transcript
Speaker 1:
[00:01] Monster Energy SMX heads to Philadelphia, and incredibly the points are as close as they could be. Just one point in between Roczen and Moranz. That's a Lawrence in the lead of this race. Cole Davies has a shot at clinching early. We'll break it down. SMX Insider is next. Yeah, welcome to SMX Insider. This is exciting, the 150th episode of this show. We are the Jasons, Jason Weigandt, Jason Thomas, and unbelievable, this scenario, as Monster Energy Super Voto Cross rolls into Philadelphia. Okay, first of all, a one point gap between any two riders with three to go is rare and incredible and awesome in any positive adjective you want to give it. But JT, you made this point before we started this show. The fact that it's Hunter, Lawrence and Ken Roczen, not that we think they're not good riders. The fact that they're just the last two standing. All the other unpredictabilities, we've now lost Eli Tomac as a title contender as an example. I don't know what's more surprising. It's that these two or that it's one point between these two.
Speaker 2:
[01:01] Yeah, and this is really the second year of it because let's face it, you know, 2023, it was Cooper Webb, Chase Sexton, Eli Tomac down to the last few. 2024, we knew Jet Lawrence was going to be fantastic. But last year, Cooper Webb and Chase Sexton, I don't think anybody had that as the final two for the championship. And this year, it's simply impossible to have Hunter, Lawrence and Ken Roczen as the final two for this championship before the season started. I don't care who you are, you're not that wise and you don't have that much foresight. But here we are, unlikely heroes, unlikely protagonists, and we're headed towards Salt Lake. Three to go, one point differential. It just doesn't get much better than this, Weig.
Speaker 1:
[01:41] We will look back at the Cleveland win for Roczen quite a bit because he was winning off the track as well as on and all the other unpredictabilities, including a rare off one for Cole Davies, but he still could be in contention to clinch the title this week in Philadelphia. So 150th episode of this show and lots to get to. But first, let's tell you how to watch this weekend's race from Philadelphia. After back to back day races, this returns to the traditional nighttime Monster Energy Supercross format. So race day live starts at one o'clock Eastern. That's qualifying coverage. And the racing starts back to seven PM Eastern time from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. This race has been a big hit since it jumped on to the schedule recently. And there is an Encore presentation on Sunday afternoon on NBC starting at one o'clock Eastern. Encore Sundays on NBC for all the rounds through the rest of the year in Supercross. So awesome way for everyone to keep close to this incredibly close title battle. And if you want to try to figure this out, good luck. But I will mention that SMX betting and DFS gaming is back for 2026. New sportsbook bonuses and prop markets are live right now. So scan the flow code on the screen or visit nxtbet.com, play SMX, nxtbet.com/playsmx, see what's available in your area. Always play responsibly. Do you want to know how difficult it is to figure out where the races are going every weekend? We actually have some data. So JT, Ken Roczen was approximately 14 to 1 odds to win the title this year, which means if you would put $1,000 on Roczen to win this title going into Anaheim 1, and he does end up winning it, you'd turn that $1,000 into $14,000. That's how much of a long shot he is. And right now, he's looking very good to maybe get this done.
Speaker 2:
[03:33] It would have been a terrible bet, though, Weigd, because he really hasn't been a championship contender in a very long time, especially late in the championship. I know the Roczen fans are saying, he's had the red plate. Yes, 100% correct. But late in the championship, he's really dropped off. Not so much this year, which he has made a big point to say, hey, I am for real in 2026. And also, if you have $1,000 to put on a bet for the championship in this thing, come talk to me because I need to borrow some money.
Speaker 1:
[04:03] Oh, come on, JT, if someone handed you $1,000, we know what you're doing. You're not sports betting. You are investing in stocks with puts and calls and all this special info that you obsess over and I don't even understand. So congrats to you, I guess, on that. Here's numbers we both know. 30-second board, hot topics in the sport. And we're going to start with the continued dominance of Monster Energy star racing Yamaha. So Nate Thrasher gets, I guess I could say, his customary annual win. Believe it or not, he has now had the most seasons ever of wins in the 250 class of any rider ever. I think this is the sixth year he's won a race that's wild. But look at this number. He's the fifth rider on this team that has won a race this year. Deegan Davies, Thrasher, Brown, Anstey. This is kind of almost, can I say, all time level dominance here?
