The TPJ Fly Racing team travelled to St. Louis, MO to compete in Monster Energy Supercross at The Dome at America’s Center.
This week, the lineup included Ben Lamay and Dylan Merriam in the 450 class, and John Short in the 250 class.
Early on in qualifying, the boys adjusted to the track conditions before going out in the second qualifying session to knock out their fastest laps. All three TPJ Racing riders qualified within the fast forty in their respective classes and moved on directly to the night event. Despite battling a painful hand injury, Lamay was our fastest qualifier, seated in 16th overall in the 450 class.
As the night show kicked off and the heats lined up, Lamay and Merriam were pitted against one another in a battle for qualifying position. For the first half of the heat, Merriam was hot on the heels of Ben Lamay as both riders creeped up through the pack toward the qualifying spots.
It was Lamay who was able to nab a qualifying position directly to the night show, finishing the heat in 7th, while Merriam narrowly missed out in 11th.
Merriam would go on to redeem himself in the 450 LCQ, battling bar to bar with factory-rider and 250 class champion Malcom Stewart over the holeshot, and grabbing a 3rd overall – sending him to the main event.
In the night show, Lamay showed off his grit – toughing out his injury and riding on to 17th overall in the 450 class. While Merriam showed solid improvements with great starts and 19th overall.
John Short was able to qualify easily from the first 250 heat, slipping into 8th overall and wrangling his way into the main event. A bumpy start in the main event would leave him clawing back ground and making passes up to 16th overall.
The TPJ Fly Racing team is extremely grateful to the companies who have supported us thus far during the Monster Energy Supercross season – and who continue to root for and help our athletes. We continue to work with them to pursue a path of professionalism as they move up the ladder, showing everyone what underdogs are made of.
We want to extend a special thank you to DSC Construction and Pirelli MX, who directly contribute to helping out our main event qualifiers each week. The rest of our team of sponsors continues to make it possible for the TPJ Racing team to help these young athletes chase their goals.
We look forward to what awaits us in Indianapolis as we prepare for the next round at Lucas Oil Stadium – we hope to see you there.
TPJ RACING 