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JASON ANDERSON - GRIT 233 450SMX

September 19, 2023 · Jason Anderson

JASON ANDERSON - GRIT 233 450SMX

JASON ANDERSON | GRIT-233 | 450 SMX

Jason Anderson's style would gel extremely well with the terrain of Joliet, Illinois; as the industry arrived and competed upon a newfound course at Chicagoland Speedway. The motocross-esque layout would play into the hand of Anderson's array of tricks and tools, where his machine that was branded with number twenty-one could be found scrubbing its way into various flat-landing maneuvers before transitioning into racing format(s) not long thereafter. As the narrative for the first 450cc main event would unfold, Anderson was located and acknowledged amongst the pack, terrorizing the infield with a means of shifting through the transmission as rapidly as possible. After gathering an initial standing that appeared to be near the top-ten, an unfortunate miscue and stalling of momentum would severely hamper his aforementioned placement; deterring him to twentieth in the running order where it was then a race against time. He was then engaging in a relentless sense of speed that embodied wheel-taps, scrubs, and every other time-shaving maneuver one could think of as he reached thirteenth by lap seven. It was a process of staying aware and focused on the task at hand, capitalizing on the mistakes of others while configuring the sharpest lines amongst the rutted Joilet canvas...and while he made it to the rear wheel of Oklahoma's Colt Nichols, Anderson couldn't seem to overcome the gap that the number forty-five had created - leaving him thirteenth, yet filled with motivation to rebound in the second sequence of the evening. The field would realign on the starting grid once more for the latter night-time stage of competition, and Anderson immediately wheel-tapped (again) his way amongst the rollers to secure a placement of eighth as racers attempted to break away from one another. Flying atop the elevated section of raceway (which was outside of the limits of the actual concrete circuit), he felt fortunate to not be clipped by Justin Barcia in the sand section as the GasGas rider had remounted from a crash and proceeded to dump the clutch in a process of returning to an upright position. However, Anderson prevailed and continued his systematic approach of gaining positions, while passing Cooper Webb. Though overtaken by Aaron Plessinger all the while, the willpower of Anderson wasn't folding while pursuing Dylan Ferrandis; where he had stayed on a replicable pace in comparison to the French rider as the checkered flag neared. Anderson wasn't going to quit, and would strive for his highest possible finish as twelve-lap sequence ultimately came to a close...and after gathering a standing of sixth, the rebounding performance translated to ninth in the final standings of the Joliet event.

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