450SMX Class Recap: Texas Motor Speedway

Hunter Lawrence: Nailed down his first career 450 Class victory with a 1-3 overall to steal the SMX Playoff points lead heading into the SuperMotocross World Championship Finals in Las Vegas. It was his 22^nd career victory, moving him into 31^st all-time. H. Lawrence’s victory keeps Honda’s 450SMX Playoff domination alive, having won all five rounds with three different athletes (J. Lawrence, Sexton, & H. Lawrence).

Chase Sexton: Scored his 90^th career podium (22^nd all-time) with a 4-1 finish in Fort Worth. Sexton trails H. Lawrence by a single-point, a virtual tie with the triple-points round in Las Vegas approaching. Sexton and J. Lawrence are the only athletes to podium in all five 450SMX Playoff rounds.

Jett Lawrence: Controls his own destiny even after a 3-2 overall (3^rd), dropping him 9-points off his points-leading brother Hunter. His podium was the 71^st of his career (30^th all-time) and the 99^th top-10 finish in his 105 career starts. All the above athletes would win the SuperMotocross World Championship with an overall victory.

Notes: Eli Tomac (4^th) Scored a hard fought 2-5 overall in Fort Worth. Tomac is still in title contention but would need all the athletes ahead of him to struggle in the finale. The World Championship would be his 350^th SMX start. Cooper Webb (5^th) Snagged his second Playoff top-5 finish and 152^nd of his career.

450SMX Class: Las Vegas Historical Facts

History Lesson: The first Premier Class SMX round held in Las Vegas was on May 19, 1985, at Las Vegas Motocross Park. The round included 125cc (250 Class), 250cc (450 Class), and 500cc action. Rick Johnson (YAM) swept the round, but it was runner-up Jeff Ward (KAW) who eventually won the title. David Bailey (HON) swept the now-defunct 500cc Class, but just as the Premier Class it was runner-up Broc Glover (SUZ) who won the title.

Historic Supercross City: The 1985 Las Vegas Motocross round is the only non-Supercross round that has taken place in Vegas. A few years later, the first 450SX Class round in Las Vegas was held on March 17, 1990 in Sam Boyd Stadium. Jeff Matiasevich won the round on a Kawasaki for his first and only 450SX Class victory. The series returned every season through 2019 (sans 1996). Sam Boyd Stadium hosted 26 Premier Class finales from 1993-2019 (sans 1996) which is far and away the most in Supercross history.

Finale Tradition Continues: Sam Boyd Stadium was set to host the 2020 finale until the COVID-19 pandemic scrapped the event. 2024 will be a welcome return to the historic racing location. The SuperMotocross World Championship will be the third SMX discipline to host in Las Vegas. Including the 1985 Motocross round and 29 Premier Class Supercross rounds, 2024 will be the 31^st venture into the city and first at The Strip.

Championship %: In only 13/30 (43%) of Las Vegas Premier Class rounds did the winner score the Championship. Only 10/26 (38%) finales had Championship implications, and the other 16 had already been clinched before the finale. 2024 the field is wide open, with three riders in close contention for the title.

Manufacturer Wins in Las Vegas (Last Win)

• Yamaha: 9 (2008)
• Kawasaki: 9 (2019)
• Honda: 6 (2011)
• KTM: 3 (2016)
• Suzuki: 2 (2010)
• Husqvarna: 1 (2017)

Top Premier Class Winners in Las Vegas

• 1) Jeremy McGrath: 4 (1994, 1998-’00)
• 1) Chad Reed: 4 (2003, 2005, 2008, 2011)
• 1) Ryan Dungey: 4 (2012, 2015, 2016-’17)
• 4) Ryan Villopoto: 3 (2009, 2013-’14)

First Time Premier Class Winners in Las Vegas

• Marty Tripes: 1972
• Jaroslav Falta: 1974
• Mike Bell: 1978
• Mark Barnett: 1979
• Sebastian Tortelli: 1998

250SMX Class Recap: Texas Motor Speedway

Haiden Deegan: Captured his 13^th career victory and third SMX Playoff victory with a sweep in Fort Worth. He holds a 19-point lead going into the SuperMotocross World Championship in Las Vegas over Tom Vialle. Deegan has 28 podiums in 48 career starts (58%).

Tom Vialle: Grabbed his 18^th career podium in his 46^th career start (39%) and is sitting second in the points going into Las Vegas. If he won the finale, Deegan would need to finish fourth or worse overall for Vialle to steal the SMX World Championship away.

Jo Shimoda: Scores fourth SMX Playoff overall podium out of the five that have been held. He now has 33 career podiums in 102 starts (32%). Shimoda has similar Championship scenarios as Vialle, even with five less Championship points than Vialle. He would need to win and Deegan to finish fifth or worse to steal the title away.

Notes: Levi Kitchen (4^th) Just like Vialle, Kitchen could win the title in the finale with an overall win and a fourth or worse from Deegan. Julien Beaumer (5^th) On the heels of his first career podium and top-5 finish in Concord, Beaumer backs it up with another top-5 in Fort Worth. Jordon Smith (6^th) Scores 75^th career top-10 finish in 123^rd start (61%) Garrett Marchbanks (12^th) Made 99^th career start in Forth Worth and looking for #100 in Las Vegas.

250SMX Class: Las Vegas Historical Facts

History Lesson: The first 250 Class round held in Las Vegas was on May 19, 1985, at Las Vegas Motocross Park (then 125cc Class). Ron Lechien (HON) scored the overall, and unlike his 250 and 500 counterparts Lechien would win the Championship by season’s end.

Historic Supercross City: The first 250SX Class round in Las Vegas was held on March 17, 1990, in Sam Boyd Stadium. Jeremy McGrath scored his first ever Professional victory over Michael Craig (KAW) and eventual Western Regional Champion Ty Davis (HON). 250SX Class racing returned to Sam Boyd Stadium, just like in the 450SX Class, through 2019 (Sans 2016).

Tradition Continues: In 1985 Las Vegas held a 250 Class round at LVMX Park (then 125cc) and returned from 1990-1995 for Western Regional 250SX Class rounds at Sam Boyd Stadium. After skipping 1996, racing returned as the Dave Coombs Sr. East/West Shoot-out from 1997-2010. In 2011 Supercross would hold the Eastern Regional finale, Western Regional finale, and a Shoot-out combining the top-10 from the two finales, giving Sam Boyd Stadium three Main Event starts a year from 2011-2014. 2015 returned to hosting just a shoot-out before 2016-2019 switched to East/West combined finales. 2024’s SuperMotocross World Championship will be the 39^th Main Event gate drop in Las Vegas history and first at The Strip.

Manufacturer Wins in Las Vegas (Including Shoot-outs) (Last Win)

• Kawasaki: 15 (2018)
• Honda: 9 (2013)
• Suzuki: 6 (2008)
• Yamaha: 5 (2019)
• KTM: 3 (2015)

Top Winners in Las Vegas (Including Shoot-outs)

• 1) Jeremy McGrath: 3 (1990-’92)
• 2) Adam Cianciarulo: 2 (2017-’18)
• 2) Ryan Hughes: 2 (1994-’95)
• 2) Nathan Ramsey: 2 (1999, 2001)
• 2) James Stewart: 2 (2002, 2004)

First Time Winners in Las Vegas (Not including Shoot-outs)

• Jeremy McGrath: 1990
• Ken Roczen: 2011
• Tyler Bowers: 2013
• Jeremy Martin: 2014