Page 43 - MPG16

theGRIT
IMAGES/LAKEKILPATRICK
Inside the top ten in qualifying, Renzland was on pace in MetLife Stadium and was ready for another
fifteen lap sprint, picking up where he left off in Massachusetts. Before the main, Luke jumped out to
a rather dismal start in his heat race, crossing the holeshot line at the back of the pack in 15th. Over the next few laps, Luke pushed onward passing four riders to make into 11th near the beginning of lap four. Then on lap five, out of nowhere, Renzland found himself in 8th, secured in a transfer position. Knowing that type of start wouldn’t work in the main, Luke came back to the starting line before the final 250 gate drop of the night hungry for an upgrade in his finish. When the gate dropped, though, Luke found himself pinched in 15th off the start, putting down the heat to make it to 12th on lap two. Unfortunately, Aaron Plessinger, the Yamaha rider who’s 2nd in points, found himself behind Renzland with a bit more momentum than the Rock River team rider. Plessinger got by, along with another racer, pushing Renzland back to 14th but on lap five, Luke started his march forward. He picked up 13th, then 12th and finally 11th all on lap five, leading up to his pass for 10th around Anthony Rodriguez on lap six. Closing in on Audette in 9th, Gannon got by Matt Bisceglia for 8th, serving him up on a platter for Luke to indulge himself thereafter. Due to the pass Audette had around Matt, Renzland lost time on the Kawasaki rider while still being able to muscle around the #32 of Bisceglia to finish 9th at the largest stadium of the tour. It’s clear that Luke is officially a top ten performer with the finish in New Jersey seeing that out of his five races so far, he
finds himself with three finishes 9th or better. As a result, Renzland moved into 19th in standings and solidified his invite to Vegas where
bragging rights are up for grabs this upcoming weekend. It is, undeniably, about to get tense up in here.
words/BRENTECKERT WWW.GRITMOTO.COM
43