There is a lot to talk about from the Carson SMX Playoff 2 inside Dignity Health Sports Park, but one story is stealing headlines in the days following the race. Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan crashed out of second place late in moto two. He remounted just as his teammate Cooper Webb got by and in an attempt to pass his teammate back right away, Deegan made a move on Webb that put Webb on the ground. It was aggressive for sure, but afterward Deegan was somewhat apologetic saying, “Unfortunately, I panicked and rode Coop a little dirty, which I don’t want to do that to a teammate, but I wanted every position I could get because its three rounds you gotta do what you gotta do. No hard feelings there, sorry about that.”

Webb was not impressed with the move and in an interview with JT after the race said, “I think the lack of respect with the kid is the common problem, he has no respect for anybody else. I got one more race with this team, and I will make hell sure he don’t win this thing; that’s for sure.”

By now you have seen the viral video of things getting heated back at the Star rig. Coop walks in the truck, and the audio clearly shows that there was some sort of altercation between the two of them inside the truck. We may never know the full truth but while Deegan’s pass was certainly aggressive, it was far from egregious.  Webb’s reaction seems as though the take down was just his breaking point from frustrations behind the scenes.

Rumors of Webb getting fired are unwarranted and you should expect to see him back as Haiden’s Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing teammate one more time. He even posted a photo of the two of them in the gym on X Tuesday saying, “Back to business… Fake media take your L.” Does that mean this is all water under the bridge, or will Coop stick to his post-race word?

Red Bull KTM’s Jorge Prado was the victor in Las Angeles via 2-2 moto finishes and now holds a 16-point advantage heading into the SMX World Championship Final. Despite not winning a moto, Prado’s performance was the best version of him we have seen stateside thus far.

Jorge rode with an aggression and confidence that we had yet to see in America. In moto one, he made a late-race charge to nearly get Ken Roczen for the win. In moto two, he made a quick move on Hunter Lawrence to get into the lead, but a mistake in a rhythm lane allowed Lawrence back by. A few laps later, Prado fell in the sand dropping back to fourth. Over Prado’s career, those mistakes would have led to an unenthusiastic finish to the race—Jorge himself admitted that post-race—but this time he showed a new level of grit and determination to work his way back to second.

Prado admitted having the red plate enabled him to unlock a different level in Los Angeles.

“I have been in this position before, so I feel like I am capable of dealing with the pressure," Prado explained. "For some reason every time I get the red plate, it doesn’t matter if it is here in the States like right now, or back in Europe, I just feel better. I feel more confident and my riding just gets better for some reason. So, it looks like the red plate suits me a lot.”

A third or better at Thunder Ridge Nature Arena would guarantee Prado the SMX title and honor of being the first 450SMX World Champion not named Jett Lawrence. With the momentum in his corner and confidence skyrocketing, it will be hard to bet against Prado to bring this thing home and what a story it would be.

Watch Prado's great post-race interview with Justin Brayton and Adam Cianciarulo on the SMX Insider Show after the race.

After a bike malfunction in Columbus took away an easy victory away from Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cole Davies, things went from bad to worse in LA.

Davies got an uncharacteristically poor start in moto one and was only able to make his way up to fourth. In moto two, he got into second early before having a massive crash on lap three.  Davies crawled off the track and was slow to get up but eventually limped back to the bike and rode back to the truck.

Fortunately, it sounds like Cole avoided any major injury and will be back in Ridgedale. In the post-race PR from Yamaha he said, “It’s definitely not how we wanted it to go, but there’s still one round left. We’ll come back stronger for the last one and give it our all.”

Davies now sits a whopping 34 points off the series lead and even with the triple points, is pretty much out of the championship picture. He had an opportunity to become the first rider to sweep all three titles (SX, MX, SMX) but will have to give it another go in 2027.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Ryder DiFrancesco continues to up his game week in and week out and LA may have been his most impressive performance yet. Ryder lurked behind Julien Beaumer for the entirety of moto one finishing runner-up to his future Red Bull KTM teammate.

In moto two, DiFrancesco got another good start and was running third behind Cole Davies until Cole went down, leaving Ryder nowhere to go but into the back of the downed #37 Yamaha.  The tangle dropped him back to 11th and he was then trying to dig his way back into overall podium contention. As Ryder made his way through the field his event points began to close on Levi Kitchen and Jo Shimoda ahead of him, and so did the points gap to Levi. Once he got around Cameron McAdoo for sixth, DiFrancesco was able to figure out what was at stake.

“I just got McAdoo and I hit one of the big doubles and actually looked up at the big screen and saw that I was like 11 or something back of Levi, and I knew that [Landen] Gordon was coming towards me,” he explained after the race. “I knew I had to make one more pass at least.”

Ryder D was able to take advantage of a fading Gordon and move into fifth. That pass moved him from fourth overall on the night to second, and his points deficit to Kitchen shrunk from 11 to just three, allowing him to control his own destiny next weekend in Ridgedale.

Red Bull KTM’s Julien Beaumer was focused on nothing less than the championship coming into SMX, but an abysmal 18th in the Columbus mud threw a massive curveball into those plans. He was right at home on the SoCal blue groove in LA and rebounded with his first career SMX win overall, just over a year removed from his career-threatening injury in Charlotte.

Beaumer holeshot both motos and led moto one wire to wire. In moto two, it looked like he was going to repeat his earlier performance, but Kitchen was able to close the gap and get by for the lead. From there, Juju played the smart game. Shimoda got by for second, but he knew he had the overall locked up and did not want to take any unnecessary risks as the track began to break down and slicken up.

