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2026 Supercross Round 10 SMX Next Qualifier 1
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00:00Welcome back to a beautiful day here in Birmingham, Alabama.
00:0480-something degrees outside there.
00:07And there you see it, SMX Next qualifying, getting ready to roll.
00:10There you see the 27 right there, Vincent Way, his father Nick Way, getting ready to roll.
00:16Anaheim II was round one for these guys.
00:17Then we went to Houston.
00:19Last stop was Daytona where Deacon Denno on that Triumph Factory Racing Machine got the win.
00:24And AC, that was a big day for Deacon.
00:26For Deacon Denno, that was maybe the biggest win of his entire career.
00:31And this rider has come so far in such a short amount of time on Supercross.
00:35He's really established himself as one of the top prospects coming up.
00:41Excited to see what he can do on a more traditional-style Supercross track.
00:45You can see these guys already eager to get out there and get rolling.
00:48Jason Thomas joining us up here in the booth.
00:51It's going to be a lot of fun to have JT here.
00:53JT, how are you doing? How's your day going?
00:54I'm good. Just, yeah, preparing for a big night.
00:57These showdowns are a lot of fun. Not to even mention SMX Next.
01:00Absolutely. It's going to be a lot of fun.
01:02Talk about the SMX Next a little bit.
01:03Obviously not something that they had, especially when you and I, JT, were racing in 65 and 66.
01:09When you and I turned pro, AC will like that one.
01:11Don't group JT in with my old jokes with you.
01:14Okay, okay. Sorry. Sorry about that.
01:16But the program's awesome.
01:17You think about this is round four.
01:20A lot of guys out here, like we talked about Vincent Way.
01:22Nick Way, you know his father well.
01:24But a great experience for these guys here today.
01:26Yeah, I was just literally speaking with Nick down there.
01:29They're trying to sort out, you know, when do they make the jump to pro?
01:31Is it going to be pro motocross this summer?
01:33How does that all play out?
01:34But I'll never forget my first Supercross experience was the same debut as Ricky Carmichael, 1997, Indianapolis.
01:41And I just felt like the lights were so bright.
01:44And that was me.
01:44I had been around racing my whole life.
01:47You know, my parents were with the AMA.
01:48So that wasn't a new environment.
01:49But the racing side of it was all so new.
01:52And the track and going through that.
01:54These guys are going to be so much more prepared than I could have ever dreamed about being.
01:58So, yeah, kudos to everybody involved for making this a reality.
02:01And the sport's going to benefit.
02:02And these kids are going to be better than ever because of it.
02:04And I think in the past we've seen guys have great amateur careers.
02:08And they come to the pros.
02:09They're on a great team.
02:10And they don't perform right away because they're not comfortable.
02:13Like you said, it's a big transition.
02:14And then you don't really hear from them the rest of their career.
02:18So I like this program to keep guys in the sport longer.
02:22They're going to be more prepared coming in.
02:25They're going to know what to do when they have that factory ride.
02:27When they get to their first professional race.
02:29And I agree with you, JT.
02:31Just seeing how good these young guys are now makes me happy for the sport in the future.
02:37Well, if we were building a test case, you would be the anomaly.
02:39You win your first ever Supercross.
02:41It's not fair.
02:42These kids have such a high bar to compare against with your career.
02:46But, yes, I think for average people, right,
02:49I get the pleasure of working with James Stewart and Ricky Carmichael at these Supercross races.
02:53They are also anomalies.
02:54You can never base your judgments off of them because they were so amazing.
02:58But for the average racer who's trying to make it in the sport and take that next step,
03:02this whole program from Supercross to Pro Motocross and now in the SMX World Championship playoffs
03:08is such a blessing for them.
03:09And they probably don't even know it yet, but they will benefit so much moving forward.
03:12There's a 27 of Vincent Way on your screen.
03:15Vincent's been so close to getting some wins here.
03:18You think about earlier in the year, crash late, battling for a podium.
03:22Daytona was great for him, though.
03:24So it seems to be getting better and better every time he's on track, AC.
03:27You know, I've really been up close and personal with Vincent Way,
03:31training with Nick as long as I did,
03:33seeing Vincent all the way from 50s, 65s to where he is now.
03:37And this is the first year I've watched him ride Supercross,
03:41and I've thought to myself, he's got it.
03:44Like, he really does have the potential to be a good pro to win races in the future,
03:51specifically in Supercross.
