Page 76 - Issue43

KYLE CUNNINGHAM
250 SX / 9TH
IMAGE / LANGSTON WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / WILSON
>> Kyle Cunningham started off his 2017 250 East Coast campaign on the wrong foot. He failed to qualify at the opening round and only managed to notch twelfth at the following race. Things all changed when he got the call from JGR Suzuki. They wanted a solid rider to fill-in for the injured Matt Bisceglia and Cunningham fit the bill. He debuted with his new team in Daytona and finished in impressive sixth place. Since then he has not finished outside the top ten and even nailed a fifth-place last Saturday in Detroit. He entered the Show Me state this weekend ready to maintain that momentum.
Cunningham strung together two quality qualifying sessions where he managed to grab the seventh fastest lap time. He looked fresh and spry, ready to bang bars in the night show. When the gate dropped in his heat, he found himself stuck mid pack in ninth position. He used his veteran poise and methodically maneuvered his way forward. When the checkered flag waved, Cunningham had climbed up to fifth qualifying for the main with ease. He was ready to keep up his streak of top tens.
Cunningham’s chances of keeping that streak alive took a huge hit when things got started in the main. He rounded lap one buried in sixteenth place. Once again, he kept calm and slowly moved forward picking off a rider or two at a time. Passing Noren, Coates, Merriam, and Steven Clark in the first two laps moved him up to twelfth rather quickly. His charge slowed just a bit once he got up there but he kept his head down and made a few more passes before it was all said and done. He snuck by Anthony Rodriguez with just a few laps to secure ninth position where he would ultimately finish. It was a nice come from behind ride
by Cunningham who secured another top ten but I feel like he wants to be just a little bit deeper inside that top ten.
76 GRITMOTO • APRIL 2, 2017