Red Bull KTM’s Aaron Plessinger showed up to Saturday night’s post-race press conference at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., with his cowboy hat, a hoarse voice and bubbling enthusiasm about his third-place finish.
At last week’s round of Monster Energy AMA Supercross in Houston, Texas, Plessinger finally seemed to find his flow as he fought tooth-and-nail with defending champion Eli Tomac for the lead during the opening laps of the main event. But it wasn’t meant to be, as Plessinger’s time at the top was brought to a halt when the race was red-flagged due to Dylan Ferrandis’ hard crash.
When the main event restarted, the Red Bull KTM rider faded back to finish fourth — his best result of the season at the time. In hindsight, Plessinger can’t help but feel as if he missed out on a big opportunity to run at the front of the pack in Houston.
“I think if it wasn’t for that red flag last week, it might’ve been a different story. Me and Eli [Tomac] had a good pace going there,” Plessinger said. “I think I might’ve been able to land [on the podium] a little earlier.”
Lucky for the Ohio native, he waited only one more week before taking an overdue trip to the podium.
Though he wasn’t close enough to race winner Cooper Webb and second-place Chase Sexton to fight for the victory, Plessinger rode a solid race and crossed the finish line in third. The Red Bull KTM rider’s last podium finish in Supercross came over a year ago in Oakland, Calif. — only a few weeks before he broke his arm in a crash during practice that put him out of contention for the remaining season.
“Third place is the best I’ve had in a while,” Plessinger said. “I’m pumped on this, and it just gives me more confidence to come back out and do it again.”
Known for his country boy persona and his post-race dance moves, the 2018 250SX West champion has struggled to find his groove in the premier class since he moved up to the 450’s in 2019.
He’s recognized that most of his troubles in the 450SX class begin at gate drop.
“You can’t get a ninth-place start and come through with these champions. When you look deep in the class, you’ve got like 15 champions on the track,” Plessinger said. “You can’t get a bad start and come through these guys like you could in the 250 class.”
Over the past four seasons, Plessinger had only two previous podium appearances.
He took second-place in Oakland last year and third-place at the Daytona Beach, Fla., round in March, 2021. His finish in Tampa on Saturday night was confirmation that he’s moving in the right direction, and perhaps that his elusive first win is coming down the line.
Plessinger’s excitement over his progress showed best when he admitted the reason for his hoarse voice.
“I was screaming louder than the fans today. I just had a good feeling, so I was being loud,” he said, cracking a smile.
While Plessinger doesn’t feel like he’s changed much since the season began a month ago in Anaheim, Calif., he believes he’s found the key to being a threat to the other champions he’s racing against.
“It’s just confidence and starts. I’m the same dude as when I started A1,” Plessinger said. “I’m getting more and more comfy every week.”
Next up for Plessinger and his Supercross competitors is the RingCentral Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Feb. 18.