Page 26 - Grit_Issue_69

JASON ANDERSON
450 SX / 7TH
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Jason Anderson had an outlook going into this event, of letting it all hangout. Never relinquishing his will power until this point in his career, there wasn’t any shyness when asked to pull the trigger, once he had set his sights on this prestigious Daytona Raceway. He was beyond eager to make a statement, and with his pace in practice, everyone who was in attendance could tell, that he would be one to watch out for. Launching quads like nobody’s business, foregoing plateaus, he would jump until he would atland, and then some. Skid marks, etching into both the front and rear fender, signalized how hard he was charging. The footpag had worn into the arch of his boot, demonstrat- ing just how hard he was impacted, once propelled into the air. His heat race attitude reiterated the previous notion, saying he was there to assert his presence. Registering dead last on the rst lap, this night would be a continuous up-hill battle. Wheeling through the nish line section, it was all he could do to keep the back wheel contained on the ground; but as the rear end of the chassis would dance, the throttle remained pinned, and the left boot kept clicking up. Pressuring everyone from Ben Lamay to Bradley Taft, he would stalk them for the nal few laps, never being able to make the move on the later fty-three machine. He would somehow manage a ninth place. It would frustrate him, but rather than use it in a negative connotation, he would reciprocate the mishaps, and turn them into positive motivation, once time for the main event. With the amount of carnage going on early in this moto, yellow ags seemed to be going out everywhere. Berms were being distorted, ruts were looking as though they were combed up the face; you name it, and this track provided it.
A washout(s) and tip-over would push him way back, the transponder placing him in fourteenth on lap one. He would hover near the latter portion of the top ten for the majority of the moto, trying his best to ride a smooth consistent pace, but it was tough. With riders like Justin Brayton and Christian Craig out front, it displayed that racers with solid, polished technique, could excel with the right precision. He was then picking up on the line of doubling over the biggest launch pad, following the mechanics area. It would be a game of inches, but he was willing to play the long ball, with every- one uttering out before him. With Weston Peick ahead, it was a game of attrition, when heading towards the checkered ag. His legs were ailing, the elbows dropped to the ground, but he was still digging. His visor had been caked with sand, but his perseverance would hold true until the bitter end. Coming through the nal lane, he continued to breathe, knowing he completed this marathon of an event. It was over, and he would go down on the score sheet with a seventh place.
26 GRITMOTO • MARCH 11, 2018