The Supercross and Motocross championships stand as the premier racing series of the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA). Most riders compete in both series, and for that reason the Supercross season dovetails into the Motocross season. The 17-round AMA Supercross series, an FIM World Championship, starts in January and ends in early May, followed immediately by the 12-round AMA Motocross Championship, which runs through early September. Hugely popular with the viewing public, together these 29 events draw a live attendance of nearly one million fans plus a television viewership topping the 18 million mark.

Supercross consists of indoor man-made racecourses built on the floors of baseball and football stadiums. The tracks are studded with big jumps, whoops, tabletops and other obstacles, and they place a premium on the rider's acrobatic skill, timing and all-out courage. Motocross races, the original format for this style of competition, are conducted on outdoor tracks of approximately one mile or more in length. The courses utilize the natural topography of the land, but with built-up jumps and obstacles added, and winning here requires a staggering level of fitness and blazing outright speed.

Supercross features two classes and displacement ranges. In Supercross Lites, racers may run a four-stroke engine no larger than 250cc in displacement. The Supercross class allows four-stroke engines no larger than 450cc. Motocross also has two classes: the 250 class and the 450 class.

As in years past, the Supercross Lites season is divided into two regional series, East and West. At the series finale held in Las Vegas, Lites competitors from both regions face off in the Supercross Lites East/West Shootout. A new format for 2011 makes the shootout a points-paying event for each region, adding to the night's drama and excitement. There are no regional divisions in Motocross; both classes run the entire 12-round series, with each round consisting of two motos of 30 minutes plus two more laps for each class. At the end of the day, the results of the two motos are combined to produce an overall score.