CHASE SEXTON | GRIT-212 | 450SX

CHASE SEXTON | GRIT-212 | SX 450

A native of the Midwest region, Chase Sexton was accustomed to the soil of Indiana; riding on very similar composition in nearby Illinois throughout his youth. This was apparent when watching his riding style on the Honda 450 in recent years, where his balance and finesse on the high-powered machine seemed to embody a technicality that was one-of-a-kind. His prowess had continuously grown sense entering into the premier division, and would be on full display following a distinguished practicing effort where he edged ahead of Ken Roczen atop the leaderboard. Claiming the pole position, would put him into heat two where Jason Anderson and Eli Tomac were alongside him. This made for an electric atmosphere as the gates crashed to the ground, with the field funneling into a tight left-handed corner that followed. Sexton would immediately establish his identity in second, which was just behind Eli who resided in the lead. Chase's corner speed was next level, as perfectly arced his way through corners with an abundance of power on the Honda; applying an adequate source of power at all times while he decimated inside and outside grooves. This would lead him to the entrance of the whoop section on lap two, where he saw a weak point in Tomac's arsenal of attributes; and proceeded to take advantage of the red-plate holder's downfall and blitzed by him while running him to the outside in the ninety-degree corner that followed! Once established in the lead, there was little that could deter the Illinois native from blazing a spectacular trail to the checkered flag, as he scrubbed his way to lap nine. Only seconds were now separating him from victory lane, and with an error free final lap, the number twenty-three would be planted atop the winner's circle. The main event was then upon him, where he competed amongst the top four while moving around Adam Cianciarulo before the finish line to garner third; and after only two laps, he would move around Cooper Webb (for second) to be stationed behind Ken Roczen. He would have the Suzuki rider in his sights, hounding him through every facet of the course while pushing the envelope on the verge of disaster. The stage of a triumphant win would continue through laps four and five, until lap six neared actuality...when Sexton appeared to have drug his frame into a rut upon the face of the step-on/step-off prior to the "SX" triple! This would send him into an endo of sorts, with him flipping atop the tabletop without his bike! With his vizor now broken and his Honda machine battered, he would try his best to return to action as quickly as possible. He was now off-pace and fading, but doing his best to salvage points in this main event affair. The race continued, and to make his night even worse, it appeared as though he would be lapped by the leaders prior to the checkered flag! He was courteous in that regard though, moving out of the way while trying to climb as high up the leaderboard as possible. Eventually residing tenth, he would conclude his Indy tenure here while still remaining in the points hunt.

More from GRIT