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Shop Rag: 2024 Las Vegas SMX Research

By Brett Smith

Eli Tomac chases down Hunter and Jett Lawrence in moto 1 at Texas Motor Speedway. Photo: Octopi

Viva Las Vegas!

From 1990 to 2019, dreams were realized in Las Vegas. The Entertainment Capital of the World was the site of some of the biggest moments in the history of Supercross. For three decades, Sam Boyd Stadium hosted various championship finales and unique track designs, headlined by the iconic Monster Alley section.

Sam Boyd Stadium is one of the most historic stadiums in the history of Monster Energy Supercross – site of the 2006 battle between Carmichael/Stewart/Reed and the chaos of 2017 (Tomac’s bunging strategy and Osborne vs. Savatgy vs. Smith). The stadium could also be considered FELD Motorsports’ most iconic venue as a whole, hosting the Monster Energy Cup 10 times, 19 editions of the Monster Jam World Finals, and 29 years of Supercross.

Mel Harris and Ricky Carmichael
The Payoff: Mel Harris (2nd from left) celebrates the 2006 Supercross Championship with Ricky Carmichael.

But this weekends SMX World Championship Finals will be hosted at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It’s the first time we’ve raced at the venue and history will be made when we hand out over $4.6M in just one day ($385K for the round and $4.2M for the championships)!

THE STRIP @ LMS VENUE PAGE

Winner Take All

With 3 riders within 9 points of each other, it’s a winner take all race in Las Vegas, between Hunter Lawrence, Chase Sexton and Jett Lawrence (difference between 1st and 2nd in the triple points final is 9 points).

  • Critical to note that if Jett Lawrence wins and Hunter Lawrence is second, they’ll tie with 156 points. The tiebreaker is overall wins, then second place overalls, third place overalls, etc. Jett would win the tiebreaker because he would have 2 overall victories vs. Hunter’s 1.
Chase Sexton dominated moto two at Texas Motor Speedway. Photo: Garth Milan

What’s amazing to consider is the final race will determine how $3.26M is handed out to 30 premier class riders (and another $1.39M in the 250s). Last year it was Jett Lawrence that took the finale victory and was the inaugural SMX Champion – he pocketed $1.1M that day and $1.21M dollars in total SMX purse money for 4-1-1 finishes.

  • Fun Fact: If Hunter Lawrence wins on Saturday, he’ll win $1.21M in total SMX purse money for 4-1-1 finishes – the exact same as his brother in 2023.
Top 10 Premier Class SMX Standings

Total Szn Purse represents Supercross, Pro Motocross, and SuperMotocross purse winnings in 2024.

Regardless of how the money gets distributed, it’s the fans that have won so far. We’ve had 4 winners in 4 motos (and 5 moto winners in 10 motos over the first 2 years).

Fun Fact: We’ve had more moto winners in the last 4 motos than we had in the previous 26 gate drops (from Nashville Supercross through Ironman Pro Motocross only Jett Lawrence, Hunter Lawrence, and Chase Sexton had won).

While it’s winner take all between the top three riders in the points, the triple points format leaves the door open for others…

So You’re Saying There’s A Chance

In 2023, Haiden Deegan entered the final round in 3rd place down -7 points to Hunter Lawrence. He won the inaugural 250 SMX Championship by +5 points over Jo Shimoda (and with Lawrence withdrawing). With triple points up for grabs, almost anything is possible and that’s what happened in LA last year.

Haiden Deegan, 2023 250SMX
Haiden Deegan is the 2023 250SMX champion but he’s still looking for that first ever 250SX win. Photo: Octopi.

Heading into the final moto, it was Jo Shimoda with the advantage – he finished 4th in first moto and Haiden Deegan finished 5th. Had it ended there, Jo would’ve won 140 pts to Haiden’s 133 pts. But it just as easily could’ve been Jordon Smith who won the title. He entered the final round in 6th place and down -27 points.

2023 250SMX Title Scenario at Final Round

Jordon had won the first moto and needed to finish 3rd or better to win the title. He looked good in 6th-7th at the start but in turn two he was pushed wide and crashed. The upset of a century was over, but it was very much within reach. Rookie Haiden Deegan did what he needed to do to win his first professional title – he beat Jo Shimoda and took the title.