03:52He's fast on outdoors as well.
03:54But the technical work that he's done with Nick,
03:57I love that they've focused on laying the foundation from a technical perspective
04:02before you're worried about speed because that is a very, of course, as I say that,
04:08he comes up short on the triple, hand comes off the bar, and he goes down.
04:11But in general, his technique has come a long way in Supercross,
04:15but he's still got to get rid of those little mistakes.
04:17It's crazy to me because, you know, we both know his father really well,
04:20and I raced against his father for a very long time, as did you, Justin,
04:23and his dad really never crashed.
04:25Yeah, no mistakes.
04:26Right.
04:26He was a rider that was never kind of over the limit.
04:29He never pushed too far.
04:30He could almost say, like, he needed to push more.
04:32And then he has his son who has so much talent but seems to leave a lot of it
04:35laying on the racetrack, like, just like that,
04:37what we saw in Houston where he has a big crash.
04:39I can't imagine the emotions inside his father's head as he watches this
04:43because he's probably so proud of the way he rides,
04:47but he's also like, if you could stop crashing, that would be great for all of us,
04:49all including my blood pressure.
04:51No, totally.
04:51But I completely agree with you.
04:54The difference between Nick and Vincent in that way couldn't be any more opposite.
04:59It really couldn't.
05:00Oh, little mistake right there again.
05:01And actually the lap before, he got a little bit too high on a whoop,
05:04which puts you low on the next whoop.
05:06And he recovered from it, no problem, as he tries that triple again.
05:09Looks like that time he nailed it.
05:10Fearless, though.
05:11And crashes.
05:12Go right back at it.
05:12Comes back right at it.
05:13Yep.
05:13If that was the horse, he just got right back on top of it.
05:17Exactly right.
05:17And I think there's a lot to be said to Vince grew a lot in the last couple years,
05:22and he hasn't quite filled out yet, as a lot of these young guys are that way.
05:26But to be physically strong enough to, that helps bail you out of a lot of sticky situations in Superdrust,
05:34just getting that physical strain.
05:36So that's going to come.
05:37He's a little bit of a late bloomer in terms of height.
05:39I think that'll help him out a lot.
05:41Me too.
05:41I'm still waiting for that little spurt to come through.
05:44I'm waiting to fill out myself.
05:45Yeah, Vincent and I are in the same boat.
05:47But, you know, we just had Cade Muneer there, and you see Wayne and Gordon.
05:50I think both of these two, maybe, if they aren't, maybe should be feeling a little bit of pressure.
05:55You know, the team they're on, they're expected to win.
05:57You know, and Monster Yamaha Star Racing has gone out and gotten the talent they want.
06:01They got, you know, Cade Muneer from the KTM program.
06:03They get Wayne and Gordon from the Team Green program.
06:06And that's, they want to go win.
06:08And when you don't, when you're not dominating on that team,
06:10we know the expectations that come along with that.
06:13So I think this SMX Next race tonight is really interesting because we've had three unique winners.
06:18And really, no one's taken the reins.
06:21Like, Caden Dudney exited.
06:22He went to the pro class.
06:23But it really feels like it's up for grabs in a class where I think most people expected the Yamahas
06:28to be dominating.
06:29And when the Star Racing Yamaha, we've seen it like Monster Jeep Pro Circuit Kawasaki in the late 2000s with
06:36RV.
06:36And these, everyone knows the Star Racing Yamaha is the best 250 in the class right now.
06:42But when you get this opportunity as one of these young guys like Landon Gordon, if you don't perform, there's
06:49extra pressure.
06:50Because other teams will look at that and say, well, if you couldn't perform on a Star Racing Yamaha, how
06:55are you going to perform on our bike?
06:56So for these young guys, yes, it's a great opportunity.
07:00But if they don't take advantage of it, they're setting themselves back.
07:03There's a lot of pressure that comes along with it.
07:05It's high risk, high reward.
07:06And I think that's all perspective.
07:08Some people would be like, oh, yeah, I want that challenge every time.
07:10Or other people would be like, I don't know.
07:12Like, this is if things don't go well, this could be the death knell to me moving forward.
07:17You think about how Muneer started at Anaheim 2, round 1 for this SMX next group of kids.
07:23He goes out.
07:24Dudney qualifies fastest, but Muneer wins the race.
07:26And we're thinking, okay.
