Page 26 - ISSUE78

SHANE MCELRATH
250 MX / 8TH
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> As the series looks to come to a close, many in the eld are in the search for new rides. Wondering what team they’ll be with, or even what size machine they will be aboard, has many wondering in their thoughts, and some with greater uncertainty than others. Shane McElrath wants to make an impression that will leave team owner’s adoring his presence, yearning for him to come aboard their brand of machine. His results have been well enough in the past, and he wished ever so strongly that they would continue at the round of Budd’s Creek. Absolutely ripping the two-wheeled monster throughout practice, his name stayed atop the leaderboard beneath the mechanics area paddock, as his crew chief nodded
in reassurance. Waving both towel and pit board in violent clockwise fashion, the vibe emphasis on tenacity was apparent. He could feel the vibe from his team, although he was skating around the track in a ferocious manner. He was ready to capitalize once the gate would fall, just a few hours later. He would rocket out of the hole, eyeing the furthest inside hay bale in turn number one. Emerging outside the top fteen, it was time for him to show his true worth, once the eld would separate itself. He would rail the right hand turn before the big gulp, carrying a heap of momentum all the way around the outside. Standing until the last possible second, it was as though he would sit just in the apex, generating force
as the motor hit its climactic peak. Swinging wide before the mechanics area, he nearly cut off that of Joey Savatgy. Not a dirty move, but a swift, aggressive swoop leaving the eld dazzled behind him. He would continue to plug away, as the timer crept closer and closer to the thirty-minute mark. It was here, where he would reside until the nal moments; he would nish ninth. The sequel was around the corner, and the track would really roughen up within the rst few laps. The lines of the rst round would become horrendously deep, and the eld would have to shuf e around in order to nd something more ef cient. His line in the right-hander before the Fly Triple was immense, nding a golden ticket just off the center
of the grid; it was here, where he would pull from Colt Nichols around lap eleven. His laser like focus would continue for the next few laps, as he carried the ag for both he and team. Crossing the nish line on the nal go around, he knew he’d nished within the top ten over- all; a sixth place nish would cumulate for eighth overall.
26 GRITMOTO • AUGUST 19, 2018