250’s:
Lawrence takes the checkered flag in the 250 class! Everyone expected him or Craig to take to the win so no surprise there. Well, not exactly. HUNTA Lawrence grabbed his 3rd win of the season. Jett had a good start and was sitting 4th behind Sushi, Hampshire, and Hunta on the first lap but washed the front end trying to cut in on a flat turn to hard. He is starting to give me AC vibes and it upsetting. Always the woulda, coulda, shoulda, but for one reason or another he is coming from behind. Atleast his issues aren’t costing him a title. Jett is also not racing the likes of Osbourne or Fernandis though. Craig had an awful start but climbed through the field quickly. There was still 7 minutes left when he got into 2nd and only 2 seconds down from Hunter. I thought this was all but over and Craig had him covered. Craig caught Hunter almost 1 second quickly. From there Hunter started matching Craigs pace and Craig could never really pull in close enough to make a move. With 3 laps to go, Craig put in one last charge and tucked his front end. He still got up in 2nd and was able to finish there. This was another shootout where neither coast leader took the win.
Austin Forkner was the other stand out from Atlanta in the 250 class for me. He finally showed his speed and flash in his heat race that I’ve been waiting to see again for sometime. Was in 3rd place entering the final lap and 1.5seconds behind Hampshire, the leader of the East heat race. He put in a charge, and launched a wall to flat to take the lead right before the finish. That collar bone seems strong and he seems willing to send it. Forkner looked good early in the main event, but you could easily tell that he hit a wall with his fitness. I don’t expect him to be able to go the distance after slamming off the ground 6 weeks ago in Arlington. But seeing the flash of speed gives some hope that someone without the last name Lawrence can win outdoors.
I know the Lawrence bros are getting slammed down everyone’s throat and it is starting to get tiresome, but seeing how genuinely stoked they were to be on the podium together again is special. The really are best mates and seeing them truly pumped should make anyone a fan. The TV coverage can start showing us some other 250 guys anytime now though.
450’s:
Anderson is BACK!! After a few mishaps, head scratching weeks, and questionable tweets, he is right back up front. Anderson took the win, Tomac took 2nd, and Sexton was in 3rd…without his visor again. Tomac and Anderson were never close in the main event, they kin of rode their own race. Eli had a decent start, and started to pull old Eli habits for the first laps, fading backwards. He finally got himself together and started to charge forward. By then, Anderson was 8 seconds out front and those two were pretty much set. Anderson and Tomacs excitement came in the heat race. Tomac was clearly faster, and he was feeling it. There was no reason to put the pressure on Anderson like he was. He finally blew past Anderson in the split sand section. In the very next turn, Anderson squared up Tomac, drifted around the inside with only the style that Anderson can, and blitzed the whoops right back into the lead. Tomac was not done though. First, pushing the limits he caught a square edge coming out of the tunnel and had a swap from hell. Like a champion does though, his bike wasn’t even back under control and Tomac was pulling tear offs and starting to charge forward again. Tomac tried to drift like Anderson around a flat turn to get him on the last lap, but like I said, only Anderson can do it that fast with his style.
Even though the main even was fairly boring for Anderson and Tomac, Sexton made it interesting for all. Sexton was the fastest in practice. Took off in his heat race and then took the holeshot in the main event. It was looking like a perfect day for the #23. But, as Sexton does, he went down in spectacular fashion. In what would be just a typical loss of traction and pushing the front wheel, Sexton adds some entertainment. He pushed his front end at the bottom of a bowl turn, when the bike reached the top it barrel rolled back down. Of course when it came back down, it rolled right over Chase and took his visor off yet again. Bikes have an abnormal attraction to Sexton. At some point they are going to start going backwards just to ensure they topple over him when he is down.
The 450 title race is all but over. Tomac has this under control if he just shows up each weekend. This does not change the parity in the 450 class though. Will Webb get a win or even get on pace this year? Lately Mookie has been cold, but will get his first career win? Can Anderson keep solidifying his 2018 season by padding his stats? Will Sexton stay off the ground and start figuring how to win consistently? Will Tomac break his Reeds tie in race wins by the end of the season? Even with the title being decided, there is a lot to watch each weed. We’ll see yinz next week for Sundays Summary.