07:27And we actually sat down with them the Friday before that race.
07:29And there was some sentiment like, hey, whoever does the best out of us, we're going East Division racing.
07:35Then Muneer goes down in qualifying, gets injured.
07:39Dudney goes out, fastest in qualifying, wins the race.
07:41What happens?
07:43Dudney's on the line in the Eastern Division, round 1.
07:45So you have to think Muneer is feeling definitely some pressure to go out there and get it done.
07:50Because, look, pro contracts are waiting for him.
07:52Well, and Dudney gave us more insight at Daytona, basically saying, yeah, it was going to be Muneer.
07:58Like, that was really the plan until Muneer's crash at Houston changed the playbook yet again.
08:03And, you know, like, what an abundance of riches that team has.
08:06I think they're fielding 10 bikes at this particular race between all the classes, between 450, 250, and SMX Next.
08:12They can just pivot and say, no, we'll take our next best prodigy, and we'll move him up.
08:18Which is still a great choice.
08:19And he'll immediately try to go win heat races, right?
08:21Like, it's incredible the field and the roster that that team has.
08:25Landon Gordon fastest so far.
08:27That's the 99 of Caden Muneer's teammates.
08:29So Gordon and Muneer kind of have a little inner rivalry to the team.
08:34You think about a Tuesday morning at the Star Facility, JT.
08:38Just think about the battles that these kids are having.
08:40I've been there, and it is hyper-competitive.
08:43And, you know, it's so interesting to watch that dynamic unfold because you have the young, the established middle career
08:51guys,
08:52like where Hayden is entering, he's moving into the 450, and then you have the Cooper Webb guy.
08:56You know, Eli Tomek was there for Coupes there every day.
08:58And to watch them interact with riders that are trying to make that jump, the Landon Gordons and the younger
09:05kids,
09:05I commend Coupes.
09:06He's so established.
09:08He doesn't have any risk anymore.
09:09He can say, yeah, let's go.
09:10I'll help you.
09:11I'll tell you my training program where you can tell the guys that are on the pro program but maybe
09:16have some pressure.
09:17They're like, I'm not telling those kids anything.
09:18Heck no.
09:19I don't want them to be better at all.
09:20So it's this really strange, as you see Malinowski going for a ride, it's a really strange dynamic,
09:26but it's fascinating when you have no investment in it.
09:29And I'm really fascinated and intrigued by Ryder Malinowski.
09:33I like his mindset.
09:35He wants it really bad.
09:37He's a hard worker.
09:38At times, he's been a little bit out of control in the past but has smoothed it out a little
09:43bit this year.
09:43And I really do think this guy, not just because he's number nine, by the way.
09:48I can't believe he's racing.
09:50Like, do you remember the crash he had in Anaheim?
09:52Yeah, it was insane.
09:53He just started riding, by the way.
09:54So, you know, we talked to the McGinley Clinic.
09:58He works really closely with Ryder.
10:00And I didn't expect him to be – I don't think many people expected him to be racing here.
10:04So this is really early.
10:05You know, win, lose, or draw, whatever the result is, it's a miracle, truly, that he's back out here after
10:10that crash in Anaheim.
10:11Yeah, in terms of strategy coming back when you had a big crash and you're hurt, the biggest thing that
10:16these guys have to worry about win coming back for Ryder is to not get too caught up in what
10:23everyone else is doing.
10:23If you're not there yet in your sixth-place speed, don't get past for sixth and then put it in
10:30the stands because you want it so bad.
10:31This is bonus time.
10:33So I think for him, mentally, it's going to be difficult to stay within himself all day at this point
10:39in his development.
10:39You know, we talked a lot about the way that Monster Yamaha Star Racing operates, right?
10:43It's high pressure.
10:44You were expected to win no matter what.
10:46I almost think that Club MX is the antithesis of that, where they go out and they sign Cody Schock
10:51to a long-term deal kind of out of nowhere.
10:53And we're all like, wait, what?
10:54Like, that was a surprise to a lot of people.
10:56They walk him up and he has paid dividends.
10:58Not sure what happened to Deacon Deno there.
11:00But they have given Ryder's opportunity.
11:03You see Devin Simonson really taking a step there.
11:05So I think for Malinowski, that you should take Adam's advice and be patient because that team, I think, is
11:11the opposite.
11:11They're ultra patient with guys that they're willing to invest in, where the other Yamaha team on the racetrack, it's
11:17win at all costs or you will be replaced.
