The concrete trucks have left the supercross stadiums. The whoops are gone. The tight rhythm sections, the triple-step-ons, the sand sections that tortured riders under the lights at Rice-Eccles Stadium — all of it is already a memory. The 2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross season ended nine days ago in Salt Lake City, and the sport has already turned the page to a completely different world.
On Saturday, May 30, the 2026 AMA Pro Motocross Championship opens at Fox Raceway in Pala, California. Deep-rutted hardpack, natural terrain elevation changes, two-moto formats, and the kind of sustained physical and mechanical punishment that separates outdoor racers from supercross specialists. The stadiums gave us drama, momentum, and one of the closest 450SX championships in modern history. The outdoor season is going to give us something different — and possibly something even better.
Here's what you need to know heading into Fox Raceway Round 1.
The Track: Fox Raceway, Pala, California
Fox Raceway at Pala Raceway has been a Pro Motocross fixture for years and earned the season-opener spot on the calendar by being exactly the kind of track that produces meaningful results on Day 1. The Southern California hardpack rewards technical precision and explosive power delivery — it doesn't mask weaknesses the way a soft, loamy track sometimes can. Riders who arrive with clean setups, strong conditioning, and smart moto management will show it immediately.
The track features long, sustained climbs, deep braking bumps that build through Moto 1 and become treacherous by Moto 2, and rhythms that reward committing to a line and executing it with consistency. Afternoon heat at Pala is no joke — late May in Southern California means temperatures in the 80s and 90s, and a 35-minute moto in that kind of heat separates people fast.
The opening round isn't just a season opener. It's a stress test. And the riders who handle stress best tend to establish themselves at Fox Raceway in ways that echo through the entire summer.
The Big Questions: 450MX
Ken Roczen arrives at Fox Raceway as the reigning AMA Supercross 450SX champion — and with that title comes a question the outdoor season is specifically designed to answer. Roczen is a legitimate outdoor talent who has shown flashes of brilliance on natural terrain across his career, but translating supercross momentum into motocross success is far from automatic. The fitness demands are different. The racecraft is different. The physical toll of back-to-back 35-minute motos in the California heat is something no amount of supercross preparation fully replicates.
Jett Lawrence is the name on everyone's lips as the rider most likely to dominate the outdoor season. The Geico Honda standout has established himself as one of the most technically complete 450 motocross racers in the world — his ability to manage deep ruts, charge through elevation changes, and maintain speed consistency deep into Moto 2 when the track is fully broken in is a genuine competitive weapon. Fox Raceway is a track that plays to his strengths. Pencil him in for podium consideration from the first gate drop.
Hunter Lawrence carries something into Fox Raceway that no points standings can measure: unfinished business. He lost the supercross title by one point, on the final night, in circumstances that had everything to do with a single mistake in a single corner. That kind of near-miss either breaks a rider or turns them into something more dangerous. Lawrence has the tools to compete for the outdoor title — his fitness is elite, his technical riding has evolved every season, and a summer of professional motocross is a long time to build and respond.
Chase Sexton is a genuine dark horse for the outdoor title based on the SLC finale alone. Four consecutive wins at Rice-Eccles Stadium proved his speed and race management are at a championship level. He'll be strong at Pala.
"Every year in supercross, the same guys are fast. Outdoors is where you find out who's actually been putting in work." — a veteran crew chief
Eli Tomac. Justin Cooper. Cooper Webb. Jorge Prado. This is the deepest 450 motocross field in years, and the outdoor season's 11-round format is long enough for every one of them to make a statement.
The Deegan Question: 450 Debut
The most-watched storyline of the 2026 outdoor season doesn't start in the 450 class — but it quickly becomes a 450 story.
Haiden Deegan lines up at Fox Raceway on a 450 for the first time as a professional. The 2026 250SX West champion, who dominated the western side of the supercross season and then finished second in the Salt Lake City East/West Showdown behind Cole Davies, now faces the biggest adjustment in a young pro's career. He won't look bad — Deegan never does, and the talent is plainly there. But natural terrain on a 450, with the kind of riders who have been riding these machines for years standing on the same line, is a genuinely new challenge.
The questions are fair: How will he handle the power delivery difference? How does his supercross-honed fitness translate to a 35-minute outdoor moto? And what happens in Moto 2, when the adrenaline of the debut is gone and the track is completely chewed up?
His debut at Fox Raceway will be one of the most-watched gate drops of the season. Whatever he does in those first two motos will set the tone for how the motocross world talks about Haiden Deegan all summer long.
250MX: Cole Davies, Levi Kitchen, and a Wide-Open Class
The 250MX class comes into the outdoor season with legitimate depth — and a new pecking order to establish after a supercross split-division format that kept the East and West riders largely separated until the finale.
Cole Davies won the SLC Showdown. He's also the East Division supercross champion, and his smooth, efficient riding style translates well to natural terrain. The outdoor season rewards the kind of consistent lap-time management that Davies does better than almost anyone in his class. He's the name to beat heading into Pala.
Levi Kitchen ran third in SLC qualifying and has been building toward a breakout performance all season. Fox Raceway's physical demands suit a rider who can sustain pressure for 35 minutes. Seth Hammaker qualified fastest at the SLC finale — he'll carry that confidence outdoors. Nate Thrasher, Tom Vialle, and a handful of riders who quietly spent the supercross season staying healthy and building conditioning are all in the conversation.
The 250MX class in 2026 is going to be excellent. Get familiar with the names now.
Watch the Schedule — This Summer Is Special
Eleven rounds, coast to coast, May through August. The Red Bud National falls on the Fourth of July — one of the great traditions in the sport. The series closes at Ironman Raceway in Crawfordsville, Indiana on August 29. Between Pala and Ironman, every track on the circuit will serve up at least one storyline worth following.
Round 1 at Fox Raceway kicks things off on May 30 at 1:00 PM PT / 3:00 PM CT on Peacock and NBC Sports. If the 2026 supercross season was any indication of the talent depth and narrative quality this group of riders can produce — and it absolutely was — then the outdoor season is going to be one worth watching from the first gate drop.
See you at Pala.