Speaker 2:
[04:52] Yeah, this is incredible. What a run this team has been on. And really, we're getting to the point now where you almost assume that it's going to be Yamaha's up front. And it's kind of been this way for a while. These guys have been so good in Pro Motocross, and in Monster Juice Supercross on the starts for a long time now. And this kind of feels like the culmination of that. And they're matching records and matching wins from other teams that kind of felt untouchable. But that's where this team is now. They have the best youngest talent. I think they have the best 250 racer on the planet right now and Jason Weigandt. So yeah, they're just racking up wins, Weig.
Speaker 1:
[05:28] The five wins. We actually thought that surely is a record. A lot of teams don't even have five riders, let alone five that won. But actually, 2014, Monster Energy Pro Circuit, Kawasaki did get five wins. You had the rookie Adam Sincerullo, you had Blake Baggett, Martine Davalos, Justin Hill got a win for them and Dean Wilson. But here's what's crazy, JT. They didn't win either title that year. And then I just thought about this, 2014 is kind of when Star Racing started to take over. So it's almost like you can look at that year as the year it flipped.
Speaker 2:
[06:00] You really could. And I guess now who would be the team that would flip it again?
Speaker 3:
[06:06] I don't see one coming.
Speaker 2:
[06:07] I think that they're on a generational type run right now. And you look at the way they're farming and acquiring talent over there. I think there's a lot of winning yet to come. But again, congratulations to them because this has not been by happenstance. This has been by relentless effort. And they're willing to do whatever it takes to continue winning. Hire someone else, you know, grow it on their own farm. Don't do whatever it takes to win. And I think this is just the most powerful representation of that we've seen.
Speaker 1:
[06:37] And oh, by the way, Cole Davies, who basically joined the team, not even two years ago, is so dominant. Look at this, he could clinch this weekend in Philadelphia one race early. He has a 21 point lead over Seth Hammaker. He gains five more on Seth. That'll be an insurmountable gap with only one race to go. JT, Seth said he was going to start hanging it out more the last couple of weeks. Unfortunately for him, that has not worked in his favor, points-wise.
Speaker 2:
[07:04] It hasn't. I mentioned off the top of the show last week that if Cole went 1-1, that he could clinch in Philadelphia. Well, now we have this weirdo math where it's still possible. It's not a gimme, but Cole does not control his own destiny in that conversation, but it could still happen. You factor in the inconsistency over the last couple of rounds from Seth, like you mentioned, anything's possible. What's going to be crazy here is if we get the inclement weather again in Philadelphia and maybe Cole Davies doesn't have his best weekend, something goes wrong for Davies, a la the first race in Cleveland. And what if Handmaker had stayed to the strategy, stayed consistent and stayed within a handful of points? I don't even want to say it, but could it be a situation where it would have been in grasp in Salt Lake City? Time will tell, but man, that would be a nasty turn of events for Seth Handmaker.
Speaker 1:
[07:56] Yes, because he wasn't on the podium the last two rounds. He finished on the podium in Nashville, but he got penalized because he went off track. That was because he crashed. I know people are thinking that penalty is controversial, but he doesn't crash. None of that happens. And then same thing, the mud and a first turn crash got him this time around in Cleveland. So could have, should have, would have, but it all doesn't matter if Davies just keeps on winning, which all the data is pointing to, these Yamahas are tough to stop all around. Now, our next topic, we're going to go to the other side of the ledger. Instead of the riders at the top, let's look at those who are on the points bubble. And we want to visit this when the SMX playoffs come around, because it's the first time this year that the 250 class has had an equal number of points paying races for both West and East. So the way the playoffs work to remind you, the top 20 in points are automatically into the motos at the three playoff rounds. 21st and on, you have to race your way in through the wild card race. And this is where it gets interesting. Look at these points right now. Pierce Brown, for example, is 19th. He's probably going to get passed up here just with the two Supercross races that remain. He's hurt. You hear wrist injury. You never know what the comeback is. He's just a perfect example of, who knows? Can he scratch out the second half of Pro Motocross? He might need to.
Speaker 2:
[09:09] Yeah, and I was kind of thinking this is like the way too early college football rankings that you see come out. Just we're months away from the season starting. But not really, if you look at the schedule, we're past halfway to where these guys will go playoff racing. So they have to start thinking about a little bit. And we talked to Kevin Moranz. I know he's in the 450 class, but he was already thinking, well, it's going to be really dependent on the points, how many Pro Motocross rounds I do and situationally there. And these guys, I think when they're making their summer plans, they have to start looking at the points accordingly. Yeah.
