CHASE SEXTON

After a phenomenal performance being displayed on his behalf last weekend at Hangtown, Illinois’ Chase Sexton appeared more determined than ever to make a statement while stationed at Thunder Valley. He was exceptional in practice and carried that momentum into the opening moto. He, Jett Lawrence, and Aaron Plessinger appeared to be in a feud for the fifth-place standing, but Sexton settled for sixth while Jett began to steadily break away, a slight bit. Though a slightly difficult line of defense was put forth by Justin Barcia, the Illnois native would pass the GasGas rider on the seventh lap...and then quickly overtook a slightly fatigued, Jason Anderson. He was fourth, at that point, and could see the top-three, not “too” far ahead. But both Lawrence brother’s and Justin Cooper were riding rather stellar, and seemingly left the Illinois rider to be “all alone” per se, in his own realm, within the fourth place standing. All seemed to be well, at that point, until roughly three laps remained, and Sexton would swap off of the race-track — just before an inbound jump when approaching the finish line, creating a cloud of dust, and subsequent loss of positions! He could only rebound for sixth, but managed to stay within the fight for a decent overall, if he could pair the score with a superb performance in the latter round of the afternoon. Immediately passing Jett Lawerence to acquire third in the second moto, Chase Sexton appeared to be “on a mission” while tracking down both, Hunter Lawrence (second) and Justin Cooper who led. A valiant block pass was then conducted on Hunter before the Monster Energy outbound jump, where the Illinois native overtook second while seeking to surpass the aforementioned Yamaha opponent. Even attempting to fly through the air of a large, anthill style of obstacle, Sexton landed on the gas and nearly secured the lead from Justin at that point in time! But the number thirty-two wasn’t going to let things go that easily, and instead, put forth a line of defense that was beyond admirable. However, just before the ten minute mark had transpired, Sexton had seemingly waited long enough...and attempted a heroic, jump from inside to outside over the turning roller before the finish line. But an off-balance(d) miscalculation would force Sexton into the outer wall, where he slid and crashed, somehow remaining uninjured as he lost numerous positions. He resumed the moto, just behind Justin Barcia for sixth...and began to chip away at the margin he once had. Chase then moved into fifth by the sixth lap, but Jason Anderson was then the next rider to be approached. Despite relentless pressure put forth by the Illinois native, he couldn’t seem to overtake the Kawasaki combatant...and never rekindled the superior flow, that was garnered in the early stages. This, would lead to an eventual fifth-place score (in round two) and a fifth-place overall as well...somewhat shifting the points scenario, back into the favor of the Lawrence brothers, with High Point now on the horizon.