Josh Hansen was up against Eric Sorby. Sorby had the inside and a slight lead, and slowed down with Hansen to prevent Hansen's 250F from ducking under him. Sorby took the lead, but Hansen fought hard to get around. Hansen tripled through a rhythm section that Sorby was doubling, he cut under him before the whoops, cut under him after the whoops, but was still one bike length behind as they got the white flag. Hansen almost pulled him coming out of the next corner, and finally managed to dive under. The lead only lasted for one rhythm section, because Sorby had the inside in the next corner and was close enough to take the lead back. Hansen tried aggressively for a lap to get back around, and the two came into the last corner with Sorby less than a bike length ahead. Hansen tried to duck inside again, but wound up tagging Sorby's swingarm with his front tire, stopping his momentum. Sorby won the heat. Josh Hansen rolled across the line as the fans cheered both riders.
The next match was between Josh Grant and Greg Schnell. Grant managed to get another holeshot over another 450. Grant was on the gas early in the corners, and held the lead to the end to advance to the next round.
The next match was Jeff Dement and Danny Smith. It looked like Dement had the holeshot, but Smith cut under him in the first corner. The two riders stayed close, with Dement finding some inside lines that were working for him. Dement kept the pressure on, and looked like a threat at any point to put a pass on Smith, but was not able to make it happen, and Danny Smith took the win.
Next Travis Pastrana lined up with Joe Oehlhof. Oehlhof shot out of the gate and got the holeshot. Travis was all business over the massive steel ramps, and stuck to Oehlhof's rear wheel all around the track. On the second (and last) lap, Pastrana squared off the corner before the whoops and made the pass. He cut over to protect the line, but not enough, and Oehlhof was close enough to take Travis high in the next corner. Travis didn't back off, and the two went through the next doubles side by side, with Oehlhof managing to control the next corner. Travis had two corners left to make a pass. He tried to work some magic in the last corner, but he could not make the pass. Pastrana was out.
David Vuillemin styled through his race with Jiri Dostal. Vuillemin was obviously feeling good by the way he was throwing his new Honda around in the air, and clearly feeling playful as he gooned the finish line jump with an awkward body position accentuated by a panic rev. Vuillemin was on his game.
The riders advancing to the second round were Kevin Windham, Jason Thomas, Heath Voss, Eric Sorby, Josh Grant, Danny Smith, Joe Oehlhof, and David Vuillemin.
The first two races of the second round were not too eventful, but the third race was interesting. What should have been a match up between Josh Grant and Danny Smith somehow became a Grant/Vuillemin race - all the more interesting because of the earlier contact between the two. Grant got a great jump off the line, but Vuillemin had the inside. He took Grant high - too high - Grant nearly fell, but managed to keep it on two wheels. Grant waited until the whoops, where he charged and tried to go under Vuillemin in the next corner. Grant grabbed a little too much throttle, and the back end came around. He didn't go down, but he lost his chance for the pass. Grant kept at it, made a very aggressive block pass, and went on for the win. After the checkered, Vuillemin tried to bump into Grant's swingarm to tell him he didn't appreciate the treatment, but Vuillemin tipped and dropped his bike. Strangely, Grant rode away, then turned back around and spun the bike down to the ground. Grant then threw his arms up to the crowd. The new rivalry between these two continued, with Grant again getting the better of Vuillemin.