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JUSTIN BRAYTON
450 SX / 10TH
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / LANG DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> The 2018 Monster Energy Supercross season has been a success for Smartop Bullfrog Spas Honda’s Justin Brayton. Although he has been racing 450 SX
for many years now, this year has got to be at the top of the list for one of his
best. Round seven was another solid race for Brayton. A decent start in the heat race put him around 10th place on the rst lap. Making moves very quickly, Bray- ton moved passed ve riders in one lap and was all the way up to 5th in the blink of an eye. He would hang out here for the rest of the race until and late race crash from Rocky Mountain ATV KTM’s Blake Baggett gave him 4th place. The track inside AT&T Stadium was the biggest competition for the riders in the 450 Main Event tonight. The dirt broke down more and more until there was nothing but
ruts from left to right for the riders to choose from. For a rider like Justin Brayton, this takes away a huge advantage of his. Brayton is the best when the whoops are massive and hard packed so that they do not break down and they stay the same size throughout the night. Most riders struggle through big whoops whereas Brayton excels. The track in Arlington broke down so much that it made the whoop section essentially non-existent. The Smartop Honda rider again came around
the rst turn around 10th in the Main Event and was in a midst of riders all going
a similar speed. Battling throughout the race with Rock Star Husqvarna’s Dean Wilson, Brayton struggled to move forward like he did in his heat race. He basically stayed in this position all night and nished the race 10th overall. Although this was his worst nish of the 2018 season, Brayton has yet to nish outside of the top ten. Consistency is key for championship points and Justin is currently 7th in 450 SX Points heading into Tampa FL.
62 GRITMOTO • FEBRUARY 18, 2018