Carson SMX Results: Prado Extends Points Lead, Beaumer Wins 250 Overall

The second round of the 2026 Monster Energy SuperMotocross World Championship Playoffs headed to the Los Angeles area this weekend. After originally being slated to host the Monster Energy Cup in 2020, Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California got its chance to host the top racers on the planet on Saturday, nearly two decades after hosting the X Games and the Jeremy McGrath Invitational. Last weekend, rain and mud changed conditions quickly in Columbus. Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan scored his first career 450 class victory with a brilliant 1-1 afternoon as the order was switched up. Deegan arrived in Carson just two points behind Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado, who entered as the red plate holder for the first time since his move to America. 450MX champion Hunter Lawrence languished and finished 15th, falling ten points behind Prado.

In the 250 class, 250SX East and 250MX champion Cole Davies was the most dominant rider, but a DNF in Moto 1 cost him the red plate and a potential overall win last weekend. Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Levi Kitchen scored his second win of 2026 and his first career playoff win with 2-2 scores, claiming the red plate in the process. Kitchen entered Carson seven points clear of Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Ryder DiFrancesco and ten clear of Davies.

The short SMX Next World All-Stars series wrapped up this weekend as well. Entering Carson, Monster Energy Team Green Kawasaki’s Kade Johnson held the red plate. The Texan scored his second SMX Next victory last weekend and kept the ball rolling by setting the fastest time in qualifying. Two of the top racers in the division crashed in qualifying and missed the night show. Vincent Wey and Carson Wood were left on the sidelines as the #1 plate was up for grabs.

In qualifying, Hunter Lawrence and Julien Beaumer set the pace. Both men gained valuable momentum after struggling in Columbus. The double points format for SMX Playoff 2 provided an opportunity for racers to catch up and position themselves for a charge to the championships before next weekend’s finale.

250 Moto 1

Julien Beaumer rocketed out to the early lead with Ryder DiFrancesco and Drew Adams behind. Club MX Yamaha’s Hunter Yoder nearly had the holeshot, but ran wide and onto one of the gap doubles. Levi Kitchen and Cole Davies sat fourth and fifth early as Beaumer sprinted away. After building a two second lead, a couple of small mistakes from the #13 brought DiFrancesco back into the fight. As the battle for the lead tightened, Davies caught Kitchen. The Kiwi unleashed a scrub over the finish line five minutes into the race and flew ahead of his 250MX title rival. On the same lap, Davies passed Adams for third in the split lane. He started to inch closer to the top two by the halfway mark when Kitchen made a major mistake. The Chef went down and dropped to ninth, behind contenders such as Jo Shimoda and Chance Hymas. Davies continued to get closer to DiFrancesco and briefly made the move with around five minutes left, but dropped the front end exiting the sand. Davies lost third to Adams but recovered in time to stay fourth. Beaumer pulled back ahead of DiFrancesco and took a wire to wire victory, getting back on track after struggling in Columbus. DiFrancesco took second while Adams took third, his best career moto finish to date. Davies stayed in fourth after his fall while Kitchen got two spots back, progressing to seventh.

Julien Beaumer
Ryder DiFrancesco
Drew Adams
Cole Davies
Kayden Minear
Jo Shimoda
Levi Kitchen
Dilan Schwartz
Daxton Bennick
Pierce Brown

450 Moto 1

Jorge Prado scored the opening 450 holeshot of the night as Dylan Ferrandis slipped and went down in the opening corner. Prado, Haiden Deegan, Ken Roczen, Cooper Webb and Eli Tomac were the early top five. Roczen nearly clipped Deegan in the first rhythm lane on the first full lap but both men avoided disaster. Roczen made the pass entering the split lane as Tomac climbed to fourth. After a bad start, Hunter Lawrence worked his way to sixth in the opening laps. He closed in on Webb near the halfway mark and made the pass for fifth. The move put him in range of Tomac and he made the pass for fourth a lap later. At the same time, Roczen made a quick move to take first from Prado. The 450SX champ built a two second lead for several minutes, but Prado started to gain ground as time ticked away. Prado showed a wheel in the corner after taking the white flag but couldn’t make the move. Roczen took the moto win with Prado and Deegan joining him on the podium. Hunter Lawrence got to fourth, with Cooper Webb completing the top five.

