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JUSTIN BRAYTON
450 SX / 4TH
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Upon arrival in Minneapolis, many were quick to notice the crazy forecast, which was placed upon the city for the weekend. Inches upon inches of snow, would have plows scooping up sidewalks, and citizens bundling up. However, in place of sleigh bells and Christmas carol’s, the town, and in particular U.S. Bank Stadium, would hear echoes of 450’s thumping around this gigantic Supercross circuit. Who was one to make noise in practice you ask? None other than Justin Brayton, who saddled up on his means of transportation, and ew throughout the walls of the arena. Skying over these crazy combinations and triples, he felt most at home through the air. A scary thought to most, but it would allow him to relax, and get the heart-rate down a bit, all before attacking the straightaways, whoops, and corners with absurd persistence. He reiter- ated this mindset when the gate would collapse, for the rst main. Leaping two, and even three wide throughout the series of jumps on the opening lap, the thought of ying side by side, never dripped an ounce of fear into his thought process. Looking to move forward, it was Weston Peick who was just behind, and he knew he had to break loose. He would do so, keeping the opponent at bay, and making mental notes, to keep the throttle on in every portion of this track. It would lead him to an eventual fourth place. The second round would nd him on the pursuit
of the checkered ag, as it acted as the dangling carrot, with him being as hungry as ever. The track was ever so slightly beginning to break down, with shiny blue-grooved surfaces appearing here and there. He could nd grooves where needed to though, and it would propel him to push forward, ahead of Marvin Musquin, while still holding down the lead. Although Marvin would eventually push him wide, he would still lock down the runner-up position. Looking to branch out, he would eye the sensor of timing and scoring, to really keep his mind on track. Each lap, his times would mimic each other, although a slight bit of deviation was to be expected. His result of the consistency you ask? None other than second place. The third, and nal showing of the night was here, and it was time for him to put the best foot forward. He came across rst in the opening sequences, and as always, yearning to make moves forward. He would now start to cut across ruts, kni ng these bowls with tire tread as sharp as ever. He could sniff the fume of Jason Anderson who was now in front of him, after a quick pass in the rst few moments of the race. The competition kept coming, with the likes of Musquin and Tomac at bay; they would get around. The thought of another position lled his cloud of thinking, and it would lead him to the white ag, where he would have one more chance to solidify his position. Ducking into the nal right-hander, he roared the 450 up the nal face; his result would be a fth place, and it would put him in fourth overall.
16 GRITMOTO • APRIL 15, 2018