Though Jett’s words said he was happy to make the pass, his body language immediately after the race told a different story. One would expect someone who just won a million dollars to be celebrating, but instead Jett stood on top of the podium looking conflicted. Happy for himself, and yet disappointed for his brother.
When the brother’s joined Adam Cianciarulo and Justin Brayton on SMX Insider immediately following the race, Jett spoke on the roller coaster of emotions he felt stealing the win from his brother: “Basically, I went over the finish line, and I was like, ‘Yeah sweet’ and then I look forward and just see the 96, see HJ and it just kind of sets in and it’s like, ‘Ugh.’ Because as a brother I want to see him do well and it’s difficult to swallow that because I’m the a-hole that’s beating him. So, I beat myself up on that because I want to see him do good and he deserves it. For sure there is no lucking into this and stuff like that. Obviously, he worked hard but he’s one person that deserves getting one of these and I mean, I think next year he’s probably going to kick my butt.”
The respect and admiration Jett has for his older brother is unmatched, and while he knows Hunter has not lucked into the success he has had in racing, Jett admitted he himself got lucky in Las Vegas with Hunter being under the weather: “Obviously HJ going through it with a cold this week, I honestly think if he didn’t have that cold, he would be wearing this [number 1 jersey]. He had his starts dialed this whole weekend and I was slacking on them. Yeah, I honestly think if he was 100 percent, it would have been a different story.”
The SMX Playoffs are built for maximum drama with its escalating points scale and unprecedented prize money. We have already seen that the 250 riders will literally do whatever it takes to take home the title. But the 450 class brings its own kind of drama these last two years pitting brother against brother. So, the question remains, if Jett’s prediction comes true and Hunter wins in 2026, will Jett be even happier for Hunter to win an SMX World Championship than he was after his own win Saturday night?