Speaker 1:
[09:43] And it gets so interesting with the mix of factory level riders like Chris Brown, who finished second, second in the SMX World Championship two years ago and made a ton of money by winning the season finale that year. Now he's on the outside looking in or probably will be soon. Now he'd be guaranteed in the wild card race because he has a main event win, but you know he doesn't want to go through that every week. Can he get back from injury enough? And then there's privateers who maybe didn't plan on racing all 28 regular season rounds. And we've seen them show up at races and pickup trucks. Let's look at the 450 Bobo here as an example. So you're right, Moranz, he's thinking he's going to have to show up for some Pro Motocross races. And then his teammate, Moranz is the team owner. He hires Grant Harlan to ride for him. JT, you know that Harlan's probably even better outdoors than indoors. Other guys, see Freddie Noren, probably the same thing for him. Those guys are going to have to figure out a way to get to races whether they planned it or not, because they're going to need those points to get into that top 20.
Speaker 2:
[10:40] Yeah, and some of the nuance there, some of these guys don't race Pro Motocross, like I don't expect to see Vince Freezy at many rounds. Dean Wilson was working, probably won't see him at Pro Motocross rounds either, so you start to parse through these things of who's going to race and who's not. So Harlan's chances don't look so bad, he's just going to have to perform once we get outside. And you mentioned Pierce Brown, one note I want to mention there, yes, he's going to be in that wild card race, but the trouble is he's then going to be guaranteed a very poor gate pick in those main races, which is really problematic in the playoffs. So he needs to get back to racing and guarantee himself a chance to get a good gate pick through qualifying in the afternoon. So I think he would qualify every time, but you're really setting yourself up for a difficult result with that bad gate pick.
Speaker 1:
[11:25] Okay, next topic is penalty points. You cannot place odds on who is going to collect the most penalty points for a season. Like you can place odds on who is going to win the title at the end of the year, but JT, if you had, I don't think anyone would be surprised with this outcome. Let's first show you how penalty points work on a license. This is a new thing this year. There are traditional penalties during the race, after the race, as usual. In addition this year, there are points on your license that accrue as the year goes on. So in addition to just at the end of the race, it builds throughout the year for the first time. On track violations, off track violations, technical violations, that's usually sound control problems at your bike or code of conduct in the paddock area, it can be one to three points depending on how big the violation is. And here's where I get to the short odds. Vince Friese, who has had his issues on and off the track for a long time, like to the point where JT, you haven't raced in like over a dozen years, and you've got battles with Friese burned in your memory, he has nine points. And why is nine points significant on the license? Because 10 means you get last gate pick at another race, and 15 means you lose 10 championship points and a huge fine. So this is what Friese is staring in the face of right now, with still a couple of Supercross races to go.
Speaker 2:
[12:45] Yeah, Vince Friese, he might just clinch this penalty points championship in Philly. And of course, I'm joking, but this guy is a hall of fame and fractal. He has been doing this for the better part of 20 years now. And listen, I know the penalties are put in place for good reason, and they're trying to disincentivize people from doing these things. I don't think that Vince Friese cares about these penalty points, and he has put himself in such a good position. He can still do a couple of things wrong and safely make it through Salt Lake City without paying too big of a price. So kudos to Vince Friese for rationing your penalty points throughout 2026.
Speaker 1:
[13:24] Yes, sitting on nine right now, if it gets any more, just the last gate pick, I don't think that's gonna make a huge difference because the rider of Friese's level, he's gonna make the main, but what's the best gate pick he's gonna get anyway? 15, 12-ish, coming out of the heat races. The 10-point loss would be huge, but he's still six away from that. And by the way, his penalties this year have been a combination of rough riding on the track, i.e. aggressive block passes, or ignoring the blue flags while being lapped. This is probably what you would have expected when this system came in. Who would have the most points? Vince Friese, who still rides well. By the way, that's the other part of it. He's in all the races. That's part of the reason it happened. Now, not in the race, unfortunately, and this is not the news anyone wanted to hear. Eli Tomac did not compete in Cleveland because of a crash in the whoops in qualifying. So now the mystery of what was wrong with Tomac the previous couple of weeks and can he fix it? I guess we'll never know now. We do think he'll be back for some supercross, maybe Denver, maybe even Philadelphia, because it's not a major, major injury. But JT, he rode with a broken leg last year. There's no question of his toughness. So this still must have been pretty bad in the moment.
