Page 90 - Issue-48

NICK GAINES
250 MX / 15TH
IMAGE / CAVAZOS WORDS / KUHLHOFF DESIGN / WILSON
>> This Ringgold, Georgia native was ready to give it his all for the first round of the outdoor season at Hangtown. After missing five rounds of outdoors last year and part of supercross this year due to injury, this Traders Racing Yamaha rider needed to stay strong and steady if he wanted a solid finish to start season with. The Sacramento sun was radiating that classic dry Califor- nia heat and first race butterflies were in everybody’s stomachs as they lined up for moto one. The slim metal gate was the only thing separating these 41 racers from battle as the thirty-second card began counting down. The gates dropped and Nick Gaines was off to a good start and the number 78 pilot found himself in twelfth on the first lap. Halfway through the race, Gaines was sitting in fourteenth and was able to grab one more position before the checkered flag went out. With a thirteenth place finish going into a more chal- lenging second moto, Nick Gaines needed to stay consistent or capitalize on his hard work in moto one. Hangtown was becoming a guessing game for these riders as shadowed ruts deepened, breaking bumps were becoming mountainous, and temperatures were getting dangerously close to one hun- dred degrees. With all of this in mind, hydration and race rythmn were key if these riders wanted any sort of consistent finish. Unfortunately, Nick Gaines could not grab the same kind of start that he did in the first moto and he found himself in twenty-second place on lap one of the second moto. Gaines worked his way through any adversity he was facing and was able to move into fourteenth place by the halfway point of the race. Nick Gaines was able to finish the second moto in fifteenth. With a 13-15 for the day, Gaines was able to grab a fifteenth place overall in Hangtown. Hopefully with some solid starts, Nick Gaines can “gaine” some momentum as we progress further into the season.
90 GRITMOTO • MAY 21, 2017