Aaron Plessinger Donates 10K in Honor of the Gragg Family

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The Vurbmoto Shred Tour heads to Muddy Creek Raceway this weekend for the Top Gun Showdown. We’re very excited to be a part of this race as it has been a staple to the Southeast since the Roman Empire. Obviously I’m joking, they didn’t have dirt bikes then, but it’s an important race and one that has a lot of history. Come out and join us for some good times, dirt bikes, and hot dogs as we enjoy some beautiful fall weather.

One of the most important parts of this event is of course the Cody Gragg Memorial Two Stroke race. If you’re unfamiliar with Cody Gragg, he was a well-known racer to just about every rider in the pits. Cody and his father Chris tragically lost their lives in March of 2017 when their tire blew out on their RV causing them to go down an embankment. It was a very sad day for the industry. The memory of the Gragg family lives on and every year this Two Stroke Memorial Race gets bigger in their honor. Cody excelled on his 250 two stroke and he once even scored 13th in a moto at Budds Creek on his stock practice bike! So, that’s why we honor him with two-strokes.

This year the purse is already up to an AMAZING $27,781 and still growing. Every year Aaron Plessinger donates $10,000 to the purse in honor of his friends. The Graggs were like family to Aaron and they were always racing together growing up. So, to say this race means the most to Plessinger would be an understatement.

“It’s an awesome thing that they do,” Plessinger said. “They’ve done it every year since Cody and Chris passed. It’s special for me even if I don’t get to make it out there every year. It keeps Cody and Chris’ memories going for everybody. The money that I donate, I just want to see the amateur leagues and the local races get as many people as they can. You know that they try hard. I know because my dad runs those two tracks in Ohio, when you put all that into it and you don’t get the show up that you want it’s really a shot in the gut and it really sucks. I solely want to give back and see the tracks that I used to race growing up get as much exposure and riders as they can.”

The race is gaining popularity and last year 50 riders signed up, so the promoters ran two qualifiers for a 40 rider main event. It was a stacked class and riders like Mike Brown, Matt Burkeen, Ezra Hastings, Chris Canning, Kyle Bitterman, Luke Neese, Chase Marquier, Devin Simonson, and Justin Rodbell were in attendance.

“When I look back at last year when Matt Burkeen won the race he was so excited and he couldn’t believe how much he was getting paid,” said AP. “That’s kind of my goal. It’s a good spot for me. It’s an awesome race. If you’re listening, you better get out there and I think the purse is going to be even bigger than it was last year. You get to rip some two strokes, have a good time at Muddy Creek, in the honor of the Gragg family.”

Thank you to AP, Victory Sports, and all of the parties that donated money to the purse for this event. We’re going to have a great weekend in honor of the Gragg family.

Main image: KTM Images