Speaker 2:
[14:32] You could see the pain in his face when he was riding off on the back of the Alpine Stars medical mule there. He wanted to be out there. He came back out in the second qualifying session and gave it a go. But sometimes you just have to understand your body's telling you that today is not going to happen. And I think that Cleveland was one of those days. So I'm sure they're going to go get an MRI, understand exactly what's wrong, and then make a decision accordingly. Hopefully things are okay. And I think he will be back sooner rather than later, as long as there's not something that would require some sort of medical procedure.
Speaker 1:
[15:12] Okay, time for the SMX Medical Update. We bring on Dr. Joe McGinley. The clinic supports the McGinley Privateer Support Program at the track, which is always great, but you get a lot of other things you're involved in, which includes SMX Next. They will be racing for their championship. It's a winner-take-all championship format in Philadelphia. But we talk way too much about just the racing results part of SMX Next. There is an educational component for these riders as well. You've been involved with that all year. So what are you working on with these young riders all season?
Speaker 3:
[15:43] Weigel, first, it's going to be great to be back in Philadelphia. That's my hometown. That's where I grew up. That's where I went to school. That's where I did all my racing. It's going to be an exciting weekend. Not only do we have Supercross on Saturday, but we also have Flyers and Sixers both in the playoffs this weekend. So Philadelphia is going to be an exciting time and exciting weekend. Now getting back to business, getting into the SMX Next. I've been speaking to the riders all season. These kids are amazing. We've seen some of the results when they've come up into the 250 class already this year. But we've been doing a four-part program at all the SMX Next series. We're talking to them about health, health care and then how they can deal with injuries and prevent injuries. So we had a four-part series. We broke it up along the way to help them throughout the series. Now it's culminating with the final this weekend. We're excited to see it. We're excited to see these kids grow in the sport. Interesting fact, Weigandt, when I asked them at the last event, how many of them had had orthopedic injuries? Literally, the entire room raised their hand. So, fairly common to have injuries and you only want to make sure they're getting taken care of so they have a long career and we can see them fighting for the championship when they get into their 30s as well.
Speaker 2:
[16:49] Well, you have such an extensive education and so much experience in this field, but you're talking to, for lack of a better term, a bunch of kids, right? That are maybe a little bit more experienced than the average kid with orthopedic surgeries, but they don't know a lot about things that you can do to help them preventatively and also recovery-wise. What are some of the more interesting questions you've had? Are things that maybe surprised you from these kids that maybe you took for granted? Because again, this is the field where your expertise is.
Speaker 3:
[17:19] Well, first, keeping their attention for an education series on medicine is a challenge. I had some help from my private tier team buddies. Scott Meshe put a funny arm pump video together for me to use in one of my presentations. Keeping their attention to actually listen to what I have to say is the first struggle I have to deal with. But from there, just letting them know, even if the information doesn't sink in right away, letting them know we're there for a resource, that if they have an injury or they're dealing with something, they can just give me a call. I can advise them. I can give them some pointers on how to deal with it and how to get back on the bike. A lot of times, the way I try to relate to this is the amount of time and money they spend on their bike to make sure it's perfect. But your body is more important than your bike. So if you have an injury that you're worried about, let's just say if it's your knee and it's hurting and it's bugging you, that's much more important to get fixed than say dialing in your suspension. Because if you're out there, your knee is part of your body suspension. You want to make sure that's going well. You don't want to have to worry about it when you're racing. So trying to relate to them and trying to make the connection on your body is important. You only get one shot at this. You can't change the tires on yourself. What you have is what you're dealing with. And if you want a long career, you have to start now. You have to start with nutrition. You have to start with prevention of injuries. And then the other thing, JT, that I was surprised by, we're starting to see it a little bit, but mental health coaching. So sports psychologists, things like that, to help these kids deal with all the pressures. I mean, they're coming up, they're just young kids. All their friends are out doing fun stuff and they have to train, they have to work, they have to watch what they eat, they have to travel. That's a lot of stress on a young professional athlete. That's, you know, the next generation of champions. So a lot of stuff there. These kids are great. It's wonderful to hear the questions. And as long as we can communicate that information, I think we're making a difference in their healthcare.
