Red Bull KTM’s Aaron Plessinger seems like he’s always having a good time. It’s rare that you see the Hamilton, Ohio, native do anything without a smile on his face. However, the last two weekends of Monster Energy AMA Supercross Plessinger struggled a bit after putting together three straight top five finishes at Rounds 4-6. He finished sixth overall at the Triple Crown in Arlington in part due to a ninth place finish in the first race of the three race format, and then followed it up next weekend with an actual ninth place finish at Daytona. It was a little peculiar given that Plessinger has thrived at Daytona in the past but instead seemed to struggle all day.

Those two rough rounds were erased on Saturday night in Indianapolis though as Plessinger started in eighth place and charged forward the entire main event to end up comfortably in fourth. At times, he was the fastest rider on the track and showed consistent speed to that of the leaders who were all just a little bit too far gone by the time Plessinger made it up to the front. So, what was different this week?

“I don’t know, I just felt different today,” expressed Plessinger. “Felt a fun vibe, signed a lot of autographs, you know, it was cold. But it was different. I liked it. I was having fun. The team could tell I was having fun all day and I just didn’t really take it too serious. I hate when I do that. I think I did that the last two weekends. I was like, ‘Dude, I’ve got to podium now.’ It’s not a bad mindset to have, but it doesn’t work for me, I guess. I just had fun all day, and it kind of worked out for me.”