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Consistency has been Phil Nicoletti’s biggest fault this season and at Budds Creek he was ready to shake
it off. He looked fresh and fast in qualifying practice locking down the fifth fastest lap time. He was ready
to prove he could put together two solid, mistake free motos. Nicoletti got off to a good start in moto one powering his AutoTrader/Monster Energy JGR Yamaha out of the first turn into fifth place. His adrenaline from the start led him right onto the rear wheel of Marvin Musquin and the two duked it out temporarily until Musquin successfully fended off Filthy Phil. Still in fifth, Nicoletti settled in and focused on putting together solid laps. He would catch and pass Andrew Short midway through the moto to take over fourth and continue riding solid laps all the way to the finish. It was the clean moto we knew he was capable off and set him up for a big confidence boost heading into the second moto. Nicoletti got another great start in the second moto firing into fourth place as they exited the first turn. This time around his opening laps would not go as smooth and he would actually make a few bad line choices and get shuffled back to seventh place. He did not panic; he quickly reset and started moving up towards the front. He inched up
and passed Bisceglia a few laps into the race and several laps later would do the same to Andrew Short. He looked like a lock for fifth place in the moto until a charging Dean Wilson would make his move to wrestle the position away with just a few laps remaining. Nicoletti held stayed with it to finish the moto in sixth place. His 4-6 moto scores would be good enough for fifth overall marking a season best performance. He finally put together two fast, consistent motos and it paid off in the end. He has one more race to try and keep the ball rolling next weekend at the season finale in Indiana.
words/SETHHARNISHFEGER
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