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JUSTIN COOPER
250 MX / 2ND
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Coming into the professional ranks, Justin Cooper wasn’t necessarily the most highly touted prospect in recent memory. A solid 85cc rider, he began to blossom a bit once aboard the big bikes. Numerous top ve nishes at amateur nationals, throughout the Schoolboy classes, prepared him for his summit towards the end of his reign. Winning Collegeboy and Two-Stroke titles at Loretta Lynn’s, had him realizing the damage could do if he prepared for the A class level in the correct manner. And whatever he did behind the scenes, would work. Captivating the industry at Loretta Lynn’s, and absolutely blitzing the class on the profes- sional level, while stepping onto the tour. He’s been rolling with a surge of momentum thus far, and looked to continue throughout the Millville weekend. The gate would fall for the rst moto, and like you could have guessed, he neared the peak of the eld. Moving past Austin Forkner early on to reside in the second place spot, he would be quickly joined in a duel with fellow Yamaha rider, Aaron Plessinger. Plessinger would hound the young New Yorker, sniff- ing his fumes for quite sometime. Finally, Plessinger had to pull the trigger, and would make the pass stick, about a third of the way into the moto. Cooper and Forkner would then meet again, the two contrasting primary colors duking it out, to see who could solidify third place. Forkner, however, would make the move, as it was now Plessinger, Smith, Forkner, and then Justin. The four would establish a solid pace, each having their respective fastest portions of the track. Attempting to hit every rut with precision, his front end would knife from time to time; however, his muscular endurance was imminent, keeping the bike underneath him as the moto wore on. With Shane McElrath a bit of a ways back, he knew if he could just hang on to for a few laps, fourth place would be his. He would do just that, claiming fourth, and eyeing the second moto immediately. Third place to begin the second moto, Plessinger, Martin, and he would scurry away from the eld, three in unison of one another. The rst moto, had quite the amount of shuf ing, but his laptimes in this moto had a solid median being placed upon the grid, lap after lap. Ironically, in the nal stages, the mystic “dangling carrot” was in fact orange, as Alex Martin was just in front of him. He would reel in the hometown native, truly letting him know that he wouldn’t back down. However, it was too little too late, and a third place for the moto is what would have to be satisfactory.
38 GRITMOTO • JULY 22, 2018