The SMX Playoff opener in Columbus created quite a bit of controversary. The dry version of the track on Friday left much to be desired and was missing one of the only features that made it unique on the track map. Steve Matthes reported on the Fly Racing Racer X Review Podcast, that the forecasted rain played a role in that decision, which is unfortunate, but understandably done in the best interest of rider safety.

The forecast predicted heavy rain and storms around 9 a.m., the scheduled time of the first qualifying sessions, and that’s exactly what we got. The day was delayed before it even started due to lightning, and eventually qualifying was cancelled completely. The track was underwater, and the SMX Track Crew (Dirt Wurx) team did an amazing job to get the track as raceable as it was. But at the end of the day, watching the best riders in the world roll the jumps and struggle to circulate the track does not make for the most exciting racing.

You have to feel for the SMX League (Feld Entertainment and MX Sports) guys. They have taken a lot of heat this week, but they cannot control the weather, and landing the premier, unique locations they envision for the SMX Playoffs has been more difficult than expected.

Sure, Columbus may not have been an overwhelming success, but on the positive, the racing ended up created some unexpected results, and the points are set up for an exciting championship battle as we head into the double points round in Las Angeles next weekend.

Four-time FIM Motocross World Champion Jorge Prado is no stranger to leading championships, but for the first time in his American tenure, Prado will sport the red plate on his Red Bull KTM in LA next weekend. Prado quietly finished the regular season standings in second, and his 3-4 moto finishes in Columbus put him third overall in his first SMX Playoffs event and atop the 450SMX playoff standings.

Jorge struggled big time in the mud rounds of Monster Energy AMA Supercross earlier this season, finishing 15th in the Cleveland Triple Crown and 16th the following weekend in Philadelphia. Prado was aware of that coming into the day and was stoked to land on the podium. He commented on overcoming the brutal conditions saying, “The improvement of getting lapped twice in a mud supercross this year to finishing on the podium, it is amazing. I am happy with the improvement and looking forward to the next rounds.”

Prado has been rolling since Unadilla, and it will be interesting to see where he stands in “normal” SMX conditions next weekend.

It was a matter of when not if Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan would capture his first 450 victory and came in Columbus. In his very first 450SMX playoff race, Deegan led all but one lap, and while Ken Roczen did pressure him at times, Haiden finished each moto with a 17-second lead. Sure, it was muddy, but he also turned the fastest laps of Friday’s practice sessions in the dry, so it was an all-around stellar weekend for the 450 rookie.

After the race, Deegan commented on any naysayers that credit the win to the conditions saying, “If haters are saying that, then I should have been a guy in tenth place because I have the least experience out of those guys, so they have it a little backwards. For some reason, I am a Cali kid who can ride mud.”

It will be interesting to see how Deegan backs this up in LA next weekend. Throughout his 250 career, he proved that a boost in confidence could elevate him to the next level, so let’s see if this performance translates into the next two races.

Columbus saw the return of the newly crowned 450SX Monster Energy AMA Supercross Champion Ken Roczen. For the first time in his Progressive Insurance Cycle Gear Suzuki Team tenure, Roczen took the entire summer off, opting not to hop in for any one-off Pro Motocross appearances, but that did not seem to hinder his performance at all.

In true Ken Roczen fashion, he came out firing and finished the weekend second overall, vaulting himself from ninth to fourth in the championship standings. Roczen was the only rider to challenge Deegan all day, putting pressure on the rookie early in moto two. He eventually tipped over and lost the tow of Deegs but still finished with a comfortable gap over the rest of the field.

Shortly after clinching the supercross title, Kenny threw us a curveball, admitting that he was uncertain if he would return to defend the title in 2027. He came on the PulpMX Show Monday night and claims he is still unsure and just focused on getting through SMX.

“I am kind of just hoping that all this racing gets me back into feeling like I am in my element, ‘Let’s just keep going’ type thing”, Roczen explained. “I am taking a lot of things into consideration. I have never really had the #1 and actually represented it, right? And especially being on a Suzuki, and me, it sounds cool. I think the fans would love it, and Larry [Brooks] hasn’t been there all year, and he should be back for the whole thing next year.”

It seems more likely than not that Roczen will be back to defend his, but losing both Ken and Eli Tomac to retirement in the same year would be a massive loss to the sport.

Speaking of retirement, Red Bull KTM’s Eli Tomac made his first appearance since announcing that he would be retiring from racing at the conclusion of SMX. Good on Feld for bringing Eli out last in opening ceremonies. They also brought a young boy named Eli, who went viral from a video of him crying after finding out about his hero’s retirement. They sent young Eli out on to greet Tomac on the podium. It was a cool moment and unique way to show appreciation for one of the best to ever do it before he says farewell.

In the pre-race press conference, Tomac talked about his mindset coming into SMX knowing that the end is near. “This is like, hey you got three races to just leave it all out there. Give it what you got. So, that is my plan.”

Unfortunately, things did not exactly go to plan for Tomac in Columbus, as he struggled mightily in the muddy conditions. He started in the back both motos and could only muster up 15-13 moto finishes on the day. For sure we will see a better version of Eli in drier conditions over the next couple weeks.

