UNADILLA, New York — A captivating and unpredictable summer has reached its most pivotal juncture, as the Pro Motocross Championship is set to embark on the stretch run of its 11-race season. Central New York’s iconic Unadilla MX will be the site of Round 26 of the 2026 Monster Energy SMX World Championship, kicking off a three-race stretch that will put a period on the regular season by crowning an outdoor 450SMX Class and 250SMX Class champion. The annual visit to the scenic Unadilla Valley will be the landmark 40th running of Saturday’s ELF LUBRICANTS Unadilla National.
“After an extended break from racing, we’ve reached arguably the most crucial point of the Pro Motocross season,” said Davey Coombs, president of MX Sports Pro Racing. “This final three-week run to crown champions will be filled with tension as the championship pressure builds for our top contenders with each gate drop. Just six motos remain in each class and the title fights in both 450SMX and 250SMX are amongst the closest we’ve ever seen. This is the kind of captivating drama that makes this sport so special and there’s no better place to kick off the stretch run than Unadilla, which is woven into the fabric of American motocross and was part of the inaugural Pro Motocross season 54 years ago in 1972.”
Unadilla MX is the oldest venue in American motocross. The track served as a centerpiece of the sport’s expansion from its European origins into the United States, hosting Trans-AMA events that predated Pro Motocross and pitted the best from Europe against aspiring American talent. The track’s lore only grew from there as it became the site of the 250cc U.S. Grand Prix and earned the historic distinction of being the country’s first host venue for the FIM Motocross of Nations.
On the track, the sibling battle between Hunter and Jett Lawrence will enter its next chapter at Unadilla, as Jett looks to end the recent surge of momentum by Hunter, who has claimed back-to-back victories to establish a 12-point lead. For Hunter, his midseason run has been nothing short of impressive, with four wins over the last five races and just a single finish outside the top two over those 10 motos. Jett, meanwhile, has been hampered by an uncharacteristic number of miscues that have put him on the ground several times and have likely cost him a couple wins, resulting in the loss of invaluable championship points.
In the 250SMX Class, the battle for the championship appears to be a two-man race between Levi Kitchen and Cole Davies. The veteran experience of Kitchen has allowed him to maintain his hold of the red plate, but Davies has been the class of the field more often than not this summer and certainly has momentum on his side coming into the stretch run. Just seven points sit between the pair.
Comprehensive live streaming coverage from Unadilla will air exclusively on Peacock, beginning with Race Day Live at 10 a.m. before coverage of the motos gets underway at 1 p.m. ET.
The MX racing series will be at Budds Creek, Maryland on Aug. 22 before coming to Ironman Raceway in Crawfordsville on Aug. 29.
