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Blake started his day off pretty average in California, finishing 13th in the first round of practice. By the end of qualifying, Blake was able to get a little more comfortable with the track and went into the night show with an 11th overall in qualifying. He was ready more than ever to put in a respectable result and improve on his finish of 19th in Detroit. In 450 Heat 2, Blake got off to a mid pack start and if he wanted to go straight to the Main, he had a lot of work to do. It seemed as if that was Blake’s plan as he passed many riders but fell short with a 7th place finish. Bagget knew if he wanted a shot at a good finish in the Main he had to qualify through the Semi. He got a 5th place start and set his focus forward. On Lap 3, he was finally able to get into 4th place around Schmidt. Immediately he passed another rider and was in the top 3. He would settle for 3rd and go to the Main with a lot of work to do if he wanted to finish in the top ten. Blake somehow lucked out with a great gate pick, lining up next to Eli Tomac and Weston Peick. Baggett did not use it to his advantage and got a terrible jump off the gate. He came around the first lap in 15th, but he was able to pick off two riders in two laps and was sitting 13th by lap 3. He made a mistake on lap 4 and lost one position but fought hard to
try and get it back. He got back around Alessi and with a crash from James Stewart, this put Blake into 12th on lap 8. With 9 to go, a mistake by Barcia allowed the #4 by. Blake was now sitting 11th, only 2 seconds behind Musquin. He was able to catch him and slip by the french rider. He was now inside the top ten and if he could hold on, this would be his best finish of the year. Blake did exactly that and would go to Indy with some much needed confidence.
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