JASON ANDERSON

Though rather acclimated to the conditions of the Thunder Valley circuit, there were numerous variables (including altitude) that could never be disregarded for any athlete as the lined the gates of the Lakewood venue. Jason Anderson, raised in the nearby state of New Mexico, seemed to welcome the toughest of challenges though as his 450cc engine revved for practice. Contending throughout the top-five, his ability to earn the fourth gate choice, was notable...and a definitive strong point within his arsenal of tricks as the thirty-second board would go sideways. Battling amid the third-place position as the soon as the opening lap began, Anderson appeared excellent in all facets while maneuvering the 450cc chassis. He was remarkable on the slick areas of track, weighting the outside foot-peg of the motorcycle before being overtaking Justin Barcia (for second) on the fourth lap of action! But Hunter Lawrence, saw an opening as Jason began to look back a bit...and overtook him with a swift move through a sweeping corner of sorts, which deterred Anderson to third. Jett Lawrence approached quickly thereafter, and Jason’s bit of fatigue, began to play more of a role than ever — losing another position to an Australian competitor, with Chase Sexton now becoming part of the equation, too. The number four would surpass the Kawasaki rider on the eighth circuit, but Anderson seemed stop his descend outside of the front of the pack, at this point...that was, until a crash off of the race track would hamper his ambition of the standing he once had. Remounting as quickly as possible, he had slid to a standing that trailed Christian Craig and Dylan Ferrandis...remaining here through the checkered flag, to acquire tenth. Battling within the top-five to begin the second bout, he quickly overtook Jett Lawrence with a surplus of charging! His determination was palpable and even with the Australian athlete quickly countering to overtake Anderson at the green flag, the New Mexico native remained in the fight...and was close enough to Chase Sexton (when the Illinois native crashed) to inherit a position, as well, to begin the fourth circuit. Once into the fourth-place position, the fortitude and resiliency of the former 450SX Champion promoted applause from the crowd — where he wasn’t shaken by any variables, of competition nor track conditions. He remained steadfast in his pursuit of the checkered flag, continuously putting forth incredible laps, while keeping a multitude of high-profile contenders at bay. Racing to an eventual standing of fourth (for this moto) his combination of scores, led him to seventh in the overall record book!