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JASON ANDERSON
450 SX / 3RD
IMAGE /MPG WORDS /HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / WILSON
>> Jason Anderson would more than likely be flying completely under the radar this season if it was not for the headlines he made after his altercation with Vince Fri-
ese back at Anaheim. The Rockstar Husqvarna rider has been quietly logging solid finishes all season long. He has only finished outside of the top four two times this season and one of those was due to a mechanical failure. However, the reason his great finishes are going relatively unnoticed is because he has only one podium and a whopping five fourth place finishes. He just can’t seem to get his face up on the po- dium but after a DNF last weekend in Toronto, he was more than ready to rebound by getting up on the box. He looked great in qualifying practice logging the fastest time in the first session and officially qualifying sixth. He seemed to jive well with the track and was hoping for some good starts when the night show began.
Anderson looked to have finally nailed a holeshot, which have been so hard to come by for him this year, but Bam Bam Barcia fired up the inside and stole it away. Ander- son got in right behind him but could not find the space to make any moves on the AutoTrader JGR Suzuki rider. He would settle with that second-place performance and head on to the main event.
Feeling confident after getting a great start in the heat, Anderson tried timing another stellar one but he jumped the gun and narrowly avoided hitting the gate. He managed to snake his way down the start stretch and emerge from lap one in ninth place. He kept his aggression up and made some quick moves to position himself in sixth just a few laps into the race. He then set his sights on his old buddy Cole Seely. He stalked the Factory Honda rider for a handful of laps before making the pass on lap seven. His next targets were veterans Chad Reed and Justin Brayton. Reed made it easy on him by looping out in some tough blocks and he would get by Brayton a lap later. In impressive fashion, Anderson had jumped from ninth to third in just half the race. The only problem now was that he was in a lonely third because Tomac and Martin were checked out. He stayed upright the rest of the way to finally finish on the podium. After so many fourth place finishes he was stoked to be back on the box but knows he has a little more work to do to compete toe to toe with Eli Tomac.
18 GRITMOTO • MARCH 12, 2017