Page 24 - Issue-46

JUSTIN BRAYTON
450 SX / 6TH
IMAGE / LANG WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / WILSON
>> A hop, skip, and throw from the Big Apple, don’t let the town’s name of East Ruther- ford New Jersey fool you. This is New York City, and the culture that surrounds this event embodies it. Everything from the demeanor of the fans, the absurd amount of traffic that surrounds the stadium, to the food being grilled within the concession stand, the aura
of NYC is alive and well at Metlife Stadium. A place where names such as Tony and Mikey are as common as ever, Burroughs of each and every ethnicity provide a culture shock on every corner, and the attitude of 1930’s mobsters can be found in small traces of many you come across, the vibe is friendly, but there’s no time for “BS”, and honest thoughts aren’t sugarcoated. The swagger of NYC is that of brute honesty and force when times call for it, something that Justin Brayton hopes to relish in for the few days that he’s here. You can’t be soft-hearted when residing here, and in the midst of competi- tion, he took the thought of the local lifestyle and ran with it. Running people wide in practice, a subtle look back as he crested the highest peaks above the stadium floor. He wasn’t being dirty by any means, he just wanted to reiterate that if you tried to push him around, your efforts would be rebounded, and come straight back at you, but twice as hard. His mechanic seemed to take notice, giving him a pat on the back as they rolled through the tunnel of his last practice session and headed back into the semi. Getting ready for the heat races, he knew the switch had to be flipped yet again, this time he was well prepared. Unfortunately the qualifying process wouldn’t go as well as he’d like, and an eleventh place overall gate pick had him in less than stellar position for the gatedrop. However, taking notes from teammates Mike Alessi, and Vince Friese, he would put the Honda towards the front of the field, hovering around the top five for a large chunk of the first race. His arenacross roots were a contrast to the surface of Jersey, and although
he was dialing in the rhythm sections, the ruts were throwing a variable into the equa- tion he wasn’t quite as accustomed too; however he held strong. Fighting with the likes of Blake Baggett, and Josh Grant, the number 10 would be pulling tearoff’s glancing into his rearview, just to see the number 33 at bay. He couldn’t ever let off the gas, his me- chanic telling him to breathe as the timing monitor ticked until its demise. Tripling his way through the final rhythm section, despite the balance beams that laid in the transitions, he would cap off the night with a solid sixth place finish, and a pleasant mindset heading into the final round.
24 GRITMOTO • APRIL 30, 2017