there'll be another chapter in 2026 Monster Energy, AMA Super Cross. And that's Birmingham. You can check it out. The normal times that's race day live qualifying coverage starts at one o'clock Eastern time. And the racing starts at seven o'clock Eastern.

13:11Look, the margins are so thin. Really, between Lawrence and Tomac, even just the last two weeks, for example, I still don't think anyone knows for sure what's going to happen before the race begins. No, no. This Indianapolis round is one of U.S. Worsh rounds. He said it. I never was happy to get out of here with solid points. He knows this is a tough one. He's definitely not throwing in the towel. I think we're taking this thing all the way to Salt Lake City in the 450 class. And I can't wait for that. Oh, yeah. And the 250 showed out at Birmingham. You better be there. If not, watch it. I don't have to buy a ticket. They let me in. I get to talk. I may buy a ticket anyway. I'm that excited. I might buy a ticket just because I can not express enough how excited I am for that showdown. I didn't mention Levi Kitchin. That's my bad. Think about Levi Kitchin. He's got momentum. Because he finally showed up at that Seattle round. He's going to be in the fight, too. Yeah, no doubt about it. Deegan versus the world. That's the way Deegan likes it. And that's what's coming up at Birmingham. Thanks for watching. Special edition of SMX Insider. Enjoy the off weekend from racing everybody. And we'll see you in Birmingham. Yeah!

14:38Thanks for watching.