11:20And really, at this point, it comes down to having flashes.
11:23So if he goes out there and is a second off the pace and gets seventh, it's not that big
11:28of a deal because Club MX knows what he can do, what he's capable of, and where he's at.
11:33It's not necessarily about just winning these SMX Next Races, JT.
11:38It's about those flashes, the speed, the control, the confidence, mindset, all that.
11:42Well, they're investing in building, right, where it's back to that same concept.
11:47If you go to star, it's win and win now or else.
11:50And Club is like, no, this is a process and we're going to follow this process and eventually this is
11:54going to pay dividends.
11:55So, you know, it just feels very different.
11:58And, you know, for Ryder, that allows him to come back and not necessarily be ready.
12:03Like, it's not this pressure to perform, pressure to give a result where he can be patient and say, if
12:08all I have is eighth, well, I'm just lucky to be out here and that's okay.
12:11The team is not going to judge me based off of that eighth.
12:14Well said.
12:15You guys mentioned him getting injured at Anaheim 2.
12:17Dislocated hip and he's already back.
12:19But how about the 199 Deacon Denno?
12:21JT walks through it.
12:23Comes up a little short.
12:24You know, he just, he actually is okay.
12:26You know, like it wasn't picture perfect, but you don't want to blitz through jumps technically and then still try
12:31to triple.
12:32But that looks problematic on the left footer.
12:34That is, yeah, the extension of that left foot did not look good there.
12:39That's an Eli Tomek, Denver-ish looking.
12:42Exactly.
12:42And you could tell he knows.
12:44As a Ryder, you know.
12:46Yeah, I'm not trying to diagnose an injury there, but that was the same type of look.
12:50Yeah, that's not.
12:52Anytime you have an injury that is non-crash related, it's almost worse.
12:57It is.
12:57It's almost worse.
12:58Absolutely.
12:58Because you could at least blame, you could at least say, my technique is this way.
13:03As we take another look at it, comes up short on the off.
13:06And it looks like he knew the second he left, the downside lands with his foot off there.
13:11It looks like the left.
13:12When you have no interest in putting your foot down midair, you know something is wildly wrong.
13:17That's like instinctual, right?
13:18Like he's not even thinking.
13:19That's his body reacting to some sort of, you know, catalyst there.
13:23Hope for the best for Dika Deno, but that did not look promising.
13:26Well, especially off of his success that he had last time we've seen these guys was Daytona getting that win
13:30there.
13:31Yeah.
13:31Hopefully he's okay.
13:32And anytime you're doing an on-off before transitioning into a five-footer, that transition, the space in between the
13:40jump can get a little bit notchy.
13:41And that's what you saw.
13:42He came up short, went directly into the face, put so much force on that left foot.
13:48And a lot of that, I kind of got ahead of myself.
13:49I thought he was going to make a mistake early in the section, and he kind of held it together.
13:53But all of that caused him to not get to the downside, right?
13:56Like he's lifting, he's front end high, like he's not getting the compression off to step off.
14:01That leads to the later mistake.
14:02Even though we were kind of like expecting it earlier, it still led to the mistake later.
14:06How about the time gap that Landon Gordon has right now?
14:09Fastest at the 52.9.
14:11Next best is Publix Yamaha's Jessen Turner with a 54.3.
14:16That's a big gap.
14:16It is.
14:17And on a kind of a technical track condition-wise, I think Landon Gordon, he's so good with throttle control.
14:25He's the guy, probably the most consistent guy on the track.
14:28Solid.
14:29He doesn't override the bike, so I think that's why we're seeing that big gap at the top.
14:33He needed this, too.
14:34He had an incredible 20-25, and I would say 26 has been a little underwhelming compared to that.
14:38I agree.
14:38Absolutely.
14:39JT, thank you so much for joining us.
14:40Have a great time tonight.
14:42Track analyst, you'll be down there on the track, 7 o'clock Eastern time.
14:47See JT out there.
14:48Landon Gordon, though, fastest, 52.9.
14:50Next best, Jessen Turner, 54.3.
14:53Kata Minear, Gordon's teammate, the 54.3.
14:56And Vincent Way, 54.4.
14:58There's Denno.
14:59Hopefully, Denno's okay.
15:01Coming up next, we talked a lot about the return of Justin Bogle.
15:04He's going to tell us about it when we come back.
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