The TPJ Fly Racing team travelled to Arlington, TX — the home of Ted Parks — for the sixth round of the Monster Energy Supercross series.
On Friday, the team was very busy with a stacked schedule of press day riding and television time. Later that evening, the riders were invited to attend two autograph signings. Our Suzuki riders attended the Freedom Powersports Hurst signing and were greeted by hundreds of fans who waited hours to get autographs. The remainder of the team attended the Arlington Powersports Supercross party and signed autographs and took photos with Supercross fans.
This week, the TPJ Racing team welcomed its east coast 250 rider, John Short, who raced his 250 Suzuki in the 450 class in Arlington. We also welcomed Teddy Parks back to the team after a hiatus. They, along with the entire TPJ Fly Racing team, qualified for the night show in Arlington. The riders were looking great in qualifying and practice.
In the night show, the TPJ Fly Racing team celebrated Broc Shoemaker’s first ever trip to to the main event. Shoemaker took the holeshot in the LCQ and went on to take third place to earn his first career main event. We are very proud of his progress and are looking forward to seeing what he can come up with during his down time as we enter the east coast leg of the series.
Our 450 riders had great lap times in qualifying but struggled with one of the tightest starts we have seen this season. In the semis, our riders got caught in the bar-banging starts and had to work hard to get back through the pack. While they made good progress, the brief race didn’t allow them enough time to work into qualifying positions. In the LCQ, Nick Schmidt would start off in a qualifying position but went down hard, and the other riders would also get stuck in the pack off the start. While all of them made it to the night show, unfortunately none of them made it to the main this week.
While our riders are very disappointed, we saw continued progress in their speed and smoothness on a very difficult track. Their dedication continues to pay off and we are looking forward to many main events to come.
Next week, we will welcome our 250 east coast team of James Milson, Dylan Merriam and John Short in Minneapolis. We are excited to have a great 250 line up this season.
The 450 team has expanded to include Teddy Parks for the remainder of the 2017 season, and the rest of the 450 team remains heathy and ready for the next round.
We will be making our way to Minneapolis, MN for the seventh round of the Monster Energy Supercross season. Unfortunately there will not be a pit party this time around — but we hope to see you there!
We are thankful to all of the fans who have been supporting the team by tuning in to watch on Saturday nights and following us on social media. We are also extremely thankful to our sponsors who make it possible for our riders to chase their dreams. This week — Broc Shoemaker reached a great milestone thanks to your help.
TPJ RACING 