Page 64 - ISSUE41

JUSTIN BRAYTON
450 SX / 12TH
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / KUHLHOFF DESIGN / WILSON
>> The number 10 of Justin Brayton had a solid start to his evening in Indianapolis. The Smartop/Motoconcepts/Honda rider sat in fifth place off of the start in the second 450-heat race. Brayton then fell back to seventh place behind Bogle in sixth and in front of Friese in eighth, sending Bray- ton to the Semi. It was immediately obvious that Justin Brayton was lining up for victory in Semi Two when he came accelerating out of the first cor- ner with the holeshot. With Dungey in second, Brayton had to dig deep to prove that he had what it took to win this Semi. Staying smart and strong, Brayton was able to hold onto his first place spot and move forward into the Main Event. After a very solid ninth place finish last weekend in Day- tona, I’m sure that Brayton came into Indy wanting to build upon that.
The start of the race was crucial for so many riders this evening and unfortunately, Justin Brayton found himself sitting in the fourteenth place spot after a bad start. The North Carolina native was quickly able to pass Justin Bogle for thirteenth place and then rapidly move into the twelfth place spot. With only three minutes and two laps to go, Justin Brayton put his head down and focused on the task at hand and was able to soar over the finish line in twelfth place. Hopefully next weekend in Detroit we can see Justin Brayton consistently put in laps all night and finish within the top ten.
64 GRITMOTO • MARCH 19, 2017