Carson Wood established
himself as the rider to beat from
the moment practice began. The
Yamaha prospect topped both
qualifying sessions, posting a lap
nearly two seconds quicker than
the rest of the field. Wood, who
raced the Pro Motocross rounds
at Thunder Valley and High Point,
grabbed the holeshot in moto one
and controlled the race despite
briefly stalling his bike midway
through. Husqvarna's Landon Gib
-
son stayed within striking distance,
but
Wood never surrendered the
lead and claimed the opening vic
-
tory by just over a second.
In Saturday's
second moto,
Wood again battled Gibson after
the Husqvarna rider took the early
holeshot. Wood wasted little time,
passing for the lead on the open
-
ing lap and maintaining a strong
pace throughout
the shortened
race. Another win meant a clean
sweep of the weekend and se
-
cured his first SMX Next overall
victory.
"It is so hot out here," Wood
said. "The track is super challeng-
ing, and you have to be patient, but
when
you have someone behind
you, that can be difficult. I was
about third off the start [in moto
two] and was following [Gibson]
for a little bit but was able to make
the pass super quick. That made
the moto a lot easier on myself.
I'm pumped; it was a perfect week
-
end."
Gibson
finished second in both
motos to earn runner-up honors
overall.
Kade Johnson finished third
overall for Monster Energy Kawa
-
saki Team Green. Johnson's con-
sistent 3-4 finishes gave him the
nod for an overall
spot on the box,
his first in an SMX Next Motocross
event.
Australia's Kayd Kingsford
grabbed third in moto two, but a
sixth in the opening moto kept him
to fourth overall while Owen Covell
rounded out the top five.
CN
VOLUME 63 ISSUE 27 JULY 7, 2026 P55
SMX Next – MX Overall (Top 5)
1. Carson Wood (Yam) 1-1
2. Landon Gibson (Hus) 2-2
3. Kade Johnson (Kaw) 3-4
4. Kayd Kingsford (Hon) 6-3
5. Owen Covell (Yam) 5-6
Kade Johnson (177) battled for
the final spot on the podium.
