It has certainly been a long road for the SuperMotocross World Championship Series Director of Public Relations Sean Brennen, but with each step, he’s learned to embrace every moment in this incredible sport. With the 2025 SMX Playoffs beginning next weekend at zMAX Dragway in Concord, NC. We thought it would be great to catch up with Sean to talk about the upcoming SMX Playoffs, as well as what the future might hold for the Series as we head towards 2026.
MXP: First off, thank you Sean for taking some time to chat with us. With the Pro Motocross Championship just wrapping up and the SMX Playoffs only a few short weeks away, we assume you will be very busy soon?
SB: Hey Chris! Yes, things have been ramping up during the past few weeks with the opening round of the SMX Playoffs coming up in Concord, NC. Unfortunately, a few of the top riders have been out with injuries this summer, but it looks as though they’re getting healthy and will be on the starting line at zMAX Dragway at Charlotte Motor Speedway here next week.
It’s always troublesome when any rider gets injured during the outdoor nationals, but with the SMX Playoffs it’s now giving certain riders a chance to take maybe a few weeks off, heal up, and then come back and compete in September. In the past, there was a chance we wouldn’t see these riders until Anaheim 1.
You’re exactly right Chris. The SMX World Championship Playoffs have given the riders a chance to come back and not only earn a lot of money but also extend the sport’s reach and remain in the news cycles of the mainstream media, which is extremely important here in the United States as we are always competing for attention with traditional sports in addition to NASCAR and INDYCAR. If you look at other major sports, they find a way to remain relevant for twelve months of the year, and with the SMX World Championship Series it has allowed us to do the same. This is so important for continued growth, as we not only introduce new fans to the sport, but also create ongoing engagement for our core audience and sponsors. That is one reason why we just saw companies like Monster Energy sign on again to be our title sponsor for not only Supercross, but now title sponsor of the entire SMX World Championship Series – all 31 races from January through September.
Last year, it was Jett Lawrence and Eli Tomac using the SMX Playoffs to make their comeback to racing after suffering injuries that knocked them out of the Pro Motocross Championship. This year it will be Chase Sexton and our current Monster Energy Supercross Champion Cooper Webb returning from their injuries. Also, because of his speed and consistency throughout the year, Justin Cooper is the #1 seed in the 450 class heading into the opening round of the SMX Playoffs. That in itself is one heck of a story line.
Yes, what a great achievement for Justin Cooper and the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing Team, and it reinforces the importance of staying healthy and being at every race. As you mentioned, that is a great storyline coming into the opening round. Also, we are returning to popular venues in North Carolina and Las Vegas. Both of those events last year were very well received. Finally, we are heading back to St. Louis and a market that has a rich history and love for this sport. I think everyone is going to be blown away when they see what we plan to do with the track in St. Louis. Like all the SMX Playoff rounds, the track in St. Louis is going to be a hybrid but this one will be more “motocross inspired”. The stands at the Dome at America’s Centre are retractable and this will allow us to expand the floor space quite a bit. We will also be using the annex connector between the Dome and the Convention Centre which will make for a unique track layout. Fans will be able to “line the fence” inside the exhibition area which will offer a different viewing experience that we wouldn’t be able to do at a normal Supercross round. Unfortunately, we won’t be offering camping at the St. Louis round, but camping will be available in both Charlotte and Las Vegas.
Last year, I attended the opening round of the SMX Playoffs at zMAX Dragway and it was an incredible event from a fans perspective. Obviously, I’ve been fortunate enough to attend a lot of SX and MX races over the years, and I found the SMX Playoff race to be the perfect combination of both. It has the relaxed open space feeling of an outdoor national, with the fan friendly, easy to spectate convenience of a SX race. I love it!
It’s interesting that you say that as I’ve received that type of review from a lot of industry people. The playoff events are really the best of both SX and MX and that was the design from the beginning. The hybrid tracks are exciting, we’ve seen some great battles, and for fans, the atmosphere in the paddock gives them a great opportunity to get up close and personal with their favourite riders. We have a lot of activations planned for this year’s Friday FanZone (Charlotte and Las Vegas) and Saturday’s FanFest (all three rounds). For the Friday FanZone activities, fans will be able to come to the venue starting at 11:00 am and take in the press conference that starts at 11:30 am, then get a first view of the athletes taking to the track in the afternoon for the Friday practice sessions. We will also have pit bike racing and an SMX Insiders Live Show featuring Ricky Carmichael, James Stewart, Jason Weigandt, Jason Thomas and others. So, we have a full day planned for Friday in both Charlotte and Las Vegas. Saturday’s schedule will look a bit more like a traditional Supercross round with qualifying taking place inside the venue while FanFest will run outside in the paddock. Everything that we are doing with the SMX World Championship Series is to truly combine both disciplines from a competitive standpoint on the track but also from a fan experience standpoint. That’s why we are offering camping in Charlotte and Las Vegas and feature areas around the tracks at every round where fans can line the fence and experience the race just like they would at a Pro Motocross round. It really is designed to be the best of both worlds.
