MotoFest 2026: How the $100,000 REALLY Works

Added: 2026-05-14

[00:00:00]What a time to be a motocross fan. Ken Roxson is finally a 450 Supercross champion. Suzuki is on top. And now that Ken is going off into vacation mode to get ready for world supercross. And next year, Jet Lawrence is coming back from injury. Hayden Degan is getting stepping up to the 450 class. And things are shaping up to be very exciting at the Paul National in about 2 and 1/2 weeks.

[00:00:19]This year though, first time in a while, we have two weekends off in between the Supercross finale and the Pro Motocross season opener. And this weekend at Glenn Helen, the Moto Fest is taking over.

[00:00:28]$100,000 is up for grabs on Friday and Saturday's racing, plus a ton of other events are being packed into this 4-day weekend at Glen Helen. This week in MXA presented by O'Neal Racing, we're talking all about the Moto Fest. Let's get into it.

[00:00:50]$100,000 is no small price, and that is what is going up for grabs this weekend at Glen Helen. I'll explain exactly how much each rider will make and how far down the list they will be paying out uh here in a few minutes, but first I want to talk about the upgrades being made to the track. Glenn Helen is long known for being the roughest, toughest, and fastest track in all the land. And uh lately, it hasn't gotten as many major upgrades since they haven't had the National there every year. Before, the National would mean a reprep, more dirt being put it back on the hills, bigger jumps, bigger layout, just kind of a a whole faceelift on the track. But since it hasn't been there since 2018, track's been a little more similar lately.

[00:01:28]Hasn't changed as much. Now for the Moaf Fest this year, 2026, they are making some big big changes. They want to make the facility better as well. Dennis Stapleton, he was in charge of the track.

[00:01:37]>> Uh just moving a lot of dirt while we have the excavator. Um getting ready to build the prosection back here. Just pulling some dirt down the banks that you can't do on the dozer. Got electric.

[00:01:46]Build that nice and tall. And then starting Monday, we'll spruce it up for the fast guys.

[00:01:50]>> We I got a feel for my guy Dennis.

[00:01:52]Dennis is a MXA test rider. He's got a lot on his plate already. And now he's helping our local track reinvent itself and uh get a little bit cleaned up, freshened up, and ready for this big event, but he's also trying to make it better for himself and all the other local riders who spend their weeks at Glenn Helen in between and after this event, too. So, Dennis is make focused on making a track that's safe and exciting to watch for pros, but also uh safe and fun to ride for amateurs after the fact. So, Glenn Helen has been uh under construction the last couple weeks, making small tweaks and changes in between each practice day and race day. And for the Moto Fest, it's going to be the finale of uh what they're coming to do with the track. So, MXA's Josh F has been working on it.

[00:02:32]>> We're moving dirt, trying to make Glenn Helen bigger, better, rougher, all the fun stuff. And we're just moving dirt.

[00:02:37]It doesn't end. We need a bigger loader, just bigger jump, stuff a little bit cleaner. All safe though. No doubles.

[00:02:43]Everything's going to be completely safe, but just a deeper big big facelift is what I'm going to call it.

[00:02:48]>> I do feel for them though. You can never do a perfect job as a track builder.

[00:02:51]There's always something that could be better. I remember building tracks when I was younger. My friends would come over and ask me to change this jump, change that jump, change this turn. Too rough, not rough enough. It's It's never going to be perfect. You're never going to make it great for everybody. But I respect those guys for making a big swing at it and improving the track overall. So, I'm excited for the Moto Fest and I'm excited for a busy, busy weekend at Glen Helen. This is truly a motocross festival. It's not just pro racing. It is also NGPC off-road racing, AM kids racing. They're going to be doing some fun events like the Baja Drags. They're going to be doing some uh hill climbs, and they're also going to be doing a dual sport ride hosted by Troy Lee on Saturday afternoon as well.

[00:03:31]So, lots of racing packed into one weekend. The stopwatch national was originally coined based on so many pros and fast guys showing up to Glenn Helen before the nationals getting their suspension dialed in getting things ready. Pitboards are out, stopwatches are out, everybody's racing each other on a practice day and that's where the joke jokingly term stopwatch national came and Budfeld Camp Lori over at Glenn Helen. They decided, hey, let's turn it into event. Let's reward these guys who are already coming here to get ready for the season and let's put some money up for grabs so they can earn some extra money in their pocket to spend it going racing the pro motocross series across the summer across the US. And that's exactly what they did. 3 years ago it started out as a Thursday only race.

