Welcome to Racerhead, coming from the West Coast. Everyone is in Carson, California, for the second playoff round of the 2026 Monster Energy SuperMotocross World Championship. We're at a place now called Dignity Health Sports Park, but formerly Home Depot Stadium. We will no doubt have a much better weekend of weather than we did with last Saturday's mudder in Columbus, Ohio, where rain almost washed everything out. Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's Haiden Deegan took the win over '26 Monster Energy AMA Supercross 450SX Champion Ken Roczen, who looked great on Friday when it was dry—he had not raced since he clinched the SX title at Salt Lake City back in May. Deegs also became the first non-Honda rider to win a round of SMX Playoffs in the 450 class. And in the 250 division, Deegan's teammate Cole Davies looked like he had the win in the bag in the first moto, only to have his rear brake lock up. The win went to Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Levi Kitchen instead.

How race day started...

Of course, even more surreal was the team managers' "Textgate" that started out with some team bosses voicing their frustrations with the mud in Columbus, to a, that-escalated-quickly, situation. A couple of the more vocal were suspended by the SMX League, but then by Monday cooler heads began to prevail. The suspensions were not upheld, though some of their standard team manager privileges were revoked for a few races.

That would have been the unfortunate conversation of the week, had some proposed future content restrictions not been announced on Wednesday. This happens in pretty much every other mainstream sport, from the NFL to NASCAR to Major League Baseball to the WNBA, and more... The worry for many here—including myself and everyone at Racer X—is that the proposed policies might drastically change what and how much race footage we're allowed to use, after years of pretty much free rein. I get that. But I have always been on the side of the endemic moto media and was a freelance journalist/photographer myself until Racer X Magazine evolved; I've always tried to be as generous as possible in both requesting and approving photo bibs and credentials for aspiring  photographers, as any SX/MX media manager from over the last 30 years surely knows. As a result of the ensuing confusion, a lot of media and content providers are voicing their concerns, and it's pretty much become this week's big story. And this sucks, because we'd all rather be talking about the racing, not the filming. There are still a lot of conversations to come concerning the proposed new guidelines, how they will work for the riders and race teams, as well as the existing media, and I'm again hoping those cooler heads will prevail. Stay tuned.

Now, we are onto round two of the SMX Playoffs—which is double points. And speaking of round two, check out this interesting stat by our man Mitch Kendra: Hunter Lawrence has won all three SMX Playoff Round 2 races he has competed in so far:

• SuperMotocross

  • Pre-Race Press Conference 

    Live

    September 18 - 2:30 PM

    

  • Race Day Live (Qualifying) 

    Live

    September 19 - 1:00 PM

    

  • Race Day Live (Qualifying) 

    Live

    September 19 - 1:00 PM

    

  • Pre-Race Show (2 Hours Live) 

    Live

    September 19 - 5:00 PM

    

  • September 19 - 7:00 PM

    

  • September 19 - 7:00 PM

    

  • September 19 - 10:00 PM

    

Round two of the playoffs is bound to be better than the first. That's a safe bet, right? The interesting thing about that is that I don't know if we can trust really anything we saw in Columbus. Sure, Davies is going to be great, Deegs will be solid, and Prado will get good starts, but on the results sheet, I don't trust any of what I saw. That's what mud does, though. It takes the expected result and throws it out the car window at 90mph. Just because Kitch bounced back and Hunter had his worst 450 race ever, I'm not ready to assume dogs and cats will sleep in harmony tonight. If there's any reason to be excited about round two, it's exactly that. For the first time, we got absolute randomness at the opener. Now, we see if there is any continuation. The race wasn't an all timer. That's fair. But, it did give us unpredictability and an uncertain future going into LA. If for no other reason, I am glad we had an atypical opener because I have absolutely no idea what to expect for round two.

The SMX Playoffs were back in Ohio, and it was good to be back at the races! Not only was this a return to action for some of the pro riders, but it was my first race in a few months as well. After getting banged up on Father’s Day (damnit, dirt bikes!), I eyed a return to action at this round specifically. This race is close to home (under three hours), so no plane rides or anything like that, I've been to Columbus multiple times before, and it’s a cool area. Even though I am not fully healed up yet, I figured I could sneak in one more race this year in the middle of my injury recovery. Plus, I could not pass up the opportunity to watch a legend of the sport, Eli Tomac, at one of his final three races before he hangs it up!

