Page 92 - ISSUE42

HENRY MILLER
250 SX / 14TH
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / ECKERT DESIGN / WILSON
>> Minnesota native Henry Miller may be one of the most recent installments of mid- west talent as the 20 year old has qualified for every main event this season, continu- ing his success from last year. A former Ricky Carmichael “Road to Supercross” gradu- ate, it can be said that Miller is still adapting to the indoor circuits so brutally different than what the Amateur nationals have to offer but his recent performances prove the rider is on the rise. With the tour stopping in Detroit for round six, Miller ran into trouble early on Saturday night in heat two, finding himself outside the top ten, in 13th, as the race began the second lap. A mistake from another rider put Miller into 12th, though, and the race for the main was on. As the heat neared the halfway point, Miller was able to make the move on the #65 of Paul Coates, moving the rider into 11th behind Locur- cio. A lap later, Miller was gifted 10th as the a majority of the mid-pack racers made their way around a downed rider. As they all continued to battle with main event hopes into the final laps, Miller made his way around Jeremy Smith to reach 9th and solidify his spot in the main. The momentum didn’t stop there, though, as Miller began to battle with Josh Cartwright before the two made their way into 6th and 7th respectively, as
a few other riders were halted. With only a lap to go, Miller ran out of time and took
his 7th straight to the main event. Again struggling out of the gate in the main, Henry started outside the top fifteen, in 17th. Holding the spot in front of Christian Craig, Miller reached 15th after the first two laps and was able to defend the charge of fellow Yamaha riders Anthony Rodriguez and Luke Renzland for a few minutes before giving in. Miller, then, found himself back to 18th as the first five minutes of the race came to a close. Miller was stuck there for a lap but began picking up positions as he was up to 16th with less than ten minutes left. Unable to make a move, from there, until the final five minutes, Miller got into 15th behind Paul Coates and began to apply the heat. It took Miller a while to figure out the preferred line but as the clock reached it’s final minute, Miller put the move around Coates, just like the heat race, and reached 14th for the checkers. The result gave Miller the best finish of his young career and proved to himself that he’s on the right track.
92 GRITMOTO • MARCH 26, 2017