Post-Race Interviews: Playoff 2
September 15, 2025
We caught up with Jordon Smith and Benny Bloss after the race. Here’s what they had to say!
Jordon Smith
All right, I guess my first question, and not to start off negative, but you had a really big crash in Arlington. I feel like we haven't seen the same speed from you ever since. Is that something?
I honestly felt like I had just gotten back to that speed at Salt Lake. And I think the one at Salt Lake was almost bigger for me, with Cole Davies. That one was scary. I didn’t get any time on the bike before outdoors, so I went into outdoors not even knowing if I should be racing. The Thursday before Pala, they drained—I forget what it was—like 600ccs of fluid out of my back. Since then I just haven’t been able to get comfortable on the bike. Outdoors obviously isn’t always my best place, and I’m always kind of searching on the bike there. So yeah, it’s been a bit of a struggle trying to find that speed again. I just haven’t felt comfortable since then.
What exactly did you hurt in SLC?
I didn’t break anything. I had a really gnarly hematoma and what’s called a degloving injury—basically where your skin gets separated from the tissues. The skin is still numb on my back. It’s coming back, but still pretty numb. If someone wipes dirt off my back and it hits a nerve, it feels really weird. It doesn’t bother me riding or day to day, but during the two weeks between Supercross and outdoors, I couldn’t even sit back while driving in a car. The pressure on those nerves hurt really badly. It’s not bothering me now, but it was gnarly for a bit. I had so much fluid back there that I actually had to go up a size in pants. It’s still a little swollen.
I mean, that crash was so scary.
Yeah, it was scary. In the air I was like, I don’t know what’s going to happen. It was one of the biggest jumps we hit all year, and I just saw him come back into my line. Nothing you can do—he had no idea. It was bad.
Well, glad it wasn’t worse. Anyways, I feel like tonight was good. Do you agree? Is this something positive you can build off of?
Not really. It was okay. The second moto was better. Even last week, I finished 17th, but in the middle of the moto I was going as fast as Hayden and Levi, who had the fastest times then. My fastest lap was on lap eight, and it was the second-fastest lap of anyone that lap: a second faster than a lot of guys ahead of me. But I just had a rough race. Tonight, I didn’t feel like I had that speed. I thought I’d be better on the Supercross-style track, but honestly the biggest separator was the sand, and that’s where I struggled the most. I’m going to ride some sand this weekend since we’ve got sand sections next weekend and see what happens.
General thoughts on the track?
I liked it. It was a lot of fun. Tough to race and tough to pass on. It was pretty one-lined, but people made passes on me, so it wasn’t impossible. Jett passed like 18 people in the first 450 moto, so you can do it. I could sit here and say, “Oh, it was super one-line, I couldn’t pass anyone,” but clearly it was possible. No excuses. The dirt’s always unreal here, and it was a really fun track to ride.
Benny Bloss
Congrats on the home state race!
I love it. I feel like I have more fans that I interact with at this race than the rest of the year combined. I do have fans at other places, but here it’s kind of crazy; it makes you feel good about yourself. The dirt here is also my favorite on the whole circuit. So I’m very happy with the day. I feel like I rode solid, rode great, and had a good jumping point. Now I’m ready to go to Vegas and try to do better.
Your hometown is KC, Missouri side. So people are making the drive?
Yeah. A lot of people: hundreds that I personally know really well. It’s about three hours from here. It’s funny how many people I don’t talk to that often will hit me up for races. I live in Oklahoma now, so it’s like having two different home races. People always hit me up the week of Dallas or St. Louis asking for tickets, and I’m like, I’ve got to pay for them too, I don’t get them for free. But it’s pretty cool; I like the vibe here.
Do you get to spend any time back home while you’re here?
No, not really. My wife is due to have our second child any minute, so I’ll fly home tomorrow morning. I’m really excited about that; it’s super exciting.
SMX seems good so far for you. What are your thoughts?
Honestly, I came into these three races extremely unprepared. I was really nervous going to Charlotte last week because I hadn’t ridden much this summer. I dealt with multiple different things. But in Charlotte I felt great. My fitness feels really good off the bike; I’ve been working really hard. This weekend was even better. I kind of surprised myself between both weekends. I’m really happy with how I’ve been riding and really happy with how the bike feels.
It’s interesting, the program you guys are on with no outdoor races. Is that something you want to do in the future with the team?
I actually consider myself more of an outdoor guy than a Supercross guy, and I haven’t raced a full outdoor series since 2022. I’d love to race the whole outdoor series. I will say it’s nice to not have raced some of the MX races at the beginning of the season; it gave me a chance to take a break, enjoy family time, and not train super hard. But I love racing and I love outdoors, so I’d definitely like to do it again.
You hear people joke, like PulpMX, about the battle between you and Oldenburg to be the best Beta rider. Is that actually a thing? Is there extra push to beat your teammate?
You always want to beat your teammate. On any team I’ve been on, I want to be the top guy. But it’s funny: at one point during Supercross I had to ask Steve, “Can we please tone it down?” because people were DMing me saying, “You’re number two.” Even at the races people would come up and call me number two. I don’t love it. But after last weekend, Steve sent a photo of qualifying showing Freckles ahead of me with “Beta number one.” As soon as the first moto ended I said, “Hey Steve, who’s number one now?”
No, honestly, I get along with Freckles really well. I think we enjoy the weekends together. It’s been fun.