The win puts Juju 16-points back of Kitchen for the SMX title fight. Beaumer will need some help, but with the triple points, he has a realistic chance to walk out of Thunder Ridge Nature Arena as the 250SMX World Champion. All he can do is win and hope things fall in his favor.

After carrying the red plate for a large portion of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship but ultimately losing the championship, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Levi Kitchen can right the wrong next weekend to claim his first SMX World Championship.

Kitchen had a disappointing moto one, crashing while running fifth and only managing to get back to seventh. Then, he managed to get a flat front tire on the sight lap, and the team had to do an emergency wheel swap. Kitchen didn’t get himself sorted on the gate until the 30-second board was about to go sideways, but he managed to get a top five start and caught fire from there. Kitchen got into the lead and checked out on the field.

After the race Levi was asked what the difference was between moto one and moto two.

“Mitch sat me down, got some advice from other people, just on how I was riding,” he explained. “I was riding like an idiot in the first one. And I ate a lot of food. I just didn’t feel good the first one. I just had zero intensity, kind of all day I felt a little flat all day.”

His third overall puts him just three points up on Ryder DiFrancesco. Ridgedale will provide another opportunity for Kitchen to prove he can perform in the clutch, something he has failed to do a couple times in his career.

Monster Energy Team Green Kawasaki’s Kade Johnson won his second career SMX Next main event last weekend in Columbus. The first came in the Foxborough mudder in 2025. Despite the win and points lead coming into LA, Johnson was determined to prove that he is not just a mud guy and can win in any condition.

Kade started second behind ClubMX’s Ryder Malinowski and shadowed him the entire race. He made a couple runs at Ryder but was unable to make a pass. His second-place finish was more than enough to lock up his first SMX Next title as he looks to find a home with a pro team.

Johnson was bummed not to win the race, but happy to take home the title and to prove he has what it takes to be competitive at a professional level.

“I spent the summer in Canada, was finally finding my mojo, finally finding my groove, and I had an unfortunate bike problem to end up in a crash and then my neck was hurt,” Johnson explained. “It was rough in the middle of the season when everyone just thought I was slow and I was really recovering from injury. But to prove what I have is great, I am excited to go pro.”

As of now Kade hasn’t been linked to any pro teams for 2027 but hopefully, he lands a nice home. He’s a great kid, who was roughing it out until he was presented the opportunity to ride for Team Green before Mini O’s last November. He immediately brought them a Mini O’s title, and now he wraps the season up by bringing home the SMX title. Will he land a pro deal by the time 2027 and the Anaheim 1 SX rolls around in a few months?

Honda HRC Progressive’s Hunter Lawrence was undefeated in the second round of the SMX Playoffs until this past weekend. Even though the streak was broken, Hunter was still great in LA and finished up second overall.

Hunter got off to a rare, bad start in moto one. He worked his way up to fourth, but by that point the top three were checked out and he was forced to settle for that position. He was back to his holeshotting ways in moto two but was quickly overtaken by Jorge Prado. A mistake by Prado allowed Lawrence right back by.  From there, Lawrence was able to get away and check out on the field while chaos ensued behind him.

After the race Hunter talked about the emotions of being fresh of the Pro Motocross Championship and having to reset for a new series.

“The championship drain, I think, is a real thing,” Lawrence said. “I’d say motivation… yeah, it is not very high, I’ll be real. I’m just showing up and doing my job, but still during the week doing whatever I can to make sure I am as close to 100 percent as possible, and ready to rock and roll.”

Hunter is not the only one feeling the effects of the long season, as it has been rumored the entire Honda HRC Progressive team is frustrated with the SMX Playoffs as a whole. Despite all that, Hunter does have an outside chance of bringing home the title that he has been oh so close to winning in the past.

It took four moto’s for Progressive Insurance Cycle Gear Suzuki Team’s Ken Roczen to feel the effects of taking the summer off. After his steady 2-2 performance in the mud last weekend, he withheld the pressure from Jorge Prado to take the moto one win in LA. It looked like Kenny was about to put himself in the driver’s seat for this title.

But the reigning 450 Supercross Champion struggled in moto two, lacking the intensity that he is known for and finished up fourth. His 1-4 finishes gave him third overall and he sits 18 points behind Prado.

Kenny talked about his struggles in race two saying, “It is tough to expect to come out and dominate two motos when you haven’t done that all summer, you know? No matter what, I am happy with my effort, and I think I did well, but in the second moto it got to me a little bit. I think that will improve rather quickly.”

Kenny is in the same boat as Webb, Lawrence, and Deegan coming into Ridgedale. Win and have Prado finish fourth or worse and you are the SMX World Champion.

To say Honda HRC Progressive’s Jo Shimoda’s season has been a rollercoaster would be a massive undertaking. Starting with a scary neck injury in December, Shimoda was able to return for the 250SX East Divison opener and nearly win the main event. It was an up and down SX season that ultimately ended early due to an ankle injury suffered in St. Louis. He returned once again for the Pro Motocross season opener at Pala, won Thunder Valley, then got the red plate at RedBud, just to break his collarbone at Southwick the following weekend in his first race with the red plate and points lead.

Shimoda returned once again last weekend and struggled mightily in the mud. But LA may have been a breakthrough of sorts the defending 250SMX SMX World Champion. Shimoda charged from 15th to sixth in moto one, and 11th to second in moto two. It was a nice reminder of just how special Jo can be when he is on. While the title defense is unlikely, a win at Thunder Ridge Nature Arena would be a massive boost of confidence heading into the off-season.