Speaker 1:
[19:00] All right. You'll be talking to the Rodgers this weekend. SMX Next, their championship, we'll preview that in a moment. But good to see you back at the races. Enjoy all the chaos of all the sports going on in your hometown this weekend.
Speaker 3:
[19:11] Thanks, Leeds. Looking forward to it.
Speaker 1:
[19:13] All right. Thanks to Dr. McGinley there. And we'll stay on the SMX Next topic because yes, we've watched SMX Next Supercross races all year, but it is not a points paying championship. It is a qualification system. And then whoever wins the finale, which this year is, this weekend in Philadelphia, the winner of the finale is the champion. So let's bench race a little bit here at JT. Roder Malinowski, he's back. We presume even better than he was in Birmingham. He's a contender. Caden Menier, been up and down, won immediately at Anaheim. That was the first Supercross he ever did. He won. He's had some injuries and tough races since. He'll be there. Deacon Denow won Daytona. He's there. And Vincent Wei is the most recent race winner. He'll be there as well. And you never know. Someone from outside that group can win. I guess that's what makes it exciting with these kids. They never know when they're going to figure it out.
Speaker 2:
[19:58] Yeah, it's really been hard to kind of figure out because I felt like Caden Manier was the best guy early on. And then it's been this revolving door where Monster Yamaha Star Racing has kept inserting their SMX Next stars into the 250 East series. Caden Dudney went there for a while. We saw Landon Gordon get second overall at the Triple Crown race in Cleveland. So maybe we just cycle back to what we knew at the beginning. Maybe Caden Manier comes back and is the best guy at the finale and wins the SMX Next championship. We shall see, but there's a lot of riders, Vincent Way, Kade Johnson. There are a lot of other kids that can get in there. And I think Deacon Denno is probably the sneakiest of them because he was riding injured the last time we saw him. We cannot rule out that excellence we saw at Daytona. So for me, it's anything goes. For me to try to predict who's going to win is probably about as good a chance as predicting who's going to win the 450 championship year to year.
Speaker 1:
[20:53] Yes, especially because that 450 championship, as we've been saying the last couple of weeks, has so many riders that can get in there and steal points. That's why Roczen didn't get second when he had an off weekend in Nashville. That's why Hunter Lawrence went all the way back to sixth when he had a bad weekend in Cleveland. Too many riders are fast enough to get in there. It's not the guaranteed one, too. And at the maybe top of that list could be Justin Cooper. Now, we're not supposed to root for anything here. We're just supposed to root for stories, as they say in the journalism field. Well, the great story would have been if Justin Cooper could have finally gotten that first career 450 win. I thought it was coming there in Cleveland. He wins race two, just like he did to the Triple Crown earlier in the year in Indy. I feel like he was one good start away from getting it done. Roczen was unstoppable. But man, Jay Coupe, Cooper Webb, these guys are right there.
Speaker 2:
[21:42] Yeah, he looks great. And most importantly, I think for Justin Cooper, is he's got to go out and impress somebody with availability on their team for 2027 and beyond. Yes, he wants to win a race. Yes, he wants to be in these championships and again, have the red plate going into the opening round. All those things are wildly important. But I do believe at the front of his mind is securing a contract for the next years and beyond. And not only just securing a contract, a elite paying contract, because that's what he's been missing. He's been on factory equipment for how long now? Years and years on the same team, but he hasn't been in that upper tier of salary. And just from asking around and knowing people involved, that's the jump he wants to make is be paid like the other guys that are around him. And he hasn't taken that step yet. I'll tell you a great way to do it would be to go out and win a race or two down the stretch and continue that into Pro Motocross. Somebody will come calling with a big paycheck if he does that.
Speaker 1:
[22:41] Let's move to Ken Roczen. Specifically, we put the topic line here, Mr. Cleveland. So he wins the race and that's amazing and awesome. And that crowd was absolutely nuts for him. But I hung out with him all day on Friday. So he had a coffee shop where they sold Ken Roczen merchandise. They planned, I believe, on being open three or four hours. They were sold out in 40 minutes. The line was around the block. Then Friday night, he does a podcast show with Adam Sincerolo, Justin Brayton. That place was absolutely packed as well. It really shows you can do all this and still lock in because he rode awesome as well. Everybody loves Ken Roczen all around right now, I guess especially in Cleveland.