It has been quite the journey to get “back” to the races for the last several months, but I can tell you the day I took my arm out of my sling (only a week after surgery), I practiced typing and tying and typing. While I was away from the races, I was determined to continue cover the sport I love (yes, even after breaking my arm doing said sport). Luckily, Davey and Weege have seen an injury to two and told me to take my time and heal up, so I am doing just that. Like everyone mentions, injuries are the brutal side of the sport.

I will save you the time of my full injury and recovery, but it is odd being the one that is injured instead of covering the athletes that are injured, I can tell you that! Stretches and exercises take up a good chunk of my time throughout the day, but it is worth it. Thinkin’ big picture over here…

Anyway, it was great to be back in action, covering the sport I love, seeing the riders (and Ryders), and my coworkers, fellow media members, Feld Motor Sports and MX Sports colleagues, etc. It was great to get some in person interactions after a couple of months of Zoom meeting after Zoom meeting after Zoom meeting, phone call after phone call after phone call. By now, you know what happened at the race, so I do not have to cover that aspect of the day. I missed those in-person interactions and am thankful for those who checked up on me and took time to catch up. A handful of minutes here with this person or a sit down, 15-minute conversation there with that person, it was great and meant a lot to me. Oh, and my parents and my Uncle Bill made the drive up through the rain, so having them at the race was great too. Driving home together Saturday night after the race was the cherry on top of a long, odd, but damn fun, day. I have learned a lot going to the races, both about the on-track action itself but also about life in general and I will leave you with this: as Layup sang in his popular 2023 song, “Times and places, are all in who you share 'em with.” This time, being at the race was a little extra special.

Okay, now it’s time for some physical therapy: stretching and lifting some weights. Like Justin Cooper, my focus is on being fully healthy for 2027.

Check out our best post-race show with Tom, Weege, Ryder, and Mr. Deegan Glazer Enticknap for our analysis and a few good laughs.

One thing that is really cool about these playoffs—and some may disagree with me and that’s fine—but is that they have the top A and B level amateur racers competing themselves. When you look at the current 250SMX field, look at how many riders have had the chance to race at least one SMX Playoff round before racing the series pro: Cole Davies, Drew Adams, Avery Long, Parker Ross, Kayden Minear, Caden Dudney, Landen Gordon. Some of these guys competed in two separate years, like Davies!

Now, the current SMX Next riders are getting a taste of the SMX Playoffs before they make the full jump to the pro ranks: Ryder Malinoski, Luke Fauser, Landon Gibson, Kade Johnson, Wyatt Thurman, Vincent Wey, Jesson Turner, Max Shane, Brennon Harrison, plus Darren Pine, Tanner Dorman, and more youngsters feeling out their 250F machines in the format for the first time.

Plus, some guys like Kane Bollasina and Carson Wood, who won the ’23 supermini world all-star event and now are competing on a 250F, are competing in the different age/bike levels in the SMX Playoffs, which is really unique.

This experience is huge for these riders. Take Kade Johnson for example: these races are another opportunity to put in results at a legitimate event as he looks to earn a ride for 2027. Having more opportunities to show what he—and the rest of the field—have to offer is big time for these guys. And Johnson, who is a very well-spoken and professional athlete, praised the SMX crew for even making the event possible—something we all should be doing more often, especially on weekends like we just had.

Knowing several members of the current Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250SMX roster have raced the SMX Playoffs as amateurs, I actually asked Wil Hahn, now 450 team manager, about this in the post-race media window.

“SMX Next has been a great growing platform since the start of it,” Hahn said. “I wish there was some more races, and I wish we kept track of the points. I wish it was a legit series because it's the perfect steppingstone into a 10-race 250 series. When we have five, six rounds, they can understand the pressure of the red plate and kind of understand the whole series a bit more instead of a finale [that decides the champion]. That'd be the one thing that we could, I think, tidy up a bit. Being at this race at this level in a day like today, even if you have a bad day, you learn more than you're going to learn in a couple months.” 

