Page 116 - Issue-46

Joshua Cartwright
450 SX / 18TH
IMAGE / LANG WORDS / KUHLHOFF DESIGN / WILSON
>> After an eighteenth place finish at the previous East Coast round of the series in St. Louis, I’m sure Joshua Cartwright was ready to come to New Jersey seeking something more. The number 93 machine out of Tallahas- see, Florida lined up for the first heat of the evening with one goal in mind. Cartwright finished the heat race in tenth place: just one spot short of a direct transfer to the Main Event. This full-time Florida State University student was going to have to push himself in the Last Chance Qualifier if he wanted a gate pick for the Main Event. The EBR Performance/ TXS Productions/MX Culture/Sandbox Kings Graphics rider quickly found himself deep in battle with Coates for the fourth place spot, with Klippel in front of them. Cartwright busts out a triple over Coates’ head and makes a pass but Coates immedi- ately retaliates with a pass back. Klippel then falls back to eighth place put- ting Coates in third and Cartwright in fourth and heading to the Main Event. Spirits were high in MetLife Stadium as the 250 East Coast riders lined up for the second to final round of the series. The thirty-second board went up, the gates dropped. Joshua Cartwright and his Yamaha were off. Cartwright could not find the gusto that he needed on the short start straightaway and found himself in the twenty-first place position by the fourth lap of the moto. Fortu- nately, Cartwright was able to gain a few positions during the Main Event and he crossed the finish line in eighteenth place, no improvement on his results in St. Louis, but not worse either. Consistency is key as these riders head into their final round in Las Vegas.
116 GRITMOTO • APRIL 30, 2017