Adams keen to keep flourishing as SMX enters final round

Racing veteran and Moto Media representative David “Electronic Ping” Pingree was walking into the teeming Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki pit area inside Dignity Health Sports Park in suburban Los Angeles when this writer hit him up for his take on team racer Drew Adams.

“Drew is awesome,” offered Pingree on race day morning of SMX Playoff 2. “He’s a little bit bigger in size and has been struggling on starts on the 250 and has had to come from the back. He’ll figure it out. He’ll be great in 2027.”

Now in his second year with the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki team and 22nd overall in the 2026 250SX East standings, as well as 10th in the final AMA Pro Motocross 250 classification, 18-year-old Adams sipped from a bottle of water and looked out at the growing SMX race day crowd.

“It’s definitely not been the year I wanted,” offered Adams a few minutes prior to opening practice. “I had a couple of injuries in supercross and I’ve just kind of slowly been building back from those. In supercross I didn’t get to do a lot because I was injured the whole time. I think I actually just finished two main events in supercross. Outdoors, it was bumpy some of the time. I missed the first two rounds because I was recovering from my season in supercross.

"It has been a learning year for me. I am starting to feel a lot better. Obviously it’s coming towards the end of the season now, but I’m just looking forward to having a really healthy offseason and putting my full focus towards next season.”

Adams finished ninth overall in the 250SMX opening round last Saturday inside Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, and weighed in on the result.

“It was a mud race,” he sighed. “Just a big sloppy mudder. The biggest thing to do was just not crash, and I ended up having a couple of crashes. I don’t know… you don’t get to do a lot of mud races in a pro career, so it’s a special learning point. Definitely gnarly.

"There is a lot of money on the line here at SMX. I think that’s how everybody looks at it. It’s an opportunity to make a lot of money, and we’re never going to turn that down. And it’s just more racing. We get to do more laps and more competitive stuff. Yeah, looking forward to the rest of it. I’m just taking these races one at a time. Next week at Misouri looks like a very cool venue and event. The track looks awesome. I’m looking forward to that round.”

The young rider noted that 2026 was a learning year for him, with injuries holding him back at several points in the season.

With the offseason approaching at the conclusion of SMX, Adams spoke about what he has planned for it.

“I’m going to do a whole bunch of nothing,” said Adams. “I’m going to take some time off the bike and enjoy some time with my family and maybe take a little vacation. For the most part, I just want to kind of chill for a couple of weeks. I’m not doing any off-season races. I probably will at some point just because you can make some extra cash and maybe get some more seat time. I’m just going to take a little time off the bike and just go have some fun. I’m going to play a lot of golf. I started playing golf pretty seriously in 2024.”

Adams has slotted in to the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki organization well and is keen to continue flourishing with the Corona, California-based race team.

“It’s been great, you know?” he said. “It feels like a true family over here, and they’ve been by my side this whole time through the ups and downs. I’m looking forward to getting some good results for them in the future. And Mitch is good, man. He’s around here today. He’s a scary guy sometimes. It’s scary riding for him. He’s a sweetheart. It’s been a pleasure and he’s helped me out so much.”

Has Adams contemplated riding and racing the 450 in the near to distant future?

“Yeah, I feel like we’re going to have a good relationship with the 450 just because I’m such a bigger rider, but I’ve been thinking about it. I’m still young. I’m only 18. I’m sure I have a lot more years on the 250, but I am looking forward to a 450 someday. You know, I just want to be good on a 450.

"Obviously, I want to achieve a lot of good things on the 250, but a 450 career is where people really notice you, and that’s where the big money really comes in and stuff like that. I want to get a lot done in my 250 career, but I’m looking forward to doing some big things on the 450.”

Adams continues to ride with the Lawerence brothers and company at the Dog Pound down in Florida and gets a lot out of it.

“It’s good. I’ve been great friends with them for four years now and the training program is going really good. It’s good when you can ride with the best riders in the world. I learn a lot from them, and they’ve helped me out so much along the way. We’ve also got Chance Hymas and Seth Hammaker riding with us. They’re my two training partners, and it’s a good vibe down there. It has been a fun journey.

“I have some friends in the sport,” continued Adams. “It’s a single man sport. We have teammates, but we’re not a team on the track. We’re all racing for ourselves. There is only one guy that can win. As far as I go, on race day I only care about myself and myself only. I could not care less about other guys. I’ve got some friends during the week, but on the race weekend, it’s all about me. I’d say we’re probably some of the most competitive athletes in the word. It’s nothing like football or basketball because we don’t have teammates to rely on. It’s all you. It’s 100 percent you on the track.”

Any racers Adams admired or really looked up to while growing up in the sport?

“I was a big Ryan Villopoto fan,” he said. “When I first started racing, Ryan was just in his last couple of years in 450 racing. I looked up to him a lot. ET3 was one of my idols. It’s sad to watch him retire this year. Now I’m trying to look up to myself.”

Long term, is he looking for a supercross championship?

“Oh yeah,” said Adams. “I have a lot of focus on that next year. I couldn’t get much done this year because of injuries. Next year I want to have a good boot camp on the way up. Championships are all about the long run. I can’t come out for the first race and just try to win it there. I need to focus on the reality. It’s a long season. It’s a marathon.”