Jason Anderson will make his return to the SuperMotocross World Championship next week for the SMX Playoff opener in Columbus, Ohio, at Historic Crew Stadium, on September 12.
Sitting 27th in the combined Monster Energy Supercross and Pro Motocross standings, Anderson will have to race his way into each of the three races of the playoffs through a Wild Card race, or Last Chance Qualifier.
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Anderson withdrew from competition this February to attend to ‘ongoing health concerns’, and later announced that he needed to sit out for an indefinite period of time to attend to family matters.
At the time, Anderson was ninth in championship points. Riders in the top 20 in combined Supercross and Motocross points are guaranteed a starting position in each of the feature program. Riders 21st to 30th in points are required to advance through the Wild Card race that advances two riders into the feature.
“We’re looking forward to the start of the playoffs and being back in the stadiums where we are most comfortable,” said Twisted Tea / HEP Motorsports, Suzuki Team Principle Dustin Pipes. “Ken [Roczen] and Jason have been working hard to get ready and we are happy to see them back behind the starting gate. It’s three short rounds, but we plan to maximize the most out of them.”
In seven rounds of competition in 2026, Anderson scored two top-fives in Supercross, plus a sixth-place finish. That was enough to keep him inside the top 30 despite missing the final 10 SX rounds and all of the Pro Motocross season.
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In addition to Anderson, Roczen has qualified for the SMX Playoffs as the 10th-place rider in the standings. Roczen won the 2026 Supercross championship in a dramatic showdown with the Pro Motocross champion Hunter Lawrence.
One of Anderson’s competitors to advance out of the Wild Card race is another teammate, Colt Nichols, who sits 24th in the standings entering Columbus.