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Muddy Creek marks Shane McElrath’s home race and he was more than happy to be back with
all of his friends and family. He dominated the track as an amateur and was hoping to do so as a professional. He qualified with the fifth fastest time and was probably one of the few guys to be excited
to get out and race in the heat and humidity. McElrath got right to work in the opening moto with a nice fifth place start. He put himself up front early which has been one of his biggest strengths in his young career. He would surrender to Cooper Webb a few laps into the race dropping back to sixth. He continued logging solid laps but wouldn’t be solid enough to keep Zach Osborne behind him as he worked around at the halfway point of the race. He remained calm and kept his focus on the riders ahead of him and it would pay off. He inherited sixth after a Cianciarulo crash and began catching Martin Davalos for fifth. Late in the race he would take that spot from Davalos and began pushing to get Jordon Smith in fourth. He caught up to him with two to go but could not make the pass. That allowed Jeremy Martin to put extreme pressure on both of them. McElrath did everything he possibly could to hold Martin off but he would sneak by on the final straight away. But McElrath still held the inside going into the final corner and railed it to absolute perfection to just edge out Martin for fifth in a wild ending. McElrath must have been energized after that crazy ending to the first moto and he channeled it into a big holeshot in the second moto. Alex Martin snuck by but he would literally launch back by him to lead the pack around on lap one. McElrath began logging some of the quickest laps of the race and built up a small yet comfortable cushion on Martin. He looked like a seasoned winner out front all moto but this is a rider whose best overall finish is sixth place! McElrath was having the race of his life but just when it looked like it was his moto to win... Cooper Webb happened. Webb absolutely dropped the hammer during the last few laps reeling off lap times four seconds faster than anyone else on the track. McElrath did his best to hold him off but he would make just a small mistake and Webb would get by on the FINAL lap. McElrath would finish a career best second place in the moto and career best third overall on the day. He has got to be absolutely gutted (I know I was) after losing the lead after leading every single lap but he embraced his career bests and basked in the glory and cheers from the fans. What a day it was for Shane McElrath.
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