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CHASE SEXTON
250 MX / 3RD
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> When watching Sexton as an amateur, many were quick to pinpoint his true skills and natural style. A tucked, aerodynamic natural riding position, coupled with superb corner speed and line selection, made him a hot commodity once entering the latter years of his amateur career. He too would be one to be struck by an injury bug, but as the months have gone by, many could
tell his comfortable pace was beginning to escalate. Appearing to some as a mini Kevin Wind- ham, chatter through the pits was that he and Honda were exceptionally happy together, and it was well apparent with his demeanor the last few weeks. He’s been a staple in the top ve, and coming into the Crawfordsville round, looked to match his past performance one last time. He would do well enough in practice to secure a bid, and eyed a solid start to initiate the rst round of racing. A second place start had him hounding the number sixty-two of Justin Cooper early
on, peeling through the roll-off stack in an aggressive fashion. It was a quick shuf e of positions, as a glimpse of the lead on lap seven saw Aaron Plessinger moving around shortly thereafter. He would make a few mistakes, but that was the case for everyone in the class. Trying his best not to paddle the foot, and avoid downed lap riders (which ended up stalling his momentum for
a brief moment), he would carry on until the nal two laps. Cooper would still stalk him, and the number twenty-three would act as the dangling carrot in front, but he would remain one step off the lead, taking second place for the moto. The second moto was a near duplicate of the rst performance, but now RJ Hampshire was involved in the trio, rather than Cooper. RJ would begin to roost the number 40, and by lap six, he’d had enough of it; pressuring his teammate into a mistake, and nd himself in familiar position. Sexton seemed to be well on his way to another podium moto nish, until a miscalculation would place him on the ground, making the last few laps a ght for a top ve nish. The bike would be covered, his jersey dampened, but he would manage to salvage a sixth place, generating enough points for third overall.
14 GRITMOTO • AUGUST 26, 2018