Knowing that every point was valuable at this stage of the series, KTM’s Aaron Plessinger would use every lap of practice amid qualification to gather knowledge of this Lakewood racetrack. The Thunder Valley National was unique with vast elevation change, and had differing corners that could easily separate those throughout the top-ten as they developed notable line selection amongst off-cambered corners of varying angles — but he was able to decipher his way to a superb seventh-place standing as practice laps concluded, and the main event(s) were on the horizon. As the thirty-second board went sideways to begin the first stage, his jump from the line would have him near Dylan Ferrandis and Freddie Noren while contending for a position inside the top-five. “AP” seemed to be advancing forward at a significantly high rate, until he and Ferrandis would come together, in a right-handed corner not too far before the finish-line. The plethora of ruts on this course would converge in numerous ways; with some crossing pathways, and leading riders into one another once they would choose a particular groove! And that’s exactly what occurred as the KTM rider held the middle of the track, while Ferrandis’ rut hooked from the outside and slammed into Aaron. As a result, they would both fall to the ground and Plessinger would pass the green flag in twenty-fourth. From there, it was a process of working through the pack as quickly as possible, where opponents would be past in bundles while he weaved amongst the fastest lines on the circuit. Soaring along the downside of certain hills while standing atop the pegs, his style of remaining over the handlebars would reiterate his sense of vision when scanning the raceway ahead of him. He was into the top-ten by lap six, while trailing the Kawasaki privateer of Ty Masterpool. And through the remaining ten laps, it would be process of overtaking riders like Grant Harlan and Freddie Noren...but he ultimately would do so. In the final stages as well, he would eventually pass the stellar standout of the aforementioned Masterpool — which acted as a catalyst to overtake Derek Drake as well, where he eventually occupied fourth just behind Adam Cianciarulo. For moto number two, he initially passed his way into fifth after riding throughout the first lap (at times) in sections of three bikes in width! He, Cooper Webb, Grant Harlan (among a number of others) were all fighting to make passes while maintaining their current position as well; which was a difficult challenge, but the Ohio native managed to flourish. Plessinger then made swift passes amongst superior line choices in regard to moving by Cianciarulo and Ferrandis (after doing the same to Cooper Webb), which had positioned him in the runner-up category behind Jett Lawrence. Plessinger was the man on the move amongst his factory comrades, which equated to second-place being established by the fourth circuit. Once here, he would do his best to defend the charge from talented Ty Masterpool; who was surging forward with tremendous velocities! But Plessinger’s defense was coupled with extreme speed on the offensive side, leading to the rest of the fifteen lap contest where he was solidified in second position on the leaderboard — finalized in the runner-up category, and claiming that as an overall score as well.