race recap
COLT NICHOLS | GRIT-218 | 450SX
May 2, 2023 · Colt Nichols
COLT NICHOLS | GRIT-218 | SX 450
Oklahoma's Colt Nichols was seeking to accrue as many points as possible prior to departing from the state of Tennessee, though the usual combatants of Chase Sexton and Eli Tomac (who were exclaiming dominance atop the leaderboard in practice) were a mainstay at the front of the pack when day-time qualifying would begin. The Honda rider would be stellar in his own right though, with a flurry of strong lap-times being quantified with daring combination(s) in the longest rhythm lane on the circuit. He was weighting the bike at differing angles as the track dried out, with square-edged ruts now littered across the surface prior to him embarking on the heat race. Once the starting gates rose, there was little that could stop him from acquiring a position of fourth behind Eli Tomac, Adam Cianciarulo, and Justin Hill. The number forty-five would showcase a plethora of skills on this slick racing surface, where his Honda would thrive amongst the hard-packed terrain. Racing through the various facets of the raceway while lugging his engine around, he never seemed overly hurried or in a rush to override the track per se, which eliminated mistakes amid technical sections like the step-on/step-off and elevated corner that followed. Lap after lap, he remained behind Justin Hill, contemplating making a daring move forward, but knew that an overall transferring designation was what was most desired. Eventually finalized in fourth, there was little time to spare prior to embarking on the main event. The action for the main event was chaotic, with countless riders (already) crashing throughout the day, and a differing array of competitors at the top of the leaderboard than what the industry was used to seeing. However Nichols remained unfazed by anything that was going on around him, and stayed on an error-free path after beginning the opening sequence in fifth. He would actually be passed by Ken Roczen some three laps later, but wouldn't become overwhelmed with the intensity that the riders atop the leaderboard were showing. Not long thereafter, he would inherit a position on behalf of Barcia's spectacular crash over the dragon's back; along with passing Justin Hill before the tenth lap was completed! By that point, the field was dispersed so much that it was hard to separate lap traffic from those battling for the highest of positions. Nevertheless, Nichols remained resilient through it all and would clench fourth as the checkered flag waved in the distance. Undoubtedly creating one of his strongest performances of his career, Colt's momentum when heading into the final two rounds would be excelling at the highest regard!