This week, the TPJ Fly Racing crew travelled to Minneapolis, MN for the seventh round of the Monster Energy Supercross series.
While the event this week did not have a pit party, TPJ Fly Racing athletes still had the opportunity for press time on Friday, and the Enticknap brothers signed autographs for fans at the Racer X display inside the stadium on Saturday.
This week the TPJ Fly Racing team had nine riders competing in Minneapolis. Of the nine riders, eight of them made the night show.
Our east coast 250 riders kicked off the season with great qualifying positions. In his Supercross debut, Dylan Merriam qualified 24th overall. John Short qualified 28th, and James Milson qualified 40th.
In the first 250 heat, a massive pile up off the start caught John Short and brought his charge to a halt. A second pile up, not long after the first caught Merriam and Milson. These two obstacles slowed the riders down and kept them from catching up to the qualifying positions – ultimately sending them to the LCQ. In the LCQ, similar problems caught Merriam and Milson off guard, but Short was able to charge up into 6th. Merriam finished 11th and Milson finished 19th.
Our 250 riders showed great promise this evening. On a very difficult track with unforeseen circumstances they showed speed and skill. With some good luck, we have confidence that this group will be making mains this season.
We are thankful that our riders were not injured despite the big crashes they got tangled in.
In the 450 division, Nick Schmidt and Adam Enticknap were able to qualify for the main event directly from the semis. Both Schmidt and Adam Enticknap have shown progression week after week. This is the first time that both riders have qualified straight from the semis.
Dustin Pipes, Tyler Enticknap and Chad Cook went to the LCQ. Tyler was close to a qualifying spot when he went down, knocking him out of the running. Dustin also continues to move up in the ranks.
We were very fortunate to receive a lot of television time for our riders on Fox Sports 1 during the event. Both Nick and Adam got several ‘name drops’ during the televised program.
Each week we get a little closer, but everything has to come together when the gate drops. Great starts, consistency and speed as well as luck are the formula to a great race.
It is not without the help of our sponsors that our riders are able to race each weekend and get closer to achieving their dreams. Our riders have the necessary tools to be successful and they continue to work hard. We can’t wait to see what they do next weekend in Atlanta.
TPJ RACING 