Ken Roczen
Jorge Prado
Haiden Deegan
Hunter Lawrence
Cooper Webb
Eli Tomac
Malcolm Stewart
Aaron Plessinger
RJ Hampshire
Garrett Marchbanks

SMX Next World All-Stars

Orange Brigade KTM’s Wyatt Thurman scored the SMX Next holeshot after a runner-up finish last weekend. Club MX Yamaha’s Ryder Malinoski immediately went for a move and went sideways, taking out the turning pole. The two avoided a collision but Thurman lost the rear end before the first gap double, falling off his machine and down to ninth. Malinoski inherited the lead as Columbus winner Kade Johnson took second. Orange Brigade KTM’s Luke Fauser and Altus Motorsports BluCru Yamaha’s Kane Bollasina battled for third. Bollasina nearly took Fauser down and made the official pass a few corners later. Their battle allowed EBR Performance Yamaha’s Tanner Dorman, 5.11 Triumph Factory Racing’s Darren Pine and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Landon Gibson to enter the picture. Pine took fifth from Dorman and caught Fauser, making the move as time expired. Gibson also moved by Fauser as Malinoski nearly threw the win away with a close call in the sand. The Minnesota native calmed down and held on for the win as Johnson took second, clinching the SMX Next World All-Stars #1 plate. Bollasina took third, his first ever SMX Next podium.

Ryder Malinoski
Kade Johnson
Kane Bollasina
Darren Pine
Landon Gibson
Luke Fauser
Brennon Harrison
Wyatt Thurman
McKayden Fitch
Jesson Turner
Colby Lessar
Grant McDonald
Nate Freehill
Max Shane
Riley Busse
Dylan Rempel
Jace Williams
Chace Lawton
Cade Bradley
Tanner Dorman
Cole Forbes
Benji Moya

250 Moto 2

Before the final 250 moto commenced, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki mechanics worked feverishly to change the front wheel on Levi Kitchen’s machine. A flat tire sent the team into scramble mode, but the #47 machine was fixed in time for the gate drop. Julien Beaumer scored another holeshot with Ryder DiFrancesco and Cole Davies behind. Kitchen started fifth after his wheel change, behind teammate Nick Romano. Davies swept around the outside of DiFrancesco at the end of the first lap to take second, while Kitchen moved ahead of Romano. As Davies attempted to gain ground on Beaumer, disaster struck. The rear wheel of his machine kicked exiting a corner and sent him flying into the dirt. The crash also involved DiFrancesco, who dropped to 11th. Davies got up slowly and attempted to correct his bent bars after climbing back aboard his machine. His attempt to salvage points was short lived, with Davies exiting the stadium a few moments later. After the shakeup, Landen Gordon took third from Romano as Jo Shimoda climbed to fifth. Shimoda made contact with Romano while taking fourth, allowing Cameron McAdoo to follow his former teammate through.

DiFrancesco joined a pack of riders and slowly chipped away. He moved around Drew Adams after the #35 ran off track and started to reel in Pierce Brown and Kayden Minear. At the same time, Kitchen launched a charge and took the lead from Beaumer seven minutes into the race. DiFrancesco got by Romano and Minear to reach seventh at the halfway mark. He took sixth from McAdoo after the veteran made a mistake and clipped a jump while Shimoda pressured Gordon for third. The defending champion took the spot and pulled away from the rookie. He caught Beaumer with a minute remaining and took second easily. The move put Shimoda in line for a provisional podium until DiFrancesco caught Gordon. He made the pass entering the split lane with two to go to keep his podium chance and title hopes alive. Kitchen won the moto and climbed to third overall, while Shimoda finished second in the moto. Beaumer’s third was enough for the overall win, while DiFrancesco’s fifth put him second overall and just three points behind Kitchen in the series.

