In front of what he estimates were more than 100 family and friends, Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Aaron Plessinger got his first career 250SX Monster Energy Supercross win on Saturday night in Indianapolis. Aaron grew up in nearby Ohio, a hotbed for off-road racers, racing GNCC’s (his father, Scott, is a two-time Grand National Cross Country Champion). He likes this dirt—even the ruts—which was evident when he won his first career Lucas Oil Pro Motocross overall in his rookie season last year at Ironman Raceway in Crawfordsville, IN. After the race we caught up with a happy Plessinger. He was happy not only because he won, but also because he got to enjoy some donuts.
Racer X: Winners get donuts?
Aaron Plessinger: Yeah! I love donuts. I haven’t had one in a long time.
Tell me about the race tonight.
From start to finish it was a crazy race. I got a third place start and passed into first right after the finish. Mookie [Malcolm Stewart] was right behind me. I knew he was going to be tough but I just put my head down and charged and I knew I could do it and Indianapolis would be the place to do it. I just put my head down and it was a good race. I rode my own race and stayed consistent and stayed fast.
What is it about you and Indiana races?
Indiana’s close to home. I like being close to home. I love it. It always feels like home when I’m coming to Indiana or closer. The vibes here are awesome. The fans here are awesome.
Nothing to do with the dirt or anything? Familiarity with it or anything?
Yeah, I’ve raced here quite a bit, not here obviously, but in Indiana. The dirt, the ruts and everything, they’re pretty good to me. I like ruts coming from GNCC’s. I love rough, rutted tracks. It’s just that combined with a little skill and you’ve got a win. [Laughs]
Well, it’s probably more than just a little skill?
[Laughs] I like to keep it [at a] little.
With the injury that you had coming into the season and having to switch over to East and everything else, did you think there was a win in there this year?
Yeah, I knew there was a win after Atlanta. Then when I got sick after Atlanta it kind of backed me off a little bit. But I’m back up and back at it now and ready to win some more.
I think a lot of people kind of, not dismissed you, but when we were coming into here it was Martin and Mookie and Hill and all these guys. But you were right there the whole time. You were only 13 points back and now you’re 10. You’re kind of the one left standing. Did you feel you were getting dismissed a little bit? How did you feel about it coming into here?
I didn’t feel really dismissed. I don’t really pay attention to all the big hype and stuff. I like when I’m the underdog coming up. I knew I had a chance to win this one. I knew I was actually going to win this one. I told a bunch of people actually I was going to win this one. It was just confidence. You got to have confidence. You got to have consistency. With all that I think this East Coast championship could be close.
How important was that heat race? Malcolm was on you the whole time. Did that give you some confidence going into the main?
Yeah, for sure. I think it backed him down a little bit. I think he was pretty confident he was going to beat me but I wasn’t going to let that happen. I needed to show him that I had the speed and I had the endurance. I just put my head down and charged.
Do you feel like you had to take lots of chances tonight out there?
Not really. You just had to be smooth and smart. I got sketchy a couple times but not a lot of chances were taken except just the chance for a first place pass. That was really about it.
You guys were having fun too: dancing after the race and now having some donuts. How important is it to keep the fun aspect? It is a job but it’s also fun, right?
Yeah. It’s better than sitting behind a desk, I always say. It keeps a smile on my face every day. You’ve just got to remind yourself it’s all for fun and you’re doing it for yourself and nobody else. You’ve just got to have a lot of that attitude and you’ve got to keep a smile on your face. Me and Mookie, we always have fun. It’s going to be a fun rest of the season. Hopefully Star Racing comes out on top.
Who knew you had those kind of dance moves?
If you follow me on Snapchat I got a lot of dance moves to show you. [Laughs]
Did you have a lot of family in town?
Oh yeah, my whole family was here, except my grandma, my dad’s mom. She’s in Florida watching the race. But everybody else, friends and family, as you can tell the whole crowd was going crazy.
How many do you think you had?
Probably about 100 fans that knew me, probably 100 to 150.
What are you doing tonight to celebrate?
I’ll go eat some more donuts to celebrate. Already took my drink of champagne.