Well, we cannot wait for the opening round next weekend at zMAX Dragway. As I mentioned, last year it was an amazing event, and I’m sure it will be the same this time around. The venue is only a 10-hour drive from Ontario, so it’s not too far for a lot of Canadian race fans. It’s going to be exciting to see Jett and Hunter Lawrence battle the likes of Sexton, Tomac, and Webb. You’ve been taking care of us media for some time now, and each year it seems like your job gets more complex as we’ve transitioned from just having journalists and photographers, to now having multiple videographers at each event. How did you get started in this crazy business Sean?
Well, it’s certainly been a long road to get to where I am now, but it’s also been a very gratifying one. I’m originally from Pittsburgh and grew up with two passions – dirtbikes & music and have been very fortunate to work professionally in both fields. 1978 changed me as I saw Supercross and KISS for the first time and those two events changed the trajectory of my life. I started out working with bands in Pittsburgh and concert promotion, then moved to New York City and worked for the largest concert promoter in the country at the time (Nederlander Organization), before eventually moving to Nashville where I worked on Music Row for more than fifteen years. Country music was booming, and I was fortunate to work with everyone from Shania Twain to Garth Brooks. Living in New York was great and I’m glad that I experienced that but my years in Nashville were very special. Looking back now I realize how similar pro racing is to pro music life. Every racer is working towards getting a factory ride and racing in a stadium under the lights on a Saturday night as every musician is trying to get a record deal so they can sing under the lights in a stadium on a Saturday night. It’s really the same thing. Eventually, a job change led me to Tampa and after several years of living here they wanted me to move to New York, which at the time my kids were fully engrossed in school and had their own lives, and my wife had a teaching career so a return to New York really wasn’t in the cards. That decision ultimately led me to finding the Supercross PR opening at Feld Motor Sports where they were in the midst of moving everyone to the area to be headquartered out of their new Feld Entertainment Studios just south of Tampa in Palmetto, Florida. So, like most things in life – being at the right place at the right time really rings true here.
That is a great story, and one that you should definitely be proud of. Seeing as you’re originally from Pittsburgh, it must have been cool to have the Monster Energy Supercross Series head back there this year for a round? What a great full circle moment for you.
You know Chris, it really was an incredible moment to have SX return to Pittsburgh this year. It’s such a great sports town with the Pirates, Steelers, and Penguins, so having SX go back there made a lot of sense. Plus, our friends at MX Sports Pro Racing are a stones-throw away in Morgantown and were the original promoters of the only two previous Pittsburgh Supercross (78/83) events ever held in the market. They also promote the High Point National and promoted the Steel City National for many years, so we knew we had an active fan base in the area. We have ongoing conversations with most venues throughout the country and had many talks with Acrisure Stadium and the Steelers organization previously but just couldn’t make a date work until this year. I have seen Pittsburgh on many potential schedules over the years but wouldn’t let myself get excited until it was finally announced and what a goose-bump moment that was. It was a very special week for me and my family and was very well received as we expected. The event drew over 58K so we will definitely be returning.
I guess the big question is, will the series be going back there in 2026?
We won’t be returning in 2026 as the Steelers and the city of Pittsburgh will be hosting the NFL draft, so we already know a date in 2026 won’t work. But hopefully we can land on the right date for 2027. But you bring up a great point as we will be announcing the 2026 SMX World Championship Series schedule right after the Playoffs on September 30. So, fans will know shortly where the series will be taking us next year.
Sean, it’s been a pleasure chatting with you. Best of luck with the SMX Playoff events. We are sure they will once again be a great success, and will no doubt bring some new eyes to the sport. Thank you for taking the time to chat with us. See you in Charlotte!
Thank you for the time today, Chris. See you soon. And as a reminder for your audience, we hope they can attend one of the races in person and can find ticket information at supermotocross.com, and if they can’t make it, they can tune in to the broadcast live in three different languages – English, French and Spanish via our Supermotocross Video Pass. They can also find more information at supermotocross.com.
