The TPJ Fly Racing team travelled to Indianapolis, IN to compete in Monster Energy Supercross at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The team arrived on Thursday and was ready to roll, but no one anticipated the snow storm that would follow. Come Saturday, the entire pit and stadium were blanketed in a thick sheet of show, ultimately cancelling the Indianapolis pit party. While we were disappointed that we did not get the chance to interact with TPJ Racing fans, our riders were able to stay warm, and prepare for qualifying.
Our Indianapolis race line up included Ben Lamay and Dylan Merriam in the 450 class and John Short in the 250 class.
Our 450 riders were able to qualify within the fast forty and on to the night show. With the new East/West Shootout format in the 250 class, Short needed to qualify within the top 20 to advance to the night show, and he slipped into 17th.
The addition of the East/West Shootout at Indianapolis Supercross made it more difficult for racers to qualify with the gate especially stacked. Short had a great run in the heat but narrowly missed a qualifying position, and the LCQ ended with similar results. Although he did not make it to the main event this weekend, we are confident he will do so when he returns for the next 250 East round.
The 450 heats started off with a bang, and Ben Lamay was able to take advantage of the chaos and nab the final direct qualifying position.
Merriam, still a little dazed from a practice crash (see above) struggled in his heat, but regained his composure in the LCQ. Merriam would battle for the hole shot in the LCQ and lock in second place, riding all the way to the finish without wavering – earning his ticket to the main event.
In the 450 main, both TPJ Racing riders were off to a bumpy start, but recovered ground throughout the moto. Ultimately finishing with Lamay in 17th and Merriam in 18th.
Despite the bitter cold and snow, our riders persevered through the night and put in quality finishes. As we take a week off from racing, the TPJ Racing athletes will be hard at work preparing for the next round after the break.
We would like to extend a special thank you to the sponsors and supporters that make it possible for the TPJ Racing team to get our athletes on the track every weekend. We are especially grateful to Pirelli MX an DSC Construction, who directly support our main event qualifiers by providing them with fresh tires and cover their entry fees.
The TPJ Crew is looking forward to the break – this will be our first off weekend since the first gate drop at A1 in January. We hope that all of our friends, fans, and sponsors have a wonderful Easter holiday.
TPJ RACING 