Minear Crowned SMX Next World All-Stars Champion
Yamaha BLU CRU riders shine at SMX Next title-deciding round in St. Louis, with Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Kayden Minear earning the title with a 1-2 score / Sep 15, 2025 /
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Kayden Minear was crowned the 2025 SMX Next World All-Stars Champion after delivering a 1-2 result at the title-deciding doubleheader inside The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Caden Dudney overcame adversity from a crash in the first main event to finish fifth in the championship (9-4). It was a reversal of fortune for their teammate Carson Wood, who finished runner-up on Friday, but ultimately finished 15th (2-21) in the standings after a crash in the second main event.
With severe weather canceling the first SMX Next round in Charlotte, North Carolina, Friday hosted the make-up main event for the two-race amateur championship. Minear kicked off the weekend with a commanding victory, then backed it up Saturday by topping qualifying. In fourth on the opening lap, the young Australian made his way to second with three laps to go in the double-points-paying main event, securing the crown with his 1-2 tally.
In the first round, Dudney unfortunately found himself on the ground after coming together with another rider on the opening lap. Undeterred, he put in an impressive charge from the back of the field to ninth. It was a much better day two for the young rider from Iowa, qualifying second and fighting his way from sixth to fourth at the halfway mark, where he finished to secure fifth in the championship.
Wood was fourth after the start of the first main event, making moves in the final laps to claim the runner-up spot and join his teammate Minear on the podium. On Saturday, he was fourth in the combined times but unfortunately went down on the opening lap. Despite feeling less than 100% from his crash, he rejoined in 22nd and pushed through to 21st, earning points in the double-points round to end the championship 15th overall.
It was a stellar outing for Yamaha BLU CRU riders as a whole, with four finishing inside the top five of the championship and an all-Yamaha podium on Saturday. Altus Motorsports BLU CRU Yamaha’s Kade Johnson took home second in the championship (6-3), while Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX Yamaha’s Ryder Malinoski took the win in Saturday’s main event to finish fourth overall (25-1).
Wil Hahn – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250 Team General Manager
“In SMX Next, we had a great weekend of qualifying at the top of the charts. I’m really stoked to see all of our guys have success, and with Kayden winning the championship. We’re looking forward to building off of this and the future of the team.”
Kayden Minear – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #66
“I felt good out there all weekend. The bike has been great. It was a good day. I started off a bit slow in the first qualifying – the intensity wasn’t there. So we came back, had a look at the track, watched some film, and went back out there swinging. We got some really good laps in, and that gave me a good spot on the gate. I got a really good start in the moto, and kind of just rode it home from there.”
Caden Dudney – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #400
“Overall, I learned a lot from the SMX Next rounds. It’s time to go back to work on supercross, and we’ll see how it goes at the first round of Futures.”
Carson Wood – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #260
“The weekend started out really well with a second-place finish, and I felt like I had the speed to run up front. Unfortunately, the second race didn’t go my way with the crash after the start. I was able to get back out there and finish. I’m proud of that and not quitting. It was still a great experience overall, and I’m excited to keep building from here.”
2025 SMX Next World All-Stars Championship Standings
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