SuperMotocross Playoffs Showcase Venue Flexibility

REVVING UP: zMAX Dragway in Charlotte hosted the inaugural SuperMotocross World Championship playoffs in 2023, and was selected again for this year’s action. (Courtesy venue) 

Get Your Moto Runnin’

Off-road motorcycle racing is in the final stretch of the season, with the 2024 SuperMotocross World Championship playoffs at zMAX Dragway adjacent to the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina (Sept. 7), Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas (Sept. 14), and the finals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Nevada (Sept. 21).

Created in 2022, the SuperMotocross World Championship is a dual-discipline blend of Pro Motocross, which is held over mostly natural terrain, and Supercross, which typically takes place over constructed tracks inside football and baseball stadiums. Venues to host supercross include Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan.

The full series includes 31 rounds: 17 rounds of Monster Energy AMA Supercross and 11 rounds of Pro Motocross sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, followed by three playoffs rounds and finals during the SMX World Championship. The series has a prize payout of $10 million, $4.5 million awarded throughout the Supercross and Pro Motocross rounds and $5.5 million awarded during the championship rounds.

Feld Motor Sports owns and produces Supercross while MX Sports Pro Racing owns and produces Pro Motocross. Between them, roughly 120 riders compete in the first 28 rounds, with 60 total advancing to the conjoined championship. The SMX World Championship playoff races and final will run under a two-moto format for both the 450cc class and 250cc class.

Merging Pro Motocross and Supercross isn’t as simple as it sounds. Pro Motocross is known for high speeds and steep hills. Supercross features multiple jumps on a more condensed, manufactured track.

“From a venue perspective, we look at alternative venues,” said Mike Muye, senior director of operations for Feld Motor Sports. “The idea is 50/50 Supercross technical and other areas that get that natural terrain for Motocross.”

Charlotte’s zMAX Dragway was a site for the inaugural playoffs in 2023 and was selected again for its famous four-lane dragstrip and dual grandstands.

“It provided a unique opportunity not only where the cars race, but in the parking lot,” Muye said. “It is an open-concept style footprint and gave us the opportunity to take the track out and into the parking lot and make it bigger, more like a Motocross track.”

Texas Motor Speedway is a regular stop on the NASCAR Cup Series with a 1.5-mile, tri-oval superspeedway on more than 1,400 acres.

“We are building in the tri-oval by the NASCAR finish line and in several areas, we won’t bring in dirt, we will till up existing dirt,” offered Muye. “And what that does is replicate what are called breaking bumps.”

The Strip in Las Vegas is one of the most iconic dragstrips in the country and joins zMAX Dragway as one of only two dragstrips in the nation to feature four-wide racing. Next to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the Strip hosts more than 50 events a year and provides a unique viewing experience from the grandstands and suites as well as the ability for fans to “line the fence,” similar to what is done at Pro Motocross events. Prior to moving to the Strip, Supercross concluded its season each year at the city’s Sam Boyd Stadium, according to Muye.

The races have become two-day events with a Friday FanFest featuring activities that include access to the pre-race press conference, free practice sessions and the SMX Insiders live show. On Saturday, fans can watch qualifying and stay after the races for autograph sessions. Fort Worth and Las Vegas will include new inside track VIP areas with specially designed viewing areas and platforms. They are expecting 35,000 to 40,000 fans at each round.

“When we go to a speedway, every single one of them is different,” offered Muye. “For example, in Texas this year, the base layer underneath the grass is only six to eight inches thick whereas at Chicagoland Speedway (Joliet, Illinois) it’s 25 inches thick. What that means is that we have to build up in most areas to get that natural terrain.”

Dirt matters. It takes 500 to 700 truckloads – 15,000 yards – to construct a competition track.

“Dirt is the single biggest commodity we move in and out,” said Muye, who didn’t disclose production costs. “It’s one of the largest line items we have. You wouldn’t believe how valuable dirt is in most of these places.”

The track is specifically designed for each venue and is different for each round. But some of the obstacles are the same, including the popular triple jump with riders soaring 70 feet over the hurdles 40 feet in the air.

“That’s one of the unique features of Supercross and Motocross,” Muye said. “There is never the same track in any year at any event.”

The SMX World Championship airs live on Peacock with a same-day delay on the USA network. There is also a pre-race show, “Race Day Live” during the qualifying sessions that also airs on Peacock. They use drones, 28 to 30 cameras and three production trucks to capture the action for fans at home. Feld Motor Sports produces the broadcast.

During load in, the production team grows from 30 to 40 people to 250 with TV production. Add in the athletes and their teams and the number swells to 2,400.

“It is a big production,” Muye said. “We’ve been doing it for many years, though, and the operational teams and broadcast teams work together in pretty much perfect harmony.”