ST. LOUIS, Missouri: Ken Roczen, Hunter Lawrence, and Eli Tomac struggled in qualification. They will both line up in the second heat.
Heat 1
Justin Cooper earned the holeshot.
Chase Sexton crashed with Jeremy Hand in Turn 1 and drops outside the top 10.
Sexton was up to eighth on Lap 2
Cooper Webb in second and Shane McElrath contended for the podium early.
Joey Savatgy passed McElrath on Lap 4.
Sexton moved up to fifth by Lap 4 and fourth on Lap 5. to salvage a solid gate pick.
Sexton took the final podium spot on the final lap.
Cooper wins over Webb and Sexton in third.
Fourth-place Joey Savatgy, McElrath (fifth), Garrett Marchbanks (sixth), Volt Nichols (seventh), Dylan Ferrandis (eighth), and Grant Harlan also advance.
Harlan had to hold off teammate Kevin Moranz for the final transfer position.
Heat 2
The top three in points square off in Heat 2.
Lawrence grabbed the holeshot over Justin Hill, but Hill loses the spot to Roczen quickly.
Tomac got a poor start and was outside the top five on Lap 1.
Roczen took the lead on Lap 2. He has momentum on his side.
Malcolm Stewart rounded out the podium.
Tomac took fifth from Hill in the whoops on Lap 4 and he set his sights on Jorge Prado in fourth.
Roczen held on for the win over Lawrence by more than five seconds.
Stewart took the final podium position.
Fourth-place Prado and Tomac rounded out the top five.
Hill (sixth), Christian Craig (seventh), Jordon Smith (eighth), and Mitchell Harrison also advanced directly into the Feature.
Last Chance Qualifier
Vince Friese jumped off course while leading the race at the halfway point. He fell outside the transfer position momentarily.
Cole Thompson won by 3.604 seconds over Kevin Moranz.
Friese recovered to take the third position when Tristan Lane crashed late in the race.
Jeremy Hand earned the final spot.
