JORDON SMITH - GRIT 248 250SX

GRIT-248 | 250 SX

May 20, 2024 9:45 am

With opponents like Levi Kitchen and Haiden Deegan set to be on the starting line beside him, Jordon Smith knew that the climb into the top-five (for this combined, East/West Showdown) was going to be difficult. However, his preparation in the days prior was second-to-none, making him more than capable of amassing a substantial sum of points...regardless of whom was on the line against him. Through the ever-changing conditions of qualifying (where the racing surface dried rather quickly), he was as versatile as anyone, leaping amongst the latter two singles next to the starting gate with poise...keeping a constant rhythm around this rather abrupt circuit. Once into the night show, he was adamant about obtaining a strong starting position, securing third in the early going while in pursuit of Phil Nicoletti and Ryder DiFrancesco. Ruts were beginning to develop, with this clay-based surface becoming rather edgy and crusted as time would pass. Toggling between both skimming and leaping through the moguls, he was on-point while RJ Hampshire sought multiple ways to pass by. Transitions were starting to become rutted once more, with the single-triple-triple line after the whoops, also emerging as a paramount trait within one's arsenal as the checkered flag neared...he managed to conduct the aforementioned platform of obstacles with notable timing during the battle between he and the Floridian. Though the red-flag restart caused a brief halt to all in the field. He was hard-charging in the moments that the race resumed, however, and despite Hampshire making his way around definitively, both he and RJ would push past Nicoletti and Ryder "D" - for Smith to take second, behind the fellow veteran of the classification (i.e. Hampshire). Both sides (i.e. East and West Coast) had converged for the main event, and as the narrative began to unravel, Smith emerged fourth, before quickly advancing past Tom Vialle. Hooking through the right-handed bend before crossing the start straightaway his rolling/entrance speed seemed to be a bit quicker than many opponents around him (including KTM's Vialle and Honda's Jo Shimoda). The leap through the proceeding singles, was harsh - jumping the middle single, and landing into a makeshift pocket that had been formed, and enabled him with a soft area of sorts, due to the stiffness of both forks and shock that these bikes had possessed. He acknowledged that the French rider (i.e. Vialle) was keeping him honest from only bike lengths behind... and the number sixteen wasn't going to let-up as laps began to amass. However, Smith would undergo a mistake at the end of the whoop section before the sixth circuit was completed - deterring him from what was third, to now sixth. However, he quickly revitalized his charge and burst to the front once more. Into the tenth minute he stormed, remaining rather engaged in a two-rider process (consisting of he and Jalek Swoll) of trying to establish themselves in the top-five...but neither was budging despite the decaying sense of traction now becoming more relevant. Over the ant-hill before the whoops, he managed to find an efficient way through the broken-down whoop pad over the final five minutes, which was an attribute that Swoll couldn't overcome. Ultimately categorized in fourth, his performance in Nashville was undoubtedly noteworthy against this roster of opponents - especially, after rebounding from the crucial mistake in the early going.

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