The second heat race of the night provided plenty of highlights. Shane McElrath got the holeshot, but had company in Tyler Bowers. Their battle allowed teammates Jeremy Martin and Aaron Plessinger to close in.

On the second lap, Bowers took over the lead for the first time. McElrath would pass him back, but Bowers quickly took the position back. Then McElrath made a few mistakes, which allowed Martin and Plessinger to get around.

It appeared Bowers would take the win, but Plessinger made a huge run on the final lap. He first passed his teammate after the second rhythm section and then made a run at Bowers and passed him on the final turn. Martin would finish third with McElrath fourth.

Dakota Alix, Anthony Rodriguez, Matt Bisceglia, Luke Renzland and Jimmy Albertson took the final qualifying positions.

250 Heat 1

The first heat race of the night belonged to Malcolm Stewart. The points leader grabbed the holeshot and led wire to wire to take the win over Martin Davalos.

Davalos made it tough for Malcolm in the early going, closing to within less than a second when Malcolm made a mistake trying to triple into the tricky rhythm section. He applied the pressure for a few laps, but Malcolm eventually pulled away to a 2.4 second win.

"[The] Track is really hard packed and then they threw down some water," said Stewart. "My first time in this stadium and these fans are good!"

Alex Frye took third over Frenchmen Cedric Soubeyras and Darryn Durham. RJ Hampshire, Gannon Audette, Justin Starling and Paul Coates would take the final qualifying positions.

Final Practices

We know factory team bikes are usually closely matched. But the tolerances on the Yamalube/Star Racing Yamahas are incredibly close. Such as, Aaron Plessinger and Jeremy Martin were actually dead-even tied at the top of the practice charts for most of this session, with identical times down to the thousandth of a second. Then Malcolm Stewart jumped to the top ahead of both. Jeremy Martin was not done, though, finally wrestling the top spot back from Malcolm by the end of the session.

Hey, remember that Marvin Musquin guy who was podiuming every week? He might be back tonight. The track has turned much much faster in these final practice sessions and Marvin threw down several heaters, taking the top spot, losing it, and then taking it back. In the end, his 45.8 was a tenth quicker than Eli Tomac’s time, which was second. Marvin looked really quick in almost every section except the whoops before the finish, which are short but pretty nasty. He has other sections on lock, like the triple through the center of the rhythm section that is starting to become a must-do, and the very tricky dragon’s back. As long as his wrist holds up, Marvin could be back in contention for a podium tonight.

One other rider on gas was Jason Anderson, who was experimenting with quite a few different lines. He made a few mistakes though, but could be really strong when the races begin.

First Timed Practice

Forget any previous weather reports about doom and gloom here-it's beautiful here at MetLife Stadium, and the track is coming around as well. Dirt is a little soft and tacky in a few areas, so there are a few ruts but nothing like last week in Foxboro after it rained. About 65 degrees here, too, so that's good, although the temps will drop a bit tonight. If we had to guess, the track is going to get harder and slicker, and then the night time will bring some moisture out and make it even more slippery. But right now, the track is mint.

Speaking of mint, the green Monster Energy Kawasaki of Eli Tomac looked best (mint is green. Get it?). He experimented with a triple after the sand whoops and wall, but realized the standard line was actually just as quick. So he put in a heater and got to the top of the board, just a tenth quicker than Ryan Dungey, who was second. Of the two, Tomac looks more aggro on the jumps and transitions, but Dungey looks good in some of the slick corners. Well, actually Dungey looks good just about everywhere on this track--of course he does.

Trey Canard had a huge crash on a triple in the untimed session but in typical Trey fashion he jumped right back up, came out for this practice and went fast. He was  third here and looked pretty solid. Jason Anderson and Broc Tickle also stuck out--Tickle also trying that triple that Tomac did a few times.

Don't worry about Ken Roczen. He was only sixth fastest but this year he's been pretty cagey about practice--some of his best performances in the main events have come after so-so practice sessions. 

In 250SX, Martin Davalos was setting fast times early (and he also had the fastest lap in the untimed session earlier today) but also had a few near-crashes. Malcolm Stewart hit his stride and ended up at the top, he and Davalos exchanged fast laps a few times with Stewart eventually getting the top time.

Morning Report

We’re in East Rutherford, New Jersey for Round 16 (of 17) of Monster Energy Supercross. After consecutive day races, we’re back on schedule with the main event airing live on Fox Sports 1 at 7:00 p.m. ET.

First things first, Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey can clinch a second straight title tonight. It’s pretty straightforward: If Ken Roczen wins, Dungey only needs a fourteenth place finish or better. Considering Dungey hasn’t finished off the podium in thirty-one consecutive races, it’s a good bet he’ll clinch a third 450SX title tonight.

In the wild 250SX East Region, Malcolm Stewart holds a slim five point lead over Aaron Plessinger. Jeremy Martin is still alive as well, sitting just fourteen points down. He’ll need some help, but with the way things have gone this year, we’re not counting him out yet.

Practice is underway, so check back for more from New Jersey.