Speaker 2:
[23:19] Yeah, and he has so many fans everywhere, but it's been because of the trials and tribulations he's gone through. He's been, which sounds crazy, he's been an underdog for a while now because we watched all of these injuries that he dealt with. Now, the most unlikely scenario possible, he has a chance to win this championship and he's still a point down, and there's still a lot of racing left to go. But between the family dynamic that everybody loves about Ken Roczen, and then just the overcoming so much adversity part of this, it's really hard to find somebody that doesn't like Ken Roczen.
Speaker 1:
[23:55] So let's break it down even further. Mathematically, it is down to Hunter versus Kenny. As we mentioned, Justin Cooper, Cooper Webb, maybe Eli Tomac comes back. A lot of riders can get in there and steal points. One point in it. Anything, anything, JT, can you give us anything on who could be the favorite at this point? They're practically tied.
Speaker 2:
[24:14] Yeah, we're grasping at straws a little bit, but I do think there are a few tendencies or nuances to look at. There's a very good chance we're going to have inclement weather on Saturday in Philadelphia. It's always a matter of, and we do know this better than anybody, it's always a matter of when and how much that tells the tale. But I do think we're going to have some. So if it's heavier than lighter, I think that favors Ken Roczen. I think he is a little bit better in inclement conditions than Hunter Lawrence. It's not a drastic change, but again, I said we're grasping at straws here. We're trying to find marginal edge between the guys that are leading the championship. After Philadelphia, we go out west. We go to Denver, followed by Salt Lake. If you remember in 2024, that was a breakout race for Hunter Lawrence. It was the first time where I remember watching him and going, that might be something. I didn't think it was going to be this. I didn't think it was going to be 2026, but he looked like he could win the race if it wasn't for his phenom younger brother, Jett Lawrence, able to pass him late and go on to win. Hunter Lawrence looked like the class of the field. So he's going to remember that. Everybody's going to be thinking about Hunter's good in Denver. So it's these little nuances, different dirt, elevation, is there weather or not? All those things will play a role because we're down to the nitty gritty. We're down to a couple of races where one big factor in one particular weekend could be the difference.
Speaker 1:
[25:38] These little details can certainly add up in what has been a wildly unpredictable season. And then we'll just add to that. So this is off the track. How about this for unpredictability? So Kevin Moranz, privateer hero, fighting to make mains, is also simultaneously right now in a Netflix reality show that you can watch. Yes, they shot it before the season, so he's still focused on racing right now, but this is a really fun story. Here's us with Kevin for the Big Interview. Okay, and now for something completely different. We have Kevin Moranz for this week's Big Interview, but we're not just gonna talk about racing SMX. We're gonna talk about the fact that you're on a Netflix competition show, not involving racing. How did this even happen?
Speaker 4:
[26:23] It is a pretty insane process, to be honest, but obviously being in the YouTube social media space that I kinda am in, thankfully it was just kind of an opportunity that came about, and I was stoked to be given the opportunity in a sense to be in the pool of a potential cast. So yeah, just went through the whole process of it, and it is actually insane that I made it on the show.
Speaker 1:
[26:44] Million Dollar Secret on Netflix, watch this guy, go ahead.
Speaker 2:
[26:47] Well, Kevin, this seems like right up your alley. You're so out in front of things, marketing, and the people that don't know, I don't know that there's a rider that is a better self promoter than Kevin Moranz. So this was not a shock to me, and I know a surprise is not a shock, but how do you juggle, Skedron, I know you can't get into specifics, but how do you juggle doing a show like this, but also being a main event guy here on the weekends?
Speaker 4:
[27:08] Thankfully, the competition side, the racing and the result side is still there, but for me, yeah, it's a lot to manage because we were growing the team at this point, we were moving to a semi, we were trying to figure out who our second rider was. Obviously, the show has already happened, so it's not like we're doing it through Supercross, but yeah, the episodes are just now coming out and premiering on Netflix, which is sweet. But yeah, it's a tough situation of trying to manage the sponsorship side of things, the training, and being able to be competitive on top of this whole new experience, which was amazing.
Speaker 1:
[27:39] Now, this is a competition show, we can't give away too much because we want you folks to watch it on Netflix, show comes out every Wednesday. Couple episodes are already done if you want to binge watch it, but did the experience of being a professional athlete, pressure and all that help in some way?