The fourth year of the SMX Playoffs is officially underway, and this marked back-to-back years of the weather playing a key role in the first round. For me, I actually had thought the Ironman National was going to be my last race of the year, but thanks to my man Mitch Kendra, I secured credentials as a journalist to shadow Mitch for the day. In order to graduate high school in Pennsylvania, you have to compete a day’s worth of job shadowing during your senior year. My first person to ask was Mitch (actually I originally brought it up all the way back at the Cleveland SX in April).

Unfortunately, by the time I made it to the press box in Columbus, I could see the bad weather coming, and man did it hit! It left the track absolutely hammered, and it honestly felt like I was back to my roots in GNCC. Luckily, the Dirt Wurx crew consists of miracle workers and they were able to salvage that track. The vibes were high in the press box come race time (though maybe not in the pits with some of the team managers…).

The racing was nonetheless entertaining, being able to watch Haiden Deegan go 1-1 on the day for his first win the premier class. Ken Roczen was on one too, with his strong 2-2 finishes. Fun fact: Jorge Prado’s podium marked him being on the podium for every opening round of a championship this year (and that’s three more than he had in his already forgotten Kawasaki era. Woof.) Regular season champion Hunter Lawrence had a day he wants to forget, with his mistakes compounding with each one made. However, at this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if he went 1-1 this weekend!

It was also a good feeling to see Levi Kitchen win the 250SMX overall. I was right by the downhill at Ironman Raceway when Kitchen went for that wild ride and I was close enough to snag some photos of the aftermath and everyone standing nearby could feel how bad the vibes were for The Chef. This was a good rebound for him, not to mention watching Daxton Bennick winning the first 250 moto. Mitch had told me early Saturday morning that Bennick was talking about being excited and prepared for the playoffs, and I said we’ll have to see if he can back the talk up and he did. The mud played a huge factor in all of the outcomes, of course, but at the end of the day, that’s racing. I personally am a fan of a good mudder every now and then, and without a doubt, it made the day interesting.

Both classes are definitely exciting, and the championships are definitely going to get spicier. As for me, I’d love to be out in LA tomorrow, and then the Finals in Missouri, but I have to finish my senior year of High School. As for now, I’ll be back to watching from the couch and writing some fun race recaps for my school’s newspaper, which can be found here:   https://purbalite.net/staff_name/ryder-yeckley/

Thanks again to Mitch Kendra for everything he did for me this past weekend, with providing me with all of the help, knowledge, and guidance he could possibly offer, and everything else he’s done for me since I became a contributor at Racer X last year!

Hard to believe that the 2026 FIM Motocross World Championship for the MX2 division will be won by a British-made Triumph motorcycle. In just four years the revitalized Triumph has reached the top of the 250cc division in MXGP as Spanish rider Guillem Farres and South Africa's Camden McLellan will finish 1-2 in the championship rankings after this weekend's final round in Darwin, Australia. Farres has a 48-point lead on McLellan and is pretty much a shoe-in for the historic title. Then, Farres will join Red Bull KTM rider Jorge Prado and Honda HRC's Ruben Fernandez on a very strong Spanish squad for the upcoming MXoN in France. Farres and McLellan went 1-2 in China last week, though it was McLellan at the top. 

Triumph is not quite having the same success on the AMA circuit, at least not yet. They do have a 250SX win (Jordon Smith at Glendale and Deacon Denno won an SMX round at Daytona and also their Philadelphia championship round), but they are invested in reaching the top here in the states too. But winning a world title so quickly from scratch? That’s impressive.

• MXGP

  • September 18 - 10:30 PM

    

  • September 19 - 12:05 AM

    

  • September 19 - 12:45 AM

    

  • September 19 - 1:50 AM

    

  • September 19 - 2:30 AM

    

  • MXGP Qualifying Race 

    Live

    September 19 - 3:20 AM

    

  • September 19 - 8:05 PM

    

  • September 19 - 10:30 PM

    

  • September 19 - 11:30 PM

    

  • September 20 - 1:30 AM

    

  • September 20 - 2:30 AM

    

  • September 20 - 7:00 AM

    

  • MX2 Race 2

    September 20 - 4:30 PM

    

  • MXGP Race 2

    September 20 - 5:30 PM

    

Jeffrey Herlings has already locked up the 2026 FIM Motocross World Championship in the MXGP division, going into this weekend's grand finale in Australia. He's also on the longest winning streak of his career, having now won 20 races in a row, including Saturday qualifying motos, which count for points in MXGP. The last race #84 lost was the Saturday qualifier in Teuschenthal, Germany, which went to his Honda HRC PETRONAS teammate Ruben Fernandez. The next day Herlings won both motos of the GP, and has since swept six straight rounds, giving him 20. If you don't count the Saturday qualifiers, Herlings has 14 straight moto wins, which is not a career-best streak for the Bullet. 