The point… anything can, and will, happen. Here’s some scenarios to consider…

Eli Tomac unlocked Beast Mode in moto 1 at Texas Motor Speedway. Photo: Octopi
450 Scenarios
  • Eli Tomac – He needs to win (144 pts) and Jett Lawrence needs to finish 3rd or worse (141 pts) and Hunter Lawrence and Chase Sexton need to finish 4th or worse (144 pts and 143 pts). Eli would have the tiebreaker advantage – each would have 1 overall win but Eli’s 2nd overall in Charlotte is the deciding factor.
  • Aaron Plessinger – He needs to win (137 pts) and Jett Lawrence needs to be 4th or worse (135 pts), Chase Sexton needs to be 6th or worse (137 pts), and Hunter Lawrence needs to be 7th or worse (135 pts). Aaron would win the tiebreaker with the overall win.
  • Ken Roczen/Cooper Webb – They need to win (133 pts) and Tomac 3rd or worse (129 pts), Jett 5th or worse (132 pts), Chase and Hunter 8th or worse (131 pts and 132 pts).
250 Scenarios
  • Tom Vialle – He needs to win (156 pts) and Haiden Deegan needs to finish 4th or worse (154 pts).
  • Levi Kitchen – He needs to win (153 pts) and Haiden Deegan needs to finish 5th or worse (151 pts).
  • Jo Shimoda – He needs to win (151 pts) and Haiden Deegan needs to finish 6th or worse (148 pts). Important to note that he loses the tiebreaker if Deegan gets 5th (2 overalls vs. 1 overall).
  • Julien Beaumer – He needs to win (144 pts) and Tom Vialle needs to finish 3rd or worse (141 pts) and Haiden Deegan needs to finish 8th or worse (142 pts)

It may seem far fetched, but Jordon Smith proved to us the potential…

After playing catchup in Charlotte, Haiden Deegan led straight from the start in Fort Worth. Photo: Octopi

First Impressions Matter

For the riders that prefer to rely on more than luck, may I suggest a good start. We hear the riders say they’re working on starts all the time, this is why… in 98 gate drops this season, the winner has started in the top 3 79 times! Kids, if you want to win, you need to get a good start.

81% of the time the winner is in the top 3 by the end of the first lap.

– Fowler’s Facts reports that 79 of this season’s 98 winners (SX/MX/SMX) were in the top 3 after lap 1.
Supercross Starts
  • In 46 gate drops across both classes, only two riders won after rounding the first lap outside the top 3. Nate Thrasher did so in San Diego when he rounded lap 1 in 6th and Cooper Webb did the exact same in Seattle.
Pro Motocross Starts
  • In 44 gate drops across both classes, 15 of the moto winners (8 in 250s, 7 in 450s) started outside the top 3. Said differently, 29 of 44 (66%) of the winners started inside the top 3.

Honorable Mention

  • Chase Sexton rounded lap 1 in 25th in M2 of Hangtown and won! That’s the biggest comeback ride of the season.
  • Haiden Deegan rounded lap 1 in 14th in M1 of High Point and won! That’s the second biggest comeback ride of the season.
  • These are the only two times that riders won after rounding the first lap outside the top 10!
  • Also worth noting that only 3 of the 132 podium finishers started outside the top 10.
SuperMotocross Starts
  • 6 of 8 moto winners have started inside the top 3 this season. The two exceptions are both Haiden Deegan when he started 9th and 7th in M1 and M2 at zMax Dragway.

The Emergence of Hunter Lawrence

After not making his first career 450 main (not a good look on Factory Honda), he finished the SX season with two podiums. He followed it up with an impressive Pro Motocross season where he finished 2nd in the standings and now he’s leading the SuperMotocross World Championship Finals with one round remaining.

By all accounts, he’s having an all-time rookie season. All that, despite a DNQ, a DNF and even missing a round of the SX season.

Hunter Lawrence celebrating his first ever 450 win. Photo: Garth Milan
Hunter’s Rookie Season vs. Recent Hall of Famers
  • His MX podiums equal RC’s rookie tally, but lack the wins.
  • His SX podiums are on par with RC and Eli Tomac.

Looking at these, Hunter Lawrence is having one of the best rookie seasons we’ve seen in quite some time. For some reason we’re not talking about it like others… 😉

Deegan’s Perfection

The playoffs are a platform for creating legends and Haiden Deegan has stepped up to the plate. He has a +19 point lead over Tom Vialle heading into the final, triple points paying round and he’s simply dominated the first two rounds.

Haiden Deegan celebrates with the Fort Worth fans. Photo: Octopi
  • He’s won all 4 motos.
  • He’s been fastest in 3 of 4 motos.
  • He’s led 43 of 60 laps.
  • He’s gotten 2 of 4 holeshots.

His only blemish were two poor starts at the first round, but he used speed to overcome those deficits and came back at round 2 and was perfect on the starts. His progression as a champion is on path to culminate on his 3rd professional championship in Las Vegas on Saturday.

Deegan vs. 250 SMX Top 5
Haiden Deegan flies over Fort Worth. Photo: Octopi

UPDATED: 2024 Purse for SMX Racers

With $4.6M dollars on the line this Saturday, here’s what’s already been handed out in the previous 30 events (includes Supercross, Pro Motocross, and SuperMotocross).

REMEMBER: This does not include riders salaries, manufacturer win bonuses or contingency, or sponsorship deals.

450SMX Standings, Stats & Season Purse
  • Hunter Lawrence has nearly doubled his purse – $109K in the first 28 rounds and $110K in the last 2 rounds.
  • Jett Lawrence is your total purse winner at $392K. He tops both SX+MX and SMX purse categories.
  • The average for the top 30 is $85K through 30 events.
250SMX Standings, Stats & Season Purse
  • The average for the top 30 is $46K through 30 events.
  • No surprise here – Haiden Deegan is at the top across the board.