“Can I, uhh?”
With that abrupt interjection, runner-up Cooper Webb broke the routine of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross post-race press conference as he pointed toward the rider sitting to his left.
Towering over the middle of the table, the lanky Aaron Plessinger sat smiling, cowboy hat perched atop his head as he took in his first 450SX victory on Jan. 20 at San Diego’s SnapDragon Stadium.
Since making his premier class debut in 2019, Plessinger has been perpetually chasing victory at the highest level of the sport. Until all the pieces finally fit together on a mud-ridden track in Southern California last Saturday night.
“I just wanted to congratulate AP and tell a little backstory. I remember his first day of Supercross, 2012, was very scary — very scary, I think he would tell you,” Webb continued, chuckling as he recounted the 250cc class experience. “So I look back at that and, you know, we’ve been training partners and buddies for a long time…I’m proud to say that it’s his first one. That’s pretty dang cool.”
The media room responded with a round of clapping, while Justin Barcia, who finished third, grabbed the microphone.
“Another story about AP,” Barcia began. “How many times did Jim Perry almost fire us at Yamaha?”
Plessinger laughed and responded, “More times than I can count.”
The two competitors were teammates at Star Racing Yamaha for two seasons (2019-20) with Perry as their team manager. During his 450SX stint with the blue crew, Plessinger went winless, while Barcia took Yamaha to the top of the podium multiple times.
Four years later, it was Plessinger’s turn in the limelight.
“This is a really cool podium,” Barcia said. “We all kind of grew up riding together, in our professional career we’ve all trained together, we’ve been teammates on different teams, so this a really cool podium and I’m proud to be here tonight.”
The heartfelt congratulations for Plessinger extended well beyond his former teammates and the confines of the SnapDragon Stadium media center. In the immediate moments after he crossed the finish line on his No. 7 Red Bull KTM machine, a line of his fellow competitors made their way over to give the Ohio cowboy a handshake, pat on the back or embrace.
It relayed the same energy as Ken Roczen’s triumph in Indianapolis last March, when the fan-favorite talent earned his first 450SX win in two years and a parade of riders commended him.
In both cases, the crowd went berserk.
“Just about everybody pulled over and congratulated me,” Plessinger recalled. “I guess that’s where being a nice guy pays off, being friends with almost everybody on the track…I’ve been stoked for almost every one of these guys, so to see them be stoked for me is pretty cool.”
Not only did Plessinger earn the victory, but he is the points leader for the first time in his 450SX career when the tour continues with round four Jan. 27 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif.
Pardon the interruption … uhh … that’s pretty dang cool.