Jordon Smith’s results while based in his home state of North Carolina last week were spectacular, and reiterated that the veteran of the 250SMX division still possessed the talent to succeed amongst the highest levels of the sport. Much was the case in Illinois as well, where the number fifty-eight accelerated onto the circuit (which was furthest from a “Supercross Style”) with confidence and contended with the most elite riders from around the world...and presented superb corner speed amongst the opening laps of moto-one as well. Flowing through the left-handed berm in which preceded the finish-line double, he skied amongst those that stood alongside the racetrack with his Yamaha engine revved extremely high...doing his best to extend the gap over Seth Hammaker who trailed. His versatility was remarkable and rather eye-opening to enthusiasts who watched from afar, as Smith was proving that he could demonstrate an equivalent pace to the front-runners on an outdoor-esque layout! Still maintaining sixth by the time lap seven was completed, only a slight miscue would derail him from the aforementioned position as the final minutes of competition came to fruition. Eventually gathering a score of tenth as all was finalized, Smith sought to best the previously mentioned numeral in the latter stage of the evening’s festivities. Knowing that the track was considerably rougher for the second round of events, Smith would do his best to break away from the largest clusters of opponents on the Joliet course — sweeping from inside to outside and cutting through corners at varying angles when the time called for it. This would lead to a standing of ninth being clenched in the opening segments of the moto, but was quickly improved upon via eighth for a brief portion of laps thereafter as well. On the furthest aspects of the track though (in comparison to the finish-line) it was evident that Seth Hammaker would have a few more of the “faster” lines within his arsenal...allowing the Kawasaki athlete to move forward, along with Maximus Vohland as well. Though Smith wouldn’t quit when amid a line of fire — and he proceeded to combat the opposing forces of many, which even allowed him to topple the aforementioned Kawasaki rider as time was running out! And after being listed in eighth for finality of this second moto, it was Smith’s consistency throughout the evening that bested the likes of countless others — with an ensemble of tenth and eighth-place finishes, listing him in sixth within the final standings.