Speaker 4:
[27:54] Absolutely, for me, because there is a competitive side of this show, there are competitions that could potentially get you information that is important in the game, and absolutely, I was having a ball, getting in there and because we compete on a weekly basis. So yeah, it was a ton of fun and I think it gave me a little bit of that edge that was needed.
Speaker 1:
[28:15] Then as far as the racing this year on the track, your normal job, give us an update on how your season is going.
Speaker 4:
[28:20] Yeah, pretty solid. Obviously, Main Event Moranz is the nickname and we've been pretty consistent with that. I think we're five in a row right now. We have left a couple Main Events on the table with some just freak little accidents of being down on the first corner in the LCQ or a little tip overs like that, but the speed is there. We have a little bit more aggression, which you guys have been commenting on this year, which I'm super excited about. And yeah, things are going good. Obviously, Grant being a part of the team, growing the Champion Tool Storage KMR KTM team in a whole is huge for us and we just keep to moving forward with it.
Speaker 2:
[28:49] Well, when this interview comes out, we're going to have three rounds left and then we're going to look towards Pro Motocross and then the playoff. So can you just give an idea what your schedule looks like as we think about this coming September?
Speaker 4:
[28:59] Yeah, so for us, it is up in the air on some of the outdoors. I know for sure Grant is an outdoor guy, so we're going to try to help him do as many of them as possible. I know the semi as of right now, we're kind of a Supercross only program. We're hoping to expand with our partners into outdoors eventually. But yeah, we look to help Grant as much as possible. There'll be probably select rounds that I pertain in. It just depends on how we end up in Supercross Championship points and what SMX points look like.
Speaker 1:
[29:23] All right. Well, this guy's a busy guy, no doubt. But if you want to relax and chill, he had to go to the stress of trying to win on this show, but you can watch it at home every week. Kevin Moranz on Netflix. All right, off to Philadelphia here. Let's get to the track map, JT. What do you see?
Speaker 2:
[29:37] Yeah, so again, we have the rectangle football stadium, home of the Philadelphia Eagles. And when I look at the track map, I like the layout. There's a few options in the rhythm sections. The real question for me is, and we touched on this briefly, what does the rain bring? Because if it's soft, if it's wet, does that affect the build? Does that affect what riders can execute on this racetrack? Time will tell on that stuff. But on paper, I really like this layout. There's a lot of 180s that are gonna kind of incentivize passing. It's gonna give guys opportunities. I think the whoops can be blitzers. They can be jumpers. That gives both guys optionality, whether it's Justin Cooper or a guy like Roczen. But overall, yeah, I like what I see so far from Dilly.
Speaker 1:
[30:19] Yeah, I like all those 180s as well, especially with points being this tight, man. A couple passes there can make all the difference. Here's what's so fun when you break down Lawrence v. Roczen. I just thought of this. I feel like there's been an equal number of races where one has gotten the better of the other. It hasn't been a pattern like you're used to seeing at this point in the season where you know one guy is this and the other guy is that. Every week, they seem to flip-flop who's the better guy, and that's even outside the good start, bad start, crashes, mistakes thing. Even if they go head-to-head, I don't know if we could predict that any weekend.
Speaker 2:
[30:51] This is like strength on strength. Good starts, good speed, really consistent. So yeah, it's a very different type of championship, even though we're down to a couple points with a few races to go, and from the outside, maybe it seems similar. On the inside, the nuance of it is completely different than 2025.
Speaker 1:
[31:09] And here's how you can watch it one more time. Back to the night show format for Philadelphia and the rest of the races for the rest of the Buster Energy Supercross campaign. So that's race day live, qualifying at one o'clock, and the gate drops for the heat races leading into the mains from Philadelphia at 7 p.m. Eastern. As always, you can watch everything live on Peacock in the United States or the SMX Video Pass outside the US. And there is an encore presentation at one o'clock, Sunday afternoon on NBC. There will be Sunday encores for all the rest of the Supercross campaign. So tell your friends to watch that if they miss live Saturday on Peacock, it doesn't really get any better. It's a one point lead. It might as well be tied between two riders who, like you said, have very similar strengths on the racetrack. And for the fifth time in the show, I'm going to mention all the spoilers that are in there, which would just exacerbate a good or bad race for either one and add to the drama. This is awesome. Hope to see everybody in Philadelphia as the SMX World Championship just keeps on heating up.