The most shockingly poor result of weekend had to be Honda HRC Progressive’s Hunter Lawrence’s 15th overall. The newly crowned 450 Pro Motocross Champion had a disastrous weekend to say the least. Several crashes in race one led to a straight up 21st place finish in moto one—and two laps down. Moto two looked like it was going to end up similarly after a bad start and stall in the early laps left him outside the top 15. However, Hunter was able to regroup and string together some solid laps in the second half of the moto to climb all the way up to eighth.

Over the weekend, Hunter explained that his crash at Unadilla did not aggravate the wrist he banged up back in Detroit but instead injured his good wrist. So, after Ironman he took the week off, got the wrist checked and was only able to do some light riding ahead of Columbus.

Hunter did not blame the wrist injuries for his poor performance in the mud, but it certainly makes you question how much they will affect him over the next two weeks. He has never been great at the SMX opener but always bounces back at round two—in fact, he is 3-0 in the SMX Playoff 2 rounds! LA will be big for Hunter if he wants to grab the SMX title that has narrowly alluded him the last couple seasons.

The records books will show a tenth overall in Columbus for Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cole Davies, but that does not tell the real story. Davies was dominating moto one until disaster struck with a few laps to go. Cole’s rear brake got jammed with a rock and it was starting to lock up. He tried to just power through it, but in doing so overheated the bike causing him to DNF.

In moto two, Davies pulled the holeshot from the very outside and checked out on the field. He had the fastest lap of the race by over five seconds. That lap was over ten seconds faster than Levi Kitchen’s best, who finished second in the moto.

Despite being the clear best guy on the day, the damage was done and now Cole, who came into the playoffs with the three-point lead as the top seed, must dig himself out of a ten-point deficit. With the double and triple point rounds coming up, the deficit is not too much of a concern, but he cannot afford another mishap like this.

After a disappointing end to the 250 Pro Motocross Championship, Levi Kitchen took home the overall win in Ohio and takes the red plate to Los Angeles next weekend. It was not flashy, but Levi rode steady laps and stayed out of trouble. His late race pass on Daxton Bennick in moto two sealed the deal for the overall win and a nice bounce back performance after a disastrous Ironman.

There were whispers about Kitchen suffering an injury in his crash at Ironman, which he was able to clear up over the weekend. Levi says he injured his thumb around Millville, nothing too serious that will require any surgery, but something that he had to manage.  He aggravated it in that Ironman crash so the team decided it was best for him to sit the second moto out to prevent further damage that could linger into SMX and MXoN.

After the race Levi talked about his recovery from Ironman and the mental reset coming into the SMX Playoffs.

“I hadn’t been able to ride and stuff so, yeah, just tried to keep my head up and just come here and have fun,” he said. “That is what everyone around me was telling me, just go have some fun, so did that and it worked out.”

The surprise of the weekend had to be Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Daxton Bennick. Bennick has been notoriously hot and cold all season, but he found his hottest form yet in the Columbus mud taking his first professional victory in moto one. He backed that up with another good start in moto two and was in control of the overall until Kitchen made the pass on him with just over a lap to go.

Despite being oh so close the overall win Dax did not let that bring the vibes down on a great day.

“It’s awesome to get my first win. It’s cool. I’m proud of myself and honestly, I am happy with my second moto too; to back it up, it was a good ride. Levi was riding very well to pass me,” Bennick explained after the race. “I just have to focus on the positives, and take that, and we are in a good spot, so I am really happy with today.”

Bennick said Friday in the press conference that he switched to SMX hybrid testing before the end of Pro Motocross. So far, it has paid off.

Bennick’s teammate Ryder DiFrancisco joined him on the podium in a banner day for the Rockstar Husky guys as their time together is winding down.

Per usual, the first round of the SMX playoffs marks the return to racing for several riders. Some are returning from injury, some on a SX-only deal, and some debuting for a new team.

Columbus marked the return to American racing for Twisted Tea Suzuki Presented by Progressive Insurance’s Jason Anderson. Anderson exited the supercross championship after Arlington to focus on his health and his family. He returned to racing at the FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX) opener in Canada in August but had a rough go of it.

This weekend started off much better when Anderson came from way back to finish fifth in the first moto. Unfortunately, things went south in moto two when Malcolm Stewart clipped him on the landing of the finish line jump and the two went down. Despite the friendly gesture my Malcolm to pick Jason up out of the mud and get him on his feet, it sounds like Anderson may have suffered a hand injury although no official announcement has been made.

Shane McElrath returned to racing after taking the summer off and adjusting to his new Liqui Moly Beta Racing Team machine. Shane has become quite a mudder over the past few years and he did not disappoint. McElrath finished seventh overall in his Beta debut, one of the best results in the manufacturer’s short American history.

Quad Lock Honda’s Joey Savatgy return was kept super low key, but he landed in the top five overall and nearly podiumed a moto. In the 250SMX Class, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Cameron McAdoo and ClubMX Yamaha’s Maximus Vohland also finished in the top five after missing extended periods of time with injury.