Levi Kitchen
Jo Shimoda
Julien Beaumer
Pierce Brown
Ryder DiFrancesco
Landen Gordon
Cameron McAdoo
Kayden Minear
Nate Thrasher
Chance Hymas

250 Overall Results

Julien Beaumer (1-3)
Ryder DiFrancesco (2-5)
Levi Kitchen (7-1)
Jo Shimoda (6-2)
Kayden Minear (5-8)
Pierce Brown (10-4)
Drew Adams (3-14)
Landen Gordon (12-6)
Dilan Schwartz (8-11)
Cameron McAdoo (14-7)
Daxton Bennick (9-12)
Nate Thrasher (13-9)
Chance Hymas (15-10)
Cole Davies (4-22)
Caden Dudney (16-13)
Nick Romano (11-21)
Max Anstie (18-15)
Lux Turner (17-16)
Marshal Weltin (19-17)
Josh Varize (20-19)
Max Vohland (22-18)
Avery Long (DNS-20)
Hunter Yoder (21-DNS)

450 Moto 2

Hunter Lawrence scored the holeshot for the final 450 moto but made a mistake crossing back onto the start straight. Jorge Prado pushed him wide and took the top spot, but his lead was short lived. Prado cased a jump in the first rhythm lane and Lawrence moved back ahead. After a mediocre start, Ken Roczen fired into fourth on the first full lap, passing Haiden Deegan. He nearly took third from Cooper Webb but the 3-time 450SX champion fought back for a moment. Roczen ended up taking the spot in the corner after the finish line and started to chase after Prado. Webb and Deegan battled for fourth for several laps until the rookie made the pass stick with 11:30 to go. As Deegan caught and passed Roczen, Prado tipped over in the sand and fell back to fourth. He got back around Roczen thanks to a quad and started to gain ground on Deegan. Webb took fourth from Roczen with 3:30 left on the clock, moments before Deegan dropped his bike in the sand. After getting back up, Deegan took Webb down and got back to third ahead of Roczen. Things calmed down at the end of the moto, with Lawrence scoring the moto win. Prado took the overall win with a second place finish to extend his points lead. Deegan, Roczen and Webb completed the moto top five as Prado, Lawrence and Roczen comprised the overall podium.

Hunter Lawrence
Jorge Prado
Haiden Deegan
Ken Roczen
Cooper Webb
RJ Hampshire
Jordon Smith
Garrett Marchbanks
Dylan Ferrandis
Justin Hill

450 Overall Results

Jorge Prado (2-2)
Hunter Lawrence (4-1)
Ken Roczen (1-4)
Haiden Deegan (3-3)
Cooper Webb (5-5)
RJ Hampshire (9-6)
Garrett Marchbanks (10-8)
Malcolm Stewart (7-11)
Eli Tomac (6-12)
Jordon Smith (14-7)
Aaron Plessinger (8-13)
Dylan Ferrandis (13-9)
Justin Hill (12-10)
Christian Craig (11-14)
Benny Bloss (15-16)
Shane McElrath (16-17)
Vince Friese (17-18)
Colt Nichols (DNS-15)
Freddie Noren (19-19)
Mitchell Harrison (18-20)
Mikkel Haarup (20-21)
Joey Savatgy (21-DNS)
Grant Harlan (DNS-22)
Justin Barcia (22-DNS)

Entering Carson, Jorge Prado will have a 16 point buffer over Hunter Lawrence and Haiden Deegan. Ken Roczen is 18 back, but Prado is in the catbird seat entering Thunder Ridge. In the 250 class, Levi Kitchen sits just three points clear of Ryder DiFrancesco. Julien Beaumer sits 16 points behind the lead in third and still has a chance to steal the title.