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Chris Howell
250 SX / 17TH
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / KUHLHOFF DESIGN / WILSON
>> Spokane Valley, Washington native Chris Howell had to have been feeling right at home on the “Glacier till” track that was Seattle Super- cross this weekend. Luckily, the number 87 on the Husqvarna found himself in the first heat, which was guaranteed to be the best track condi- tions that any of these riders would experience for the rest of the night. Familiar with the terrain, Howell knew that he needed to take advantage of a prepped track and go straightforward into the Main Event. With little practice in his corner and a 5 minute heat, the JMC Motorsports / Integ- rity Electrical / Alliance Steel Racing needed to come out swinging if he wanted a ticket to the Main. Immediately, Howell found himself in tenth place, just one transfer spot away from making it. With Breece in his sight and rocks flying, Chris Howell dug deep and found some last lap aggres- siveness and made the pass. He finished the heat in the final ninth place transfer spot and was headed straight into the Main Event. Cold weather did not extinguish any of the fire burning within these riders tonight. Century Link Field was filling with anticipation as bikes revved and riders warmed up. The intense red glow of the thirty-second board paled in comparison to the intensity of the red flag that flew about two laps into the moto. After the complete restart, Chris Howell found himself in 19th place early on. There may have been plenty of deep and rutted lines to choose from, but making the pass was much easier said than done in Seattle. As track conditions worsened, Howell was able to improve with each passing lap. With 7 minutes to go he found himself in 18h place, and then with just one lap to go he made his way into 17th place. I hope to see Chris Howell bring some of that fire and fight that we saw in his heat race to Salt Lake City.
100 GRITMOTO • APRIL 9, 2017