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finale. To the crowd's approval, the Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha rider passed for the lead in the opening moto and led more than half the race over both Lawrence brothers. Eventu - ally, Jett got the best of Tomac, but the gritty veteran put up a strong fight to take second. He came back for more in race two with a good start and trailed Hunter in second for the near entirety of the moto. Once again, Jett's late-race effort dropped Tomac back a spot, resulting in a 2-3 tally for the night. His third in the championship pocketed him a cool $250,000 for his ef - forts. "When he [Jett] passed me, I saw some seriously different lines. You were better off being behind to learn the lines," Tomac said. "When it's a sand section like that, you can gain signifi- cant amounts of time, and I just missed it, and he was doing it better. Jett was going inside there, and I think it was three- quarters of a second faster. If week ago to again lead laps in both motos on Saturday night. After he was overtaken by Tomac, followed by some bar- banging with Jett, Hunter settled for third in race one. He fired back with a near-perfect start in the second moto. He needed the win for a chance at the title, and the older Lawrence led all 15 laps en route to the moto vic - tory. Unfortunately for him, his brother passed Tomac, shifting the final tally in Jett's favor and relegating Hunter to the runner- up position in the championship, 15 points in the red. Neverthe- less, second overall earned him the $500,000 runner-up purse. "Yeah, I'm gutted," Hunter said. "I did everything I could in that one; felt like I just gave it 110 percent every time I went on the track. Just came up short. Once I saw him [Jett] get Eli, I was like, 'Okay, time to just pull it into the pits.' " Third-placed Tomac still held a mathematical chance at the SMX crown coming into the ROUND 3 / SEPTEMBER 20, 2025 THE STRIP AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY | LAS VEGAS, NEVADA P68 DEEGAN PUNISHED Haiden Deegan's rough riding in the second 250SMX cost him $50,000 from the SMX purse. Deegan received a five-point penalty from the AMA for his aggressive riding, which dropped him from fourth to fifth, a $50,000 difference, in the final SMX Championship. "I gave it every- thing I had to win the champion- ship," Deegan said. "This new format of racing in SMX makes for an intense grand finale. I always give 110 percent. It's high-stakes racing, and it's hard to really explain what that's like without being in that situation." SEXTON CRASH Chase Sexton suffered a nasty crash while running inside the top five during the second 450 moto. He went down in the outdoor motocross section, and Sexton would not finish the race with a shoulder injury and a concussion. Sexton said on social media, "My shoulder is very weak, so I will be getting it checked this upcoming week, and [I have] a mild concussion. Not the way I was expecting to end this year, but I trust God's plan always." In the short three- year history of the Playoffs, Sexton has yet to finish an SMX final. Briefly... SUPERMOTOCROSS I MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERMOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Jett Lawrence had mixed emotions after winning the SMX title for the third consecutive time. PHOTO: ALIGN MEDIA