Looking to continue building following last week’s tremendous effort in San Francisco, KTM’s Chase Sexton had commented on well the bike was handling throughout day’s past. It seemed as though Chase was eager for battle, too, as he arrived in San Diego — leaping onto the slick racing surface for practice, where moisture was a variable to overcome, on every facet of the raceway. Though eventually mastering the rhythm lane(s) and whoop section to the best of his ability, all in attendance knew that the “puzzle” of a layout per se, was only going to become more difficult as nightfall came to fruition. He shifted into gear, and never looked back to begin the second heat of the evening. As the field skated through the opening corner, the number one was buried...nearly at the tail end of the field after appearing to miss a shifting point. A mistake-plagued first lap would make the road to a prominent position rather difficult, but the Illinois native would do his best to double his way through the muck while his chassis was weighed down — pursued by Hunter Lawrence as he made his way into the top nine. Keeping the ninety-six at bay while attempting to move past Jorge Prado, Sexton was forced to oblige to the command(s) of the field and earn seventh in the final running order. The course was now hard to recognize, especially when compared to the press-day blueprint that was, just twenty-four hours prior. Nevertheless, Sexton immediately attempted to transcend the odds once more, but unfortunately was caught up with Malcolm Stewart in the opening rhythm section! Nearly last place, he would go off track in the rhythm lane as well, before the “SX” triple (with just under five minutes having passed. The process to claim single digits, would be one to march forward toward and obtain by being observant and composed amongst chaos. Making passes on opponents like Adam Cianciarulo, Jorge Prado, and Freddie Noren, he finally entered into the top-ten as minutes began to fade...and though being lapped by both, Cooper Webb and Aaron Plessinger, Sexton made sure to stay atop two wheels en route to an eventual eighth-place overall; which added yet another twist, to this ever-changing championship landscape in the 450 SX division...and as the next round approaches, look for the Illinois native to rebound.