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Never one to come out swinging, Nichols tends to take a few punches and get the blood flowing before he begins to open up and find his rhythm; Glen Helen was no different. Buried deep in a lackluster 28th position, Nichols had nowhere to go but up. He began to dice through the field, consistently chopping up the competition and spewing them out one by one. Precise line selec- tion up the near vertical hills would allow him to create a drive through the rear wheel that many
competitors couldn’t find. The larger than life triples and stepdowns allowed for the number 69 to really display a sense of style and flare, all the while gaining time on whoever stood in front of him. After a valiant effort, he would finish 19th. Not many would leap with excitement following a 16th place start, but looking at the camp of the Cycle Trader, Rock River squad, it would appear as if they just won the lottery; Colt Nichols actually had a jump near the top fifteen. Jousting with the likes of Shane McElrath and Jordon Smith, he was showing teams that he could compete with factory riders, each time he passed the mechan- ics area; the field just has immense depth. Proving true testament to his fitness and training schedule, the Sooner would go on to finish a respectable 13th, and 16th overall as the series heads east.
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