Thriving at an extremely high level thus far in the series, Aaron Plessinger would welcome the atmosphere of East Coast racing upon arriving at Raymond James Stadium. His expertise had been displayed on countless occasions thus far this year, and it was seemingly guaranteed to be portrayed in the same light, for particular event as well. For practice, he would bombard his way through the sand with an array of air-raid maneuvers; offering those on Military Appreciation Weekend a truly spectacle of speed and style, while powering into the left-hand corner that followed. He would address all of his weak points throughout multitude of sessions, leaving him feeling confident prior to the thirty-second board turning sideways in his heat race. Once here, it would be only a matter of time before he migrated to the front of the pack, accruing a third while behind Chase Sexton and Eli Tomac. It was evident that Plessinger’s confidence was rising, and in the laps that followed, he would actually provoke a battle of sorts with the red-plate holder! Yet, the provoking led to an overtaking, where he blitzed to the outside of Tomac (in the whoops) with three minutes remaining! His skillset was gelling extremely well with the racing surface here in Tampa and Plessinger would be able to keep Tomac at bay in the laps that followed. Aaron was exceptional through every facet of the track that followed, flowing through the sand as the concluding lap-nine came to fruition...and walk away from this round of racing with second place in hand. He then stormed into the main event where he registered third-place on the opening circuit. Residing just behind Cooper Webb, Plessinger’s prowess was synchronizing with the ruts that had been dug throughout the bowl turns; hoping upon each tabletop on the track in an attack position while stabbing the clutch. His whoop speed was maintained as well, where he proceeded to distance his KTM from the Suzuki of Ken Roczen. He would strive to overtake Cooper Webb, as well; seeing the mistake of the number-two machine in the whoops, during the latter part of the moto. However he wasn't close enough to seize the opportunity, and had to continue in third throughout the final circuits. Residing in the bronze-medal registry for the conclusion of the twenty-fifth lap, Plessinger’s podium would be marvelous at this point in the championship; proving that he was a contender, for the duration of the series on the horizon.