In 2014, Herlings won 18 motos in a row in the MX2 division. Ironically, and cruelly, Jeffrey was then injured and ended up losing the title to Jordi Tixier. 

Also, Lucas Coenen called it an MXGP season and said he is preparing for MXoN, and then America. Crazy to think he did not score a single point after his return from Southwick, though it stems from his crash in Great Britain in the Saturday qualifier. 

Also, has Fox Racing ever had a better weekend? They swept the 450 podium at the Columbus SMX, Kitchen won the 250 race, Kade Johnson won SMX Next, and Vince Wey finished third. Also, Jeffrey Herlings swept all three races again in MXGP, and Liam Everts finished third in MX2.

Matthes and I had the chance to ride the 2027 CRF450R a few weeks ago in Millville and we both thought Honda's latest offering was quite a bit better than the 2026. The problem with first impressions at a track that is tilled up nice and prepped well is that we can get lost in the sauce, so to speak. New track, new bike, everything feels great, but as a test rider you have to revert to other feelings you have had from the previous year's model to see if the new bike is on the right track. Luckily Honda brought us out the 2026 CRF450R for us to compare at Millville and it indeed was better. So that left us with, what does this new Honda feel like when the track isn't as well prepped or maybe didn't have as much traction? I had the chance to meet up with Honda's Ryan Dudek this week to re-visit the 26 and 27 and ride them back to back to see if our initial thoughts at Millville were correct on hard pack dirt. Check out the findings here: 

Want to know what it's like to ride a factory Beta from a rider that is 5'6”? Wonder know more as Matthes and I head to central Florida to ride the Loretta Lynn’s winning machine of Zach Osborne. For a factory rider Zach knows A LOT about his own bike which is normally not what I find when I do these types of videos. From what Zach prefers in his suspension to what Beta did to his machine to make it faster and more ridable. Check out the full breakdown right here: 

We are very sad to report on the passing of our longtime friend Rob Roy, an excellent photo contributor from Florida. Rob was a super-nice guy who had a great eye for rare action, as well as rural landscapes. He hailed from New York but lived in Florida. He was our go-to guy for a lot of the big races in Florida, and he always enjoyed returning north to shoot the Unadilla National. His wife Jane posted the news on Facebook:

It takes strength to wake up each day knowing the road ahead will be difficult and still choose to love and be there for the people that matter. It takes courage to carry fear without allowing it to define you. It takes an incredible heart to suffer privately so others don’t have to carry that burden with you. On September 7th, 2026 Rob lost his battle with ALS. He was determined after his diagnosis to live life to the fullest and he accomplished his goal. My heart is breaking and I will love you forever. “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” 2 Cor 12:9

Godspeed, Rob Koy. And thank you for all of the great photos from over the years. The motocross world will miss your contributions and presence.

Check out some of his photos over the years from his Instagram page.

David Chase was referring to last week's Racerhead, which went out on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

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.

You just know the guys at FMF thought of that win-ad headline the moment Haiden crossed the finish line and immediately knew that they nailed it with "One Bad Mudder."

"Woman arrested after undressing on American Airlines flight and performing ‘indecent acts’”—The Independent

"Wedding Photographer Buys $250 Worth of Film From Amazon, Receives Rocks Instead"

"Arch Manning apologizes for laughing at AI video of coach slapping ESPN reporter"—Yahoo Sports

“Man With Broken Leg Spends £300 On Vet Bills For His Limping Dog Only To Find Out It Was Copying Him”—World Manual

“Cybercabs Are Taking Psychotic Routes That Turn Tiny Trips Around the Neighborhood Into Hour-Long Nightmares”—Futurism

“Florida driver crashes atop barrier wall while applying deodorant”—Kvue.com

"Travis Kelce victim of $35 million fraud months after Taylor Swift wedding"—Yahoo Sports