[00:04:10]Last year it turned into a three-day event. Thursday racing, Friday racing, and then Saturday was off-road grand prix stuff. This weekend 4-day full event. Motofest is uh allin. Thursday is a practice day. Friday is racing open pro class. 250s and 450s combined.

[00:04:26]$30,000 up for grabs on Friday. And then on Saturday, classes are separated. 250 and 450 classes are separated. $35,000 up for grabs in each class on Saturday.

[00:04:37]And then on Sunday is the NGPC off-road pro racing. Now, there are going to be amateurs for NGPC racing on Saturday as well. And there's practice for NGPC Friday afternoon as well also. So, it's going to be a very, very busy weekend.

[00:04:50]Like I already mentioned, the kids racing going on on the AM track and all the other fun activities packed into the weekend. So, lots to look forward to at Glen Helen. But let's talk about exactly who's making the money and how far back they are paying. Now, Friday's Stopwatch National is $30,000. Saturday, it's $35,000 in each class. And that's how they get up to the $100,000 total. They are paying the top 10 in all three events and all three classes. First place in all three days was going to get $10,000. Then on Friday, second place will get 5,000. Third 4,500. Fourth 2500. Fifth will get two grand. Sixth 1,700 down to uh 1,400. 1,200. 1,000.

[00:05:30]10th place. The last person getting money on Friday will get $700. Then Saturday in both classes, first place will get 10 grand, second six, third, 5500, 5 grand for fourth, fifth will get 2500 all the way down to 700 for 10th again in both 250 and 450 classes on Saturday. Headline riders Dylan Ferandis and Justin Barsha are coming out for the Troy Lee Designs Ducati Factory Racing Team. Their whole semi will be there.

[00:05:55]Troy Lee is a big sponsor of this event and a big supporter of Glenn Helen and excited to see them show up in full force. It's going to be a lot of fun.

[00:06:02]I'm excited to be racing as well, getting ready for the Paula and Hangtown Nationals. Going to be doing videos for MXA at Paula and Hangtown. And of course, we'll be covering the action from this weekend. But if you can't be there and if you don't want to wait to watch our videos after the race, you can watch a live stream on Dirt Bike Magazine's YouTube channel. Dirt Bike is a sister publication to motocross action and they will be live streaming the racing on Friday, Saturday, and the pro racing for NGPC on Sunday. So, lots to look forward to. My wife will be selling sourdough bread. Mosman Sourdough Pantry will be out there in full force. I'm excited for the track changes. Excited to see lots of friendly faces at Glen Helen and excited to uh hopefully make some money this weekend. We also recently posted our MXology Triumph TF250X test video. That one was a very cool project. The Triumph is from the UK and we brought over engine builders from the UK to test and develop an engine for us. We were super stoked to work with Southern California Motorcycles SoCal Triumph on this project. Rob over there took care of us. Ride Engineering took care of us with some treble clamps and different parts. Enzo did the suspension on it. Yoshimir provided the exhaust.

[00:07:05]and Mark Yates and Sam, his son, developed a wildly fast Triumph TF250X.

[00:07:11]That was a lot of fun to test that bike.

[00:07:12]We just posted that video on our YouTube channel. Be sure to check it out.

[00:07:15]Bringing over a British bike with a British engine builder. Kind of a fun project there. Also, we posted our 2026 250 shootout. Yes, a little bit late, but uh we still did it and we were stoked on it. Trevor Nelson did an awesome job editing that video together.

[00:07:29]Be sure to check that video out to see where that Triumph uh where the stock Triumph ranked within our shootout. also to see where the rest of the motorcycles landed in the first through eighth categories. Good times. Thank you guys for watching this week at MXA. Thanks also to Josh Fout, Dennis Stapleton, and the rest of the track crew for getting things ready at Glenn Helen. It's going to be a packed weekend of racing. Be sure to sign up online. Uh if you're going as a spectator or as a racer, fill out the online waiver. This way, it'll be a lot quicker and easier for you to get in the gate. You can drive in the exit Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. you'll uh get your wristband and get checked in quickly and easily and without having to fill out the online waiver uh going in the entrance gate.

[00:08:06]So, thank you guys for watching this week in MXA. Appreciate you guys tuning in. We'll see you guys at the track.